Investigating the effect of digital storytelling on multicultural competencies and social justice: A mixed method study in psychological counseling education

Abstract

This study examined the effect of an education process supported by digital storytelling (DST) regarding immigration on the multicultural competencies and social justice of psychological counselor candidates. The research was designed with mixed methods. Twenty-two junior students studying in the guidance and psychological counseling department of the Faculty of Education of a state university participated in the study. The study was conducted over nine weeks. In the quantitative phase of the research, a single group pretest posttest quasi-experimental design was used. To collect data for the qualitative phase, the researchers created an open-ended questionnaire to collect the opinions of psychological counselor candidates about the application process. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, one of the non-parametric tests, was used to analyze quantitative data in the study. As a result of the application process, there was a positive significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores of the students in the study group regarding their multicultural competence and their attitudes towards social justice. According to qualitative findings, four themes emerged regarding multicultural competencies: (a) Awareness, (b) Understanding different cultures, (c) Professional skills, (d) Concepts. The themes that emerged regarding social justice are as follows: (a) Sensitivity, (b) Advocacy for rights, (c) Social structure, (d) Fundamental rights. Considering these findings, educational process supported by migration-themed DST positively contributed to the multicultural competencies of psychological counselor candidates and their attitudes toward social justice.