Assessing the multicultural competence of school counselors: a checklist.

With the increasing number of children from diverse backgrounds entering the U. S. school systems, it is imperative that school counselors gain a working knowledge of how to best serve these children. This article provides a checklist of 51 competencies that the author believes are necessary for working with culturally diverse students. The competencies offered were gathered through a theme analysis of the literature pertaining to multicultural school counseling. Nine areas of competence are suggested: 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. Implications for school counselors and school counselor educators are provided.

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One of the major challenges facing the field of school counseling today is the preparation of school counselors who are able to address the needs of an increasingly diverse student population (Coleman, 1995; Hobson & Kanitz, 1996; House & Martin, 1998; Lee, 1995; Lewis & Hayes, 1991). Future projections indicate that by 2020 a majority of school-age children attending public schools will be children-of-color or children from diverse cultural, ethnic, and/or linguistic backgrounds (Hodjkinson, 1985; Sue, 1992). In fact, the current racial/ethnic distribution among students in public schools in the United States is about 1.2% Native American, 4% Asian Pacific American, 15.6% Hispanic/Latino, 17.2% African American, and 62.1% European/White American (National Center for Education Statistics, 2001). These figures, however, are expected to change in the next decade due to the increased numbers of students-of-color entering public schools.

In response to an urgent need to address the cultural diversity of students, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) adopted a position statement encouraging school counselors to take action to ensure that students of culturally diverse backgrounds have access to appropriate services and opportunities which promote the maximum development of the individual (ASCA, 1999). Furthermore, school counseling professionals (e.g., Lewis & Hayes, 1991) have suggested that cultural knowledge, sensitivity, and awareness be integrated into existing school counseling training programs. For instance, the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) specifies that school counseling students have curricular experiences which explore the implications of sociocultural, demographic, and lifestyle diversity relevant to school counseling (CACREP, 1994). However, despite ASCA's position statement on multiculturalism and the inclusion of multicultural content in the CACREP standards, the emphasis in the literature placed on the competencies necessary for school counselors to effectively serve diverse populations has been limited.

Hence, the primary purpose of this article is to recommend areas of multicultural competence that the author believes are essential for the practice of school counseling. Here, a Multicultural Competence Checklist is provided to guide professional school counselors' multicultural development and training. The Checklist includes 51 items organized along nine categories: 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. The categories and items were extracted through a theme analysis of the literature pertaining to multicultural issues and school counseling (e.g., Herring, 1997; Kiselica, Changizi, Cureton, & Gridley, 1995; Lee, 2001). See appendix for the items on the Checklist.

AREAS OF MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS

Each of the nine competency categories is presented below along with a rationale for item inclusion. The reader is advised to read the description of the competency area and then review or respond to the items on the checklist.

Competence in Multicultural Counseling

Checklist items one through eight address competence in multicultural counseling. The literature documents that ethnic minorities underutilize counseling services in part because their help-seeking behaviors and treatment expectations differ from those of the dominant culture (Giordano & Giordano, 1977; Tseng & McDermott, 1981). Although the help-seeking behaviors of ethnic minorities differ from the majority population, the majority of ethnic minority students still receive mental health services from school counselors who have been trained to expect traditional help-seeking behaviors (Canino & Spurlock, 2000). According to D'Andrea and Daniels (1995) one of the most serious problems in school counseling rests in the fact that "most counseling theories and interventions, which are commonly used in school settings, have not been tested among students from diverse student populations" (p.143). For this reason, it is imperative that school counselors become familiar with counseling interventions and approaches that are appropriate for culturally diverse youngsters (e.g., Franklin, 1982).

Competence in Multicultural Consultation

Checklist items 9 through 13 address multicultural consultation. Despite the attention focused on multicultural counseling, less emphasis has been placed on the significance of culture and ethnicity in the consultation process. Consulting is a significant responsibility for school counselors (Gerler, 1992; Kurpius & Fuqua, 1993; Strein & French, 1984) and some literature (e.g., Brown, 1983) has suggested that school counselors should act in the consultant role more often than the counselor-role.

Given the amount of time school counselors spend consulting with parents, teachers, students, and administrators of diverse backgrounds, school counselors should understand the impact of culture on the consultation process. Many of the traditional models of consultation (e.g., organizational, behavioral, mental health) fail to address how cultural factors impact the consultation process. Studying and applying multicultural strategies to consultation (e.g., Gibbs, 1980) should be a requirement of school counselor training.

It should be noted that language, value differences, and prejudice may all lead to less than accurate information being obtained during the consultation process (Ramirez, Lepage, Kratochwill, & Duffy, 1998). Even more problematic is when consultees hold stereotypical beliefs and biases that affect the consultation process and outcomes. Prejudicial attitudes that affect the consultation process may rise from differences in cultural background and may be manifested in outright rejection and/or the provision of inadequate interventions (Holcomb-McCoy, 2001). School consultants should be able to detect a consultees' negative facial and/or cultural attitudes and then act to modify these inhibiting attitudes.

Competence in Understanding Racism and Student Resistance

Checklist items 14-22 are concerned with school counselors' ability to recognize and address racism in schools. In addition, these items address a school counselor's ability to handle student resistance. According to Thompson and Carter (1997), race is an elusive, perplexing, and enduring aspect of life in the United States. Herr (1999), more specifically, argues that unresolved race issues are not only prevalent in society but also in school systems. Although racism can manifest in various forms ranging from stereotyping to committing acts of violence against persons of color, school counselors must address the range of racist attitudes held by colleagues, parents, students, and themselves. According to Gay (1999), issues related to race and racism are the causes of discrepancies in student achievement among students of color and their white peers.

Regardless of the age or backgrounds of students, it is likely that school counselors will encounter some students who offer resistance to cross-cultural interactions. An even harsher reality is that some students will exhibit racist behaviors toward their peers. The manifestation of student resistance and racism can span from mild discomfort to irrational aversion toward interactions with those who differ racially or ethnically from self (Marshall, 2002). Moreover, resistance and racism have been attributed to factors ranging from negative experiences with diverse peers to uncritical allegiance to extremist ideologies. Unbeknownst to many school personnel, however, resistance and racism are also nurtured by institutional norms and tacit cultural messages students receive from schools, families, places of worship, and the larger society. By understanding the complex nature of resistance-oriented interpersonal interactions among students from different racial/ethnic backgrounds, school counselors should be able to dispel some prominent misconceptions about racism.

Competence in Understanding Racial Identity Development

Checklist items 23-25 address the school counselor's knowledge and use of racial identity development theories. The study of racial identity development has tremendous significance for school counselors who seek to comprehend some of the more prominent complexities related to counseling in culturally diverse school settings (Gay, 1999). According to Phinney (1993), a "healthy" racial identity is reflected in an adolescent's positive self-concept, self-accepting behaviors, low susceptibility to peer pressure, and resistance to delinquent behaviors. Phinney, Lochner, & Murphy (1990) also purport that adolescents-of-color must explore their ethnic minority status in the United States in order to develop a positive personal identity or sense of self. Therefore, a significant challenge is for school counselors to acquire an understanding of racial/ethnic identity development and then apply that knowledge to students' issues and concerns.

Competence in Multicultural Assessment

Items 26-31 address school counselors' knowledge and skills regarding multicultural assessment and the assessment process. Given the prevalence of standardized achievement and aptitude tests in schools, it is imperative that school counselors are aware of appropriate and fair testing practices as well as be able to identify appropriate assessment instruments for culturally different students (Amour-Thomas, 1992; Howell & Rueda, 1996). Examples of instruments that have been revised to minimize bias include: The Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition, Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised (has Spanish version), the Standard Progressive Matrices, the Coloured Progressive Matrices, and the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence Third Edition (TONI-3; Paniagua, 1994).

Competence in Multicultural Family Counseling

Checklist items 32-35 assess whether school counselors are knowledgeable of the impact of culture/ethnicity on the family counseling process and family rituals. In addition, item 35 specifically addresses school counselors' knowledge of diverse parenting and discipline methods. Clearly with such an increasingly diverse student population, family behavior and development is also varied. Therefore, it is imperative that school counselors have a comprehensive understanding of a family's development, and counseling interventions with families must take into account its cultural kinship networks, socialization experiences, typical interactive patterns, and culturally linked attitudinal and behavioral arrangements (Giordano & Carini-Giordano, 1995; Sue, 1994). School counselors must be aware of norms that stem from the majority culture in assessing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of students' parents and families.

Competence in Social Advocacy

Items 36-43 on the checklist are concerned with whether or not school counselors are advocates for social change. A relatively new theme in multicultural literature is social action or social advocacy (Kiselica, & Robinson, 2001). Because schools have become a place where social problems can be addressed and challenged, school counselors are in a pivotal position to assist those who are victims of societal ills and those who are potential victims. Lee (1998) states that a counselor who is an agent of change "possesses the awareness, knowledge, and skill to intervene not only at an individual level but also at a system-wide level ... a social change agent challenges cultural, social, historical, or economic barriers that stifle optimal mental health and human development" (p. 9). By assuming this recommended "activist" stance, school counselors adopt a sense of social responsibility. Menacker (1974) pointed out that a nontraditional, more activist role for school counselors prevents counselors from becoming a part of stifling school bureaucracies, which prevent poor and disadvantaged students from achieving academic success.

Competence in Developing School-Family-Community Partnerships

Checklist items 4446 assess whether or not school counselors are involved in developing school-family-community partnerships. School counselors can play a major role in the empowerment of ethnic minority families and communities by taking a leadership role in developing school-family-community partnerships (Keys & Bemak, 1997). With the critical problems that many families face, particularly those from oppressed backgrounds, it is imperative that school counselors are skilled in developing school-Family-community mental health teams and case management teams (Keys & Bemak, 1998). These teams, which involve the active participation of school personnel and community members, promote collaboration between communities and schools.

In addition, school counselors should be able to direct their students' families to community resources that will assist not only their children but also their families. After-school tutorial programs, day care centers, free medical assistance centers, churches, and social service agencies are examples of the types of community supports that can be used to supplement the needed services that schools are unable to provide. Community services or supports can also become extended family support networks for families that often feel isolated and alienated from the total community.

Competence in Understanding Interpersonal Interactions

Items 47-51 on the Checklist address school counselors' ability to interact and communicate with culturally diverse students. Interaction patterns that influence students' perceptions of inclusion, affirmation, and respect in the school environment are often initiated by adults in the school and directed toward individual students. These interactions can include verbalizations such as posing questions, giving directives, and commenting on behavior or appearance. For counselors and teachers, the actual words used to communicate to individual students as well as the voice tone and volume are indicators to students about the overall atmosphere of the school environment. In addition to verbal communication, nonverbal communication including facial expressions, hand signals, gestures, body movements, paraverbal vocalizations, proxemics, and even physical appearance play a part in counselor-to-student interpersonal interaction.

The nature of counselor-to-student interaction can promote a positive climate for counseling wherein students feel affirmed and respected. But it can also create a climate in which students feel alienated, disaffirmed, and devalued. Irvine (1990) found that teacher interactions with White students tended to be both task- and person-oriented, whereas those with African American students were more often restricted to task issues. Other studies (Anyon, 1981; Weis, 1990) have found that teachers initiate more frequent and more varied interactions with students from middle and upper class backgrounds than they do with those from the poor and working classes. Research (e.g., Brantlinger, 1994) also indicates that middle and upper class students typically are received positively in schools and expect to be liked by their teachers. Although there has been no research indicating the interactions between school counselors and students, much can be applied from the research on teachers to counselors. First, school counselors should be conscious of their interactions with students based on race, gender, or parental economic status. Secondly, school counselors should monitor their interaction patterns in order to foster more inclusive and affirming counselor-to-student interpersonal interactions. This can be accomplished through anonymous feedback from students and through intermittent videotape or audiotape recordings of counseling sessions and classroom guidance lessons. In analyzing recordings, school counselors should be mindful of the manner in which they speak, the nature and consistency of their counseling strategies, and the emotional tone of their interactions. Feedback on such recordings from colleagues from different ethnic/racial backgrounds can be extremely helpful.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND SCHOOL COUNSELOR EDUCATION

The key to becoming more effective when counseling with culturally and ethnically diverse students is to continuously assess one's multicultural competence. This process can become a reality with the use of the checklist offered in this article. School counselors are encouraged to use the checklist as a guide for professional development activities. Also, school counselors can enhance their multicultural counseling competence by soliciting feedback on their practice and understanding of multicultural issues from others who are culturally different.

>From a pre-service training perspective, it is imperative that school counselor educators take some necessary steps. First, it is important for school counseling faculty to infuse the competencies described above into their existing school counselor education curricula. The checklist can be used as a vehicle for trainees to continuously assess their strengths and needs during their pre-service training. Secondly, it is imperative that school counselor trainees be required to complete their practica and internship experiences in schools that are multiethnic, multicultural, and/or multilinguistic so that they can acquire multicultural counseling competence through exposure and experience. And thirdly, the curriculum of school counselor education should take on a more interdisciplinary approach, utilizing the contributions from related fields such as social work, anthropology, and cultural studios (e.g., Native American studies, African American studies, women's studies). Focusing on areas such as bilingual, urban, and multicultural education are possible requisites in developing multicultural counseling competence.

To accomplish an innovative multicultural school counselor education program, there should also be an adequate representation of ethnically diverse faculty and students (Atkinson, Morten, & Sue, 1993). Working with an ethnically diverse student and faculty body adds enrichment to the program since one can then be exposed to various perspectives. In addition, a consultant or full-time faculty member with multicultural school counseling expertise should be available to consult with faculty members in redesigning their courses to reflect a diverse cultural content. Faculty should also build relationships with other departments within the university to identify existing multicultural courses and experts in cultural studies.

CONCLUSION

With the increasingly diverse student population of today's schools, there is a critical need for school counselors who are able to effectively guide and counsel students of ethnically diverse backgrounds. As school counselors work with larger numbers of ethnic minority students, they may need to alter their perceptions, learn to effectively counsel and consult with diverse populations, become knowledgeable of other cultures and the manifestations of racism, and assume the role of social change agent. School counselor educators must also show a high level of commitment to produce competent school counselors capable of working with students from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Engagement in this process of assessing multicultural competence provides school counselors and school counselor educators with an unparalleled opportunity for personal as well as professional growth.

APPENDIX

School Counselor Multicultural Competence Checklist

                                                            COMPETENCE

                                                            Met  Unmet

I. Multicultural Counseling

 1. I can recognize when my attitudes, beliefs, and values are
interfering with providing the best services to my students.
 2. I can identify the cultural bases of my communication style.
 3. I can discuss how culture affects the help-seeking behaviorsof
students.
 4. I can describe the degree to which a counseling approach is
culturally inappropriate for a specific student.
 5. I use culturally appropriate interventions and counseling
approaches (e.g., indigenous practices) with students.
 6. I can list at least three barriers that prevent ethnic minority
students from using counseling services.
 7. I can anticipate when my helping style is inappropriate for a
culturally different student.
 8. I can give examples of how sterotypical beliefs about culturally
different persons impact the counseling relationship.

II. Multicultural Consultation

 9. I am aware of how culture affects traditional models of
consultation.
10. I can discuss at least one model of multicultural consultation.
11. I recognize when racial and cultural issues are impacting the
consultation process.
12. I can identify when the race and/or culture of the client is a
problem for the consultee.
13. I discuss issues related to race/ethnicity/culture during the
consultation process, when applicable.

III. Understanding Racism and Student Resistance

14. I can define and discuss White privilege.
15. I can discuss how I (if European American/White) am privileged
based on my race.
16. I can identify racist aspects of educational institutions.
17. I can define and discuss prejudice.
18. I recognize and challenge colleagues about discrimination and
discriminatory practices in schools.
19. I can define and discuss racism and its impact on the counseling
process.
20. I can help students determine whether a problem stems from racism
or biases in others.
21 I understand the relationship between student resistance and
racism.
22. I include topics related to race and racism in my classroom
guidance units.

IV. Understanding Racial and/or Ethnic Identity Development

23. I am able to discuss at least two theories of racial and/or ethnic
identity development.
24. I use racial/ethnic identity development theories to understand my
students' problems and concerns.
25. I have assessed my own racial/ethnic development in order to
enhance my counseling.

V. Multicultural Assessment

26. I tan discuss the potential bias of two assessment instruments
frequently used in the schools.
27. I can evaluate instruments that may be biased against certain
groups of students.
28. I am able to use test information appropriately with culturally
diverse parents.
29. I view myself as an advocate for fair testing and the appropriate
use of testing of children from diverse backgrounds.
30. I can identify whether or not the assessment process is culturally
sensitive.
31. I can discuss how the identification of the assessment process
might be biased against minority populations.

VI. Multicultural Family Counseling

32. I can discuss family counseling from a cultural/ethnic
perspective.
33. I can discuss at least two ethnic group's traditional gender role
expectations and rituals.
34. I anticipate when my helping style is inappropriate for an
ethnically different parent or guardian.
35. I can discuss culturally diverse methods of parenting and
discipline.

VII. Social Advocacy

36. I am knowledgeable of the psychological and societal issues that
affect the development of ethnic minority students.
37. When counseling, I consider the psychological and societal issues
that affect the development of ethnic minority students.
38. I work with families and community members in order to reintegrate
them with the school.
39. I can define "social change agent."
40. I perceive myself as being a "social change agent."
41. I can discuss what it means to take an "activist counseling"
approach.
42. I intervene with students at the individual and systemic levels.
43. I can discuss how factors such as poverty and powerlessness have
influenced the current conditions of at least two ethnic groups.

VIII. Developing School-Family-Community Partnerships

44. I bave developed a school-family-community partnership team or
some similar type of group that consists of community members,
parents, and school personnel.
45. I am aware of community resources that are available for students
and their families.
46. I work with community leaders and other resources in the
community to assist with student (and family) concerns.

IX. Understanding Cross-Cultural Interpersonal Interactions

47. I am able to discuss interaction patterns that might influence
ethnic minority students' perceptions of inclusion in the school
community.
48. I solicit feedback from students regarding my interactions with
them.
49. I verbally communicate my acceptance of culturally different
students.
50. I nonverbally communicate my acceptance of culturally different
students.
51. I am mindful of the manner in which I speak and the emotional tone
of my interactions with culturally diverse students.

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Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, Ph.D., is an assistant professor, Department of Counseling and Personnel Services, College of Education, University of Maryland, College Park. E-mail: [e-mail]