Multicultural Service Learning

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)

A Service Learning project is one of the project requirements to complete the Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree through Ferris State University (FSU). My Service Learning experience was completed at the VA Medical Center (VAMC) in November, 2014. This paper includes details of the facility along with the contact information for the coordinator of the project. A description of my role as a volunteer, critical reflection of my experience, and a synthesis of the Service Learning are also included.

This helped in eliminating bias through reduced sampling error. The sample of 20 practitioners as well as 20 consultants appears to be too small and unrepresentative. There are too many consultants and practitioners in the field today to be represented by a group of only 20 individuals. Again, the sample represented the population in the New England Metropolitan area. This created bias in the representation as it only represents a single area. On the other hand, the sample waa a nice blend of representatives from different groups including men and women, white, Latino, Asians, and blacks. Though not in equal numbers, the good representation helped eliminate bias a both the possible oppressors as well a those oppressed were represented hence each group could contribute its views. The study also considered experts in the interviews.. this a great advantage to the study as experts have a good understanding in combined or specific knowledge. They understand the process, strategies as well as group behaviors. The interviewer recorded the interviews on tape. This was an advantage to the study as it gave an accurate summary of the interview. Comments and information gathered were stored for reference. Through repeated listening, it must have been easy for the interviewing committee to get interview clarity and analyze speech, body language, and voice

It is also a “boundary spanning” activity in that it requires active involvement from people both within and outside of the classroom context, often resulting in participant contributors who represent a variety of generations, ethnicities, social groups, and experience levels (Billig and Furco, 2002, p.vii). Service-learning is designed to reduce the boundaries between an institutional campus environment and the community around it. It is designed to connect learning to real experience through service and reflection (Ball and Schilling, 2006; Becker, 2000). As a baseline to facilitate this development, service-learning is distinct from other types of community service and civic engagement experiences in that the service-learning experience must not only have a service and reflective component but also be clearly tied to the curriculum through learning objectives and theoretical underpinnings (Bloomquist, 2015; Pritchard, 2001). As Barbara Holland, former Director of the U.S. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, shared, “Service-learning is all in the hyphen. It is the enrichment of specific learning goals through structured community service opportunities that respond to community-identified needs and opportunities.” (Kenworthy-U’Ren, Taylor, and Petri, 2006: 121).

The critical difference of service learning and the traditional learning style is that students are learning and addressing real needs in the community. Which connect students to the community through meaningful interactions with others, safety, and educational needs. This specific course includes readings, discussions, and activities to support

Before deciding where I wanted to do my service learning, I knew I wanted to do something that had some relevance to my degree that I will be receiving in healthcare management. I was eager to gain more experience and become more knowledgeable of how an organization operates as it relates to healthcare management. I was able to secure an opportunity to volunteer at the Dallas Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital. After completing the required VA forms, I got partnered with Mr. Alonzo Price Jr. who is a Management Analyst in Ambulatory Care, which is the department that oversees the Primary Care Providers.

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.

Nursing is a dynamic field that is frequently evolving with the changing demographics of the world we live in today. It is important for nurses to have the ability to provide culturally competent care with every patient encounter. Providing culturally competent care is not possible unless the nurse has an understanding of the ethnic background (Flowers, 2014).

The benefit of service learning for the student and community is again a better inform civic minded individual who may use his experience from service learning as a launching pad for career opportunities to better serve within that community. In an article published in the College Student Journal its author noted that with service learning “students gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility" (Strange,

Creating the opportunity for school culture will captivate that inspires children to dream and support learners to be successful. When students enter the classroom to expand their learning, they deal with positive learning that has an outcome that cultivate in classrooms to the highest level when children are appreciated and respected as teachers will have a rich cultural capital for families that gives an educational environment.

like the SOCCS and RFS in the first article) and having to take courses and workshops that are directly related to value-based conflict training(s). Another issue that we can see within these articles is the conceptualization of cultural empathy and what it means to actually be in culturally competent and empathetic. Again further training should be given to ensure competence in this area in conjunction with learning about decision-making models related to incorporating these concepts within counseling practices overall. Also, counselors should try to be more aware of multicultural competencies and need an overall understanding of spiritual and religious practices to be a competent counselor. I believe further training in all of these areas is important and should be implemented by further education and receiving more CE or CEU hours if they already a licensed counselor.

200) hypothesized that student school counselors were not appropriately trained or knowledgeable adequately enough to competently counsel multicultural and sexual orientation competencies. Both school counseling students and community agency students were selected, using a cross-specialization comparison. A total of 164 participants were selected (43 men and 121 women) between the ages of 22-59 were selected. Each of them had a masters level in school counseling (75%) or agency counseling (89%). Two instruments were used for the study. The first instrument was “Multicultural counseling and awareness scale” (MCKAS) made up of 32 item self -report questions (Ponterotto, Gretchen, Utsey, Rieger & Austin as cited by Bidell, 2012, p. 202). Bidell (2012, p. 202) created the “Sexual orientation Counselor Competency Scale” (SOCCS) to determine the skills, competency, and knowledge of counselors working with the LGBTQ students. All of the students were in their 2nd year counseling internship and were recruited during

A counselor has challenging responsibility to address and personalize themselves according to the needs of the clientele. They play very important part in the student success maximization (Kring et al, 2007). A counselor must possess the ability to lead, endorse equity and create a harmless learning environment and establish the necessities of all students through cultural related prevention and counseling programs (Lee, 2001).

This section discusses the implication of the findings from the study for counselor educators incorporating service learning. Counselor educators are called to prepare students with the necessary knowledge and skills to work with diverse clients. In addition, counselor educators are charged to create structured opportunities for self-discovery, self-reflection, and understanding of values, skills and knowledge (Moss, Gibson, & Dollarhide, 2013). However, counselor educators are often challenged to go beyond the classroom to help student work with diverse communities and increase their knowledge of cultural competence before practicum experiences (Bringle & Hatcher, 2009). The challenge to move beyond the classroom underlines the purpose of service learning in counselor education.

and curriculum. The discussion of the historical and philosophical background of multicultural education teaches educators how race and culture influence educational policy and programs. Multicultural teaching and curriculum is also crucial for the development of equitable education for diverse students. The author asserts that multicultural education can lessen biases while also furthering democratic beliefs and practices among students. The text’s discussion of multicultural education is significant to the field of multicultural education as it demonstrates how multicultural educational practices help students become culturally literate and prepared for today’s diverse and globalized world.