Equity, Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging in a Multicultural Psychology Course during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Little is known about the degree to which diversity courses facilitate the learning of multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. The aim of this study is to add to this area of research by identify what students learn through participation in a multicultural psychology course. A total of 71 undergraduate students participated in an assessment of a multicultural psychology course. Quantitative analyses indicate that students increased their cultural skills, leadership skills, problem-solving skills, social justice attitudes, multicultural knowledge, multicultural experiences, and empathy from the beginning to the end of the semester. Qualitative findings indicate that students increase their intercultural contact and perspective-taking skills and develop multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills over the semester. The use of a mixed-method approach increases the reliability of findings that multicultural attitudes, cultural skills, and empathy change over a semester long, multicultural psychology course.