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Psychologists are typically obliged to learn about the cultures of their minority clients and students before working with them, refining their specific cultural knowledge and deepening their understanding of the influence of cultural factors on their clients and students through direct interaction. Likewise, professors of psychology can utilize these principles to empower minority students by (a) modeling cultural openness, (b) acknowledging students' rich cultural knowledge and experiences, (c) tailoring assignments to minority students' culturally influenced learning needs, and (d) seizing teachable moments. Empowering minority students in such a collaborative learning environment allows the burden of incorporating cultural views to shift from minority students to the larger classroom community, in which cultural dynamics may be safely explored, respected, and valued. Although faculty in Orlando's program did their best to accommodate his passion for cross-cultural research and practice, in many courses he found that the inclusion of culture was lacking and he struggled to meet faculty expectations for student participation. Many faculty regarded him as pleasant interpersonally, but they were concerned about his inability to be assertive. Rather than understanding that his passivity and deference to authority were typical of his culture, some criticized him for his limited contributions during class and urged him to engage more. He felt discouraged, isolated, and alone, and contemplated dropping out of his program. As Orlando's experience demonstrates, the experience of being a culturally diverse student within a North American psychology classroom can be difficult, confusing, and culturally isolating. Unfortunately, Orlando's story is not unique: Many culturally diverse students in higher education struggle with similar experiences (see Blackwell, 2010; Case, 2008; Lee & Rice, 2007; Rivera, Forquer, & Rangel, 2010). But why? Although psychology programs often actively recruit culturally diverse students and value diversity, they have difficulty cultivating environments that ensure culturally diverse students are fully integrated into the classroom, succeed in their academic journeys, and obtain the same privileges and opportunities as dominant-culture students (DiAngelo, 2006; Guzman, Trevino, Lubuguin, & Aryan, 2010; Lee & Rice, 2007). In writing this article we drew upon the first author's experience as a Mixteco immigrant in a US clinical psychology graduate program, the dominant-culture-student experience of the second and third authors, and the fourth author's experience as a White male faculty member actively working to integrate international elements into a multicultural graduate classroom. Consequently, we use an extended case example to illustrate the challenges facing culturally diverse students as well as pedagogical methods that may be employed to improve the empowerment of culturally diverse students within the classroom. |
