School Counseling to Close the Achievement Gap; A Social Justice Framework for Success

by Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy

• ISBN13: 9781412941846
• ISBN10: 1412941849
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-06-22
• Publisher: Corwin Pr

Summary

School counsellors can play a powerful role in closing the achievement gap by incorporating principles of social justice - that is, equity and advocacy for all students - into their practice. This new resource for pre-service and in-service counsellors addresses the reasons why some students are more likely to encounter academic failure (racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism), and challenges readers to play an active role in bringing about the conditions for student success. Offering a variety of vignettes, strategies, activities, and reflective individual and group study questions, the book provides the framework for how school counsellors can mitigate the impact of negative factors hampering academic performance and healthy development. The book details six functions of a school counsellors that move schools toward more just practices and, ultimately, to higher test scores and increased student achievement.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

The Achievement Gap: Our Ultimate Challenge

School Counseling and the Gap

Where We Have Been and Where We Are Headed

The Power of School Counselors

Achievement Gap Defined

A Closer Look at the Gap

What Do We Know About Closing the Gap?

Questions to Consider

School Counseling Within the Context of Social Justice

Redefining School Counseling to Serve Diverse Groups

Focusing on Social Justice

Key Functions of School Counseling Based on a Social Justice Approach

Questions to Consider

Counseling and Intervention Planning

Critical Factors That Affect School Counseling and the Counseling Relationship

Culturally Appropriate Counseling Interventions

Assessing School Counselors' Multicultural Counseling Competence

The Influence of Culture on Intervention Planning

Questions to Consider

Consultation

Defining Consultation

Social Justice Considerations and the Consultation Process

Consultation Strategies

Questioning Domains

Assessing School Culture

Questions to Consider

Connecting Schools, Families, and Communities

Avoid the Blame Game

Five Principles of Effective SFC Partnership

Barriers to School-Family Collaborations

Questions to Consider

Collecting and Using Data

What Is Accountability?

Using Data to Uncover Inequities

School Counseling Program Evaluation

Developing Program Assessment Tools

Questions to Consider

Challenging Bias

Guidelines for Challenging Bias

Social Justice Education in Schools

Questions to Consider

Coordinating Student Services and Support

Collaborating With Community Organizations and Social Service Agencies

Implementing Scheduling Practices That Encourage Rigorous Course Taking

Coordinating College Preparation Interventions

Coordinating Tutoring Services

Participating on Individualized Education Program Committees

Participating on Gifted and Talented Committees

Questions to Consider

Doing the Right Thing: Developing a Social Justice-Focused School Counseling Program

Assessing Your Beliefs

Assessing Your Skills

Assessing Your Students' Needs

My Vision for My School Counseling Program

Concluding Remarks

Resources

Assessing School Equity

School Counselor Multicultural Competence Checklist

School Culture Assessment

Assessing Beliefs About School-Family-Community Partnership Involvement

SOARING Samples and Worksheets

Suggested Readings by Topic

References

Index

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