The Cultural Aptitude of School Counselors: A Review of Practical Suggestions Graduate D

28 Pages·2013·0.23 MB·English

by  Freitag, Nicholas Alan

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Author: Malecha, Clarissa, A.
Title: The Cultural Aptitude of School Counselors: A Review of Practical
Suggestions
The accompanying research report is submitted to the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Graduate School
in partial completion of the requirements for the
Graduate Degree/ Major: MS School Counseling
Research Advisor: Denise Brouillard, Ph.D.
Submission Term/Year: Spring, 2013
Number of Pages: 28
Style Manual Used: American Psychological Association, 6th edition
I understand that this research report must be officially approved by the
Graduate School and that an electronic copy of the approved version will be made
available through the University Library website
I attest that the research report is my original work (that any copyrightable
materials have been used with the permission of the original authors), and as such,
it is automatically protected by the laws, rules, and regulations of the U.S.
Copyright Office.
My research advisor has approved the content and quality of this paper.

STUDENT: Clarissa A. Malecha
NAME DATE:
ADVISOR: Denise Brouillard, Ph.D
NAME DATE:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This section to be completed by the Graduate School
This final research report has been approved by the Graduate School.

Director, Office of Graduate Studies: DATE:
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Malecha, Clarissa A. The Cultural Aptitude of School Counselors: A Review of Practical
Suggestions
Abstract
The lack of multicultural resources in education has led to school counselors that are not
prepared to lead competent school counseling programs which meet the needs of children in
Wisconsin. As Wisconsin rapidly changes in demographics, the needs of children and families
will undoubtedly change as well. This literature review contains relevant information for school
counselors in providing information regarding multicultural needs and practical implications.
Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, a leading researcher in multiculturism and the field of school
counseling, outlined a checklist to assess the multicultural competence of school counselors.
This research paper reveals practical solutions in attaining the program competence that
Holcomb-McCoy wrote about almost ten years ago.
Social poetry, storytelling, food based experiences, and community-family-partnerships
are explored to provide practical suggestions for school counselors struggling to maintain the
ever evolving multicultural standards of a global society. The school counselor’s role in the
United States educational system continues to diversify with the increasing numbers of students
from non-Caucasian descent. School counselors are becoming viewed as experts within their
school community concerning students’ cultural and social makeup and how that affects
academic performance.
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Table of Contents
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………2
Chapter I: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….4
Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………….7
Purpose of the Study………………………………………………………………………8
Research Questions………………………………………………………………………..8
Definition of Terms………………………………………………………………………..8
Assumptions & Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………9
Chapter II: Literature Review……………………………………………………………………10
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………10
School Counselors Training and Education……………………………………………...12
Storytelling……………………………………………………………………………….12
Sociocultural Poetry……………………………………………………………………...13
Food Based Experiences…………………………………………………………………15
Partnerships………………………………………………………………………………18
Chapter III: Summary, Critical Analysis, and Recommendations……………………………….22
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………22
Summary…………………………………………………………………………………22
Critical Analysis…………………………………………………………………………22
Recommendations………………………………………………………………………..24
References………………………………………………………………………………………..26
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Chapter I: Introduction
Many educational professionals, including school counselors, possess a strong desire to
address the multicultural aspects of the student body that they serve. To fill this desire they often
have to navigate paths on their own due to the fact that their master’s degree level training has
not prepared them to do so. This literature review will reveal ways to incorporate multicultural
education into a school counselor’s repertoire. School counselors can address the cultural
differences of their students through multicultural implications like storytelling, poetry, food, and
building strong partnerships between families and schools.
In an article written for the American School Counselor’s Association (ASCA),
Holcomb-McCoy (2004) compiled a checklist for school counselor’s ability to counsel students
from diverse backgrounds. Holcomb-McCoy (2004) suggested nine areas of competence, which
she listed as “multicultural counseling, multicultural consultation, understanding racism and
student resistance, multicultural assessment, understanding racial identity development,
multicultural family counseling, social advocacy, developing school-family-community
partnerships, and understanding cross-cultural interpersonal interactions” (Holcomb-McCoy,
2004, p. 178). In her research sifting through literature pertaining to multicultural school
counseling, these nine areas were developed as strong themes in the review. Holcomb-McCoy
(2004) provided a checklist with the nine areas and a total of 51 competencies to be met in order
to maintain a comprehensive and multicultural school counseling program.
In using Holcomb-McCoy’s (2004) research as a guide, this paper will explore culturally
responsive needs of a school district through community, family engagement, and multicultural
education. This research paper will provide strategies and ideas for school counselors to help
them positively impact multicultural students and families in their school district.
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There is an increasing amount of data that suggests that the people who make up the
United States of America are changing rapidly. According to the United States Census (2010),
there has been a 43.3% increase in Asian Americans and a 12.3% increase in African Americans
since 2000. In Wisconsin alone, several counties have rich depth in their racial make-up from
the reservations of the north to the urban areas of Milwaukee and Madison. According to
Wisconsin’s Information Network for Successful Schools (WINSS) website (2012), the 2011-
2012 school year data reported that 27% of the student body in Wisconsin accounted for students
from American Indian, Asian, Black, and/ or Hispanic heritages. Of those 27%, English
Language Learners (ELL) comprised only four percent. The student body was almost equally
split in regards to gender, with 48% of students being female and the remaining 52% being male.
Students with disabilities represented 14% of the student population. Forty-one percent of
students enrolled in the 2011-2012 school year were considered economically disadvantaged
(WINSS, 2012). The percentage of students who identified with a particular sexual orientation,
religion, or homeland was not reported.
This data indicated that a large majority, if not every school district in Wisconsin, was
affected by a diverse and interesting culture that makes up their school, their community, and the
families that they serve. Aligning with Wisconsin initiatives, it is imperative that these families
are integrated into the school environment. Wisconsin has initiated several programs and models
that take culture into account with planning and implementation. The first program, called
CREATE (2012), which stands for Culturally Responsive Education for All Training and
Enhancement of Wisconsin, aims to hear and respond to all the voices of every family in the
school district. CREATE strives to address the question of why children of diverse backgrounds
don’t achieve at the same level as their peers (CREATE, 2012). Programs like CREATE are
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about bringing schools together and bridging gaps to connect culturally diverse students and their
parents. Organizations like this and the Response to Intervention (RtI) program that are part of
Wisconsin’s Department of Instruction (DPI) clearly value the cultural competency of
communities and school districts. The RtI program of Wisconsin is an initiative that provides
supports to all students in academic and behavioral areas. Xu and Drame (2007) stated that, “RtI
is a multi-tiered intervention model that involves all students and teachers rather than only
students who are at risk for a disability” (p. 306).
In recent years, Wisconsin’s RtI program has become popular in schools statewide and
the program has roots in exploring culturally-based needs. The RtI model is based upon a belief
that if change is to be expected in student’s academic and behavioral success, educators must
take into consideration the cultural background of the student. Xu and Drame (2007) found that
“children with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds come to school with different
expectations and behaviors that are closely connected to their own culture, but schools often just
have one standard for them to follow” (p. 308). When children’s culture of home is not taken
into consideration in the planning of school activity, it is hard to attain 100% program
effectiveness. According to the Wisconsin RtI website, “culturally responsive practices account
for and adapt to the broad diversity of race, language and culture in Wisconsin schools and
prepare all students for a multicultural world” (Wisconsin RtI Center, 2012). Therefore, the RtI
model is important, because everything in the RtI model is anchored into a cultural lens.
Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction also recognizes the need for effective
cultural competence in education. Wisconsin’s DPI is currently collecting data regarding
cultural competence and professional development among student services personnel across the
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state of Wisconsin. The school counseling education consultant, Gregg Curtis, wrote in an
email,
Please help us get a sense of the knowledge, skill and confidence levels of student
services professionals across Wisconsin in order to connect our needs to future
professional development opportunities. The Student Services/Prevention and Wellness
team at the Department of Public Instruction asks for your participation in this survey.
(G. Curtis, educational consultant, personal email, October 23, 2012)
The survey will help the department to assess and improve the effectiveness of school counselors
in the field throughout Wisconsin.
School counselors train and practice within certain guidelines, much like any other
helping profession. School counseling abides by the American School Counselors Association’s
(ASCA) national model of practices. The model outlines ways in which school counselors
should spend their time through four parts, which are foundations, delivery, management, and
system support. The model outlines professional intentions such as advocacy, social justice, and
advisory councils. These needs must reflect the cultural makeup of the school and district for an
effective practice. In an article by Tim Grothaus for ASCA, [Grothaus (2012) explains], “…our
efforts to systematically improve multicultural relations, not just between racial or ethnic groups
but also with regard to social class, ability/disability, sexual orientation, and other cultural
identities” (p. 38) is a main goal of school counseling programs. For many school counseling
professionals this is a primary goal in practice.
Statement of the Problem
As the United States diversifies in culture, schools must respond in appropriate ways to
meet the needs of children and families. A vehicle for change within schools can be harnessed
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by school counselors with measures of more culturally responsive practices through multicultural
education, school-family-community partnerships, and improving cross-cultural interpersonal
interactions.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to highlight the lack of cultural competency within school
counseling and to explore the ideas, strategies, and initiatives currently working in Wisconsin
schools. This study will further highlight ways in which school counselors can implement model
programs and ideas within their schools to address the need for positive cultural engagement
within schools, families, and communities. This will be done through a literature review in the
spring of 2013.
Research Questions
There are three research questions this study will attempt to highlight. They are:
1. What do Wisconsin communities need to do to embrace every child?
2. How can Wisconsin communities bring cultures together?
3. What are some proven strategies in creating a culturally competent community in
Wisconsin school districts?
Definition of Terms
The following terms will be clarified for the purpose of this paper:
Culture. means “the ideas, customs, skills, arts, etc. of a people or group, that are
transferred, communicated, or passed along, as in or to succeeding generations” (Webster’s New
World College Dictionary, 2000, p. 353).
Family Engagement. Parental involvement and access to children’s school community.
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Multicultural / Multiculturism. In reference to Webster’s New World College
Dictionary (2000), multiculturalism means “the policy or practice of giving equal attention or
representation to the cultural needs and contributions of all the groups in a society” (p. 946).
Multicultural Family Therapy. According to Holcomb-McCoy (2004), multicultural
family therapy encompasses counseling that is “knowledgeable of the impact of culture/ethnicity
on the family counseling process and family rituals” (p. 180).
Assumptions
It is assumed that references used are accurate in their information.
Limitations
The limitations of this study are that resources may not provide a comprehensive picture
of the problem. Data from this literature review may not include large samples and
generalizability may be limited.
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Chapter II: Literature Review
This chapter will discuss several areas where cultural competence is needed in
comprehensive school counseling programs across the state of Wisconsin. The areas highlighted
in this section will include: school counselors training and education, storytelling and
sociocultural poetry in classroom guidance, using food to connect cultures, and partnerships.
The impact of these areas in cultural competence is an important issue for school counselors to
examine and include in their programs.
School Counselors Training and Education
To address, "how can school counselors increase their cultural competencies in schools?”
the research has leaned towards examining counselor education programs, professional
development opportunities, and educational pedagogy. Holcomb-McCoy (2004) reported that
the inclusion of multicultural content has been limited in counseling fields (p. 178).
School counseling as a profession is regulated by several associations, including the
American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American School Counselors Association
(ASCA), as well as the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational
Programs (CACREP) that accredits institutions where counselor education is taught. In an
article written by Cates, Schaefle, Smaby, Maddux, and LeBeauf (2007), the authors reported
that in 1999, CACREP made motions to include multicultural competencies within their
counselor educator programs across the United States. Programs were required to continually
update and report the multicultural benchmarks that they were meeting as institutions. Cates et
al. (2007) conducted a study to evaluate the multicultural measures of CACREP accredited
institutions. They found that, “students in the counselor education program who participated in
the current study had high levels of general and multicultural knowledge competency in