Cultural Competence Shifts in Multicultural Psychology: Online Versus Face-to-Face

An undergraduate multicultural psychology class that aimed to promote shifts in the cultural competence domains of self-awareness, knowledge, and skills was offered online and face-to-face. Upon comparison of pre- and post-self-report measures for 155 students across the two modalities, we found significant between-group differences for gender, Wilks' Λ = .821, F(6, 146) = 5.291, p < .001, ηp2 = .179, with women reflecting more favorable scores than men. Within groups, we found a main effect for time, Wilks' Λ = .726, F(6, 146) = 9.203, p < .001, ηp2 = .274-specifically, more favorable scores at Time 2 compared to Time 1 in ethnocultural empathy, color-blind racial attitudes, and multicultural experiences. Notably, the main effect for modality was statistically nonsignificant, Wilks' Λ = .988, F(6, 146) = 0.291, p = .940, ηp2 = .012, reflecting similar general gains across modalities. However, a significant time by modality interaction within groups, Wilks' Λ = .888, F(6, 146) = 3.063, p = .007, ηp2 = .112, suggested that in-person students had more favorable movement than online students between Time 1 and Time 2 on specific measures of ethnocultural empathy and color-blind racial attitudes. Results show that shifts in multicultural domains can be possible through mirroring gold standard courses in multicultural psychology regardless of the teaching modality. Results appear to be somewhat attenuated for online compared to in-person students. Recommendations for changes in teaching strategies and further evaluation are discussed. What is the significance of this article for the general public? College courses shape minds through knowledge. Our findings suggest that a college class on multicultural psychology showed promise in also shaping attitudes and behaviors that advance diversity and inclusion when taught in-person and online. Online teaching holds promise for reaching a wide audience.