Cultural Competency Training at a Distance: Challenges and Strategies

Technological innovations and demographic trends represent 2 converging forces that affect counselor training. Distance education, particularly televised instruction, is becoming a major presence in higher education. Relatedly, counseling courses and degree programs are increasingly being offered via televised instruction. At the same time, rapid cultural, racial, and ethnic diversification in the United States has resulted in a movement to integrate cultural competency training into counseling programs. In this article, the challenges associated with providing cultural competency training via interactive television are outlined. Characteristics of interactive televised instruction and strategies for promoting cultural competence within this medium are presented.