Download Becoming a Multiculturally Competent School Counselor

Becoming a Multiculturally
Competent School Counselor
What does it mean?
Multicultural Competence
Defining Cultural Competence
“Cultural competence is the ability to engage in actions
or create conditions that maximize the optimal
development of client and client systems. It is the
acquisition of awareness, knowledge, and skills needed
to function effectively in a pluralistic democratic society
(ability to communicate, interact, negotiate, and intervene
on behalf of clients from diverse backgrounds), and on
an organizational/societal level, advocating effectively
to develop new theories, practices, policies and
organizational structures that are more responsive to all
groups.”
Multicultural Competence
• Multicultural Competence: What is it?
•
•
Pope-Davis, Reynolds, Dings, and Ottavi (1994, p. 466) suggested that
multicultural competence in counseling is “an appreciation of and sensitivity to the
history, current needs, strengths, and resources of communities and individuals who
historically have been underserved and underrepresented by psychologists.”
Sue (1998) offers a more scientific approach. He suggested that cultural
competence consists of three characteristics:
• being scientifically minded,
• having skills in dynamic sizing, and
• being proficient with a particular cultural group.
• When does one know he or she is multiculturally
competent?
• When a counselor possesses the necessary skills to work effectively with
clients from different cultural backgrounds, and acknowledges clientcounselor cultural differences and similarities are significant to the
counseling process.
Erford, Transforming the School Counseling Profession 2/e
Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Multicultural Competence (cont.)
•
Three main areas or dimensions:
1) Awareness: stresses the understanding of personal worldviews
and how counselors are products of their own cultural
conditioning.
2) Knowledge: reinforces the importance of understanding the
worldviews of culturally different clients (Sue & Sue, 1990).
3) Skills: deals with the process of actively developing and
practicing appropriate intervention strategies for culturally
diverse clients.
•
Counselors must understand the client’s worldview and
actively develop and practice appropriate intervention
strategies needed for work with culturally different clients.
Erford, Transforming the School Counseling Profession 2/e
Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Pedersen’s Cultural Competence Model
Skills
Knowledge
Awareness
Mason et al. (1996) Cultural Competence Model
Cultural
Destructiveness
Refusal to acknowledge the importance of cultural
differences; differences are suppressed; schools
endorse the myth of universality
Cultural Incapacity
Individual or organization chooses to ignore
culture differences; emphasis may be on cognitive
growth vs. addressing issues of cultural awareness
Cultural Blindness
Individuals or organizations believe that cultural
differences are of little importance; people are
viewed through western mainstream lens
Cultural PreCompetence
Individual or organization responds to cultural
differences; educators seek out new information
regarding diversity
Cultural
Competence
Individual or organization values and appreciates
cultural differences; students’ cultural
experiences are valued and integrated into the
learning experience
The Need for Culturally Competent
Professional School Counselors
• Need to close achievement gaps between
students of different cultures.
• Need to increase numbers of college bound
students from various cultures.
• Need to represent students of various
cultures in Advanced Placement and
accelerated courses.
Erford, Transforming the School Counseling Profession 2/e
Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Increasing School Counselor
Multicultural Competence
•
Five ways in which professional school counselors can
increase their level of multicultural competence:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Investigate one’s own cultural or ethnic heritage;
Attend workshops, seminars, and conferences on multicultural
and diversity issues;
Join organizations that are focused on multicultural issues;
Read literature written by ethnic minority authors or about
ethnic cultures;
Become familiar with multicultural education literature.
Erford, Transforming the School Counseling Profession 2/e
Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Can you think of a situation in
which you wish you were
more culturally competent?
BECOMING CULTURALLY COMPETENT
1. Become culturally aware of our own values,
biases and assumptions about human behavior.
• What stereotypes, perceptions, and beliefs do we hold about culturally diverse
groups that may hinder our ability to form a helpful and effective relationship?
• What are the worldviews we/they bring to the interpersonal encounter?
• What value systems are inherent in the professional’s theory of helping,
educating, administrating, and what values underlie the strategies and techniques
used in these situations?
• Without such an awareness and understanding, we may inadvertently assume that
everyone shares our world view. When this happens, we may become guilty of
cultural oppression, imposing values on our culturally diverse clients.
BECOMING CULTURALLY COMPETENT
2. Acquire knowledge and understanding of the
worldview of culturally diverse groups and
individuals.
• What biases, values and assumptions about human behavior do
these groups hold?
• Is there such a thing as an African American, Asian American,
Latino(a)/Hispanic American or American Indian worldview?
• Do other culturally different groups (women, the physically
challenged, gays/lesbians, etc.) also have different world views?
BECOMING CULTURALLY COMPETENT
3. Begin the process of developing appropriate and
effective helping, teaching, communication and
intervention strategies in working with culturally
diverse groups and individuals.
•
This means prevention as well as remediation approaches, and
systems advocacy intervention as well as traditional one-to-one
relationships.
•
Equally important is the ability to make use of existing
indigenous-helping/healing approaches and structures which may
already exist in the minority community.
BECOMING CULTURALLY COMPETENT
4. Understanding how organizational and
institutional forces may either enhance or negate
the development of multicultural competence.
• It does little good for any of us to be culturally competent when the very
organization that employs us are filled with monocultural policies and
practices.
• In many cases, organizational customs do not value or allow the use of
cultural knowledge or skills. Some organizations may even actively
discourage, negate, or punish multicultural expressions. Thus, it is imperative
to view multicultural competence for organizations as well.
• Developing new rules, regulations, policies, practices, and structures within
organizations which enhance multiculturalism are important.
Multicultural Self-Efficacy
• Take Multicultural Self-Efficacy Scale
Multicultural and Anti-Oppression
Terminology
• Culture is defined in a variety of ways:
(1) the ways in which people perceive their experiences of the world so
as to give it structure;
(2) the beliefs by which people explain events;
(3) a set of principles for dealing with people as well as for
accomplishing particular ends; and
(4) people’s value systems for establishing purposes and for keeping
themselves purposefully oriented.
• Lack of consensus in defining culture has created a debate as
to how inclusive the construct of “multicultural counseling”
should be.
Erford, Transforming the School Counseling Profession 2/e
Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Culture
• The sum total of ways of living developed by a
group of human beings to meet biological and
psychosocial needs.
• The integrated pattern of human behavior, which
includes thoughts, communication, action,
customs, beliefs, values, and instructions of a
racial, ethnic, religious, or social group.
• Passed from one generation to another.
Culture
is like an
Iceberg.
6/7th’s of it is
UNDER the
water.
Weaver’s Iceberg’s Concept of Culture
BEHAVIOR
BELIEFS
VALUES
AND
THOUGHT
PATTERNS
Race
• Originally the term race was used to sort races on
the basis of phenotypic or physical characteristics
• Currently, race operates as a social construction
that frequently refers more to social and political
interactions and dynamics that subordinate nonWhite groups than to skin color, genetic, or
biological features.
• This social/political construct reinforces divisions
and hierarchies that benefit the dominant group.
Race
• Race is a term that has been defined in various ways:
•
•
•
Behavioral scientists explain that race has been used to denote geno-typically homogeneous
human groupings (Kluckhohn, 1985).
Baba and Darga (1981), indicate that defining race through the practice of racial
classification by biological characteristics is practically impossible.
In counseling and psychology, race has been used in three main ways:
(a) differential sociopolitical and economic socialization;
(b) biogenetic psychological characteristics inferred from the presence of observable “signs”
commonly assumed to be racial; and
(c) differential cultural (e.g., values, beliefs, rituals) socialization (Helms, 1996).
• Professional school counselors must remember that race
has been used in schools to carry out:
•
•
•
•
•
segregation,
stereotyping groups of students’ academic achievement,
tracking,
selection of students for special resources, and
lowering teacher expectations for ethnic minority students
Erford, Transforming the School Counseling Profession 2/e
Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Ethnicity
• Ethnicity refers to “a segment of a larger society
whose members are thought, by themselves and/or
others, to have a common origin and to share
important segments of a common culture…”
(Yinger, 1976, p. 200)
• Defined by Schaefer (1990, p. 27) as “a group set
apart from others because of its national origin or
distinctive cultural patterns.”
• It is within this ethnic identity that an individual is
socialized to take on the group’s values, beliefs,
and behaviors.
Erford, Transforming the School Counseling Profession 2/e
Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Oppression
• A system that allows access to the services,
rewards, benefits, and privileges of society
based on membership in a particular group
(Reynolds and Pope, 1991).
• An umbrella term that captures all forms of
domination and control, including racism,
sexism, heterosexism, and classism.
Oppression
• Young (1990) further expanded the definition of
oppression by delineating five conditions of an
oppressed group: exploitation, marginalization,
powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence.
• Other forms of oppression: individual, cultural,
systemic, internalized, and externalized oppression.
Erford, Transforming the School Counseling Profession 2/e
Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Internalized Oppression
• Belief that the oppression and
marginalization received by one’s reference
group is warranted and right or that it does
not even exist (Andersen & Collins, 2004).
Power
• A sociopolitical process that refers to the
capacity to effect change and wield influence
over others, especially in a manner that
diminishes one’s sense of personhood
(Pinderhughes, 1989).
• Occurs particularly under circumstances in
which status differentials exist between an
individual with more power and one with less
power.
Powerlessness
• The inability of a person to effect change
and influence the outcomes in her or his
life.
• Feelings of anger, hostility, frustration,
hopelessness accompany powerlessness.
Privilege
• McIntosh (1988) defines White privilege as,
“an invisible weightless knapsack of special
provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides,
codebooks, passports, visas, clothes,
emergency gear and blank checks” (p. 1).
• Privilege grants a set of benefits and system
rewards to one group while simultaneously
excluding other groups from accessing these
advantages.
Forms of oppression that are found throughout society, including K-12 schools.
Ableism
Prejudice against persons with disabilities
Ageism
Prejudice used by adults against children and the elderly.
Beautyism
Prejudice used by those with dominant standards of beauty
against persons with non-dominant appearances, e.g.,
overweight people.
Classism
Prejudice used by wealthy people against poor people.
Familyism
Prejudice used by those of traditional families against those of
less traditional families.
Heterosexism
Prejudice used by heterosexuals against homosexuals.
Linguicism
Prejudice used by persons speaking a dominant language
toward people who do not speak a dominant language.
Racism
Prejudice used by one race against someone of another race.
Religionism
Prejudice used by persons of one religion against persons of
another religion.
Sexism
Prejudice used by persons of one sex against persons of
another sex.
Erford, Transforming the School Counseling Profession 2/e
Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
What is Racism?
Racism
• Prejudice or discrimination based on an individual's
race.
• Goes beyond individual acts of meanness.
• A system whereby a group maintains power and
privileges by disadvantaging others or failing to
recognize others based on race and ethnicity.
• A particular form of oppression that refers to the
systematic process of enlisting institutional resources,
not only to support and promote a belief in the
inferiority of groups on the basis of skin color, but to
deny opportunities to one group and subsequently grant
them to a preferred group (Nieto, 1996; Tatum, 1997).
Forms of Racism
• Overt
• Overt racism is an intentional and deliberate form
of racism that is purposely enacted to inflict pain
solely on the basis of race
• Covert
• Covert racism is not explicitly public and lacks the
planned calculation of overt racism, but results in
similar consequences
Forms of Racism
• Institutional
• the establishment of institutionally sanctioned
policies and operating procedures (intended and
unintended) that penalize members of a particular
group on the basis of race.
• Societal
• Exists on a broader scale.
• When prevailing social and cultural assumptions,
norms, concepts, habits, and expectations of one
racial group are favored over those of another.
• Deviations from this dominant cultural dictate are
frequently regarded as an aberration and, consequently,
devalued.
Microaggressions
• Microaggressions are “brief, everyday exchanges that
send denigrating messages” to a target group like
people of color, women and gays.
• These microaggressions are often subtle in nature and
can be manifested in the verbal, nonverbal, visual, or
behavioral realm and are often enacted automatically
and unconsciously (Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000).
• See Chapter 5, Sue & Sue.
Racial Microaggressions
Commonplace verbal or behavioral indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate
hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults.
Microinsult
(Often Unconscious)
Behavioral/verbal remarks or comments
that convey rudeness, insensitivity and
demean a person’s racial heritage or
identity.
Microassault
(Often Conscious)
Microinvalidation
(Often Unconscious)
Explicit racial derogations
characterized primarily by a violent
verbal or nonverbal attack meant to
hurt the intended victim through namecalling, avoidant behavior or
purposeful discriminatory actions
Verbal comments or behaviors
that exclude, negate, or nullify
the psychological thoughts,
feelings, or experiential reality of
a person of color.
Environmental
Microaggressions
Ascription of Intelligence
Assigning a degree of intelligence to a
person of
color based on their race.
Second Class Citizen
(Macro-level)
Racial assaults, insults and
invalidations which are
manifested on systemic and
environmental levels.
Alien in Own Land
Belief that visible racial/ethnic minority
citizens are foreigners.
Treated as a lesser person or group.
Color Blindness
Pathologizing cultural
values/communication styles
Denial or pretense that a White person
does not see color or race.
Notion that the values and
communication styles of people of color
are abnormal
Assumption of Criminal
status
Presumed to be a criminal, dangerous,
or deviant based on race.
Myth of Meritocracy
Statements which assert that race
plays a minor role in life success.
Denial of Individual Racism
Denial of personal racism or one’s role
in its perpetuation.
Color Blind Racial Attitudes
• White people do not see color, they see everyone the
same.
• Color blind racial attitudes are predictive of racist
attitudes and multicultural competence (Utsey &
Neville).
• Not being able to have candid discussions about the dual
system (inequities) that exist for White and People of
Color, can be harmful.
• Subtle, nuanced racism.
• New racism.
• Discomfort with discussions of race. Resistance to
addressing race, ethnicity, and color.
What are People’s Responses
to Racism?
Racial Identity Development
• Racial identity pertains to the degree and quality
of identification individuals maintain towards
those with whom they share a common racial
designation (Helms, 1993).
• Racial identity development “involves and
individual’s continual, and at times highly
conflicted assessment of the people who
comprise his or her externally ascribed reference
group as well as the people who comprise other
racial groups (Thompson & Carter, 1997).
RACIAL IDENTITY ASSUMPTIONS
• 1. Racism is a basic and integral part of U.S. life and permeates all
aspects of our culture and institutions.
• 2. Persons of color are socialized into U.S. society and, therefore,
are exposed to the biases, stereotypes, and racist attitudes, beliefs,
and behaviors of the society.
• 3. The level of racial identity development consciousness affects
the process and outcome of interracial interactions.
• 4. The most desirable development is a multicultural identity that
does not deny or negate one’s integrity.
Self/Other Perceptions
1. Attitude and Beliefs toward Self.
2. Attitudes and Beliefs toward Members of the Same
Minority.
3. Attitudes and Beliefs toward Members of Different
Minorities.
4. Attitude and Beliefs toward Members of the Dominant
Group.
Sue & Sue’s Racial/Cultural Identity Development
Conformity
Preference for the dominant culture, accepts belief in White
superiority and minority inferiority; own group’s physical
and cultural characteristics are a source of shame.
Dissonance
Person challenges previously dominant-held beliefs and
attitudes; realizes racism exists; internal conflict.
Resistance
and
Immersion
Person endorses minority held views and rejects dominant
values of society and culture; anger at cultural
oppression; pride in own group; distrust of White
society.
Introspection
Person recognizes unhealthiness of resistance and
immersion stages; increased discomfort with rigidly held
views (“All Whites are bad);
Integrative
Awareness
Person has a balanced appreciation of own and others’
culture; Not only is there an integrated self-concept that
involves racial pride in identity and culture, but the
person develops a high sense of autonomy.
Cross’ Racial Identity Development Model
Pre-Encounter
Person devalues Blackness and endorses
Eurocentric notions of Blackness; identifies with
White people and culture.
Encounter
Person experiences a catalytic event that
causes reconstruction of issues of race and
ethnicity.
Immersion-Emersion
Person basks in newfound Black identity
and idealizes everything that is Black.
Internalization
Person achieves a more balanced
appreciation of both Blacks and Whites
InternalizationCommitment
Person maintains Black identity while resisting
societal oppression to all marginalized groups
WHITE RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Assumptions
• 1. Racism is a basic and integral part of U.S. life and permeates
all aspects of our culture and institutions.
• 2. White Americans are socialized into U.S. society and,
therefore, inherit the biases, stereotypes, racist attitudes, beliefs,
and behaviors of the society.
• 3. The level of White racial identity development in an interracial
encounter affects the process and outcome of our relationships.
• 4. The most desirable development is not only the acceptance of
Whiteness, but also defining it in a nondefensive and nonracist
manner. There is an understanding that to deny the humanity of
any one person is to deny the humanity of all.
Helms’ White Racial Identity Development Model
Status
Description
Contact
Oblivious of own racial identity.
Disintegration
Conflict over contradictions between beliefs and
behaviors.
Reintegration
Retreat to previous attitudes about superiority of
Whites and the inferiority of people of color.
PseudoIndependence
Intellectualized acceptance of own and others’ race.
Immersion/
Emersion
Honest appraisal of racism and significance
of Whiteness.
Autonomy
Internalization of a multicultural identity with non-racist
Whiteness as its core.
Counseling and Intervention
Planning
• Must be culturally
competent and alert
• Assess environmental
factors that impact client
problem
• Use a strengths
perspective and
“empowerment-focused”
approach
• Use cultural specific
approaches and strategies
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Critical Factors That Affect School
Counseling and the Counseling Relationship
• Cultural differences/expectations
• Prejudiced beliefs,
• History of discrimination (e.g., faulty beliefs);
distrust
• Discomfort, fear
• Social class (poverty)
• Language/communication differences
Two Important Components of CrossCultural Counseling Relationship
• Working Alliance
The alignment between the counselor and
student. The student must see him/herself as an
individual with an issue, rather than as the issue!
• Transference/Countertransference
The unconscious process by which students’
negative feelings, attitudes, and behaviors are
transferred onto the counselor and vice versa
Strengths-Based Counseling
• Designed to empower students, families,
colleagues, etc.
• Helps students discover the considerable power
within themselves, their families, their
neighborhood
• Rather than focusing on deficits, labels, and
problems, counselors are concerned with
resources, connections, skills, and gifts.
Examples of Deficit Talk
• Deficit Approach: “Ms. Jones tells me that you
have been acting out in class again. You are such
a problem for us…I’m tired of seeing you
everyday. Go back to class and get your act
together.”
• Deficit Approach: “I know you want to go to
___University, but let’s think of a college that is
more realistic for you.”
• Deficit Approach: “Karen is disabled and I don’t
think she would be able to handle that leadership
position.”
Examples of Strengths-Based
Statements
• “Ms. Jones tells me that you have been acting out
in class. I know that you can do better than that…
You are a bright guy. Tell me what is going on
with you in that class.”
• “I understand that you want to go to
___University. That’s a great institution. The
admission requirements for that school are really
rigorous. Let’s sit down and talk about the
requirements.”
• “Karen is ambitious and has great leadership
skills. I think she would be a wonderful class
president.”
Language and Questioning Strategies--
Strengths-Based Counseling
• Language is possibility focused, hopeful,
appreciative, and positive
• Identify what works (“When things were going
well in class, what was different?)
• Ask survival questions (“How have you managed
to get to school?”)
Language and Questioning Strategies-Strengths-Based Counseling
• Ask support questions (“What people have
given you special understanding, support?”)
• Ask esteem questions (“What
accomplishments in your life have given
you pride?”)
Using Students’ Strengths to
Solve Problems
Steve, a sixth grader is never absent or tardy to his
physical education class. However, he is
consistently late to his other classes. Steve reports
to the counselor that the best part of going to
school is playing basketball during PE. He has
received rave reviews in physical education
throughout his schooling. Steve is unmotivated in
all of his classes except PE. How would you use
Steve’s strength (athletics) to engage him in
school?
Empowerment-Focused
Interventions
• Empowerment: can be defined as an
increase in power, i.e., personal,
interpersonal, or political power.
• It is multidimensional, social, and a process.
• Can occur at different levels.
• Similar to a path or journey.
Empowerment-Focused
Counseling
• Developing critical consciousness is key to
strengths-based counseling
1. Acknowledge group identification (common
experiences and concern with a particular group)
2. Group consciousness-- understanding the differential
status of power of groups in society
3. Self and collective efficacy: perceiving one’s self as
a subject of social processes and as capable of working
to change the social order
Empowerment-Focused
Interventions (cont.)
• Professional school counselors can facilitate discussions about
one’s group identification and help students understand how
their group membership has affected their life circumstances.
• Provide students with knowledge and skills to think critically
about their problems and develop strategies to act on and
change problems (Lee, 2001).
• Help build on student strengths.
Erford, Transforming the School Counseling Profession 2/e
Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Counseling Practice
• Edward, an African American 9th grader in a high poverty school, is
told to see the school counselor because of recent confrontations with
his English teacher. Edward tells the counselor that he is tired of being
told what to do by these “f---g teachers.” “They want to tell us what to
do…I don’t need anyone telling me what to do. I look after myself.
These teachers come in here and then go back to their nice families and
nice houses, and leave us here…with nothing. I hate y’all!” The
counselor recognizes Edward’s anger and frustration. The counselor
validates Edward’s anger, “I hear your anger and frustration with
teachers.” Let’s talk.
• What could the counselor say next in order for Edward to explore his
group’s (or groups’) history of oppression? (Developing critical
consciousness--group identification)
• How might you link his group’s history to future empowerment? What
types of activities could you try with Edward? Describe.
• Practice what you would say.
Sample Counselor Responses
• Edward, I believe we have a pretty good relationship…do
you think so? I’m glad to hear that. I want to talk to you
about a subject that I think we should talk about and it’s
relationship to your problems with teachers and school. I
want to talk to you about being an African American male.
What does being African American and male mean to you?
What do other people think of African American males?
How does that meaning relate to your interactions with
teachers? How do you feel about others’ perceptions of
you (of African American males)?
• Edward, let’s talk about fairness and equity. You talk a lot
about fairness when you discuss your teachers. How
would you define equity and equality? Do you see
inequities in other places in this city? Tell me.
Counseling Practice
Ann, a White fourth grader in a mixed SES school,
is picked on/teased by the girls in her class. Ann
is often disheveled and dressed in old clothes.
Ann’s family has been homeless and now she
lives with her alcoholic grandmother. She has had
very little contact with her parents since they left
her with her grandmother. Ann comes to you, the
school counselor, because she says she has no
friends and feels left out. Her teacher reports that
Ann’s grades are in the C-D range. Use an
empowerment and strengths based framework to
work with Ann. Describe what you would do?
Challenge Bias
• Be aware of your own
attitudes, stereotypes and
expectations
• Actively listen to and
learn from others’
experiences
• Acknowledge and
appreciate diversity,
don’t just tolerate it!
• Be aware of your own
hesitancies to intervene
• Expect tension and
conflict
• Work collectively with
others
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Respond to the
following…
Alice and Judy are counselors at a high school with a
science and math magnet program. The magnet program
consists of primarily White and Asian students (96%),
whereas the remainder of the student body is primarily
African American and Latino (95%). Each spring, Alice
and Judy make trips to promote the magnet program at
middle schools. When you ask them why they do not visit
some of the other middle schools in the district, they
comment that “students at the other middle schools would
never be successful in our magnet program.” How would
you challenge them?
Important!
• Don’t be afraid to talk about race, gender,
class (SES), sexual orientation, etc.
Students will appreciate your willingness to
dialogue about these “silenced” topics!!!
• Remember, students need role models of
responsible “talk!”