Madonna Constantine Defines Multicultural Competence

Madonna Constantine

Race, religion, ethnicity and economics are all components that shape people and form their culture. To be effective educators in today’s world of mixed cultures, preservice teachers need to learn how to become culturally literate, or in the contemporary buzzwords, multiculturally competent. In a room full of McKay School students eager to learn this competency, presenter Madonna Constantine defined multicultural competence as an “individual’s awareness and knowledge of and their skills in interacting with and working with people who differ from them along various cultural dimensions.”

People with little or no multicultural competencies usually exhibiting behaviors that are perceived as racist—they also often make determinations about people based on color. Using this definition, Constantine stated that racism affects all people and is one of the most harmful and toxic forces humankind has encountered. Oddly though, according to her research, it seems that many Caucasians are unaware of their own discriminatory tendencies.

According to Constantine, most white American households in this country do not talk openly about their own race. They are more apt to refer to others’ racial backgrounds. This can lead to an under-exploration about what it means to be white in the United States and an inability to acknowledge when racism occurs against people of color. Constantine said that for white people, discovering what it is like to be white is like a fish discovering water—they are usually unaware.

Becoming multiculturally competent develops in steps. “As people work to increase their competence they will hit a development ceiling unless they simultaneously refine their understanding of issues of race and racism,” she advised her audience.

Constantine reviewed her recent research where she studied 16 Caucasian people for their perceptions about racism and cultural diversity. Information gathered showed a lack of awareness of what is discrimination and what is opinion. “The degree of racism is dependent on awareness of oppression,” she stated. Implications of the study include the critical need to consider ways to increase recognition of strategies that are perpetuating racism and getting people to ask themselves, “Am I extending racial bias unintentionally?”

“Multicultural competency is not about resolution but respect for core values,” concluded Constantine.

Madonna Constantine is a professor of Psychology and Education and Director of the Cultural Winter Roundtable on Psychology and Education at the Teachers College at Columbia University. She received her Bachelor of Science and Masters degrees from Xavier University of Louisiana and her Ph.D. from the University of Memphis. Dr. Constantine’s scholarly interests include cultural competence in counseling, training, and supervision, mental health issues of people of color in the United States and immigrants, vocational issues of adolescents and college students of color.

20 March 2008