This dissertation study focused on master\u27s students experiences with multicultural competency curriculum in graduate preparation programs (GPPs) and contributes to gaps in the extant literature on multicultural issues in higher education. The two overarching research questions for the study considered how, if at all, students\u27 understanding of core concepts of the required course (privilege, oppression, and social justice) changed over time as evidenced by a primary curricular component called the photo elicitation project. Educators\u27 experiences were also addressed, per their impact on the context in which students learned. This study employed a qualitative approach and, in line with the study\u27s epistemology, represented findings through two multi-genre mediations (i.e., two separate chapters). Primary sources of data for this study were 12 master\u27s students\u27 two-part photo elicitation projects and one-on-one semi-structured interviews with the 12 students and three educators.
Findings from this study showed that students\u27 understanding of core concepts of the required multicultural competency and social justice course changed over time. Curricular experiences that related privilege, oppression, and social justice in relationship to students\u27 daily lives facilitated the most change in students\u27 understanding of the three core concepts. Educators\u27 experiences in teaching the curriculum overlapped with students\u27 experiences in many ways. Select implications for higher education research and practice include shifting the discourse from multicultural competency to social justice literacy as a way to understand master\u27s students\u27 experiences with required multicultural competency and social justice-related curriculum. Additionally, there is more room to foreground the voices of students from diverse backgrounds and to focus solely on the impact of educators who teach required multicultural and social justice-related curriculum
