Multi-Cultural Administrator Training and Cultural Change.

A program at Pennsylvania State University is described, wherein American Indian trainees with special knowledges and skills necessary to changing institutions are encouraged to use these skills and knowledges in an effort to change federal, State, and local public and private institutions. Changing institutions to become responsive to clients is the main goal of the training process. One assumption undergirding the program is that administrator behavior is more complex than theory-concept development and testing, and that administrator behaviors demanded in multicultural settings require recognition and analysis. A second premise is that group solidarity is essential for creating a critical mass for change in an institution. Encouraging trainees to keep cultural loyalties, maintain their integrity, and become involved in tasks is an essential part of the training process. The aggregate model is the institutional change model. Clients' involvement in institutional change is the test of the trainees' skills and value commitment. Finally, value commitments are recognized and made explicit. (Author)