SC 613

Counseling Diverse & Special Populations

Syllabus


Course Description
Counseling Diverse and Special Populations is designed to equip school counselors with the knowledge, perspectives, and skills necessary for effective practice with students and parents from diverse backgrounds and needs in public schools. This course includes both theoretical and practical skills for school counselors to strengthen multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills in the competencies necessary to evaluate and develop appropriate interventions for presenting problems brought by ethnically and culturally diverse, and special needs students in the school setting. The course assist students in developing insights into their own culturally based beliefs, assumptions, and possible prejudices towards diverse and special needs students. In addition, the course helps students develop an understanding of major cultural, social, and physical factors that influence public school students' school behavior and achievement.

This course will emphasize the connection between the role of the school counselor in self-introspection and the development of appropriate counseling and academic interventions for multicultural, diverse, and disabled school aged students. Students will be involved in a variety of tasks for completion of course requirements: readings, reports on readings, exams, journal and reflection entries, projects related to real world learning environments development of instructional counseling strategies for specific content areas and practice in the school setting. 

Course Objectives
Participants will:

Multicultural Component

 

Objectives-CACREP 2009 standards

  1. Examine the salient issues in cross-cultural and special population counseling. (CACREP E.1. A.6. C.3. C.5. C.6. D.1. D.2. D.4. G.2.)
  2. Explore and understand how personal perspectives on cultural identity and prejudices/biases impact their and others lives. (CACREP D.4. E.3. F.1. F.3. G.2. H.1.)
  3. Examine feelings, attitudes and beliefs concerning culturally diverse students, families, and other education professionals. (CACREP D.1. D. 4. F.1. G.1. G.2.)
  4. Identify and apply major counseling strategies appropriate for use with multicultural and special needs students in the school setting. (CACREP A.1. A.6. C.1. C.3. C.5. E.2. E.4. F.2. F,3,, F.4. M.4.)
  5. Develop a model workshop that advocates for effective services and methods to communicate across cultural lines. (CACREP A.3. A.4. A.5. B.2. C.4. D.1. S.4.)
  6. Explore theories and research on socialization to assess the development of social identity and social group affiliations with families, schools, communities, and other social institutions; (CACREP C.1. C.3. C.5. D,2, D.3.E.2. E.4. F.2. F.3. F.4.I.1.I.3. I.4. I.5. J.1. J.2. J.3. M.1. M.2. M.4.)
  7. Identify theories and current research on stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and the dynamics of power, privilege, and disabilities for students, families and the school counselor. (CACREP C.1. C.3. C.5. D,2, D.3.E.2. E.4. F.2. F.3. F.4.I.1.I.3. I.4. I.5. J.1. J.2. J.3. M.1. M.2. M.4.)
  8. Select appropriate assessment instruments for use with multicultural, diverse, and disabled populations.(CACREP F.1. F.2. F.3. F.4. G.1. G.2. g.3. H.1. H.2. H.3. H.4. H.5. )
  9. Design and implement prevention and intervention plans to use with multicultural, diverse, and disabled populations in the school setting, including plans for bullying prevention. (CACREP A.4. A.5. K.1. K.2. K.3. L.1. L.2. L.3. )
  10. Develop an appropriate comprehensive school counseling program, based on ASCA National Model to work with students with multicultural, diverse and special educational/behavioral accommodations. (CACREP A.5. B.2. C.2. C.4. D.1. D.3. )
  11. Explain the impact of federal laws on the education of multicultural, diverse, and special needs populations. (CACREP A.2. B.1. D.1. E.1. F.1.)
  12. Summarize the school counselor’s role in the process of identification, evaluation and IEP development for special needs students and their families. (CACREP A.2. B.1.D.1. E.1. F.1.F.2. F.4. G.1. G.2. G.3. H.1. H. 2. G.3. G.4. G.5.
  13. Analyze and apply ethical and legal standards for school counselors as they work with students with multicultural, diverse, and disabilities needs and their families, educators, and community agencies. (CACREP A.2. B.1. E.1. E.3. F.1. F.3. E.4. M.1. M.2. M.3. N.1. N.3. N.5.)

 

Course Design

This course will be offered online over a 15-Session period and is a 45 hour 3 credit graduate course.  Most activities are experiential in design.  The primary teaching tool are the textbooks and the student manual which contains readings, problems, case studies, glossary, important sources to obtain current information, and samples of the mid-term and final exam. Online readings and Web site reviews including journal articles and best practices from the body of educational research will be assigned during the course to enhance learning. These readings will be presented as annotated Web sites within the course content.

Course Materials

Required Texts:
Counseling Diverse Clients: Bringing Context into Therapy (2004) by Jeanne M. Slattery
Revealing the Invisible: Confronting Passive Racism in Teacher Education (2006), by Sherry Marx.
Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom (2007), by Judy Willis, M.D.

Hardware and Computer Skill Requirements

Students may use either a Macintosh computer or PC with Windows 2000 or higher. Students should possess basic word processing skills and have Internet access with an active e-mail account. Students must have access to Microsoft Office 2000, XP, or 2003. Students also are expected to have a basic knowledge of how to use a Web browser, such as Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or America Online (AOL). Internet Explorer is the recommended browser for this course. To download a browser at no cost, visit one of the following Web sites – Netscape.com; Microsoft.com and AOL.com.

Student Performance Requirements:
Students will complete assigned readings, written assignments, applications/practice/direct observations in the educational setting and forum postings (as required) in each Session. Students will complete tests and special projects as listed in the module content.

Student Requirements

                                     
Grading:

Reflection - 30 points

Discussion Questions - 25 points

Assignments - 200 points

Final Project - 20 points

275-256

A

255-234

B

233-212

C

211-190

D

189-0

F

 

On-line Assignments: All assignments posted online will be due by midnight on the due date. Students will be expected to read and react to selected chapters and resources provided. Papers should meet minimum page requirements.  Students are reminded that the assignments may focus on controversial diversity issues within our society. (Sessions, 2, 4, 6, 8, & 10)

Final Project: The student will report on their personal strengths and concerns realized from their journaling on cultural competencies during this course. In addition, the student will summarize their journal on the journey, learning, and understanding of children, their context, values and goals to help make appropriated academic and counseling interventions in the school setting.

 

Student Academic Integrity

Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined in the Teacher Education University catalog and is subject to academic disciplinary action.

 

Note to Facilitators: The materials in the course can be emotional all activities must be conducted in an atmosphere of warmth, trust, and acceptance. Stereotypes and prejudices are often based on opinions that are perceived as facts. Please allow enough time for discussion at the end of each activity. Debriefing is important for dealing with unresolved feelings or misunderstandings.

Note to Students: The topics of cultural diversity, racism, ethnic relations, prejudice, oppression, and so forth are naturally sensitive topics of discussion. You read, view, and discuss content that you might find emotionally charged. As students of counseling Diverse and Special Populations, these discussions are necessary for critical thinking and creating an open dialogue for a deeper understanding of the issues impacting the therapeutic alliance. You are encouraged to include your insight into the topics as it supports the objectives of the course and answers the discussion questions.