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...special issue, Lewis and Hayes (1991) stated that "multiculturalism increasingly recognized as an important component of the counseling training program" (p. 119). These authors further noted that "as educators, we have a responsibility to lead students to a heightened awareness of the importance of being empathetic and skilled in the realm of cross-cultural counseling" (p. 124).
D'Andrea, Daniels, and Heck (1991) acknowledged the potential of the multicultural counseling movement to promote revolutionary changes in the counseling profession. These multicultural counseling advocates more specifically pointed out that "to realize its full potential, however, much more research needs to be done" (p. 143). Research is particularly needed to understand the types of interventions COEs and CEPs are using to promote the development of multicultural competencies among administrators, faculty members, and students in these organizational settings.
One of the challenges in promoting multicultural and related social justice issues in COEs and CEPs involves addressing the assertion by some persons that multiculturalism is simply a politically correct fad rather than a primary component of higher education. However, given the rapid racial/cultural diversification of the United States, it is becoming increasingly apparent that educational administrators, teachers, and counselors need to develop a broad range of multicultural/social justice competencies that will enable them to function more effectively and respectfully in the future. With this in mind, it is suggested that COEs and CEPs need to (a) increase the number of students and faculty who come from a wide range of cultural groups and (b) implement new training approaches and organizational initiatives that are intentionally aimed at stimulating the sort of cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills that are necessary to work within the context of an increasingly diverse society. Moses and Chang (2006) noted that such a multicultural focus would need to be grounded in a social justice perspective of education and counseling.
By addressing social justice issues in COEs in general and CEPs in particular, students can become more knowledgeable of the social injustices and educational inequalities that exist in this nation (Thrupp, 2006). This understanding will predictably lead academic institutions to better respond to the needs of marginalized groups, such as migrant farm worker students, who continue to be disadvantaged in contemporary society (Zalaquett, McHatton, & Cranston-Gingras, 2007).
Factors Leading to an Increased Focus on Multicultural Competence
Efforts to infuse multicultural/social justice education into COEs and CEPs have been on the rise over the past decade (Chang, Astin, & Kim, 2004; North, 2006). This trend has been in response to several factors. The first factor relates to the diversification of the population to be served by COE and CEP graduates. Future projections indicate that by the year 2020, a majority of school-age children attending public schools will be children of color and children from diverse cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds (Zhou, 2003). Similar projections indicate that the adult population is changing as well, with increasing numbers of culturally different individuals constituting the general public (Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992; Zhou, 2003). Thus, it is critical that educational administrators, teachers, and counselors are trained to address the unique needs of this increasingly diverse majority population (Coleman, 1996; Hobson & Kanitz, 1996; House & Martin, 1998; Lewis & Hayes, 1991).
The second factor is the recognition that traditional COEs and CEPs have not met the needs of students from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural groups and backgrounds in the past (Lewis & Hayes, 1991). This is largely due to the fact that traditional counseling and education models are based on European American norms. These models fail to consider the impact of multicultural factors such as a person's age, class, culture, disability, ethnicity, and gender in the education process. Furthermore, traditional education models used in COEs and CEPs do not address the systems intervention knowledge and skills that administrators, teachers, and counselors need to more effectively deal with the sociopolitical forces affecting students and schools (Ponterotto & Casas, 1991; Sue & Sue, 2003; Zhou, 2003).
The third factor is that accrediting agencies increasingly require COEs and CEPs to address issues related to multicultural/social justice education. Both the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE; 2002, 2008), which accredits COEs, and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2001), which accredits CEPs, have outlined extensive and specific requirements regarding cultural competence for both students and faculty.
The fourth factor, which has resulted in increased attention by COEs and CEPs to the need to infuse multicultural/social justice issues into their training programs, relates to the ongoing contributions that have been made by multicultural counseling, research, and educational scholars. These contributions have advanced a broad knowledge base that relates to teaching, research, and theorizing on issues ranging from such topics as the reframing of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994; Ivey & Ivey, 1998) to the inclusion of those affected with disabilities (D'Andrea, Skouge, & Daniels, 2006; Smith, Foley, & Chancy, 2008) to the recognition of the primary role that cultural factors play in the development and expression of human strengths and optimal human functioning (Constantine & Sue, 2006).
The fifth factor is...
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