TPC Journal Volume 11 Issue 2

240 The Professional Counselor | Volume 11, Issue 2 fostering this classroom atmosphere is contingent upon incorporating decolonizing educational practices. CE programs can accomplish this task through the intentional examination of course curricula. Specific examples include things like being mindful of the language used in course content and infusing textbooks, assignments, and supplementary materials in the syllabi to address inequitable practices and discrimination against marginalized group members (e.g., current news reports, community service- learning experiences within marginalized communities, guest speakers). Thus, the RAMF encourages counselor educators to practice intentionality by diversifying curriculum and incorporating diverse scholars’ perspectives to dismantle colonized counseling and pedagogical practices. The RAMF also stresses the importance of acknowledging the significant impact of professor interactions in fostering an equitable learning environment. Research findings have noted several factors that strengthen trainees’ experience of their learning environments, such as an emphasis on teaching and mentorship, peer support, and faculty–student connections (Henfield et al., 2013; Sheperis et al., 2020). In this regard, enhancing relational factors among professors may alleviate the power differential between professors and CITs, thereby facilitating a more equitable learning environment. Additionally, student feedback and perceptions of the teaching environment should constantly be solicited in any learning environment that aspires to be inclusive and equitable. Hopefully, if a safe and collaborative learning environment is achieved, this feedback will be provided authentically and without direct solicitation. Anonymous feedback can also be gathered in various formal and informal approaches, such as the use of specific assessments or scaling and qualitative inquiry. Gorski (2016) noted the importance of systemic change as crucial to analyzing power and privilege in the classroom; thus, faculty support is necessary to effectively carry out this systemic endeavor. As such, it is recommended that CE programs assess their organizational climate before implementing the RAMF. A discriminatory CE program climate serves to uphold colonizing and inequitable learning practices, thereby interfering with the development of multicultural and social justice competencies. The RAMF seeks to dismantle this issue by valuing diversity and modeling equity in the classroom, directly influencing CITs’ perspectives and overall multicultural competence growth. Sanchez Bengoa et al. (2018) found that students developed multicultural competency skills faster in international teams than national teams; this finding speaks to the critical need to foster a culturally rich classroom environment where students can be exposed to diverse worldviews and engage in a cooperative learning process. Awareness of Individual and Relational Dynamics As a cross-paradigm approach, the RAMF acknowledges the importance of individual and relational dynamics that impact the overall learning process and program experience. Within counseling programs, CITs are encouraged to engage in ongoing self-reflection, which is essential in multicultural education. According to the MSJCC framework (Ratts et al., 2016), self-awareness is at the core of multicultural and social justice competence. Counselors must critically examine their personally held attitudes, beliefs, and biases that affect their work with diverse clients. This awareness may then contribute to counselors’ understanding of power, privilege, and oppression dynamics that impact the therapeutic relationship (Ratts et al., 2016). The RAMF takes a unique perspective on trainee self-awareness by drawing on core counseling values, such as examining the individual’s role and identity in the context of relationships. From a RAMF lens, professors can facilitate this process with CITs by modeling authentic interactions (e.g., cultural humility), which may promote personal exploration and shared disclosures in a classroom setting. In Morgan Consoli and Marin’s (2016) qualitative study on graduate students’ experiences in diversity courses, students noted the essentiality of instructor self-disclosure and viewed it as indispensable to a positive diversity course experience. Thus, valuing authenticity and cultural humility may instill the importance of multicultural competence as a lifelong process (Hook et al., 2013).