Perceptions of Cultural Competence Among Students, Staff, and Faculty in a School of Journalism and Mass Communications

This study reports the results of a cultural competence self-assessment completed by students, faculty, and staff ( N = 299) at a Journalism and Mass Communications School at a predominantly White public university in the Midwest, where students had been demonstrating against cultural insensitive experiences on campus. Results reveal that all participants perceive themselves as fairly culturally competent, but perceive others as being less culturally competent. This finding, suggestive of a third-person effect, was especially pronounced among faculty. Despite high self-ratings, one out of 10 respondents reported cultural insensitive experiences, mainly dealing with sexism or racism. Implications and recommendations are discussed.