Ensuring that all students have access to a quality education is a responsibility for which professional school counselors as school leadership team members are ideally positioned (Bemak, 2000; Hanson & Stone, 2002; House & Sears, 2002). Harris (1999) stated that counselors and principals are the most visible in the school and share an important job in promoting cultural diversity within the school. When strong school leaders partner for systemic change, they are more likely to create an atmosphere of acceptance of all students, which, in turn, is reflected in a positive learning environment (Lindsey, Robbins, & Terrell, 2003; McKenzie, et al., 2008; Theoharis, 2004). Like principals, recent literature suggests that school counselors should play an integral role in promoting social justice issues, advocating for marginalized youth, and stimulating activism in schools and communities made up of predominantly poor and minority families (Constantine, Hage, Kindaichi, & Bryant, 2007; Hipolito-Delgado & Lee, 2007). School counselors, as leaders, have a professional, ethical, and humanistic responsibility in creating school environments that are socially just and culturally sensitive (ASCA, 2004a). Professional school counselors must be accountable for taking the next logical step in creating safe and inclusive environments for all students by assessing the cultural climate of the schools in which they work and creating programs that enhance the learning environment for all students. One way to do this is by understanding how to develop culturally competent and proficient schools.

Culturally competent educational organizations value diversity in both theory and practice and make teaching and learning relevant and meaningful to students of various cultures (Klotz, 2006). The notion of school-wide cultural competence aligns with the position statements of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA, 2004b, 2005, 2006) and Ethical Standards for School Counselors (ASCA, 2004a). Traditionally, however, cultural competence in the school counseling literature has primarily focused on how to be effective when counseling culturally and ethnically diverse students (CACREP, 1994; Holcomb-McCoy, 2004; Lewis & Hayes, 1991; Sue, D., Arredondo, P., McDavis, R., 1992). Yet, school leaders, including professional school counselors, must also be concerned with the “big picture” of the cultural competence of the total school environment. Teaching students in graduate school counseling programs to assess organizational cultural competence may be one step toward creating school leaders who are more likely to be social justice advocates.

Interestingly, professional school counselors may experience unique deterrents to the development of cultural competence and true social action in schools that may not be as commonly experienced by principals. Bemak and Chung (2008) described the nice counselor syndrome (NCS) as manifested by well-meaning practitioners who may believe in equal access for all students, but are not able to advocate effectively for systemic change because they are unwilling to engage in disagreements which, as expected, arise during shifts in organizations. These “nice” counselors simply cannot place more importance on social justice advocacy than their desire to maintain a public image of accord and avoidance of conflict at all costs. In our work training professional school counselors as school leaders, we have found that pre-service training allows for reflection about NCS characteristics and opportunities for leadership development that can promote transformational change in schools. Like school administrators, counselor educators need to recognize the integral role of professional school counselors on school leadership teams (Hayes & Paisley, 2002; Paisley & Hayes, 2003). Counselor educators then can assist counselors in training with the skill development required to assess and enhance organizational cultural competence in school settings, as well as provide graduate students with tools and opportunities to effectively promote an inclusive school environment.

One way to train school counselors to become systemic, inquiry-oriented change agents is to introduce them to the value of conducting culture audits. A culture audit is a systematic process for examining how culturally competent a school is, or how well diverse cultural perspectives are integrated into the values and behaviors manifested in the overall organizational culture (National Center for Cultural Competence, 2005). Culture audits involve multiple data collection methods and sources to assess how well a school’s policies, programs, and practices reflect the cultural perspectives of diverse groups in the school and school community (Bustamante, 2006). Data collection methods typically include observations, surveys, interviews, and analysis of documents and existing data to access insider and outsider perspectives from various groups.

As a major course assignment in preparing school leaders, counseling students practice collaborating with the leadership team of the school by conducting culture audits in actual school settings. This data is then used to plan for school improvement efforts aimed at meeting the academic and social needs of all groups in the school and school community. Specifically, professional school counselor candidates are asked to conduct focused observations using the School-Wide Cultural Competence Observation Checklist (SCCOC) (Nelson, Bustamante, Wilson, Onwuegbuzie, 2008) as a course field activity. The SCCOC is a 33-item checklist relevant to school-wide cultural competence. The checklist includes groups of items organized within eight domains: (a) school vision, (b) curriculum, (c) student interaction and leadership, (d) teachers, (e) teaching and learning, (d) parent and community outreach, (e) conflict management, and (f) assessments. Table 1 displays sample items from the SCCOC.

Throughout a semester course, graduate students in professional school counseling are taken through the steps of the culture audit process as follows:

Pre-service training in school counseling programs can include utilizing the SCCOC in a variety of school settings as a data collection and program planning tool. Follow-up studies were conducted in one university setting with school counselor trainees being asked to examine their perceptions of the utility of the instrument in conducting culture audits to assess school-wide cultural competence. The findings were as follows:

Table 2: Results for Field Experience Regarding the Utility of the SCCOC

Source: mhtml:file://E:\School Counselor SCCOC\FreeOnlineSurveys_com

The results of the survey were consistent with what students discussed in class. They believed that the instrument was relatively easy to use and understand and that improving school-wide cultural competence is an important role for school counselors. Although most students had not thought about their roles as school counselors in systemic change, they agreed that they should take the lead in providing an inviting learning environment for all students and that after the training they received in this course, they felt that they had the skills to confront inequities and marginalized groups.

Best Practices for School Counselors to Improve School-Wide Cultural Competence Some specific practices for school counselors to consider as they work to improve the cultural proficiency of their school settings include: (a) partnering with the principal to be the leaders in assessing school-wide cultural competence; (b) identifying a diverse team of teacher leaders, including students and other stakeholders to assist in the assessment; (c) utilizing a research-based instrument such as the SCCOC to determine strength and need areas in school-wide cultural competence; (d) including activities in the comprehensive guidance program to address the cultural competence need areas of the school such as providing group counseling for minority students who might be able to qualify for honors or gifted programs with additional support, offering support groups for marginalized youth such as gay, lesbian, or questioning youth, and developing a prevention program for conflicts arising from cultural differences; (e) becoming knowledgeable about racial identity development and include this knowledge in the comprehensive guidance program through classroom guidance lessons, small group sessions, staff development, and school programs designed to enhance the understanding of the impact that race and ethnicity has on child development; and (f) modeling cultural competence and challenge inequitable organizational policies and practices.

An essential step in promoting cultural competence in schools is first to involve professional school counselors as school leadership team members, along with school administrators. Professional school counselors as leaders bring specialized training in social/ emotional and academic behavior and individual cultural competence to complement the administrative function of managing a school. As leadership team members, school counselors may be ideally positioned to participate in the culture auditprocess and determine need areas for systemic, school-wide change (Bemak, 2000; Hanson & Stone, 2002; House & Sears, 2002). Culture audit data reveal strengths and need areas to inform strategic planning for comprehensive guidance programs. The framework of school-wide cultural competence aligns with the position statements of the American School Counselor Association and the Ethical Standards for School Counselors (ASCA, 2004).

Professional school counselors as leaders must be equipped with the necessary tools to collaborate with school administrators in assessing how well policies, programs, and practices align with the needs of diverse groups (Hayes & Paisley, 2002; House & Sears, 2002; Paisley & Hayes, 2003). During pre-service training, counselor educators can introduce students to individual and organizational cultural competence and provide students with organizational assessment tools. Also, faculty who prepare school principals should consider the changing roles of the professional school counselor as a collaborative leadership team member, and, consequently, encourage school administrators to involve counselors in strategies for assessing and promoting school-wide cultural competence. A culturally competent school encourages the academic success and social engagement of all students regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or other differences, while also encouraging the development of individual cultural competence among the students and teachers (Lindsey, et al, 2003). Overall, the use of the culture audit in school counselor preparation courses has been found to raise graduate student awareness and skills in assessing and promoting inclusive, culturally competent schools as evidenced by the informal, exploratory investigation of the authors’ students.

American School Counselor Association. (2004a). Ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/files/ethical%20standards.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2004b). The professional school counselor and cultural diversity. [Position statement]. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved May 20, 2007, from http://asca2.timberlakepublishing.com/content.asp?contentid=503

American School Counselor Association. (2005). The professional school counselor and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning youth. [Position statement]. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved May 20, 2007, from http://asca2.timberlakepublishing.com/content.asp?contentid=503

American School Counselor Association. (2006). The professional school counselor and equity for all students. [Position statement]. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved May 20, 2007, from http://asca2.timberlakepublishing.com/content.asp?contentid=503

American School Counselor Association. (2005). The professional school counselor and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning youth. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved May 20, 2007, from http://asca2.timberlakepublishing.com/content.asp?contentid=503

American School Counselor Association. (2006). The professional school counselor and equity for all students. [Position statement]. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved May 20, 2007, from http://asca2.timberlakepublishing.com/content.asp?contentid=503

Bemak, F. (2000). Transforming the role of the counselor to provide leadership in educational reform through collaboration. Professional School Counseling, 3(5), 323-331.

Bemak, F., & Chung, R. (2008). New professional roles and advocacy strategies for school counselors: A multicultural/social justice perspective to move beyond the nice counselor syndrome. Journal of Counseling and Development, 86(3), 372-381.

Bustamante, R. M. (2006).The culture audit: A leadership tool for assessment and strategic planning in diverse schools and colleges. NCPEA Connexions.

Constantine, M. G., Hage, S. M., Kindaichi, M. M., & Bryant, R. M. (2007). Social justice and multicultural issues: Implications for the practice and training of counselors and counseling psychologists. Journal of Counseling and Development, 85(1), 24-29.

Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. (2001). Accreditation procedures manual and application. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Hanson, C., & Stone, C. (2002). Recruiting leaders to transform school counseling. Theory into Practice, 41(3), 163-165.

Hayes, R., & Paisley, P. (2002). Transforming school counseling preparation programs. Theory into Practice, 41(3), 169-176.

Harris, H. (1999). School counselors and administrators: Collaboratively promoting cultural diversity. National Association of Secondary Principals Association Bulletin, 83, 54-61.

House, R., & Sears, S. (2002). Preparing school counselors to be leaders and advocates: A critical need in the new millennium. Theory into Practice, 41(3), 154-162.

Hipolito-Delgado, C., & Lee, C. (2007). Empowerment theory for the professional school counselor: A manifesto for what really matters. Professional School Counseling, 10, 327- 332.

Holcomb-McCoy, C. C. (2004). Assessing the multicultural competence of school counselors: A checklist. Professional School Counseling, 7, 178-183.

Klotz, M. B. (2006). Culturally competent schools: Guidelines for secondary principals. NASP Journal, 3, 11-14.

Lewis, A. C., & Hayes, S. (1991). Multiculturalism and the school counseling curriculum. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 119-125.

Lindsey, R., Robins, K. N., & Terrell, R. (2003). Cultural Proficiency: A manual for school leaders (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

McKenzie, K. B., Christman, D. E., Hernandez, F., Fierro, E., Capper, C. A., Dantley, M., Gonzalez, M. L., Cambron-McCabe, N., & Scheurich, J. J. (2008). From the field: A proposal for education leaders for social justice. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44, 111-138.

National Center for Cultural Competence. (2005). Cultural and linguistic competence: Definitions, frameworks, and implications. Retrieved October 14, 2007, from www.nccccurricula.info/culturalcompetence.html.

Paisley, P., & Hayes, R., (2003). School counseling in the academic domain: Transformations in preparation and practice. Professional School Counseling, 6(3), 198-204.

Sue, D. W., Arredondo, P., & McDavis, R. J. (1992). Multicultural competencies/standards: A pressing need. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 477-486.

Theoharis, G. T. (2007). Social justice educational leaders and resistance: Toward a theory of social justice leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 43, 221-258.