Admissions Type and Cultural Competency in Graduate Speech-Language Pathology Curricula: A National Survey Study

Purpose: This research describes the results of survey questions designed to establish how cultural competency is taught in graduate speech-language pathology programs with a view on how to increase cultural competency in practicing professionals. Method: One hundred ten department chairs or designees of university programs with graduate speech-language pathology programs participated in this study. Participants were asked questions to better understand how programs included cultural competency content for teaching purposes in program curricula. Respondents were sorted into groups by admission practices (traditional admissions, some holistic measures, or holistic review). We provide a description of responses, including which cultural competency topics are included in curricula, and we compare programs' composite cultural competency by admission type. Results: Programs that used some holistic measures or holistic review had had significantly more content that focused on cultural competency than the traditional group, and also used a wider range of pedagogical approaches used to teach this content. Programs that employed some holistic measures or holistic review also covered a wider range of topics, including learning the importance of listening nonjudgmentally to clients' disability/health beliefs and valuing curiosity, empathy, and respect for others. Less than 30% of the traditional admissions programs reported that students were taught about institutional biases or the value of eliminating disparities, and less than 40% reported that students are comfortable talking about culture openly or are able to discuss their own cultural backgrounds or biases. The authors discuss implications and recommendations for enhancing cultural competence in graduate speech-language pathology programs.