Fostering Culturally Responsive Practice in Behavior Analysts Through Online Training and Supervision

The importance of culturally responsive practices in behavior analysis has been widely discussed in the literature, emphasizing the need to develop a behavioral repertoire that will allow practitioners to serve diverse clients optimally. However, empirical work aimed at increasing awareness, knowledge, and skills of cultural responsiveness in behavior analysis trainees is limited. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) evaluate whether an eight-hour online course on culturally responsive behavior analytic practices would impact awareness and knowledge and (2) evaluate whether completing the online course and receiving hands-on training would improve trainees’ skills in clinical situations. After completing the online course, participants demonstrated improved levels of knowledge of the material included in the course and most measured dimensions of cultural competence. The three participants for whom clinical skills were evaluated demonstrated increases in culturally responsive skills. The findings suggest online training can increase knowledge, and when combined with hands-on training via culturally responsive supervision, can support the development of clinical skills that align with cultural responsiveness.