Importance Of Social And Cultural Concerns In School Counseling

As individuals, we are diverse based on the background, experience, ability, race, language, etc. which impact the lens through which we view others and ourselves. As diverse individual, we may belong to dominant or non- dominant groups. Thus, either we have power and privilege or we experience discrimination and oppression. Further, we are shelled with diversity, ethnicity, and multiculturalism issues. Counselors have some ethical primary responsibilities to respect the dignity and promote the welfare of the client (A.1.a), “honoring diversity and embracing a multicultural approach in support of the worth, dignity” and “promoting social justice” (Herlihy & Corey, 2014, p. 3)

My pursuit of becoming a School Counselor led me to apply to the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland, College Park. I am a former student at University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After graduating and teaching for two years in Prince George’s County Public Schools, I discovered my true passion lies not only in the classroom and students’ academics, but playing a pivotal role in the growth of their career, social, and personal development. Although I am no longer teaching full-time at the moment, my interaction with students from diverse backgrounds left an indelible responsibility to continue making a difference in our students. The objectives and mission of the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland can best help my goal of becoming an effective counselor and leader who is an agent of change to students and service the mental and emotional well-being of the younger generation.

The experiences that I shared with those students presented me with great satisfaction. This influenced my decision to apply for a graduate degree in school counseling. Although, at this point in time I do not hold any experiences in school counseling I have researched ways to gain that experience. Volunteering at both public schools to shadow licensed school counselors and independent counseling centers will provide me the necessary experiences to gain hands on knowledge for the field. The ability to relate interpersonally to individuals from different cultural backgrounds is extremely important for a counselor. Being knowledgeable of a client’s culture, identity, ethnicity, race and gender play a major part in the counseling process. Possessing cultural competent is key to engaging a diverse clientele. Culture norms and rules change the way an individual interact. I understand the importance of identifying the barriers and bias in interacting with individual from different cultures. Through my previous years of education and current work experiences I obtained valuable interpersonal skills. These skills assist with communicating effectively with a diverse group of individuals. Those skills involved effective listening, problem-solving, decision-making, assertiveness, and verbal and non-verbal communication. In detail, while working as teacher, I was afforded the opportunity of advising interns on making practical

School counselors should be able to distinguish the differences between individual and group dissimilarities and strive to value all students and groups equally. They should advocate for the equitable treatment of all students in their school and in their community. If a school counselor wants to be successful in ensuring an equity-based program, they should consider the role of culture, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and other factors (Curry & Milson, 2013). Any student regardless of background can face developmental and emotional issues that can be detrimental to their success. Some students slip through the cracks because they feel that there are no adults available whom they can trust. They

Consequently, as professional school counselors competency in multicultural counseling is essential to the work that has to be done in schools, in this day and age, with the climate that the country is in, professional school counselors have to serve as the missing piece to bring students, educators and the community together. Professional school counselors’ foremost need to look at their own cultural and their comfort level with other cultures. Compentency in multicultural begins with analyzing ones own

It takes a special person to become a school counselor and in doing so it is important to take those life skills, knowledge, dispositions, and background experiences to help along the way. In the counseling field there are some guidelines and theories that will help, but nothing that prepares you for what may happen at any moment or any time during the day. It is clear that life definitely throws some unexpected curve balls and that is the same for situations in the field of school counseling. You never know what situation you will run into and in order to dodge those curve balls it is those life experiences that often time influence the direction in which we take both personally and professionally. It is important to compile all the knowledge and experiences that we have gained throughout life and apply them in a way that will help others to be successful. It is key to reflect on the past and those skills that I have that will lead me to become an effective professional school counselors.

School counselor is a continuous learning profession; whether it is the profession itself, or society that continues to change, or government prioritizing different matters within the school systems. The key to be a successful school counselor within the school is through research. Finding out what’s different about this year’s population, students interest, what is the most effective way to provide information to students. These are just a few reasons of why research is valuable and important to conduct throughout the course of one’s school counseling profession. There are different types of research one could utilize, and with all the research found it is important that a counselor has the necessary skills

The role of a school counselor is an intriguing one because they do not work with a specific type of client. While they will always be working with young children or teenagers, the problems their clients come to them with can be so different from client to client. One session might be dealing with questions about career choices. Another might be about dealing with bullying. Some days a school counselor may even have to be there for a child who was a victim of sexual or physical abuse. It is because of this wide range of demands that a school counselor should be well-versed in many types of counseling theories.

Starting this course in August, I didn’t realize the power that multicultural counseling had instilled in it. The fact that its central focus is around social justice and equality is a characteristic our society much needs today. Throughout the duration of this class, I learned about multicultural counseling as a whole, new theories that can be applied specifically to different racial/ethnic minorities, the ACA code of ethics, and who I want to be as a future counselor.

With the diversifying population in America’s schools, a profession school counselor should be culturally competent to meet the needs of all students. “The transformed professional school counselor is culturally competent, respectful of human diversity, and a school leader in ensuring that oppressive systemic barriers to academic, career, college readiness, and personal/social development are removed (Erford, 2015, p. 173).” A school counselor needs to have a deep understanding of a variety of cultures to meet the personal, emotional, developmental needs of a student using individual and group interventions while being aware of their cultural and spiritual needs.

People behave accordingly to their culture which makes them to behavior in a certain direction. Thus, it is important for to a counselor to treat a client according to his or her culture. Some peoples' culture consists of religious beliefs, certain customs, rituals, which involves social, morals and values. Likewise, the part of a researcher is to deliver knowledge about the participant’s background and lifestyle which is essential for cultural competence (Sue & Sue, 2013, p. 9745). Also, (Code # A.2.c.) a researcher must respect their client’s culture and be culturally sensitive. Thus, it is important that researchers are culture competence when participants partake in a research study (ACA, 2014, p. 3). For this reason, the researcher most

This week I had the opportunity to fulfill my practicum hours at two different locations. The locations that I observed were Columbia Elementary School’s summer care program and a Mad City Money Event located at Members 1st Credit Union. Both experiences opened my eyes to see a wide range of situations and behaviors among kindergarten through high school. Each observation provided two very different outlooks and each contributed to my knowledge in some way.

School counseling has evolved over the years into a significant component of the educational system. School counselors are taking on new roles in schools as leaders, working with “school administration and staff in developing student attitudes and behavior which are necessary to maintain proper control, acceptable standards of self-discipline and a suitable learning environment within the school” (Secondary School Counselor 2012). Counselors work in “diverse community settings designed to provide a variety of counseling, rehabilitation, and support services” (Counselors, 2010). When working in a school district as a counselor, you can either be an elementary school counselor, middle school counselor or a high school counselor.

I think that high school counseling departments like mine miss a golden opportunity to help students like me. As a student in high school, I seemed to have things going for me. I was an athlete, an average student, and

Lockhart, Estes J. & Keys, Susan G. (1998). The mental health counseling role of school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 1(4), Retrieved from PsychInfo. ‘