experiential training: connecting school counselors-in-training, english as a second language (esl)...

2 journalofMulticulturalcounselinganddevelopMent•january2009•vol.37

articles

©2009americancounselingassociation.allrightsreserved.

experientialtraining:connectingschoolcounselors-in-training,englishasasecond

language(esl)teachers,andeslstudentsJoyJ.Burnham,MiguelMantero,andLisaM.Hooper

englishasasecondlanguage(esl)studentspresentchallengestocounselorswhoareunaccustomedtoworkingwithstudentswhospeaklimitedenglish.afieldexperiencepreparedschoolcounselors-in-training todevelopculturalsensitivitywhileworkingwitheslteachersandstudents.thecounselorssuggestedthatearlyexperientiallearningfosteredmulticulturalsensitivityandrefinedcounselingskills.

losestudiantesdeingléscomosegundalengua(esl)presentandesafíosparaaquellosconsejerosquenoestánacostrumbradosatrabajarconestudiantesconunniveldeingléslimitado.unaexperienciaprácticadecampopreparóalosconsejerosescolaresenformaciónparaquedesarrollaranunasensibilidadculturalmientrastrabajabanconprofesoresyalumnosdeesl.losconsejerosindicaronqueelaprendizajeexperiencialenfasetempranafomentósusensi-bilidadmulticulturalyperfeccionósushabilidadesenconsejería.

Thisexploratoryprojectexamined thepotentialbenefitsof a schoolcounselor-in-trainingexperientialexercisethatcombinedclassroomlearningwithearlyfieldexperience.Thisprojectalsoexaminedthe

extenttowhichcounselingstudentsfoundthatearlyfieldexperiencefosteredmulticulturalsensitivityandawarenesswhenworkingwithEnglishasasecondlanguage(ESL)studentsandteachers.

Threepracticesinschoolcounselingtrainingmodelsinformedthisexperientialproject:theuseofcollaboration,multiculturalawarenessandsensitivity,andworkingwithESLstudents.Becausetheuseofcollaborationhaslaggedbehindothertechniquesasanimportantcomponentinschoolcounseling(Sink,2005)andbecausecreating“collaborativeenvironments”isstillmisunderstood(Goh,Wahl,McDonald,Brissett,&Yoon,2007;Kim,2005;Sink,2005),theschoolcounselingtrainingapproachoffersameanstopracticecollaborationwithanunderservedandrapidlyincreasingpopulationofESLstudentswhooftentimeshavelimitedinteractionswithschoolcounselors(Clemente&Collison,2000;Gohetal.,2007;Hagan,2004;McCall-Perez,2000).

Inadditiontotheimportanceofcollaborativehelpinginthecontextoftheschoolsetting,thepracticeofmulticulturalcounselingisessentialforschool

Joy J. Burnham and Lisa M. Hooper, Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling, and Miguel Mantero, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, all at The University of Ala-bama. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lisa M. Hooper, Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling, The University of Alabama, PO Box 870231, 315B Graves Hall, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 (e-mail: [email protected]).

journalofMulticulturalcounselinganddevelopMent•january2009•vol.37 3

counselors.Asthepopulationwithwhomcounselorsworkcontinuestodiver-sify,schoolcounselorshaveasignificantneedtodevelopknowledge,skills,andawarenessinhowtobestworkwithracialandethnicminoritystudentsandtheirfamilies(Roysircar,2003).Criticaltobuildingmulticulturalcom-petencyistoprovideschoolcounselorswithopportunitiesthatallowforthetranslationofawarenessandknowledgeevidencedintheuniversityclassroominto their actual counseling skillswith students (Burnett,Hamel,&Long,2004;Dickson,Jepsen,&Barbee,2008).Schoolcounselorswhodemonstrateculturalsensitivityandawarenessseeincreasedlevelsofresponsivenessandpositiveoutcomesamongtheirstudents inbothacademicandtherapeuticcontexts (Clemente & Collison, 2000). Moreover, empirical research hasestablishedthatwhencounselors—irrespectiveoforientation(e.g.,school,family,community)—aresensitive tomulticultural issues,clientsoftenfeelmoreunderstoodandrespected(Zhang&Dixon,2001).Thistranslatesintothecounselorhavingbothanincreasedsenseofclinicalandtechnicalskill(Welfel,2003)andasupportroleinhelpingESLstudentsbuild“cross-culturalbridges”(Gohetal.,2007).

the significance of and need for multicultural competency in school counseling

Changesindemographicshaveunderlinedtheneedforprofessionalswork-inginschoolsystemstoexaminetheextenttowhichtheyarepreparedandcompetenttooffertheneededservicestoculturallyandlinguisticallydiversepopulations.Therearefew“multiculturaltrainingopportunitiesinnaturalisticsettings...forgraduatecounselingstudents”(Roysircar,Gard,Hubbell,&Ortega,2005,p.18).Eventhoughopportunitiestopracticeskillsaresparse,theAmericanSchoolCounselorAssociation’s(ASCA;2005)nationalframeworkforschoolcounselingprogramsemphasizesthecriticalityofrecognizingandrespectingstudents’racial,ethnic,andculturaldiversity.Furthermore,ASCA(2004)hasalsoassertedthatschoolcounselorsoughttobepreparedtoassistin thementalhealthandacademicprogressof racial andethnicminoritystudentsenteringschoolsystemsintheUnitedStates.

Mostprofessionalhelpingorganizations(e.g.,theAssociationforMulticulturalCounselingandDevelopment,theAmericanPsychologicalAssociation,andtheAmericanCounselingAssociation)operationalizemulticulturalcompe-tenceintothreecoreareas:knowledge,skills,andawareness(seeRoysircar,Arredondo,Fuertes,Ponterotto,&Toporek,2003;Sue,Arredondo,&McDavis,1992).Knowledgereferstothecounselor’sfamiliaritywithandunderstandingofhumandiversityandculturebroadlydefined(e.g.,race,gender,socioeco-nomicstatus, sexualorientation,andcountryoforigin).Skills refer to the

� journalofMulticulturalcounselinganddevelopMent•january2009•vol.37

counselor’sabilitytoconsistentlytranslatehisorherknowledgeandpersonalawarenessofaclient’sdiversityandcultureinthecontextofthetherapeuticandlearningenvironments.Finally,awarenessreferstothecounselor’sself-awareness regardinghisorherworldview, values,assumptions,biases,andtheoreticalapproachesthatlikelyinfluenceandshapethecounselor’sworkwithclients.Eachoftheseareasisrelatedtoandoftenoverlapswiththeothertwo.Thesethreeareasundergirdthemulticulturalguidelinesputforwardbymanycounselingassociations—includingASCA—andinformtheprinciplesthathavebeendistilledintospecificmulticulturalcompetencies(Roysircaretal.,2003).

the significance of serving esl students in school counseling

There are many reasons for professional school counselors to work withESLstudents.TheASCAEthical Standards for School Counseling(ASCA,2004)mandateseveralpropositions,includingtheneedforschoolcounselorstobeopentoservingadiversepopulationofstudents.Inaddition,thestandardsclearlystatethatschoolcounselorsareexpectedtoexaminetheirownbiasesandattitudesandtoformulatemeaningforandunderstandingofsuchtermsasoppression,racism,andsoforth.

BeyondASCA’sethical standards, thereareadditionalreasons forschoolcounselorstoworkwithESLstudents.First,thepresentpopulationstatisticsshowthattheinflowofminoritystudentsintheUnitedStatesisontherise.Koskinenetal.(2000)noted,“Schools in theUnitedStatesare facingtheever-increasingchallengeofeducatingstudentswhodonotspeakEnglishastheirfirst language”(p.23).As thepopulationshifts in theUnitedStates,theneedforschoolcounselorstohavetrainingexperienceswithyouthfromdiversebackgroundsbecomesmorevital.AsecondreasonfortheexperientialexerciseistoaddressthecurrentlackofinteractionbetweenESLprogramsand school counselors (Clemente & Collison, 2000; McCall-Perez, 2000).ClementeandCollison,indiscussingagenerallackofinteractionbetweenschoolcounselorsandESLstudents,reportedtypicalcounselor/ESLstudentinteractions as often related to behavior, scheduling, or academic issues.Yet, when counselor/ESL student interactions are experienced, positiveoutcomeshavebeendescribed(Hagan,2004;Roysircaretal.,2005).Forex-ample,Roysircaretal.(2005)offeredcounselorsthetrainingopportunitiesto develop multicultural awareness through mentoring ESL students, andHagandescribedherownpositiveinteractionsasshetutoredanESLstudentandgainedmulticulturalcompetence intheprocess.Third, thedescribedexperiential training project addresses the fact that school counselors areoftenill-preparedtoworkwithESLstudents(McCall-Perez,2000)andlacknecessarycounselortrainingtodoso(Roysircaretal.,2005);therefore,this

journalofMulticulturalcounselinganddevelopMent•january2009•vol.37 �

trainingoffersameanstoprepareschoolcounselorsforpositiveinteractionswithESLstudents.Thefourthintentionistoparallelsuggestionsfoundintheliterature;forexample,ClementeandCollisonrecommendedthatschoolcounselorsconversewiththeESLteachersatleastonceeachweekabouttheissuestheESLstudentsfaceandtoworktogethertofigureoutwaystocorrectproblemsat school.Thefifthpurposerelates to thedearthofESL-relatedliteratureinschoolcounselingjournalsandtheneedtofillthismajorgap(Roysircaretal.,2005).Insummary,webelievethattheexperientialtrain-ingprojectwedescribehereinoffersaninnovativeshiftfromtraditionalclassroom-basedmulticulturaltrainingtopracticeinitiativesrelatedspecifi-callytotheESLpopulation.

the significance of and need for collaboration in school counseling

Campbell and Dahir (1997) postulated that a collaborative model for theschoolcounselorandtheschoolcounselingprogramwasfoundational.ThisviewpointwasreiteratedwhenASCA(2005)developeditsNationalModel.As examples, the ASCA National Model encouraged school counselors to“serveaschangeagents,collaborators,andadvocates”(ASCA,2005,p.10)andto“buildeffectiveteamsbyencouraginggenuinecollaborationamongallschoolstafftoworktowardthecommongoalsofequity,access,andacademicsuccessforeverystudent”(ASCA,2005,p.25).Theinclusionofcollabora-tioninrecentresearchsuggeststhatcollaborationshouldbeviewedasavitalfunctionofschoolcounselingprograms(Sink,2005;Stone&Dahir,2006).Inaddition,Sinkexaminedtheevolutionandsignificanceofcollaborationinschoolcounselingprogramsandaffirmedthatthe“valueofcollaboration”(p.367)hasnowbeenestablished.

rationale for the experiential training project

WithaninfluxofESLstudentsintheschooldistrictsinthestateinwhichthistrainingprojectwasconducted,anESLsummerprogramatamajoruniversitywasformedtooffersummeropportunitiesforESLstudentstoadjusttotheirnewculture.Thepublicschool/universitypartnershipinvolvingtheuniversity’sPrograminCounselorEducationwascreatedtoprovideadditionalservicesfortheESLstudents(e.g.,classroomguidance,mentoring)andtoofferschoolcounselortraineesearlytrainingexperienceswithclassroommanagement,preparation and delivery of guidance lessons, coordination, teaming, andotherschoolcounseling–relatedcomponentsdescribedintheASCANationalModel(ASCA,2005).Thesubsequentexperientialexercisewasdevelopedwith three specific needs in mind for school counselors-in-training: (a) to


createearlyclinicalandfieldtrainingopportunitiesforcounselors-in-trainingtoworkwithraciallyandethnicallydiversepopulations;(b)tohavefocusedassistanceinpreparationanddeliveryofclassroomguidancelessons,especiallyfortheschoolcounselors-in-trainingwithoutformalteachingexperience;and(c)togainpreliminarymulticulturalcompetency(i.e.,knowledge,skills,andawareness). Withthethreeaims,thedescribedapproachwaswovenintoanintroductoryschoolcounselingcourseformaster’s-levelstudentsinaschoolcounselingprogramaccreditedbytheCouncilforAccreditationofCounsel-ingandRelatedEducationalPrograms.Thisaffordedcounselors-in-trainingauniqueopportunity—thecontextinwhichculture-specificclinicalskillsandself-assessmentcouldbepracticedwhileworkingwithstudentsfromnumer-ouscountrieswithvariouslevelsofEnglishproficiency.

Afinalrationalefortheexperientialprojectistheimportanceofschoolcounselorstoseethestudentasbothanindividualandamemberofhisorhercommunityandparticularculturalgroups.Thisrequiresthatcounselors-in-trainingdeveloptheabilitytodistinguish(a)theroleofracialorethnicgroupmembershipinthesocializationofthestudent;(b)theimportanceoftheuniquenessoftheindividual;(c)thepresenceandplaceofvaluesin the counselingprocess; and (d) theuniquenessof learning styles, vo-cationalgoals,andlifepurposesofindividuals(Atkinson,2004;Roysircaretal.,2003).Additionally,andconsistentwiththedevelopmentanduseofmulticultural competencies (Sueet al., 1992;Roysircaret al., 2003), thisexperientialprojectwasdesignedtoassistindividualswithdevelopingself-awareness, sensitivity,knowledge,andskills.This training, inturn,wouldfacilitate the developmental processes of the aforementioned abilities intrainees.Becauseoftheexploratorynatureofthestudy,weapproachedthisproject using qualitative research interviewing (Kvale, 1996; McCracken,1988)astheprimarydatagatheringtool.

methodcounselor-participants

Theparticipantswere9graduate-levelschoolcounselors-in-training(8women,1man)whowereenrolledinanintroductoryschoolcounselingcourse.Theself-reportedracialbackgroundofallofthegraduatestudentswasWhite,andtheiragesrangedfrom22to30(M =28years).Fivestudentshadnopriorteachingexperienceand4werecertifiedteachers.Therewereapproximately120ESLstudents(ages4–17)intwosummerprograms.

procedure

Thereweresixcomponentstotheexperientialexercisefortheschoolcounselors-in-training: (a) pretraining education and assignment to an ESL class;(b) collaboration, coordination, consultation, and teamingwithESL teach-


ers, which involved guidance curriculum planning, development, andimplementationbasedonESLstudentneedsintheclassroom;(c)teach-ingclassroomguidancelessons;(d)critiquingguidancelessons(i.e., selfandpeercritiques);(e)ongoingsynthesisduringclassdiscussions;and(f)posttrainingeducation.

ThepretrainingcomponentrequiredanESLmethodologylessontaughtbyanESLinstructor.PertinentschoolcounselingliteratureonESLstudentswasalsoassigned.Afterthepretraining,thecounselorswereassignedtospecificESL classes (i.e., preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels),wherethecounselors-in-trainingwereexpectedtocollaborate,coordinate,andconsultwithESLteacherspriortopreparinglessonsorworkingwithESLstudents.Thiswasdone toensure that appropriateguidance lessonsweredevelopedonthebasisofthedevelopmentalneedsofthestudents.CertainthemesfromtheASCANationalModel(ASCA,2005)werethefocalpoint(i.e.,classroomguidanceactivities,guidancecurriculum,collaboration).On-goingsynthesistookplaceinclassdiscussions,journalwriting,andfeedback.Thelastcomponent,posteducation,wasfacilitatedthroughsemistructured,30-minutegroupinterviewsregardingtheparticipants’useofthedescribedexperientialtraininginthecontextoftheESLclassroom.

Thesegroupinterviews(data)wereconductedattheendofthesemesterwhen assignments were completed. The counselors-in-training were askedthefollowingquestionsrelatedtotheirexperienceswiththeESLstudents.WhatwasmostinterestingaboutworkingwithESLstudents?HowdidtheESLexperienceprepareyouforyourfutureasaprofessionalschoolcounselor?Whatdidyoulearnfromyourexperience?WhatisyouradviceforfutureESLcollaborations?WhataspectoftheESLworkwaschallenging?

resultsQualitativeanalysis

Thegroup interviewsprovideddata forqualitativeanalysis.Qualitative re-searchallowsforadistinctiontobemadebetweenthevariousareasofinquirywithinthesamecontextandalsoclarifieshowtheseareasmaybeinterrelated(Ponterotto,2002;Pope-Davisetal.,2002).

Theinterviewsweretranscribedbyagraduate-levelresearchassistantandindependentlycodedbytwooftheprincipalinvestigators(i.e.,thefirstandthirdauthors).Whenconsensusofthecodingstructurewasachievedamongall research teammembers (Crabtree&Miller,1999), responses from thecounselors-in-trainingwerereviewedforthemesandpatterns.Thefollowingfourthemesemerged.

Theme 1: The need to reach all students. School counselors-in-training hearthroughouttheirschoolcounselingcoursesthattheyare“toreachallstudents.”ThefollowingsampleresponsesindicatethatinteractingwithESLstudents


seemedtoenhancetheconvictiontoreachallstudents.Thecounselors-in-training agreed strongly with the following statements: (a) “Dealing withculturaldiversity isanextremely importantpartoftheprofessionalschoolcounselor’srole.Itismyjobtoreachthesestudents,”(b)“ThechallengeofworkingwithESLstudentswasmostinterestingalongwithtryingtomeetallofthestudents’needs,”and(c)“Ilearnedhowtoworkwith,communicate,andidentifywithstudentsthatcomefromdifferentbackgrounds.”

Thecounselors-in-traininglearnedaboutethnicandculturaldiversityastheyreachedouttostudentswhorepresentedvariouscountriesandwhohadvaryinglevelsofEnglishproficiency.Forexample,onecounselor-in-training stated, “The most interesting thing about the ESL experiencewasworkingwithsuchadiversegroupofstudents. Ithelpedmeunder-stand that youhave to tailor lessons foreachgroup.”Thecollaborativeexperiences offered realistic multicultural opportunities for the schoolcounselors-in-trainingandwillhopefullyincreasethelikelihoodthatESLstudentswillattempttodeveloprapportwithprofessionalschoolcounsel-orsinthefuture.Certainly,onegoalwasfortherelationshipsestablishedduringtheESLsummerprogramtoserveasapreliminarybuildingblockforestablishingcommunicationwiththestudents’familiesandthegen-eralcommunity,thussupportingtheapplicabilityandtransportabilityofknowledgeandskillsthatmayserveasastrongfoundationforacademicandpersonaldevelopment.

The counselors-in-traininggrasped ideas about advocating for all studentsthroughtheirworkwithESLstudents.Thefollowingstatementfromoneoftheparticipantsillustratesthisideawell:“Itisthecounselor’sresponsibilitytomakesurethatthesestudentsreceivethesameopportunitiesasotherstudents.”Counselors-in-traininglearnedfirsthandabouttheirroleinensuringthatESLstudentsreceivethesameopportunitiestodevelopacademicallyastheysimul-taneouslylearnEnglish.ThecounselorsalsolearnedthatESLstudentsareanintegralpartoftheschool’scommunity.

Theme 2: General and unique skill-building when working with ethnically diverse students. The skill-building theme was related to the opportunities for thecounselors-in-trainingtopracticeandrefinecounselingandguidanceskillsthathadbeendiscussedinclassandtheskillstheyneededtofunctionwellin the school setting.Someof theparticipants’ comments regarding theirteachingroleincludedthefollowing:“Ilearnedwhatitwasliketobeinfrontofaclassroomofkids.”“TheESL[assignment]gavemeclassroomexperienceearlyoninmyprogram.”

WorkingwiththeESLstudentsappearedtohelpthecounselors-in-trainingapplysuchvaluedconceptsasteamwork,collaboration,advocacy,removingbarrierstosuccess,andshowingaccountabilitythroughdata-drivendecisions.Thecounselors-in-trainingusedleadershipskillsastheyinitiatedandbuiltcollaborativerelationshipswiththeESLteachers.Coordinatingtheclassroom


guidancelessonswiththeESLteachersprovidedthecounselors-in-trainingwith fundamentalknowledgeabout jugglingschedules,balancingcounsel-ingduties,workingwithteachertimetables,andteachingguidancelessons.Onecounselor-in-trainingremarked,“Workingwithsuchadiversegroupofstudentshelpedmetounderstandthatyouhave to tailor lessons foreachgroup.”Thecounselors-in-trainingalsousedconsultationskillstoworkwiththeESLteachersastheyplannedsuitableclassroomguidancelessonsthatweredevelopmentallyappropriateandbasedontheneedsoftheESLstudents.

Thecommentsfromthecounselors-in-trainingalsoillustratedtheirthoughtsabout how to use the ASCA National Model (ASCA, 2005). For example,studentsmadethefollowingcomments:(a)“WorkingwiththeESLstudentshelpedme tounderstand theASCANationalModel. This experiencewasabout implementingtheASCANationalModel,not justreadingabout it”;(b)“IthinkitisimportantforprofessionalschoolcounselorstorealizethattheASCANationalModelmustbeimplementedtoreachallstudents,evenifthestudentsspeakadifferentlanguageandarefromadifferentculture”;and(c)“TheESLexperiencetaughtmehowtotakethecomponentsoftheASCANationalModelandactuallyapplythem.I learnedhowtoplanandimplementaguidancelessonandwastaughtfirsthandaboutchildren’sdif-ferentlearningstylesandvaryingattentionspans.”

Thecommentsunderthisthemewerealsostronglyrelatedtopreparationandperformanceintheclassroomsetting.Forexample,“Thishelpedmethink about guidance lessons and classroom management and preparedmefortheteachingaspectofschoolcounseling,”“Thisgavemeclassroomexperience,”and“Thishelpedmelearnhowtoplananddeliveralessontostudents.”

Thecounselors-in-trainingrecognizedthatESLstudentsmusthavepositiveinteractionsatschooliftheyaretobuildculturalawarenessandbecomemoreproficientinEnglishastheyadvanceacademically.Byallowingcounselors-in-training toworkwithESL students, theexperientialprogram improvedcommunicationbetweentheteachers, students,andthestudents’parents.TeamingwithESLstudentswaspositiveforbothsides.TheESLstudentswereencouraged to interact with fellow students who were both similar to anddifferentfromthemandtorespectthediverseopinionsofthosestudents;similarly,thecounselors-in-trainingassistedwithvitalgoalsoftheESLprogram(e.g.,tobuildafoundationforESLstudentstoachieveacademicsuccessandthriveintheircommunities).

Theme 3: Culturally related challenges with ESL students. Thecounselors-in-traininglearnedthatnotallstudentsarealikenordotheyrepresentthesame culture. The trainees became acutely aware of language barriers,theprocessandstagesoflanguageacquisition,andculturallyinfluencedreactionsandbehaviorsamong thevariousstudents.Counselors-in-trainingwerealsoremindedofculturaldiversityandtheirroleinworkingwithall


students.Thefollowingcommentfromacounselor-in-trainingcharacter-izedthisthought:“Ihadtofindawaytocommunicatemylessonacrossculturalbarriers.Itgavemeafirst lookatmanyofthechallengesIwillfaceasaschoolcounselor.”Inthesamelight,anothercounselor-in-trainingstatedthatcounselorsmust“beawareoflanguageacquisitionandculturalrestrictionsamongvariousstudents,...besensitivetoculturaldifferencesandnotexpecteachstudenttobewesternized.”ThereisnodoubtthattheESLchallengespromptedpositive,productiveclassdiscussionsinthecounselingcourse;thesediscussionsfocusedonwhatwastakingplaceintheESLsetting.

Thecounselors-in-trainingalsoenhancedtheirintroductoryunderstand-ingoftheimpactthatthedominantculturehasonsuchissuesasstudentself-confidence.Likewise,theyobservedtheESLstudents’reactionsandbehaviors as they were exposed to and embedded in a new communityandculture. Onecounselor-in-trainingsuggestedthatchildrenaremoresimilarthantheyaredifferent:“Childrenofanyculturalbackgroundarejustthat...childrenwhorespondtogamesandactivitieswiththesameexcitementasAmericanchildren.”Othercommentsweresimilar:“Asimpleconceptmayneed furtherexplanation forESLstudents tounderstand”and“It forcedmeto try to target specificneedsand issues,rather thansimplyteachlessons.”

Otheremergingconceptswererelatedtoteachingguidancelessonsandthefrustrationsthatnewcounselors-in-trainingfacewithlittleornoteach-ingexperience.Onetraineestatedthatcounselors-in-trainingstruggledwith“theextremesofESLstudents(e.g.,abilities,languageacquisition).”Othertraineesstatedthattheyhadmoretolearn(i.e.,“Ihavesomuchmoretolearnandexperience,”and“Istillhavealottolearnabouttheguidance curriculum”). Several counselors-in-training also vocalizedother challenges, for example, “trying to take the time to think wherethechildrenaredevelopmentally,”“workingwiththewiderangeofESLstudentsandmeetingallof theirneeds,”and“keeping theattentionoftheESLstudents.”

Theme 4: Limitations in the ESL experience of counselors-in-training. Thecom-ments of some of the counselors-in-training suggested limitations in theirESLexperiences.Thetimerestrictionswereillustratedinthefollowingstate-ment:“IwishIcouldhaveheardtheirstoriesandabouthowtheygothere.”Othercounselors-in-trainingpointedtotheneedformoretrainingpriortotheESLexperience.Theyrecommendedthatsubsequentprograms“teachmore about guidance lessons and classroom management before workingwiththeESLstudents”and“offermoresuggestionsaboutthekindsofles-sonsthatwouldbebeneficialforESLchildren.Sometimes,theteachersdonotknowenoughaboutcounselingtohelp.”Anothercounselor-in-trainingstated, “We need more interactions with the ESL teachers before we do


guidancelessons.”Thus, theschoolcounselors-in-trainingseemedtoneedtobuildrapportwiththeESLteachersandESLstudentsbeforetheybegancollaborativeassignments.

discussionThecollaborativeschoolcounselingexercisedescribedinthisstudybroughtESLstudents,ESL teachers, andcounselors-in-training together,allowing themto“[build]cross-culturalbridges,”asrecommendedbyGohetal.(2007,p.67).TheESLteachersappearedtogainanunderstandingandperspectivefromobserv-ingthecounselors.Teamingtogethertoensuresuccessfulpersonal,academic,andlinguisticdevelopmentforallofthestudentswasbeneficial. Certainly, thecounselors-in-trainingbecamemoreawareofculturaldiversityandtheneedtoworkwithallstudents,asstatedintheASCANationalModel(ASCA,2005).

ThecollaborationofESLandcounseloreducationprogramswasapositiveventureforallparties involved.Therequiredacademicprogrammirroredcollaborative relationshipsexpectedofprofessional schoolcounselorsandESL teachers in their future careers. The counselors-in-training realizedtheimportanceofcollaborationandtheneedtobeanintegralpartoftheschoolenvironmentratherthanapartofanancillaryprogram.WebelievethatthroughtheESLexperiences,thecounselors-in-trainingsawtheneedtoshifttoateammemberapproachtoreachstudentsandtohavea“culturallycompetentpractice,”asrecommendedbyGohetal.(2007,p.67).

Thecollaborativeapproachofferedotherbenefitstothecounselors-in-training.Forinstance,thetraineeswereabletoapplyforthefirsttimewhatwaslearnedintheiruniversitycoursetotheschoolcounselingsetting.Thisappearedtobemorebeneficialthanapplyingtheknowledgeandskillsthroughpracticumorinternshipapproaches,asisdonetraditionally.Becausecollaborationisamajorcomponentofschoolcounseling,partneringwiththeESLprogramwasafavor-ableteachingtool.TheESLprograminvolvedthetraineesinlayersofcollabora-tion,fromcoordinatingwiththeESLteacherstoteachingguidancelessonsandteamingwithpeers,allofwhichmadecollaborationmorepertinent.Similarly,workingwiththeESLprogramgavethecounselors-in-trainingfirsthandknowl-edgeregardinghowtofitcounselingdutiesintoteacherschedulesandhowtoaddresstypicalconflictsthatoccuratschool.

The counselors-in-training experienced challenges and frustrations thatweresimilartothosereportedinpaststudies.Forexample,inRoysircaretal.’s(2005)study,thecounselorsreportedtheirfrustrationsindealingwithlanguagebarriersandthelackofinformationaboutstudents.Thiswasalsothecaseinthisstudy,particularlyinTheme3.Additionally,theculturallyrelatedchallengesdescribedbyHagan(2004;i.e.,howshecouldaccidentally“impose[her]culture”andhowsheneededto“bemoreawareof[her]ownculturalbearingsasawhitemiddle-classEuropeanAmericanwoman,”p.447),were


alsocommonthoughtsamongthecounselors-in-training in this study.Yet,evenwithreportedhindrances,webelievethatthefrustrationswereactuallyaplatformforgrowthandreal-worldexperience,ratherthanadrawbacktotheexperientialexercise.Roysircaretal. (2005)cametoa similarconclu-sionabouttheirexperience,whereinthethemesofinterpersonal“connec-tion”withmiddleschoolESLstudents,asexpressedbytrainees, increasedinfrequencyaftertheexpressionofinterpersonal“disconnection”ininitialone-to-onementoringsessions.

Resultsofthisprogramindicatethatfieldexperiencesassignedatanearlypointintheschoolcounselingprogramallowedtheschoolcounselors-in-trainingtomovetowardculturalcompetencesoonerthanistypicallyexpected.Furthermore, the traineesmoved fromfamiliaritywith theASCANationalModel(ASCA,2005)toactualimplementation.

Insummary,theexperientialexercisewehavedescribedinthisarticleoffersaninnovative,collaborativeapproachbetweenanESLpublicschoolprogramand a counselor education program. An experiential exercise served as ameansforearlycounselingexperiences,meaningfulskill-buildingopportuni-ties,andmulticulturalexperiencesforschoolcounselors-in-training.Dicksonetal.(2008)alsofoundthatcounseloreducationstudents’proximitytoandparticipationinexperientialtrainingexercisesweresignificantlyassociatedwith increased levelsof comfortwith raciallydiversepopulations.Becauseschool counselors are expected to advocate and become leaders who arereadytoamelioratethe“prejudices,discrimination,andracismofmanyadultsandpeersinU.S.schools”(McCall-Perez,2000,p.19),it is importantthatprogramssuchastheonedescribedhereofferwaysforschoolcounselors-in-trainingtohoneessentialskills.Asdemonstratedinourstudy,onemethodofintroducingnewlearning,knowledge,andskillsamongcounselors-in-trainingistoencouragecloseproximitytoraciallyandethnicallydiversepopulations,suchasworkingwithESLteachersandESLstudents(Gohetal.,2007;Hagan,2004;Roysircaretal.,2005).

recommendations for future research Despitethelimitationsofthisstudy,thefollowingrecommendationsareoffered.Researchersshouldconsideradditionalquestionstoaskcounselors-in-training.Future research questions should include “What ways did the ESL trainingprepareyouforthefuture?”and“Whathadyouhopedtolearn?”Additionally,datacollectionshouldgobeyondthepost–ESLexperiencegroupinterview.Afollow-upinterview,afterthecounselors-in-trainingarehiredasschoolcoun-selors,isnecessarytoallowresearcherstoidentify(a)usefulexperiencesforthecounselors-in-trainingand(b)areaswherethesefutureprofessionalsneedmorepreparationandtrainingtoworksuccessfullywithESLstudents.Fromalinguisticperspective,theneedtoexaminewhetherornotcounselinginanew


cultureorcommunitywouldbemoreeffectiveinthestudent’sfirstlanguageorthroughatranslationservice,eveniftheESLstudentisrelativelyproficientinEnglish,isnoteworthy.ThisstudyisthefirststepinthedevelopmentofatrainingmodelthatfocusesonreachingESLstudents.

referencesAmerican School Counselor Association. (2004). ASCA ethical standards for school counseling.

Alexandria,VA:Author.AmericanSchoolCounselorAssociation.(2005).The ASCA National Model: A framework for school

counseling programs (2nded.).Alexandria,VA:Author.Atkinson,D.R.(2004).Counseling American minorities (6thed).NewYork:McGrawHill.Burnett,J.A.,Hamel,D.,&Long,L.L.(2004).Servicelearningingraduatecounseloreduca-

tion:Developingmulticulturalcounselingcompetency.Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 32,180–192.

Campbell,C.A.,&Dahir,C.A.(1997).The national standards for school counseling programs.Alex-andria,VA:AmericanSchoolCounselorAssociation.

Clemente, R., & Collison, B. (2000). The relationship among counselors, ESL teachers, andstudents.Professional School Counseling, 3,339–349.

Crabtree,B.,&Miller,W.(1999).Doing qualitative research(2nded.).NewburyPark,CA:Sage.Dickson,G.L.,Jepsen,D.A.,&Barbee,P.W.(2008).Exploringtherelationshipsamongmulti-

culturaltrainingexperiencesandattitudestowarddiversityamongcounselingstudents.Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 36,113–126.

Goh,M.,Wahl,K.,McDonald,J.,Brissett,A.,&Yoon,E.(2007).Workingwithimmigrantstu-dentsinschools:Theroleofschoolcounselorsinbuildingcross-culturalbridges.Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 35,66–79.

Hagan, M. (2004). Acculturation and an ESL program: A service learning project. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 32,443–448.

Kim,Y.S.E.(2005).Guidelinesandstrategiesforcross-culturalcounselingwithKoreanAmericanclients.Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 33,217–231.

Koskinen,P.,Blum,I.,Bisson,S.,Phillips,S.,Creamer,T.,&Baker,T.(2000).Bookaccess,sharedreading,andaudiomodels:Theeffectsof supporting the literacy learningof linguisticallydiversestudentsinschoolandathome.Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 23–36.

Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks,CA:Sage.

McCall-Perez,Z.(2000).Thecounselorasadvocate forEnglish language learners:Anactionresearchapproach.Professional School Counseling, 4,13–22.

McCracken,G.(1988).The long interview.NewburyPark,CA:Sage.Ponterotto,J.G.(2002).Qualitativeresearchmethods:Thefifthforceinpsychology.TheCoun-

seling Psychologist, 30,394–406.Pope-Davis,D.B.,Toporek,R.L.,Ortega-Villalobos,L.,Ligiero,D.P.,Brittan-Powell,C.S.,&

Pica, T. (2002). Subject-matter content: How does it assist the interactional and linguisticneedsofclassroomlanguagelearners?Modern Language Learners, 86, 1–19.

Roysircar,G.(2003).Counselorawarenessofownassumptions,values,andbiases.InG.Roysircar,P.Arredondo,J.N.Fuertes,J.G.Ponterotto,&R.L.Toporek(Eds.),Multicultural Counseling Competencies 2003: Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (pp.15–26). Alexandria,VA:AmericanCounselingAssociation.

Roysircar,G.,Arredondo,P.,Fuertes,J.,Ponterotto,J.N.,&Toporek,R.L.(2003).Multicultural Counseling Competencies 2003: Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development. Alexandria,VA:AmericanCounselingAssociation.

Roysircar,G.,Gard,G.,Hubbell,R.,&Ortega,M.(2005).Developmentofcounselingtrainees’multiculturalawarenessthroughmentoringEnglishasasecondlanguagestudents.Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 33, 17–36.

Sink,C.(2005).Contemporary school counseling: Theory, research and practice. Boston:HoughtonMifflin.

1� journalofMulticulturalcounselinganddevelopMent•january2009•vol.37

Stone,C.,&Dahir,C.A.(2006).The transformed school counselor.Boston:HoughtonMifflin.Sue,D.W.,Arredondo,P.,&McDavis,R.J.(1992).Multiculturalcounselingcompetenciesand

standards:Acalltotheprofession.Journal of Counseling & Development, 70,477–486.Welfel,E.R.(2003).Ethics in counseling and psychotherapy: Standards, research and emerging issues

(2nded).PacificGrove,CA:Brooks/Cole.Zhang,N.,&Dixon,D.(2001).Multiculturallyresponsivecounseling:EffectsonAsianstudents’

ratingsofcounselors.Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 29,253–262.

experiential training: connecting school counselors-in-training, english as a second language (esl)...

Documents