Counseling Diverse and Special Populations SC 613

Course Description

This course is designed to equip school counselors with knowledge, perspectives, and skills necessary for effective practice with the students and parents from diverse backgrounds and needs in public schools. This course includes both theoretical and practical skills for school counselors to strengthen multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills in the competencies necessary to evaluate and develop appropriate interventions for presenting problems brought by ethnically and culturally diverse, and special needs students in the school setting. The course assist students in developing insights into their own culturally based beliefs, assumptions, and possible prejudices towards diverse and special needs students. In addition, the course helps students develop an understanding of major cultural, social, and physical factors that influence public school students' school behavior and achievement.

Objectives-CACREP 2009 standards

1. Examine the salient issues in cross-cultural and special population counseling. (CACREP E.1. A.6. C.3. C.5. C.6. D.1. D.2. D.4. G.2.)
2. Explore and understand how personal perspectives on cultural identity and prejudices/biases impact their and others lives. (CACREP D.4. E.3. F.1. F.3. G.2. H.1.)
3. Examine feelings, attitudes and beliefs concerning culturally diverse students, families, and other education professionals. (CACREP D.1. D. 4. F.1. G.1. G.2.)
4. Identify and apply major counseling strategies appropriate for use with multicultural and special needs students in the school setting. (CACREP A.1. A.6. C.1. C.3. C.5. E.2. E.4. F.2. F,3,, F.4. M.4.)
5. Develop a model workshop that advocates for effective services and methods to communicate across cultural lines. (CACREP A.3. A.4. A.5. B.2. C.4. D.1. S.4.)
6. Explore theories and research on socialization to assess the development of social identity and social group affiliations with families, schools, communities, and other social institutions; (CACREP C.1. C.3. C.5. D,2, D.3.E.2. E.4. F.2. F.3. F.4.I.1.I.3. I.4. I.5. J.1. J.2. J.3. M.1. M.2. M.4.)
7. Identify theories and current research on stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and the dynamics of power, privilege, and disabilities for students, families and the school counselor. (CACREP C.1. C.3. C.5. D,2, D.3.E.2. E.4. F.2. F.3. F.4.I.1.I.3. I.4. I.5. J.1. J.2. J.3. M.1. M.2. M.4.)
8. Select appropriate assessment instruments for use with multicultural, diverse, and disabled populations.(CACREP F.1. F.2. F.3. F.4. G.1. G.2. g.3. H.1. H.2. H.3. H.4. H.5. )
9. Design and implement prevention and intervention plans to use with multicultural, diverse, and disabled populations in the school setting, including plans for bullying prevention. (CACREP A.4. A.5. K.1. K.2. K.3. L.1. L.2. L.3. )
10. Develop an appropriate comprehensive school counseling program, based on ASCA National Model to work with students with multicultural, diverse and special educational/behavioral accommodations. (CACREP A.5. B.2. C.2. C.4. D.1. D.3. )
11. Explain the impact of federal laws on the education of multicultural, diverse, and special needs populations. (CACREP A.2. B.1. D.1. E.1. F.1.)
12. Summarize the school counselor’s role in the process of identification, evaluation and IEP development for special needs students and their families. (CACREP A.2. B.1.D.1. E.1. F.1.F.2. F.4. G.1. G.2. G.3. H.1. H. 2. G.3. G.4. G.5.
13. Analyze and apply ethical and legal standards for school counselors as they work with students with multicultural, diverse, and disabilities needs and their families, educators, and community agencies. (CACREP A.2. B.1. E.1. E.3. F.1. F.3. E.4. M.1. M.2. M.3. N.1. N.3. N.5.)

Time Requirements

This course will be offered over a 15-week period and is a 45 hour 3 credit graduate course. Modules will be completed one per week.

Hardware and Computer Skill Requirements

Students may use either a Macintosh computer or a PC with Windows 2000 or higher. Students should possess basic word processing skills and have Internet access as well as an active email account. Students also are expected to have a basic knowledge of how to use a Web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, etc.

Curriculum Design

This course will emphasize the connection between the role of the school counselor in self-introspection and the development of appropriate counseling and academic interventions for multicultural, diverse, and disabled school aged students. Students will be involved in a variety of tasks for completion of course requirements: readings, reports on readings, exams, journal and reflection entries, projects related to real world learning environments development of instructional counseling strategies for specific content areas and practice in the school setting. This is an online forty-five hour, three credit graduate level course completed over a fifteen-week period.

Course Materials

Required Texts:

Counseling Diverse Clients: Bringing Context into Therapy (2004) by Jeanne M. Slattery

Revealing the Invisible: Confronting Passive Racism in Teacher Education (2006), by Sherry Marx.

Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom (2007), by Judy Willis, M.D.

Online readings and Web site reviews (including journal articles and best practices from the body of educational research) will be assigned during the course to enhance learning. These readings will be presented as annotated Web sites within the course content.

Student Performance Requirements:

Students will complete assigned readings, written assignments, applications/practice/direct observations in the educational setting and forum postings (as required) in each module. Students will complete tests and special projects as listed in the module content.

Session Outline

Module 1: The Importance of Context and Strategies

Objectives:

1.   The student will examine how their personal experiences influence perceptions on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age and disability of students in the school setting.

2.   The student will identify ethical issues involved in the counseling of diverse and special populations in the schools.

3.   The student will explore and examine legal issues involved in counseling special populations in the school setting.

4.   The student will examine techniques to assess a school-aged child’s personal, temporal, community and familiar contexts.

5.   The student will evaluate the pros and cons for the use of assessments throughout the counseling process.

Module 2:      Assessing Context and Oppression: History, Timelines, Community and Self Awareness

Objectives:

1. The student will analyze cultural self-awareness, intercultural sensitivity and basis of disabled students.
2. The student will formulate a system to challenge the "normal," and identify everyday instances of oppression and privilege for special populations.
3. The student will examine the method of reframing behaviors to recognize patterns of race, class, age, gender and disability.
4. The student will identify strategies to focus on methods to reduce oppression and address its consequences in the school setting.
5. The student will investigate approaches to recognize the worldview of our school-aged population and their families.
6. The student will explain steps needed to communicate the identified problem within the context of the school setting.

Module 3: Group Membership and Conflicting Values

Objectives:

1. The student will summarize methods of including all diverse and special populations and addressing group differences successfully within the school setting based on individual case needs.
2. The student will explore partial truths and false information concerning working in the school setting with special populations.
3. The student will explain the roles of both the school counselor’s and the school-aged child and family’s of problems resulting from group membership.
4. The student will examine and apply appropriate forms of listening to the school counseling setting.

Module 4: Confronting Conflicting Values

Objectives:

1. The student will explain multicultural identity development models and apply this knowledge to their practice as a school counselor.
2. The student will compare and contrast the program placements available to the school-aged child with diverse needs and/or disabilities.
3. The student will explain and apply current trends in the understanding of school-aged children with diverse needs.
4. The student will develop listening skills to break the barriers of disclosure.
5. The student will examine the context of ‘senseless behavior’ and develop appropriate interventions.

Module 5: Barriers to Counseling Special Populations

Objectives:

1. The student will develop skills in multicultural and diverse case conceptualization.
2. The student will identify both short and long-term goals in multicultural context counseling.
3. The student will identify empowering interventions to use consistently in the school setting.

Module 6: Barriers to Counseling Special Population

Objectives:

1. The student will develop skills in case conceptualization for school-aged children with disabilities.
2. The student will develop skills in case conceptualization for school-aged children identified through NCLB procedures.
3. The student will evaluate the use of counseling to acknowledge a problem and the affect of consequences on the school-aged child and family.
4. The student will develop a resource portfolio for activities to use in the counseling program that may make a significant and positive impact on the school-aged child.
5. The student will identify the external locus of responsibility and value conflicts that interfere with goal making in counseling.

Module 7: Developing Natural Supports for Counseling Special Populations.

Objectives:

1. The student will apply multicultural and contextually-aware counseling and assessment principles to school-aged students in the school setting.
2. The student will apply specific strategies for counseling and assessment principles to school-aged students with disabilities.
3. The student will compare and contrast effective strategies to apply with school-aged students identified through NCLB, ADA and IDEA.
4. The student will explain the effects that giving ‘help’ during a counseling program provides.
5. The student will compare and contrast the intervention of volunteering in developing a school counseling program.

.Module 8: Social Change for Special Populations

Objectives:

1. The student will explain the importance of first and second language acquisition for assessment and counseling plans for multicultural students.
2. The student will explore the importance of effective listening and communication skills when assessing and counseling students with disabilities and diverse needs.
3. The student will identify three things necessary for health and community involvement.

Module 9: Success for All in the School Setting

Objectives:

1. The student will identify a variety of ways to help school-aged children get ‘in balance’.
2. The student will explore group and individual values as compared to the school counselor’s values.
3. The student will add to their resource book on appropriate strategies to bring balance to the counseling process.
4. The student will develop skills for use of brainstorming to bring problem solving to the counseling process.
5. The student will examine the use of reflective listening for exploration of empowering actions for the counseling process

Module 10: Enriching the Inclusive Learning Environment

Objectives:

1. The student will investigate the forces of prejudice and discrimination on solving problems and develop counseling strategies for the diverse and disabled populations for these forces.
2. The student will research the use of culture and context to assist in the assessment and placement of children with diverse needs in the appropriate inclusive learning environment.
3. The student will explore how to become a lifelong learner in finding the most appropriate adaptations for the diverse and disabled population in a school setting.

Module 11 Change Agent for Special Populations

            Objectives:

1. The student will report on their personal strengths and concerns realized from their journaling on cultural competencies during this course..
2. The student will summarize their journals on the journey, learning, andunderstanding  of children, their context, values and goals to help make appropriated academic and counseling interventions in the school setting.

Student Requirements

1. Students will complete weekly written assignments.                                                 25% of grade
2. Students will complete weekly application to educational setting.             25% of grade.
3. Students will complete forum postings and responses.                                10% of grade
4. Students will complete special projects and or exams.                                 40% of grade.

Grading:

Student Academic Integrity

Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined in the Teacher Education University catalog and is subject to academic disciplinary action.

References

Online Resources

http://www.umass.edu/schoolcounseling/PPTs/Evlautaion%20is%20not%20a%20Four%20Letter%20Word%20Presentation%202.ppt NCLB

http://www.nacacnet.org/NR/rdonlyres/81BB956F-0E98-424A-9A5F-CAA7F6A4CA2A/0/2007ESEARecommendations.pdf -NCLB 2007

Movies/DVD’s

http://dpi.state.wi.us/sped/ppt/ldrconspear-1.ppt#273,5,From Entitlement … To Performance   –NCLB

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5959052/No-Child-Left-Behind-gifted.html  NCLB and Gifted

http://www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/8025BA7C-48B1-4D71-9ED5-D0C6B336BD55/0/TSCnewsletter_spring04.pdf Advocates for all

http://www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/828546FB-23E0-44B8-B256-60E6AC539C67/0/TransformingSchoolCounselingThroughOutcomeResearch.ppt#259,5,Why the Need for Empirical Studies of School Counseling Outcomes?

http://www.acrnetwork.org/counselors/documents/ResearchBrief23.doc

American Psychological Association. (1993). Guidelines for providers of psychological services to ethnic, linguistic, and culturally diverse populations. American Psychologist, 48, 45-48. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/guide.html

Associated Press. (2002, February 21). Transcript of Andrea Yates' confession. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 16, 2007, from http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/special/drownings/1266294#top

Other References:

Banks, M. E. (2003). Disability in the family: A life span perspective. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9, 367-384.

Cochran, S. D. (2001). Emerging issues in research on lesbians' and gay men's mental health: Does sexual orientation really matter? American Psychologist, 56, 931-941.

Cross, T. (2003). Culture as a resource for mental health. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9, 354-359.

Cross, T. (2003). Culture as a resource for mental health. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9, 354-359.

Erickson, C. D. & Al-Timimi, N. R. (2001). Providing mental health services to Arab Americans: Recommendations and considerations. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 7, 308-327.

Gandy, K. (2002, March 13). Yates verdict can serve as warning to prevent future tragedies. National Organization for Women. Retrieved July 16, 2007, from http://www.now.org/press/03-02/03-13a.html