SPCL 7922T Multicultural Counseling (Elmadani): Home

Multicultural training for master’s level counselors is an essential aspect of graduate education. With the development and refinement of the Multicultural Counseling Competencies by the Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development (Sue, Arrondondo, & McDavis, 1992), many training models have been advanced (Pedersen, 1994; Ridley, Mendoza, Kanitz, Angermeier, & Zenk, 1994). The three dimensions of multicultural counseling competency include:

• Awareness of one’s own assumptions, values, and biases;
• Knowledge of the worldviews of culturally different students and clients; and
• Skill development in appropriate intervention strategies and techniques. Research has documented significant increases in multicultural counseling awareness via coursework integrated into counselor education programs (D’Andrea, Daniels, & Heck, 1991).

The emphasis of this course is on increasing students’ awareness, which includes understanding one’s own worldview and cultural conditioning, and the subsequent effects on one’s ability to interact effectively with a variety of individuals.

As a result of participation in class, students will gain an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues and trends in a multicultural society related to the diversity of racial, ethnic, and cultural heritage, socioeconomic status, age, gender, sexual orientation, and religious and spiritual beliefs, as well as physical, emotional, and mental abilities. Additionally, students will gain an understanding of the unique characteristics of individuals, couples, families, ethnic groups, and communities. By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate awareness of multicultural and pluralistic trends, including characteristics and concerns between and within diverse groups nationally and internationally (CACREP Standard 2.F.2.a; 2.F.2.c.);
2. Demonstrate self-awareness of attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and acculturative experiences, including specific experiential learning activities designed to foster students’ understanding of self and culturally diverse clients (CACREP Standard 2.F.2.b; 2.F.2.d);
3. Demonstrate knowledge of theories of multicultural counseling, theories of identity development, and social justice (CACREP Standard 2.F.2.b; 2.F.2.e);
4. Demonstrate knowledge of individuals, couples, families, groups, and community strategies for working with and advocating for diverse populations, including multicultural competencies (CACREP Standard 2.F.2.c; 2.F.2.b; 2.F.2.f.);
5. Demonstrate knowledge of counselors’ roles in developing cultural self-awareness, promoting cultural social justice, advocacy, and conflict resolution, and other culturally supported behaviors that promote optimal wellness and growth of the human spirit, mind, or body (CACREP Standard 2.F.2.b; 2.F.2.g.);
6. Demonstrate knowledge of counselors’ roles in eliminating biases, prejudices, and processes of intentional and unintentional oppression and discrimination (CACREP Standard 2.F.2.h.); and

This course meets the following competencies for the 2016 CACREP Standards:

• 2.F.2.a. Analyze multicultural and pluralistic characteristics within and among diverse groups
• 2.F.2.b. Apply theories and models of multicultural counseling, cultural identity development, and social justice and advocacy
• 2.F.2.c. Examine counselors’ roles in developing multicultural counseling competencies
• 2.F.2.d. Evaluate the impact of heritage, attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and acculturative experiences on an individual’s views of others
• 2.F.2.e. Analyze the effects of power and privilege for counselors and clients
• 2.F.2.f. help-seeking behaviors of diverse clients
• 2.F.2.g. Evaluate the impact of spiritual beliefs on clients’ and counselors’ worldviews
• 2.F.2.h. Apply strategies for identifying and eliminating barriers, prejudices, and processes of intentional and unintentional

Students are assigned preparatory materials to review before the start of each class. The preparatory materials can be lectures, articles, videos, or PowerPoint slides. The preparatory materials highlight foundational vocabulary and the most important concepts the students needs to be problem-solving, but not everything they need to know by module end.

Some of the class sessions will begin with a multiple-choice quiz given in class. The RATs only take 10-15 minutes to complete, and a double-time accommodation has been added for all students. The RAT holds students accountable for acquiring important foundational knowledge from the assigned readings that will prepare them to begin problem-solving during the class sessions. The class sessions will begin right after the quizzes.

Students and their teams use the foundational knowledge, acquired in the first two phases, to make decisions that will be reported during the whole-class discussions and subject to cross-team discussion and critique. The class will use a variety of methods to have students report their team’s decision at the end of each activity.

Quizzes 20%

There will be periodic quizzes (10 quizzes) designed to assess your completion and basic understanding of the lecture and assigned readings (and videos, podcasts, etc.). The quiz only takes 10 minutes. There are no make-ups for missed quiz.

Blackboard Discussion Board Forums 10%

The discussion board forums are student-centered and aimed at foster ring student-to-student learning community via an asynchronous format. The discussion prompts are designed to foster a deeper processing of the course material timed right before the material is discussed in class. Students are expected to post on discussion boards before the deadline and to interact at least twice with other students during every discussion board thread as the following:

1. Create and post their initial response to the Discussion Question by Friday. 300-400 word count for the initial response to the question must be met. Your responses to the forum question must be supported with sources from the readings from the textbook and scholarly journals (3 references); reflect your understanding and thoughtful reflection; show clear connections to previous or current content or to real-life situations; be well organized, appropriate, and relevant. The references of your in-text citations must be written at the end of your responses to the instructor’s questions.
2. Respond to at least two of the other students’ initial postings by Tuesday, 4:30pm. 125-150 word count for each of the two responses must be met. Students should formulate a response that expands on the original response, or helps clarify the original response, or asks a question of the original response, or shows how or why you might incorporate the original response into your response, or etc.

Counselor Cultural Narrative 15%

This critical reflective writing activity requires students to explore self in relation to attitudes and beliefs, and develop knowledge about personal cultural identity, development, and worldview (including key personal values). Students will address the impact of personal values, cultural identity, family history, and current lifestyle on current sense of self, their future work as school counselors, and their ability to work with different groups in counseling. Use all of your course experiences to date (readings, other course materials, class dialogues, etc.) to inform your work on this project. You will be required to do a literature review, followed by mentioning conversations and interactions with people other than your own identity. Also, use the specific resources and prompts listed below as a guide for your personal cultural review and reflection.

Each prompt below is to be integrated in your narrative. You are encouraged to utilize creativity, thoughtfulness, and intention in discussing your intersectionality and cultural identity.

1. How do you culturally identify? Include the identities (e.g., woman) and identity intersections (e.g., low income, queer, Chinese woman) you view as most salient and describe why these are most salient for you.
2. When you look at a photograph of yourself, what do you think others see in terms of your cultural (e.g., ethnicity, race) background based purely on your physical features? What do you see about yourself?
3. Describe yourself in terms of each component of the ADDRESSING Framework. In what areas do you hold privilege? In what areas do you experience marginalization? How does intersectionality impact your experiences with privilege and oppression?
4. When did you recall learning that you were male or female? How did you learn this?
5. When do you remember learning what your sexual orientation is and how did you learn this?
6. When did you find out what religion your family practiced, if any? How did your family feel about people who had a different religion? Did you have similar feelings? How would you describe your current religion/spiritual orientation?
7. What were you taught about your family’s socioeconomic status throughout your life? Was social class (yours or others) openly discussed, observed, assumed, etc.? Did you often interact with those whose SES background differed from your own? Describe a critical incident that made you aware of your social class.
8. How often did your family talk about your ethnic heritage and in what context?
9. Discuss what messages (verbal and nonverbal) you received about your cultural or ethnic background and what childhood experiences reinforce them. What message did you receive about other cultural or ethnic groups?
10. Discuss your earliest recollections of learning that people are “different.” Discuss how you realized you or others were “different” and how it impacted you.
11. Describe the childhood and adolescent experiences or relationships that shaped your view of people who are culturally different than you. What is your current view of people who are culturally different than you?
12. Describe some experiences that may have influenced you to change the way that you view people who are culturally different than you.
13. What gender assumptions/biases are common in your cultural and family group?
14. How is sexual orientation regarded in your cultural group? How did your family help shape your attitudes about sexual orientation?
15. How did you first come to understand that racism existed? What did you learn from this experience?
16. What cultural values do you currently hold? Are they similar to or different than those of your family? Which of these values will be different from the common values of other cultural groups?
17. What has been the major source of information that has shaped your perceptions of different groups of people? How have these values impacted your worldview?
18. What biases are you currently aware of? How do you plan to manage your biases when working with your clients/students?
19. What groups do you think that you will have the most difficulty working with? The least difficulty? Why?
20. What are the implications of these answers for your work with clients from both similar and dissimilar cultural backgrounds? Describe your strategies and plan for advocacy and anti-racist work that you plan to engage in.

The paper will vary in length based on an individual’s personal history and experiences; however, this assignment is considered a comprehensive personal review and reflection. Consider 8-10 content pages (not including title) to be a target. Your writing will be evaluated for its reflective nature and your shared understanding of multiple cultural elements, characteristics, and dynamics included in this course. The rubric that will be used to grade your paper is at the end of the syllabus and posted on blackboard.

Cultural Immersion Experience paper (15%) and presentation (10%):

The purpose of this assignment is to help students fully understand a multicultural group of which they are not a member. Students will engage with a different multicultural group within or outside of their communities.

Your task is to connect with a group that meets the following three criteria:

1. That constitutes a unique “culture” or clear value system,
2. That is or has been disenfranchised or oppressed, AND
3. About which you have (potentially negative) preconceived ideas. This can include racial/cultural, sexual identity, religious/spiritual, economic, or ability diversity (formalized religious services different from your own; volunteer work at soup kitchens and homeless shelters, attending a religious ceremony, burial, rites of passage, social activity, etc.).

Paper Steps

• Step 1: Contact the group and interview a leader about how to interact with the group, or find a “cultural guide” who can help you access the group appropriately. Interview that person about the group: why they gather, what it means to them. Ensure an informed consent form is used.
• Step 2: You will attend at least 1 gathering of people in this group, observing and interacting as appropriate. This meeting is to be attended ALONE – NOT with other students from this class or program unless he/she is your cultural guide.
• Step 3: After the experience, you will describe each of the following:
  1. Your reactions to the experience,
  2. Your thoughts and feelings about the group observed,
  3. Your thoughts and feelings about yourself in relation to the group observed, and
  4. What you need to consider to be an effective counselor with members of this population.

Your final product will be a 3-5 page Word document written in APA format. (See Brooklyn College Library's guide on "Cite Your Sources: APA") Your paper should be written in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Paper Rubric

CO: 1, 2

Assignment Components	Proficient	Max Points
Interview a leader about how to interact with the group, or find a “cultural guide” who can help you access the group appropriately. Interview that person about the group.	Leader or guide is a member of the multicultural group you are engaging. Purpose of why the group gathers is accurately described, along with the meaning of gatherings for the group.	/5pts
After each experience, describe each of the following:  1) Your reactions to the experience,  2) Your thoughts and feelings about the group observed  and  3) Your thoughts and feelings about yourself in relation to the group observed	Reactions to the gathering are included. Changes in thoughts and feelings of the group as a whole, and feelings about self in regard to the group are clear and justified.	/5pts
Academic Writing: Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources (i.e. APA); and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.	Written in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in appropriate and accurate representation and attribution of sources; and displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Use of scholarly sources aligns with specified assignment requirements.	/5pts

Presentation Steps

Students will present their projects and share their experiences. The duration of the presentations should be 20 minutes. Presenters also need to lead at least 5 minutes of discussion at the end of the presentations by using prompts. The use of PowerPoint presentations is highly encouraged. Students will hand in a copy of the Class Presentation Rubric before they present. One point will be deducted if students do not hand in the rubric.

Presentation Rubric

• Name:
• Date:
• Total Points:
• Title of Presentation:

• Speaker(s) were prepared on time and finished on time: __ Yes    __ No (Deduct 1 point)
• Rubric handed in before presentation: __ Yes    __ No (Deduct 1 point)

Final Exam 20%

Based on the text, lectures, readings, and class experiences, students will be tested on their knowledge of the topics. The exam will consist of multiple choice, True/False, and short/long answers (no essays).

Final Grade	Point Equivalent
A+	99-100+
A	94-98
A-	90-93
B+	87-89
B	83-86
B-	80-82
C+	77-79
C	73-76
C-	70-72
F	69-

NOTE: Students are expected to meet all appropriate/applicable criteria. Failure to meet the criteria will result in an administrative meeting with the instructor and/or School Counseling Program Coordinator to determine how the inability to meet professional standards of conduct impacts the student’s standing in the course and/or program.

All assignments are due on the dates indicated on the course calendar. Grades on assignments will be lowered the designated number of points per week/day late, as measured by the beginning of the class period in which the assignment was due.

The form as well as the content of your written work will be a part of your evaluation and grade. Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling and organization and clarity of thought will be assessed.

The Brooklyn College Center for Learning holds online and in-person tutoring sessions, including to help your writing. The Learning Center will help you with writing in person and online. You can email the Brooklyn College Learning Center or call 718-951-5821 the Brooklyn College Learning Center located in 1300 Boylan Hall, for assistance with writing.

The instructor is also available to consult with you about your writing and provide constructive feedback on a draft if you make an appointment at least two weeks before an assignment is due. There will be no re-writes for any papers.

The School of Education at Brooklyn College prepares teachers, administrators, counselors, and school psychologists to serve, lead and thrive in the schools and agencies of this city and beyond. Through collaborative action, teaching and research, we develop our students’ capacities to create socially just, intellectually vital, aesthetically rich and compassionate communities that value equity and excellence, access and rigor. We design our programs in cooperation with Liberal Arts and Sciences faculties and in consultation with local schools in order to provide our students with the opportunity to develop the knowledge, proficiencies and understandings needed to work with New York City’s racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse populations. We believe that teaching is an art that incorporates critical self-reflection, openness to new ideas, practices and technologies, and that focuses on the individual learner’s needs and promotes growth. Our collective work is shaped by scholarship and is animated by a commitment to educate our students to the highest standards of professional competence.

Academic dishonesty of any type, including cheating and plagiarism, is unacceptable at Brooklyn College. Cheating is any misrepresentation in academic work. Plagiarism is the representation of another person’s work, words, or ideas as your own. Students should consult the Brooklyn College Student Handbook for a fuller, more specific discussion of related academic integrity standards.

Academic dishonesty is punishable by failure of the “…test, examination, term paper or other assignment on which cheating occurred” (Faculty Council, May 18, 1954).

In addition, disciplinary proceedings in cases of academic dishonesty may result in penalties of admonition, warning, censure, disciplinary probation, restitution, suspension, expulsion, complaint to civil authorities, or ejection (Adopted by Policy Council, May 8, 1991).

NOTE: If you have a question about how to cite correctly ask your teacher BEFORE submitting your work.

• The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism.
• Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both.
• View complete text of CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and Brooklyn College procedure for policy implementation.
• If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member must report the violation.
• Please read the section entitled “Academic Regulations and Procedures” in the Brooklyn College Undergraduate Bulletin or Graduate Bulletin for a complete listing of academic regulations of the College.

All students must complete the Preventing Plagiarism Training Modules in SPCL 7900. This is a Program requirement that has been implemented to educate students on plagiarism and strategies for preventing academic dishonesty, which include: following APA style; citing others’ work; using quotations when copying other authors’ exact words; and most importantly, writing papers using your own words. Academic dishonesty is punishable by failure of the “…test, examination, term paper or other assignment on which cheating occurred” (Faculty Council, May 18, 1954). In addition, disciplinary proceedings in cases of academic dishonesty may result in penalties of admonition, warning, censure, disciplinary probation, restitution, suspension, expulsion, complaint to civil authorities, or ejection (Adopted by Policy Council, May 8, 1991). Download the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity document from Blackboard, located in the “Syllabus”. Academic dishonesty in this course is grounds for disciplinary action which may include failure in the assignment and/or class, and dismissal from the program.

Bereavement Policy:

• Students who experience the death of a loved one must contact the Division of Student Affairs, 2113 Boylan Hall, if they wish to implement either the Standard Bereavement Procedure or the Leave of Absence Bereavement Procedure. The Division of Student Affairs has the right to request a document that verifies the death (e.g., a funeral program or death notice). Contact Email: studentaffairs@brooklyn.cuny.edu
• Typically, this death involves that of a family member, in parallel to the bereavement policy for faculty and staff. However, it is up to the discretion of the Division of Student Affairs to determine if a death outside of the immediate family warrants implementation of the student bereavement policy.
•  As an option, and in consultation with the Division of Student Affairs, students may take the Leave of Absence Bereavement after the Standard Bereavement.
• Reference to the Student Bereavement Policies will be noted on course syllabi.
• Students requesting a religious accommodation should contact the Division of Student Affairs as well. The chief student affairs officer, or a designee, and the student will engage in an interactive process with the goal of finding an acceptable accommodation.

Bereavement Procedure:

• Upon approval from the Division of Student Affairs, the student is allowed one week, commencing from the day of notification to the Division of Student Affairs, of excused absence.
• Should the student feel that he/she needs additional days, these should be discussed with individual course instructors and/or the Division of Student Affairs.
• The Division of Student Affairs will contact the student’s faculty and academic staff of the student’s courses.
• Faculty and academic staff will be advised that extensions must be granted to the student for the period of one week of excused absence.
• Further extensions may be negotiated with the student when he or she returns to campus.
• Students are encouraged to discuss options with their instructors.

Leave of Absence Bereavement Procedure:

• Students may be allowed to withdraw from the semester in which the death occurs.
• The Bereavement Leave of Absence is for one semester only.
• Students who have opted to take the Bereavement Leave of Absence and have already attended classes for the semester of the leave will be allowed to re-enter the following semester without having to reapply to the college.
• Students who wish to take the leave of absence prior to the beginning of the semester will be required to reapply for the following semester.
• Students who are in good academic standing will be given the opportunity to successfully complete the credits for the semester in which they return.
• Students will consult with the Division of Student Affairs, on a case-by-case basis, as to whether they should withdraw from their courses during this leave of absence or to request incompletes from the faculty member.
•  Given that there may be a potential impact on financial aid, students who receive financial aid and who take the Bereavement Leave of Absence, upon arrangement with the Division of Student Affairs, will meet with a financial aid adviser prior to taking this option.

• The New York State Education Law provides that no student shall be expelled or refused admission to an institution of higher education because he or she is unable to attend classes or participate in examinations or study or work requirements on any particular day or days because of religious beliefs.
• Students who are unable to attend classes on a particular day or days because of religious beliefs will be excused from any examination or study or work requirements.
• Faculty must make good-faith efforts to provide students absent from class because of religious beliefs equivalent opportunities to make up the work missed; no additional fees may be charged for this consideration.
• If classes, examinations, or study or work requirements occur on Friday after 4 p.m. or on Saturday, similar or makeup classes, examinations, or study or work requirements will be made available on other days, where possible and practical.
• The faculty and the administration will not allow any adverse or prejudicial effects to accrue to students availing themselves of this regulation.
• If students have complaints about the application of this policy, they are entitled to bring action or a proceeding for enforcement of their rights in the Supreme Court of Kings County