Linking spirituality and violence prevention in school counseling.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of spirituality in school counseling and to link spirituality in counseling practice and programs with violence prevention. ACA/ASERVIC Spirituality Competencies are translated into school counselor competencies with suggested implementations for school counseling programs.

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An awareness of the important role of spirituality is growing within the education system. Meditation on and the inclusion of religious works as literature in some public school curricula are occurring. Students are seeking for personal identity to give meaning to their lives in the fast-paced world of the 21st century. School counselors have often been reticent to discuss religious or spiritual issues with their students in keeping with the constitutional principles of the separation of church and state. With the advent of character education, a renewal of the importance of values has been reintroduced into public schools and integrating spirituality into counseling practice and programs may provide troubled youth with renewed respect for themselves and others.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of spirituality in school counseling and to link student spirituality to the reduction of school violence and facilitation of a culture of respect. The principal faith traditions in the United States contribute to the issues involved in promoting conflict resolution and violence prevention in schools. Spiritual development in children and youth set the tone for student tolerance and respect of others. School counselor program and training standards are surveyed to determine if spirituality is included. A review of the research on violence and prevention techniques and programs provides the background for school counselor intervention. Finally, suggestions for integrating spirituality into counseling practice and programs to enhance violence prevention are examined.

DEFINITION OF SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality is a multidimensional construct of cognitive, metaphysical, and relational dimensions (Jankowski, 2002) and often associated with resilience or ability to overcome and succeed during times of distress and challenge (Walsh, 1998). Legere (1984) viewed spirituality as experiential. Subsequently, Myers (1990) defined spirituality as "a continuing search for meaning and purpose in life; an appreciation for the depth of life, the expanse of the universe, and natural forces which operate; a personal belief system" (p. 11). In traditional literature, spirituality is defined as: (a) values and beliefs often connected to a formalized religious set of doctrines; (b) a metaphysical, mystical, or transcendent element; or (c) a sense of connectedness with another person or persons, nature, and/or God (Jankowski). For the purpose of this article, spirituality is defined as giving personal and cultural meaning to life, part of a belief or value system providing personal identity and capable of reducing conflict and encouraging harmony. Spirituality is a part of the predominant faith traditions in America and encompasses the values that are desirable for young people to acquire during their early developmental years.

FAITH TRADITION

Spirituality, giving meaning to life, cannot totally be separated from religious traditions. Tatum (1997) stated that religion is a formative part of our identity. If religion is part of personal identity, then a few statements must be made about the major religious traditions that influence the development of both our personal and collective identities, the essence of spirituality. The major religious traditions in the United States (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) provide believers with a set of values and beliefs, an explanation of the mystical or transcendent elements in the world, and a connection with other persons or a divine entity. An examination of the predominant faith traditions in America shows that belief systems include both teachings for peace and harmony and a defense of one's beliefs and traditions against nonbelievers, at times with violent ramifications.

If religion is a formative part of our identity, as Tatum (1997) proposed, then spirituality may not be less but more than religion. It may be a characteristic that does not inhibit identity, but transcends it. Common spiritual values of respect, tolerance, and harmony may possibly be a solution to reducing violence. How these values develop in children and youth needs to be explored.

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

Spiritual development usually takes place within one's family, culture, and religious affiliation. Younger students are influenced by the religion of their parents, grandparents, and other relatives--a child's intellectual and spiritual inheritance. "Children are first trained to follow a religious practice rather than to choose and internalize a belief" (Paloutzian, 1996, p. 83). As students grow older and develop cognitively, in terms of Jean Piaget's (1972) model of general human development, the larger community including the school plays a role in the development of religious beliefs and spirituality. Schools in their role of educating students for responsible citizenship emphasize values of respect for others, cooperation, and learning to live in a diverse society. Adolescence is a crucial period in student development in which not only parental values and rules are questioned and rebelled against but also the religious values and spirituality of parental figures may also be questioned. Paloutzian pointed out the paradoxical approach of adolescents to religion; adolescents are at the same time more religiously involved but also more skeptical about traditional or literal religious teachings.

Elkind (1970), in his cognitive developmental model, proposed that intellectual needs that are satisfied by religion change with age and are explained through a series of increasingly complex stages. His first stage--search for conservation--begins in infancy as the young child searches for permanence of objects and the conservation of life. In the second stage--search for representation--Elkind described the child as needing a representation in language for the world, for the supreme deity, in religious writings. During middle childhood the third stage--search for relations--occurs, and the child begins to use rational thinking to make the connections or relationships between things and events in environment. Search for comprehension is the final stage that takes place during adolescence. Religion--through traditions, dogmas, doctrines, and a theological perspective--explains aspects of life and the world that are not readily understood, and spirituality develops.

Children imitate and accept beliefs that are part of the religious practice of their culture (Paloutzian, 1996). As the child grows older, the child seeks to connect the self with others and objects in the environment. Spirituality unites the adolescent's inner meaning and beliefs with outside relationships such as a specific set of religious doctrines, group membership, a special mentor, nature, or a supreme entity. Adolescence also is a period of time in which young people, at times, not finding the emotional and spiritual support from home or institutionalized religion, seek new avenues to serve as foundations for their belief systems. Two social factors greatly influence the religious and spiritual development of adolescents (Paloutzian). The peer environment, sometimes including cults and gangs, may be very influential. A second critical social influence is school. The role of the school counselor, as part of the educational system, may be very influential in promoting nonviolent values and a culture of respect.

SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAM AND TRAINING STANDARDS

The American School Counselor Association's (ASCA) National Standards (Dahir & Campbell, 1997), which serve as the foundation for the ASCA National Model (ASCA, 2003) for school counseling programs, address three major student developmental domains: academic, personal/social, and career development. There is no specific mention of the importance of the spiritual aspect of student development in any of the three domains. In both Piaget's (1972) and Elkind's (1970) developmental theories, spiritual growth is related to cognitive development, and as a student matures spirituality, becomes a part of social/personal development, and is ultimately influential in career development and vocational choice. It would seem important that spirituality be included in school counselor training and ultimately in counseling programs.

The 2001 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs Standards (CACREP) included "religious and spiritual values" in section two in the common core area of Social and Cultural Foundations. It is not coincidental that the mention of "religious and spiritual values" appears in this section, as it is very difficult, if not impossible, to separate religious and spiritual values from the culture from which they emerge. According to the standards, social and cultural diversity studies are also to include: (a) multicultural and pluralistic trends; (b) attitudes, beliefs, understandings and acculturative experiences; (c) strategies for working with diverse populations and ethnic groups; (d) counselor roles in social justice, advocacy and conflict resolution, self-awareness, and (e) the nature of bias and prejudice; theories of multicultural counseling and identity, development and multicultural competencies; and ethical and legal considerations.

The 1995 Summit on Spirituality (Miller, 1999)--that brought together leaders of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) in Belmont, North Carolina, followed by four additional sessions at American Counseling Association national conferences and Association for Counselor Education and Supervision conferences--actualized the CACREP standards by developing a series of counselor competencies for spirituality in counseling. These competencies address four major areas in which spirituality relates to the counseling process: (a) the general understanding of spirituality, as important in the counseling process; (b) self-awareness of personal counselor spirituality; (c) understanding the importance of the client's spiritual perspective; and (d) giving credibility to spiritually related intervention strategies and techniques (Young, Cashwell, Wiggins-Frame, & Belaire, 2002). School counselors who are trained in the four competencies for spirituality in counseling (a) recognize the importance of spirituality in the counseling process, (b) become more aware of their own personal spirituality, (c) are more open to the understanding of students' values and beliefs, and (d) are more able to infuse spirituality into intervention strategies and techniques, including those used in violence prevention.

VIOLENCE PREVENTION

One of today's most serious problems in schools and in society is the growing culture of violence. In order to link the development of spirituality in school counseling to the facilitation of conflict resolution and the reduction of violence, it is first necessary to examine the roots and epidemic of violence as well as the knowledge gained from numerous studies about violence prevention.

The etiology of violence is violence. Columbine became a wake-up call for all parents, teenagers, and school personnel to the terrible consequences of youth violence. Some facts collected by the Commission for the Prevention of Youth Violence (2000) illustrated the growing epidemic of violence in American culture and America's schools:

* In 1933, 75% of deaths among youth aged 15-19 years were from natural causes; in 1993, 80% were the result of homicide and unintentional injury.

* Among youth aged 10-14 years, homicide and suicide are the third and fourth leading causes of death, respectively; among 15- to 19-year-olds, they are second and third.

* For the school year 1996-1997, the U.S. Department of Education reported 188,000 fights or physical attacks not involving weapons in schools, 11,000 fights involving weapons, and 4,000 incidents of sexual assault.

* In an average month, public secondary schools nationwide experience 525,000 attacks, shakedowns, and robberies and 125,000 threats against teachers--more than 5,000 of whom are actually harmed.

* In the United States, almost 16 million adolescents--including 70% to 95% of children in our inner cities--have witnessed some form of violent assault, including robbery, stabbing, shooting, murder, or domestic abuse.

A composite of interdependent factors are often instrumental in encouraging youth violence. Behavioral, biological, economic, societal, familial, and environment influences are primary catalysts for the development of violent behaviors. Key risk factors for youth violence include alcohol and other drug use, child maltreatment, gangs, guns, and media violence. Many children and youth have a long history of emotional and behavioral problems before their behavior erupts in violence. Mental health professionals, including school counselors, look for warning signs in youth to prevent violent behaviors. Some of the more obvious student behavior used by mental health professionals as potential warning signs of youth violence are: (a) aggressive behavior; (b) carrying a weapon; (c) social withdrawal; (d) damaging property; (e) low self-esteem; (f) psychological problems; (g) preoccupation with violence, death, or weapons.

Developmental assets have been studied and a link between protective factors and helping children and youth overcome adversity and reduce violence has been established. The Search Institute identified 40 developmental assets, which promote resiliency in children and communities. In the 1996-1997 school year, the Search Institute (1997) surveyed almost 100,000 sixth- through twelfth-graders; only 6% of students with 31-40 assets had engaged in violence in comparison to 33% of students with 0 to 10 assets. These protective factors are categorized into three primary domains: (a) individual characteristics including temperament; (b) environmental interactions, including strong familial attachments and positive relationships with adults; (c) societal rules and regulations; and (d) quality community experiences including schools. To promote the assets children and youth need to reduce violence, school counselors, as caring adults, can provide leadership based on spiritual competencies.

Violence is not inherent; it is a learned behavior. "The values, attitudes, and interpersonal skills acquired early in life play a key role in the development of violent behavior" (Thornton, Craft, Dahlberg, Lynch, & Baer, 2002, p. 10). Thus learning plays an important role in both the promotion and prevention of violence in youth. A comprehensive coordinated approach is recommended to prevent violence. A three-pronged methodology is the best approach for children and youth who have already demonstrated problem behaviors, involving primary prevention such as legislation and education; secondary prevention for identified populations at risk for or implicated in violence; and tertiary prevention (e.g., counseling). School counselors linking spirituality with counseling methodologies and techniques may enhance violence prevention at all three levels.

Commonalities of successful violence prevention programs have been identified and include participation of survivors of youth violence; committed, impassioned staff, staff and volunteer training; positive climate; high standards of behavior for youth; integration of a continuum of services; opportunities to use cognitive and social skills; and consistently adequate and available resources for implementation. A primary characteristic of successful programs is the close, respectful, long-term relationship between concerned adults and youth with emphasis on the intensity and duration of the adult attention. The role of the school counselor, as that concerned adult, becomes an important function for the counselor in linking spirituality with violence prevention. Therefore, school counselor training programs need to include competencies for spirituality in counseling to prepare school counselors to provide successful violence prevention programs.

CACREP STANDARDS, SCHOOL COUNSELING, AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION

School counselor preparation, whether it is in the certification or credential process or through additional professional development, needs to include competencies for spirituality in counseling. The first CACREP competency addresses the importance of the general understanding of spiritual phenomena in the counseling process. School counselors would benefit from the study of the predominant religions in the United States (e.g., Christianity, Judaism, and Islam), indigenous spiritual beliefs, agnosticism, and atheism in order to gain an understanding of various spiritual systems. In addition, study of the theories of religious and spiritual development of children and youth such as Elkind's (1970) stage theory provide knowledge of normal spiritual developmental milestones. School counselors can investigate the connections between spirituality and mental health and explore the potential power of infusing spirituality into counseling methods (e.g., spirituality as partner in the healing process of grief, loss, trauma, tragedy, and self-esteem building). With more awareness of religions and spirituality, school counselors will be better prepared to introduce ethically common spiritual values into counseling programs and practices.

The second CACREP competency emphasizes the awareness of one's personal spiritual perspective as important to the counseling process. School counselors, with personal introspection, can examine their personal spiritual development, chart the important milestones in their lives, get in touch with personal spirituality, and be able to communicate a personal spiritual perspective. Self-examination may challenge personal beliefs and values, enhancing respect for other's beliefs and values. Many professional development opportunities are available for educators to expand their personal beliefs and values, such as Tools for Tolerance for Educators workshop offered by the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, California. Tools for Tolerance is an interactive, experiential program designed to help educators actualize personal and professional potential based on the premise that school and college professionals are the front line in efforts to shape safe learning communities in America. The program, based on a holistic approach, teaches tolerance through self-reflection, critical thinking, and social action. Self-awareness is the first step in beginning to understand another's point of view, which enhances a counselor's ability to work in a more meaningful way with a diverse student population.

The third CACREP competency values the understanding of the student's spiritual perspective. In this competency the focus shifts to the student's beliefs and values. School counselors can learn to view spirituality as part of each student's wholeness in the counseling session and accept the student's spiritual perspective. The counselor needs to be cognizant of one's personal and professional capacity to understand and/or accept diverse spiritual perspectives. Some additional study of the student's religious traditions and/or spiritual system may be needed to assist the counselor in understanding the student's religion or spirituality. Now the counselor is prepared to infuse training into practice.

The fourth CACREP competency is the belief in the importance of relating spirituality to intervention strategies and techniques for the counseling process. School counselors can learn to assess the relevance of spirituality in counseling sessions and use meaningful terminology with students, to facilitate use of the student's spiritual perspective to achieve the counseling goals. School counselors assist students to find their purpose and meaning in life through career development, problem-solving models, and career counseling. When counseling issues are not within the expertise of the school counselor, the counselor makes referrals to other mental health professionals and religious leaders when appropriate.

With expertise in the four CACREP competencies for spirituality in counseling, school counselors are prepared to approach primary violence prevention with education and legislation, secondary violence prevention working with identified at-risk populations, and tertiary violence prevention providing individual and group counseling to youth who have already demonstrated problem behaviors. School counselors can provide school-wide interventions of an educational nature through leadership in the development of mentor programs, social justice projects, celebration of human rights, labyrinths, and cultural diversity days. Counselors, as leaders through professional development, can work with teachers and other school staff to understand and accept the development and expression of student identity that includes spirituality. Religious figures could be invited to participate in career days and included as part of community support groups for reducing conflict and violence. The use of inspirational sayings, stories, and quotations from a diverse group of secular and spiritual leaders will model values of respect, tolerance, peace, and harmony.

Creating an open, positive campus environment, where all students and their beliefs are valued and win-win problem-solving methods are taught, will reduce conflict and potential violence. Secondary violence prevention might include anti-bullying curriculum, developing student codes of respect, conducting character education lessons in classrooms to develop common values, working with teachers to develop student expression of values and beliefs through journaling, and initiating specific conflict resolution and violence prevention programs. Conflict resolution programs would emphasize tolerance and encourage diversity and acceptance of cultural as well as religious differences.

Leaders of the primary faith traditions in the community can be involved in tertiary violence prevention efforts as mediators and coworkers with school counselors to provide individual and group counseling for youth with problem behaviors. Religion and spirituality should be topics that students can discuss, with pride in their personal faith and spiritual systems. The positive spiritual values of respect, love, and peace inherent in all faith traditions may serve as the foundation for counseling sessions with troubled youth.

CONCLUSION

More and more educators are coming to realize that although the separation of church and state in America is part of our political heritage, our students must be educated to have common values of honesty, love, respect, and responsibility in their lives. Character development must not exclude spirituality that gives meaning, identity, value, and purpose to student's lives. With increasing diversity in America, spirituality may be more important than religious beliefs in reducing conflict among children of diverse racial and religious backgrounds. Children and adolescents that value a spiritual tradition of cooperation, collaboration, and nonviolent problem solving will lay a foundation for respect, harmony, and nonviolence on school campuses. School counselors can play a significant role in reducing conflict and violence in America's schools by implementing the spiritual competencies discussed in this article and by taking a school-wide leadership role in facilitating mutual respect for personal values and beliefs.

References

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Thornton, T. N., Craft, C. A., Dahlberg, L. L., Lynch, B. S., & Baer, K. (Eds.). (2002). Best practices of youth violence prevention: A sourcebook for community action. Atlanta, GA: The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Jackie M. Allen, Ed.D., former American School Counselor Association president, is an education program consultant with the California Department of Education in the Counseling and Student Support Office, Sacramento, CA. E-mail: [e-mail]

Doris Rhea Coy, Ph.D., former American Counseling Association president, is an associate professor of school counseling and career development, North Texas University, Denton TX.