The Achievement Gap and School Counselors: Preparing School Counselors to Play a Role in Culturally Responsive Education

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The Achievement Gap and School Counselors
Preparing School Counselors to Play a Role in
Culturally Responsive Education

• Blaire Cholewa, Ph.D Kean University
• Ellen Amatea, Ph.D Cirecie West-Olatunji, Ph.D-
  University of Florida

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Chronic Underachievement

• Persistent differences in academic achievement
  between low income, culturally diverse students
  and their White peers
• (Planty et al., 2008 U.S. Department of
  Education, 2007)
• Discrepancies in drop out rates between
  culturally diverse students and their White peers
• (Planty et al., 2008 U.S. Department of
  Education, 2007)
• Disproportionate referrals for special education
• (Blair Scott, 2002 Skiba et al., 2008)
• Disproportionate number of discipline referrals,
  suspensions and expulsions
• (Gordon et al., 2000 Skiba et al., 2002)

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Cultural Dys-synchronization

• U.S. education is based on the norms and values
  of White, middle and upper class
• (Boykin, 2001 Foster et al., 2003)
• Cultural discontinuity theory examines the
  disconnection between the education system and
  the students home (Irvine, 1990 Gay, 2000
  Ladson-Billings, 1994 Moll Gonzalez, 2004)
• Failure of some educators to recognize culturally
  diverse students ways of knowing, speaking, and
  interacting (Moll Gonzalez, 2004 Nieto, 2004)
  
• Cultural dys-synchronization has been linked with
  psychological distress in culturally diverse
  students (Brody et al., 2006 Fisher et al.,
  2001 Murdock, 1999 Wong et al.,2003)

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Culturally Responsive Educational Practices

• Culturally responsive educational practices
  bridge the existing disconnection between the
  school and home
• These practices combine
• culturally based pedagogical and instructional
  methods (Gay, 2000 Ladson-Billings, 1994 King,
  2005 Nieto, 2004a)
• culturally responsive classroom management and
  teacher-student interactions (Brown, 2003, 2004
  Bondy, et al., 2007 Weinstein et al., 2003,
  2004)

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The Impact of Culturally Responsive Educational
Practices

• The research suggests the low-income, culturally
  diverse students of teachers who implement these
  practices are related to
• significant academic gains (Foster, Lewis,
  Onafowora, 2003, 2005 Foster, 1997 Gay, 2000
  Ladson-Billings, 1994 Pransky Bailey, 2002
  Vogt, Jordan, Tharp, 1993)
• Positive increases in aspects of psychological
  well-being (Cummins, 1996 Diaz-Greenberg, 2001
  Howard, 2001 Ladson-Billings, 1994)

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Relationship among Cultural Dys-synchronization,
Psychological Distress and Academic Outcomes
Cultural Dyschronization Education
Psychological Distress
Academic Outcomes
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21st Century School Counselor

• ASCA calls for school counselors to serve as
• Leaders,
• Advocates
• Consultants (ASCA, 2003)
• School counselors work toward equity and social
  justice (Bemak Chung, 2005)
• Consultant role is increasingly important with
  low-income, culturally diverse students. (Amatea
  West-Olatunji, 2007 Bemak, 2000 Brown
  Trusty, 2005).
• School counselors receive extensive relational
  and multicultural training and yet are often
  absent from conversations regarding teacher
  instruction. (Cholewa West-Olatunji, 2008 Sue,
  Arredondo McDavis, 1992 ).

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Three Recommendations for Counselor Educators

• Creating School Counselor Trainee Buy-in and
  Commitment
• Preparing Trainees to Deal with Potential Teacher
  Resistance
• Curricular Activities

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Creating School Counselor Trainee Buy-in and
Commitment

• Stress the significance of school counselors
  indirect service roles leader, advocate,
  consultant
• Increase trainees awareness of cultural
  dys-synchronization
• Provide basic knowledge of culturally responsive
  educational practices
• Provide knowledge and skills around leadership
  and consultation
• Foster trainees agency

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Preparing the Trainee to Deal with Teacher
Resistance

• Emphasize the collaborative nature of
  consultation and the importance of partnering
  with teachers
• Facilitate trainees empathy towards teachers-
  putting themselves in the teachers shoes
• Provide examples of collaborative interventions
  with teachers including
• Story Circle
• School wide readings with reading groups
• Online discussions
• Examples of Outcomes Paige Allison

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Curricular Activities

• Conscious Raising Activities for Trainees
• Story Circle (Clay, Olatunji Cooley, 2001)
• Circles of Diversity
• Horatio Algiers By the Bootsraps (DeRosa, 1994)
• Create opportunities counselor trainees to
  practice the implement culturally responsive
  strategies in their own large group counseling.
  This will
• Solidify the concepts of culturally responsive
  educational practices
• Facilitate trainees ability to consult with
  teachers on this topic having actually done so
  themselves.

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Curricular Activities

• Partner with teacher education and educational
  leadership departments and create
  interdisciplinary assignments
• Create and implement in-class role plays around
  consultation skills
• Require counselor-teacher consultation
  experiences in practica/internships

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Future Research

• Further inquiry into the psychological impact of
  culturally responsive teachers on their students
• Evaluate existing leadership training initiatives
  that have been incorporated into school counselor
  education programs
• Intervention studies to examine ways to
  facilitate collaborative partnerships between
  school counselors and teachers

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Selected References

• Amatea, E., West-Olatunji, C. (2007). Joining
  the conversation about educating our poorest
  children New leadership roles for school
  counselors in high poverty schools. Professional
  School Counseling, 11, 81-89.
• Cholewa, B. West-Olatunji, C. (2008).
  Exploring the relationship among cultural
  discontinuity, psychological distress, and
  academic outcomes with low-income, culturally
  diverse students. Professional School
  Counseling, 12, 54-61.
• Clay, L., Olatunji, C., Cooley, S.  (2001).
  Keeping the story alive Narrative in the
  African-American church and community.
  Educational Resource Information Clearinghouse,
  ERIC No ED462666, pp. 1-9.
• DeRosa, P. (1994). Diversity training In search
  of anti-racism. Peacework, 240, 1-4.
• Foster, M., Lewis, J., Onafowora, L. (2003).
  Anthropology, culture, and research on teaching
  and learning Applying what we have learned to
  improve practice. Teachers College Record, 105,
  261-277.
• Fisher C. B., Wallace S. A., Fenton R. E.
  (2000). Discrimination distress during
  adolescence. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 29,
  679695.

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Selected References

• Irvine, J.J. (1990). Black students and school
  failure Policies, practices, and prescriptions.
  New York Praeger.
• Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers
  Successful teachers of African American children.
  San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Nieto, S. (2004). Affirming diversity The
  sociopolitical context of multicultural
  education, (4th ed.). Needham Heights, MA Allyn
  Bacon
• U. S. Department of Education, National Center
  for Education Statistics. (2007). The Condition
  of Education 2007 (NCES 2007-064). Washington,
  DC U.S. Government Printing
• Wong, C. A., Eccles, J. S., Sameroff, A.
  (2003). The influence of ethnic discrimination
  and ethnic identification on African American
  adolescents school and socioemotional
  adjustment. Journal of Personality, 71,
  11971232.

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Contact Information

• Cirecie A. West-Olatunji, Ph.D.
• Associate Professor
• Department of Counselor Education
• University of Florida
• 1204 Norman Hall
• PO Box 117046
• Gainesville, FL  32611
• 352-273-4324
• cwestolatunji_at_coe.ufl.edu  

Blaire Cholewa, Ph. D Assistant
Professor Department of Counselor Education Kean
University 306 Hennings Hall 1000 Morris
Ave Union, NJ 07083 [phone] bcholewa_at_kean.e
du
Ellen Amatea, Ph.D Professor Department of
Counselor Education University of Florida 1202
Norman Hall PO Box 117046 Gainesville, FL
32611 352-273-4322 eamatea_at_ufl.edu