graduate student perceptions of the impact of training for social justice: development of a training...

Psychology in the Schools, Vol. 51(4), 2014 C© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pits DOI: 10.1002/pits.21755

GRADUATE STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPACT OF TRAINING FOR SOCIALJUSTICE: DEVELOPMENT OF A TRAINING MODEL

ANTOINETTE HALSELL MIRANDA, KISHA M. RADLIFF, JENNIFER M. COOPER,AND CHARLOTTE RISBY ESCHENBRENNER

The Ohio State University

A school psychology training model that translates social justice from an aspiration to a model ofpractice for school psychologists will be examined. The strategies used to incorporate principlesof social justice into the school psychology graduate training program with the goal of preparingschool psychologists as agents of change will be discussed as well as key areas of training thatwere targeted (i.e., program mission, student body, program courses, community partnering, andcommunity-based projects). Evaluative data from three cohorts about the impact of their trainingexperiences on integrating social justice into their professional practice will be presented. Graduatestudent perceptions, implications of the training model, and suggestions for programs that areconsidering embracing a philosophy of social justice in an explicit way will be discussed. C© 2014Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

I believe that education is the civil rights issue of our generation. And if you care about promotingopportunity and reducing inequality, the classroom is the place to start. Great teaching is about somuch more than education; it is a daily fight for social justice. (Secretary Arne Duncan, October 9,2009)

Increasingly, social justice has emerged as an aspirational ambition in school psychology.Since 2007, social justice has grown as an area of interest and one that a number of researchers haveadvocated is intricately linked to our mission as school psychologists (Shriberg, 2009). Shriberg etal. (2008), in their seminal study on social justice and school psychology, provided the field with adefinition of social justice as seen through a school psychology lens. Their Delphi study found thatpanelists identified a clear preference for ensuring the rights and opportunities for all and believedthere was a need for school psychologists to engage in advocacy and equity work (Shriberg et al.,2008). School psychologists have acted as advocates for disenfranchised youth since the onset ofthe profession and worked to promote improved academic and behavioral outcomes to ensure equaleducational opportunity for all students (Gutkin & Song, 2013).

Within the last decade, the fields of psychology and education have recommitted to the impor-tance of socially just practice in school-based settings and ushered forth guidelines of professionalpractice that encourage psychologists to view themselves as leaders in social justice (AmericanPsychological Association [APA], 2003; Vasquez, 2011). Additionally, school psychologists havebeen asked to become actively engaged in working toward more socially just educational practices(APA, 2003; Vasquez, 2011). However, embracing a social justice philosophy requires a strategy forengaging in advocacy and equity work to translate it from an aspiration to practice (Shriberg et al.,2008). Thus, it seems most natural to have this work begin in training programs.

Recent work in social justice and applied psychology has provided theoretical constructs thatassist academicians in putting forth models that provide frameworks on how to teach about socialjustice (Prilleltensky & Nelson, 2002; Shriberg, 2009; Vera & Speight, 2003). The Trainer’s Forumhad a special edition in 2009 that focused on how school psychology programs infused social justicewithin their graduate training from both the faculty and student perspectives (Shriberg, 2009). These

Correspondence to: Antoinette Halsell Miranda, Associate Professor of School Psychology, The Ohio StateUniversity, PAES Building A438, 305 W. 17th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1224. E-mail: [email protected]

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examples are critical because social justice is an abstract concept that many find not only difficultto define, but also difficult to explain and to show how it manifests in the real world. Graduatetraining programs have to develop a theoretical model but, more importantly, offer students practicalways to implement social justice in applied settings as well as opportunities to have discussionsabout the challenges of this type of work (Ali, Liu, Mahmood, & Arguello, 2008). This paper willhighlight a program that embraces a philosophy of social justice with the goal of training futureschool psychologists who will see themselves as social justice change agents.

Creating a Program With Social Justice as a Core

The program built this philosophy on five key areas: mission statement, student body, programcourses, community partnering, and community-based projects. There was a strong belief that socialjustice had to be infused throughout the program description, course content, program activities,and classroom and field-based training. The faculty recognized that it was not simply about offeringa course on social justice, but more importantly, it was about understanding social justice from anideological perspective. This perspective should permeate most of the course work, be integrated intopractica, and create opportunities for students to collaborate with the broader community. The urbanspecialty focus of the program created experiences that exposed students to social justice issues,challenged them to engage in self-reflection, and encouraged and supported them in becomingchange agents for social justice. For the past three years, as part of the program evaluation, facultyhave surveyed students on their perception of the effectiveness in teaching social justice concepts aswell as translating this abstract concept into practice. As the faculty sought to be more intentionalin incorporating the concept of social justice in practice, it was important to ascertain whether ourefforts were indeed producing social justice change agents.

The faculty view social justice as a cyclical process, meaning there is not necessarily a stoppingpoint and there is always room for growth. Thus, part of training is helping students discernhow to effectively continue on a journey as a social justice change agent, understanding that itwill occasionally require self-reflection to determine if they are continuing in the right direction.Three of the five key aspects of the program to promote social justice are well entrenched in theprogram: mission statement, student body, and program courses. The mission statement establishedour commitment to social justice and, along with the program philosophy, created a framework forcultivating a mindset of becoming a change agent for social justice. The program philosophy isbased on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological model and reciprocal determinism (Bandura, 1977)and emphasizes the multiple systems within which a child exists. The mission statement states:

The foundation for the school psychology program at the Ohio State University is based on socio-cultural theories of psychological and educational practices with youth. Socio-cultural theoriesencompass social cognition and social-behavioral principles of understanding and working witha diversity of youth in America’s schools. Children do not experience life in a vacuum but doso within socio-cultural contexts such as school, home, and community. The focus of the schoolpsychology program is service delivery across many different settings with a particular emphasison the unique needs of children in urban settings. Within this framework, students are trainedas scientist-practitioners who function as data-based decision makers and collaborative problemsolvers. The program has a commitment to diversity at the research, training, and service levels.

The mission statement has been revisited at least twice since its development in an effort to ensurethat the program is true to its intent. This mission statement is the driving force of the program.

During interviews, applicants are specifically asked about their interest and commitment to theprogram mission and philosophy. Applicants also complete a small group activity in which they areprovided a list of characteristics, skills, and resources and asked to choose five that they believe are

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

350 Miranda et al.

needed to successfully advocate for social justice. This exercise provides further information abouttheir understanding and view of social justice. Our experience has been that approximately 85% ofthe students who enter our program do so because of the specialty focus.

Social Justice and Cultural Diversity

Shriberg et al.’s (2008) participants believed that there was a strong link between culturaldiversity and social justice, with 80% of the experts surveyed mentioning that diversity issues (e.g.,race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation) were key social justice topics for schoolpsychology. This finding supports the relationship between diversity and social justice as describedby other scholars (Vera & Speight, 2003). Developing knowledge of other cultural groups is animportant foundational step in becoming a culturally responsive professional. Lynch and Hanson(1998) argued that the most effective ways of broadening one’s cultural knowledge include interactingwith people from diverse cultures, reading books, immersion in another culture, and learning thelanguage of a new culture. In applying knowledge of other cultures within school psychology,multicultural competency requires practitioners to recognize how cultural issues might be operatingin the context of delivering school psychological services and responding in a culturally responsivemanner to students from diverse populations (Ortiz, Flanagan, & Dynad, 2008).

Although diversity is viewed as crucial to a social justice perspective, Shriberg et al.’s (2008)research also suggested that the lack of diversity among school psychologists is an obstacle to socialjustice work. This program, like most programs, seeks to attract a diverse student body. Althoughnot an easy task, at least 25% of the students who have graduated from the program since 2001have been from a minority background. A diverse cohort provides students with the “opportunity tolearn how to accept and possibly relate to viewpoints that are culturally different from their own”(Radliff, Miranda, Stoll, & Wheeler, 2009, p. 15). Attracting a diverse cohort continues to be achallenge primarily because it has been difficult to secure resources for assistantships. The facultywork closely with other entities around the university to provide financial assistance for all studentsbut particularly minority students who otherwise would not be able to attend the university.

The program incorporates diversity issues through a combination of the separate course andintegration approaches. There are two stand-alone courses that have a diversity focus: CulturalDiversity: Developing a Multicultural Awareness and Urban Issues in Education. Both courses aretaught by a school psychology faculty member who is considered an expert in diversity and hasa wealth of experience both practicing and researching in urban settings. An integration approachis also utilized in which multicultural content is infused throughout the other school psychologyfocused courses (e.g., consultation, mental health, assessment, intervention). The faculty view thisas the most effective approach as it provides an opportunity for students to develop awareness andknowledge regarding diversity issues, and it also helps students gain perspective about how issuesof diversity impact students educationally on a variety of levels. This infusion into courses dovetailsnicely with students’ practicum experiences in an urban school district during their second year inthe program.

There are many aspects of our work in schools that scream for social justice advocacy. Fromreducing the overrepresentation of minority students—and especially minority males—in specialeducation and school discipline, to ensuring that our most marginalized students have access toprevention and intervention in their schools through the services that we provide (i.e., counseling,consulting, intervening). The national education agenda, as well as research, is especially focusedon how we can better serve the most marginalized students in our schools in the United States toensure better outcomes. A social justice framework must incorporate a broad foundation of trainingto address the complexity of issues that face students that are most challenged in our society.



Thus, the final two key aspects, community partnering and community-based projects, areimportant in completing the framework. These two aspects have had a greater focus over the pastthree years in the program. The field-based experience in an urban school district (second yearpracticum) is our major community partnering opportunity and has been an integral part of theprogram for over a decade. The program has also partnered with a large Head Start agency forover two decades. These experiences are critical because they provide students with opportunitiesto practice an abstract concept (social justice) in real world settings with structure and supportthrough supervision. Thus, through practicum, students are able to have hands on experienceswith marginalized populations and understand how issues of diversity impact what happens in theclassroom as well as outside of the classroom. The practicum seminar allows students to havediscussions about their experiences, both positive and negative. In particular, the seminar providesa space where students are able to process challenging encounters that contrast with socially justpractice. The practicum piece is extremely important in that there is very little empirical literaturethat has explored the relationship of social justice and practicum experiences as it relates to appliedpsychology training programs (Ali et al., 2008).

Community partnering has been able to move forward in the past several years as a resultof a restructuring of the student organization, an effort that was led by the students themselves.The students decided to create a Social Justice Chair position, which focuses on social justiceactivities that connect students with the urban community. A variety of community-based projectsare identified each year that enables students to explore social justice through observation, education,and advocacy.

The Present Study

The purpose of this study was to gather data about the effectiveness of training in social justiceby gathering data on students’ self-perceived cultural competence and comfort in engaging in socialjustice advocacy. The first two authors created a survey addressing these areas to assess students atthe end of their second year school-based practicum. This study will contribute to the literature byexploring whether students are taking on the role of social justice advocate as an extension of theirexposure to social justice through coursework, faculty and peer interactions, and field-based expe-riences. Specifically, we investigated how students rate their cultural competence after completingtwo years of course work and their school-based practicum in an urban setting. Additionally, weexamined student beliefs about how to engage in socially just practice, challenges they perceived forfuture practice, how prepared they believed they were, and what program experiences contributedto their preparedness.

These factors were examined across the following areas: creating socially and emotionallyhealthy schools, working with culturally different youth, engaging in child advocacy, and workingwith parents. The quantitative research question was, How do students in a school psychologyprogram that trains from a social justice framework and integrates an urban specialty focus rate theircultural competency after completing two years of coursework and a field-based practicum in anurban setting? The qualitative research questions addressed in this study were (a) What factors dostudents identify as integral to developing cultural competency? (b) What training components dostudents identify as important for socially just practice?

METHOD

To answer the study research questions, the researchers used a mixed methods approach,which integrates both quantitative and qualitative data within a single study (Creswell, 2005).The rationale for collecting both types of data is that they complement each other allowing for


352 Miranda et al.

a more in depth understanding of a problem (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). This study used aconcurrent explanatory mixed methods design (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). Quantitative and qual-itative data were collected concurrently. The quantitative data were examined first to determine,on average, how students rated themselves on cultural competency after two years of courseworkand experiential training in an urban specialty school psychology training program. The qualita-tive data were then analyzed to help explain the cultural competency ratings that students gavethemselves and to identify areas of training that contribute to confidence in engaging in sociallyjust practice, examples of what that practice might look like, and perceived challenges for futurepractice.

Participants

Data were collected in the spring of 2010, 2011, and 2012. Participants included school psy-chology graduate students (education specialist and doctoral-level) who were completing theirsecond-year school-based practicum in an urban setting and fourth-year doctoral students (year 1 ofthe study only; n = 7) who completed the advanced practicum in supervision. There were a total of36 participants. There were 18 students in 2010 (11 second-year students and 7 fourth-year students),10 participants in 2011, and 8 participants in 2012. The majority of the students were female (89%;n = 36) and Caucasian (77.8%; n = 28). The students of color included participants who identifiedas Black (11.1%, n = 4), Latino (5.5%, n = 2), and Asian (5.5%, n = 2). There were 16 small groupsthat provided responses to the five group questions.

Measure

The development of the survey, The Conceptual Toolbox: Bringing it to Conscious Awareness(Radliff & Miranda, 2010), occurred as a result of faculty wanting to ascertain the effectivenessof integrating social justice throughout the program across several courses. For the past severalyears the survey has been used as an evaluation tool that is reviewed at the end of the year withother assessments to determine changes that may need to be made within the program. The ques-tions assess preparedness based on training across the following areas: individual cross-culturalcompetence, creating socially and emotionally healthy schools, working with culturally differentyouth, engaging in child advocacy, and working with parents. A general prompt is stated at thebeginning of the survey: “Social Justice: Thinking about when you go on internship, how are youprepared.” The survey includes one question that each student completes individually and fivequestions that are completed in a small group or dyad. An individual question was posed in aneffort to ascertain their introspective thoughts regarding their perception of their cross-cultural com-petence. This was thought to be important as faculty believe that cross-cultural competence is anecessary skill for practicing in a socially just manner. The remaining questions were completedin groups because the faculty wanted to give students an opportunity to share and discuss howtraining experiences moved them along the path to practice in a socially just manner. The individualquestion is, “How would you rate yourself in terms of cross-cultural competence (i.e., awareness,knowledge, and skill) on a scale of 1 (not there) to 5 (I’m there).” The following prompts areincluded:

� Provide at least one example of why you rate yourself at that level and feel prepared to gointo an urban school district.

� For example, it might be that you understand your privilege and are able to use it for thepurposes of advocating for others; it might be that you have a certain knowledge that helpsyou in your interactions (explain) . . .



The small group questions include the following:

� What is something that you can do (broadly speaking) to create socially and emotionallyhealthy schools?

� How well do you feel prepared to do school psychology service delivery in the context ofworking with culturally different youth?

� What does it mean to be a child advocate?� What are some of the challenges to being a child advocate?� In what ways do you feel prepared to work with parents? What challenges do you think you

might face? What do you think will be resources available to you?

All of the questions for small group discussion include the prompt, “What aspects of your train-ing (e.g., courses, assignments, field-based experiences, cohort interaction) helped you identifythese?”

Procedure

During the final meeting for the second year field-based practicum course, students were pro-vided a copy of the social justice survey and given instructions on completion by the course instructor.The instructor left the room during completion of the survey. Students completed a question aboutcross-cultural competence independently, and then completed five questions about preparedness topractice in a socially just manner. All students completed the individual reflection question (N =36) and placed their surveys in a manila envelope. Students completed the remaining questions ingroups consisting of two or three students (there was one group of four in 2010). The first yearwe administered the survey, we included students who were completing the advanced practicum insupervision (fourth-year doctoral students). Each small group had at least one fourth-year studentand two second-year students the first year. Subsequent years had two second-year students in eachsmall group. The small groups were meant to encourage discussion about coursework, field-basedexperiences, and peer-to-peer interactions that might have contributed to their experience with en-gaging in social justice practice. The groups recorded their responses on one form. When the smallgroup surveys were completed, they were placed into a manila envelope. The manila envelopeswere given to the program Graduate Assistant, who typed up the responses verbatim. Studentswere not required to put any identifying information on the surveys, so all surveys were completedanonymously.

Qualitative Analysis

To understand participant ratings, the individual and small group open-ended questions werehand-coded and analyzed to identify themes. In addition, an assessment of student beliefs as tohow to engage in socially just practice, challenges they perceived for future practice, how preparedthey felt they were they were, and what program experiences contributed to their preparednesswas completed. These factors were examined across the following areas: creating socially andemotionally healthy schools, working with culturally different youth, engaging in child advocacy,and working with parents. Two of the authors independently examined the qualitative data look-ing for patterns, wording used and common ideas to generate themes across each year and theoverall sample. These findings were then reviewed and discussed until salient themes emerged.The data were also examined to determine what training components students identified as con-tributing to the development of cultural competence and confidence in engaging in socially justpractice.


354 Miranda et al.

Table 1Means and Standard Deviations of Individual Cross Cultural Ratings

2010 Cohort*(n = 18)

2011 Cohort(n = 10)

2012 Cohort(n = 8)

Overall Mean, StandardDeviation, & Range (N = 36)

Cohort Mean 3.96 3.80 3.81 3.85Cohort Standard Deviations 0.42 0.26 0.37 0.36Ranges 3.3 to 4.5 3.5 to 4 3 to 4 3 to 4.5

RESULTS

Individual Ratings of Cultural Competence

To examine ratings of cultural competency, self-reported ratings were recorded and means andstandard deviations were obtained for each group and for the entire sample. Two participants provideda separate rating for awareness, knowledge, and skills and one participant indicated that they were a3 or 4. These ratings for these three individuals were averaged to determine an overall cross-culturalcompetency rating. All other individuals provided an overall rating of cultural competence. Themean rating for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 cohorts were 3.96, 3.8, and 3.81, respectively. The meanrating for the entire sample was 3.85. Means, standard deviations, and ranges can be found in Table 1.In general, students rated themselves as above average to high on cultural competence.

Qualitative Data

Factors Identified as Integral to Developing Cultural Competency. Analysis of participantresponses for all three years revealed major themes that students identified consistently across allthree years. The identified themes led to the development of a model for social justice training whichis discussed at the end of this section. The second research question sought to determine what factorsstudents identified as integral to developing cultural competency. Four themes emerged as factorsthat were necessary to develop cultural competency. These included a commitment to a lifelongpursuit, the ecological model, awareness, and empathy.

Commitment to a Lifelong Pursuit. The first theme to emerge was cultural competency as acommitment to a lifelong pursuit. Several participants discussed cultural competency as somethingthat continues to develop over time and described it as a pursuit rather than as something to beachieved. One participant stated, “cultural competency should be a life long pursuit where perfectionwill never be met.” Another participant also captured the nature of cultural competency as a constructthat evolves over time: “I think that cross-cultural competence is an area in which you can constantlygrow, learn, and come to a better understanding. I see it as a dynamic, not static, so there’s alwaysroom for improvement.”

Another participant’s comment suggests that program training contributed to his or her cross-cultural development:

Cultural competence is an on-going venture. It is lifelong and no one will ever be so good that thereis no room for improvement. For where I am in the early stage of my career (and largely because ofthe emphasis of our program), I feel that my cultural competence is strong, but I also know it mustcontinue to grow.

Ecological Model. Addressing the child within an ecological context was another themeto emerge, which is consistent with the program philosophy. Several students talked about theimportance of considering the whole child when assessing concerns. For example, one student noted,



“I try my best to look at situations ecologically rather than jumping to conclusions.” Consistent withthis theme, another student’s comment illustrated the importance of understanding all aspects ofan individual because their varied experiences impact what they see in the schools. The participantstated, “I try to consider all of the many circumstances and experiences in a person’s life that maybe affecting their current frame of mind, behavior, etc.”

Awareness. Awareness emerged as a particularly critical component to the development ofcultural competency, including self-awareness and awareness of others. One student commentedthat the training he or she had received in the program was significant in the development of bothself-awareness and awareness of others:

The most important aspect of cross-cultural competence I have gained from my two years withinthe program has been the awareness component. I am now much more sensitive and aware of therole culture and others’ attitudes (and my own) play at the schools.

Empathy. Empathy was another theme to emerge as an important factor for developing rela-tionships with youth and families and important to cultural competency. One student noted, “I thinkbeing placed in a position (practicum) where I could experience what [the students] deal with ona daily basis provided me a new perspective as well as greater understanding and sensitivity.” Onestudent illustrated the importance of empathy in the following statement: “I have learned how tobetter implement the skill of empathy which is extremely helpful when interacting with someonewho does not share the same perspective as [you].”

Students also connected their experiences in the program with developing empathy. For exam-ple, a participant stated that “having been exposed to culturally diverse environments and havingworked with diverse groups and individuals, has helped foster both awareness and sensitivity.” An-other student noted, “In particular, watching ‘The Color of Fear’ was a very profound experience.Also, watching and discussing ‘Waiting for Superman’ played an integral part in my developmentof empathy for children and families served by schools in impoverished districts.” Students alsodiscussed the importance of displaying empathy not only for children, but also for their families. Forexample, one participant stated that “when parents feel they are truly being cared about, interactionsimprove.”

Training Components Important for Socially Just Practice. The purpose of the third researchquestion was to determine what training components students identified as important for sociallyjust practice. In response to both individual and small group prompts, participants identified severalareas of training that were integral in their development of cultural competency and preparednessto engage in socially just practice. Students identified coursework and field-based experiences,specific assignments and class activities, and interactions with faculty and peers as important trainingcomponents for understanding urban schools and socially just practice. In addition to specific areas oftraining, students also spoke about the overall emphasis of multiculturalism and diversity throughoutthe program. As one student stated, “From the beginning, we were told to examine issues througha ‘multicultural lens’—I feel like it is the underlying message in most of our courses.” A smallgroup noted that, the “program has continuously reminded us of the importance of diversity andbackground when working with children in all aspects of our job.”

Consistent with the urban specialty of the program, one participant noted, “I feel that thecourses I’ve taken in the program have helped me feel more prepared to work in an urban environ-ment.” The school-based practicum in an urban setting was emphasized as critical for developingawareness of others, awareness of issues and challenges often prevalent in an urban setting, and inreframing approaches to addressing problems in schools. It was seen as an important componentin the development of cultural competency and in understanding an urban setting. With regard to


356 Miranda et al.

developing cultural competency, one student reflected that his or her “background and field place-ment (practicum) [had] helped [him or her] immensely become aware of other’s different approachesto school, both parents and students.” Another student stated,

I learn best through experience and my exposure to parents and students of different races, ethnicities,religions, sexual orientations, etc. has made me confident in my cultural awareness. With mybackground, I really didn’t have much exposure to diversity, so I was a blank slate.

Participants also noted that the practicum provided opportunities to witness and experience thechallenges school psychologists often face when working in an urban setting. One group pointedout that, “practicum based experiences [had] allowed [them] to observe complex situations wherethe school psychologist may be unpopular for keeping the child’s interests first.” Another studentconnected what he or she gained in the practicum experience to course work by stating, “throughpracticum I feel as though I have had valuable experiences working with diverse students and parentsof many different backgrounds that have built upon class work.”

Other courses were also identified as important to the development of cultural competence,preparedness for working in an urban setting, and an understanding for how to engage in sociallyjust practice. The most frequently cited courses, aside from the school-based practicum, wereCultural Diversity: Developing a Multicultural Awareness, Urban Issues in Education, consultationcourses, and the mental health series (most notably Social-Emotional Assessment). All courses, withthe exception of Special Ed Law, were core courses taught by the school psychology faculty. Oneparticipant noted, “I think the cultural diversity class and urban education class are good preparation.”Another stated,

one reason why I feel prepared to work in an urban district is having the information learned inthe program re: urban living, what “urban” means, the issues they deal with, etc. I feel like I haveadditional knowledge from what teachers may have to help students (from an advocacy/school psychstandpoint) from the diversity/urban issues classes.

One small group stated that, “many classes (diversity, urban, consultation, and social-emotional)gave us a good perspective on being able to work effectively with parents, and not get hung up on‘automatic assumptions’ to create positive relationships.”

Various assignments and activities were identified as important for developing cultural compe-tency and preparing individuals to engage in socially just practice. In discussing the self-rating ofcultural competence, one individual stated, “it definitely helped to do the cultural identity assignmentfor cultural diversity class.” Several groups identified that working with parents was particularlyimportant, but acknowledged that there were often challenges to overcome. Different courses (e.g.,Urban Issues in Education, Social-Emotional Assessment) and class activities (e.g., mock parentmeetings, parent panel) were identified as helpful with developing skills for working with parents.For example, students identified “mock parent meetings” as helpful in working with parents. Thisparticular activity allows students to practice presenting assessment results to parents. One group ofstudents stated that this activity allowed them to “[get] our feet wet in relaying results and keepingaway from jargon-y speech.” Students also frequently identified the discussion of the different typesof “power” as very helpful. For example, one group stated, “talking about different types of powerand how to use that to obtain support for the child” are important activities for understanding whatit means to be a child advocate.

Students also identified peer and faculty interactions as helping them feel prepared for engagingin socially just practice. Most notably, several groups noted the importance of faculty and peerinteractions for understanding what it means to be a child advocate. For example, one group statedthat “talking about cases [in practicum seminar] and getting ideas from others/peers to promote



child advocacy” was helpful in understanding how to be a child advocate. Another group notedthat “sharing practicum experiences helped drive home that sometimes the school psychologist isin a unique position to be the prime (or only) advocate for the child.” Students also indicated thatinteractions with peers were helpful in identifying strategies that were successful in working withculturally diverse youth. Peer and faculty interactions were also identified as critical for developmentof cultural competence. In particular, one individual stated that “cohort interactions gave a safe placeto ask cultural questions that I didn’t have before.”

DISCUSSION

Findings from this study suggest that integrating a social justice framework into a schoolpsychology training program can enhance students’ cultural competence at the individual level.Specific themes were identified that likely contributed to the enhanced sense of cultural competence.

Cultural Competency Themes

Commitment to Lifelong Pursuit. Based on participant responses, the theme of cultural com-petence as a lifelong pursuit emerged. Individual ratings of cultural competence were consistent withthis notion in that none rated themselves at a 5 (“I’m there”). As one participant put it, “I would ratemyself as a 4. I believe you can never truly be “there” because cross-cultural competence is a lifelongendeavor. There is always more to learn about cultures and so many cultures that exist that you cannever truly know it all.” The faculty encourage students throughout the program to continually en-gage in professional development especially after they graduate. This goal is partially accomplishedby promoting attendance at state and national conferences through attendance and participation aspresenters. Faculty also model this goal through their own regular attendance at conferences, oftenpresenting with students. Students come to understand that learning doesn’t end with graduation,but is an ongoing process that is necessary for being on the cutting edge of the latest developmentsin the field. This is especially true with cultural diversity as the fields of education and psychologyboth recognize the importance of conducting research with an ever increasing diverse populationin the United States. Many students have chosen dissertation topics that involve issues of diversity,as well. And finally, in our classes, we encourage students to be lifelong learners, especially in thearea of cultural diversity, as our country continues to undergo rapid growth as it relates to diversepopulations.

Ecological Model. The theme of an ecological perspective when working with diverse studentsis consistent with the training focus. Students frequently shared in their comments the importanceof having an ecological/holistic approach to working with students and families. The ecologicalmodel is an important aspect of training and is embedded in the program philosophy. The modelused in the program is based on Bronfenner’s (1979) ecological model and Bandura’s (1977) notionof reciprocal determinism. Specific assignments in mental health and intervention courses requirestudents to examine solutions from an ecological perspective, recognizing that students do not existin a vacuum. It also forces students to cast a wide net when exploring a variety of solutions to aproblem.

Awareness. Awareness is probably one of the most powerful themes to emerge and one thatis essential for cross-cultural competence. The authors would argue that in order for awareness todevelop, programs have to be intentional in their training and assist students in developing a self-awareness about their own cultural backgrounds, privilege, socialization, biases, and perspectivesabout diversity, as well as how these factors may affect or influence how the students think andaddress situations they encounter. The self-awareness and general awareness about cultural diversity,


358 Miranda et al.

FIGURE 1. Social Justice Training Model. Developed based on themes and training identified from participant data acrossthree cohorts of school psychology graduate students.

for example, enables students to understand that strategies may need to be adjusted based on culturaldifferences.

Empathy. This theme is connected to awareness. Both self-awareness and awareness of diverseissues fosters the development of empathy and perspective-taking. Students have come to understandthe importance of understanding the student/family background from a cultural context and to workfrom a strength-based approach rather than a deficit approach, which is often how marginalizedfamilies are portrayed both in research and in the media. That is not to say that many marginalizedfamilies do not have difficult lives that challenge the best of us, but students are trained to movebeyond those limitations to find strategies that work for students.

Development of a Social Justice Training Model

Participant comments and the emergent themes provided support for integrating a social justicephilosophy within school psychology training. The themes also appear to be constructs importantfor developing cultural competency. As such, the themes identified from student responses can beconsidered guiding principles for training with a philosophy of social justice. The themes tie inwith the overall program mission to embed a social justice philosophy into training. The importanceof training was also identified across various areas (e.g., specific courses, field-based experiences,course assignments and activities). These components (i.e., themes, cultural competency, programkey areas, and training) were combined to construct a model.

Figure 1 is a proposed model for the integration of social justice within school psychologytraining. The model depicts the interrelated nature of training and the development of culturalcompetency. The training integrates specific aspects of the program (reflected in the themes) whichare designed to move students towards developing cultural competency while they are learning to besocial justice change agents. As illustrated in Figure 1, the model reflects a cyclic process that should



not be static. The top of the model consists of four areas identified through student responses asbeing important for developing cultural competency. The training components, both foundational anddynamic, are essential in helping students move towards the development of cultural competence.The arrows indicate that guiding the development of cultural competency through training is adynamic and fluid process that is always evolving.

For the model, training was divided into two components: foundational and dynamic. Foun-dational components lay the groundwork for infusing a philosophy of social justice throughouttraining. These components include those that are core values of the program and are generallyrevisited and modified on occasion. From the five key areas identified above, the mission statementand the student body are considered foundational components. Program philosophy, which is tiedto the mission statement, would be included here. Usually a major shift in focus occurs that leadsto modifying these components. For example, over a decade ago the faculty discussed a new visionfor the program that embedded a philosophy of social justice and they created the urban specialtyfocus. The language then became more purposeful and specific to illustrate this commitment tourban education and social justice.

The student body could be considered foundational, dynamic, or both. Here it is viewed as anaspiration, and thus, a foundational component. More specifically, faculty have a goal of recruitinga diverse student body which guides the application, interviewing, and selection process. Facultymodeling could also be considered a foundational component of training. For example, facultyengage in socially just practice by working to recruit and retain diverse students to the field andby providing training with an urban specialty focus. There is a lack of diversity within the fieldof school psychology (Curtis, Castillo, & Gelley, 2012; Fagan, 2004) and a critical need for moreschool psychologists who are trained to work in urban settings (see Miranda & Olivo, 2008 fordiscussion).

Dynamic components included those components that were seen as more fluid; these com-ponents are generally modified or changed with feedback to more clearly tie them to socially justpractice and to engage student development in cultural competency. Program courses, communitypartnering, and community-based projects were considered dynamic components. Although spe-cific courses could be considered foundational components because they are core components ofthe program, the content, assignments, and emphasis can be considered—changing over time tomore strongly tie them to social justice. Activities and assignments should allow students to engagein self-reflection and develop self-awareness, foster empathy for populations they work with, andencourage students to consider the child holistically.

The program has a commitment to partner with the community through various programactivities (e.g., field-based practicum in a large urban school district, Head Start). Although thesepartnerships have been developed and maintained for several years, the nature of the partnershipschanges as needed to ensure that the changing needs of the community are met. New experiencesmight be created or added to enhance student experiences while providing additional services tothe community. For example, the program has partnered with a large urban school district for overa decade to provide students with an urban school-based practicum experience. The practicumprovides students with an opportunity to work with various diverse groups and serves to increasecross-cultural competence (Vera & Speight, 2003). Over the last few years, the program partneredwith a school within the district that provides services specifically to English Language Learners(ELL). Second-year school psychology students provide mentoring and support to youth as a partof their school-based practicum requirements. The added experience of working with ELL youthprovided services to the community and additional opportunities for students to engage in sociallyjust practice.


360 Miranda et al.

The field-based practicum in an urban setting provides students with an opportunity to workwith diverse clientele and provides services to the local community, which is consistent with trainingstudents to become social justice change agents (Vera & Speight, 2003). It is through these experi-ences that students will occasionally encounter educators whose decisions regarding children are inconflict with a social justice perspective that the school psychologist or practicum student may havetaken. For practicum students, an opportunity to “debrief” is important. Thus, another importantaspect of practicum is that students have an opportunity to process their experiences with faculty andpeers through group supervision in practicum seminar. Group supervision allows students to discusschallenges and successes, to learn from faculty and peer experiences, and to receive supervisionand guidance and is important for supporting students in their development as social justice changeagents (Prilleltensky & Nelson, 2002).

Community-based projects can be faculty- or student-led. Recently, the student organizationcreated a Social Justice Chair, a position dedicated to seeking out community-based projects, whichwould provide students opportunities to partner with the community to engage in social justiceactivities. School psychology students are able to engage in projects that reach out to the community,creating another avenue for socially just practice. These projects might change from year to year.

Implications for Embedding a Philosophy of Social Justice in Training

Embedding a philosophy of social justice within school psychology training is increasinglyimportant as the field begins to embrace social justice (see Table 2 for suggested guidelines for inte-grating a social justice philosophy into training). Assessing students after their practicum experiencein an urban setting provided us with information about ways that they engaged in socially just prac-tice and allowed us to identify aspects of training that contributed to their success and confidence.Students identified challenges and areas for more growth related to their experiences, which ledto suggestions for additional training and support in becoming a social justice advocate. Studentsindicated that specific aspects of their training and experiences within the program helped themfeel prepared to engage in socially just practice. Specific examples included several core courses(i.e., diversity, urban issues in education, consultation, and the mental health series; all taught byschool psychology faculty), class activities and assignments (e.g., counseling technique role plays,mock parent meetings, cultural identity paper), a practicum in an urban school district, and attendingpresentations by a panel of exemplary urban educators. Many of these aspects enabled students todevelop increased confidence when working with culturally diverse populations as well as increasingtheir cross-cultural competence. The reported increase in cultural competence illustrates the impor-tance of integrating class assignments and activities that are explicitly linked to social justice andfoster development in cultural competency.

Another important aspect of embedding a philosophy of social justice is providing opportunitiesfor students to engage in socially just practice while in training. Faculty and field-based supervisorsare available to provide support and guidance, and a strong cohort offers support and a safe spaceto process experiences. In this study, students were also able to share specific ways they engaged insocially just practice and offer ideas for future practice. These included being committed to advocacyfor youth that is action oriented; establishing strong positive relationships with parents and viewingthem as equal partners; and knowing how to modify their approach to assessment and interventionbased on the child’s needs, not their own routines or school policies. Focus on socially just practiceis captured in the following comment:

I feel that I can now understand how to use my “privilege” to help students succeed—I thinkour program does a good job at preparing students to work with the teachers, students and otheradministrators using a cross-cultural approach.



Table 2Suggestions for Integrating a Social Justice Philosophy Into Your Training Program

Ohio State University Your Program

Mission Statement(ProgramPhilosophy)

The purpose of themission statement isto express your corepurpose and focus(i.e., who you are andwhat you do),communicate a senseof intended direction,and typically remainsunchanged over time.

Faculty wanted to establish the OSU schoolpsychology program as training with aspecialty focus on urban education;something that set this program apart fromothers. Further, it was important to integratea social justice philosophy throughouttraining.

– Explicitly stated a focus on the urbansetting

– Modified the theoretical approaches andperspectives to be reflective of facultyapproaches to teaching

– Considered the practices of the schoolpsychologist that might be mostimpactful in an urban setting

– Included the faculty commitment toideals (e.g., diversity, urban)

Questions to discuss as faculty:

– What is the core purpose and focusof your training program?

– Who is the population yourstudents will work with?

– How will social justice look in yourprogram? (find a commondefinition for social justice)

Student BodyStudents invited to

attend the program.

Faculty thought it was important to have adiverse student body that was reflective ofthe demographics of the US.

– Interestingly, after the urban specialtyfocus was developed, there was anincrease in minority applicants to theprogram

– Faculty worked to find funding/financialassistance to support students

Suggestions for cultivating a diversestudent body.

– Revisit your mission statement.Will potential applicants interestedin social justice be drawn to yourprogram?

– Make connections with HBCUsa

– Develop a pipeline, particularlywith universities where formerminority students come from

Program CoursesCore courses taught by

school psychologyfaculty. Includesconsideration ofcourse content (e.g.,readings,assignments,projects, andactivities).

To address the program mission, facultycreated a special topic course andintegrated diversity and urban issues acrosscore courses.

– Special topic courses were created (e.g.,Urban Issues in Education)

– Faculty teach the Cultural Diversity

course, giving them control over coursecontent

– Infusion of diversity/urban content intocore courses through readings,assignments, projects, and otheractivities.

Considerations for courses reflective ofyour program mission.

– Do we need to find existing coursesthat fit our mission? [Where do wefind those?]

– Or, do we need to create a specialtopic course? If so, what would thatlook like?

– How can we revise our courses tobe reflective of our mission and asocial justice perspective?

Examples:

– Readings – White Privilege (PeggyMcIntosh); There are No Children Here

(Alex Kotlowitz)

(Continued)


362 Miranda et al.

Table 2Continued

Ohio State University Your Program

– Assignments – Cultural Heritage paper,case studies with an urban influence,self-reflections (emphasis on the impacton your role as a school psychologist inan urban setting)

– Projects – presentations (local, national)of action-oriented research withurban/diversity forums

– Other activities – role plays, integrationof current events

Community PartneringField-based experiences

that connect theschool psychologyprogram with thecommunity beingserved.

Faculty created partnerships with the urbancommunity that would offer studentsfield-based experiences (funded andunfunded).

– The second-year practicum experiencewas changed to align with the programmission. All students completepracticum in an urban school district.

– A partnership with a local Head Startprovides students with field-basedexperiences in an urban setting, as wellas funding.

Considerations for community partnering(aligning partnerships with theprogram mission):

– How will this partnership allowstudents to apply what they arelearning in the classroom?

– How will this experience provideopportunities for students towitness social justice in action?

Community-basedProjects

Faculty encourage and support students indeveloping community-based projects.

Considerations for working with studentsto create community-based projects:

Studentorganization-drivenactivities.

– Created a social justice chair position inthe student organization

– Students identify community-basedprojects to complete each year (e.g.,Adopt-a-Family, Suicide Preventiontraining, Life Beyond the Freeway Tour– www.handsoncentralohio.org)

– What are the needs in yourcommunity that students could be apart of addressing/meeting?

– What community-based projectsare in existence that students couldeasily partner with?

Faculty Research andActivities

In addition to the fivekey areas to promotesocial justice withinthe program, facultyresearch andactivities arereflective of thesocial justicephilosophy and urbanspecialty focus.

Faculty integrate a social justice philosophyinto their research agenda and activities.

– Two of the faculty co-edited a book withtwo other colleagues (SchoolPsychology and Social Justice:Conceptual Foundations and Tools forPractice)

– Faculty have urban and/or diversesample populations in their researchprojects

Guided Questions:

– How can faculty integrate socialjustice into their existing researchagendas?

– Do faculty have existingcommunity partnerships that lendthemselves to a social justiceagenda? If so, how can socialjustice be integrated into thispartnership?

aHBCUs = Historically Black Colleges and Universities.



Overall, students reported feeling more comfortable recognizing and even addressing some ofthe challenges that often lead to social injustices. Their confidence and comfort level, thus, doesappear to come from being trained in an urban specialty focused program. The combination of anurban practicum, academic learning, and continuous self-reflection promoted the development ofknowledge, skills, and cognitive capacities that Ali et al. (2008) argued are essential for studentswhen they are dealing with the complexity of social issues that encompass marginalized youth andtheir families. The program is fortunate to have a positive working relationship with the large urbanschool district in which the practicum experience occurs. The faculty have nurtured this relationshipand both the program and district view it as a viable partnership that often results in them hiringcompetent school psychologists with a substantial knowledge-base in the area of urban education.

The program’s goal was to provide a foundation for socially just practice through academiclearning and exposure to real life experiences where school psychology students could implementsocial justice ideals. Although applied psychology has explored the idea of incorporating socialjustice into their training and developed a variety of models and approaches for promoting the socialjustice agenda, few studies have explored the impact and effectiveness of this training. This is oneof the few studies that have evaluated this aspect of social justice training.

Translating Training Into Practice

Our hope, as faculty, is that our students leave with a mindset that best practice is socially justpractice. Both the academic and experiential preparation enables them to not only have a theoreticalperspective about issues around cultural competence but also a lived experience of how it looksand feels in the real world of school psychology practice. Students believe they are prepared to beculturally competent school psychologists because they have already had an opportunity to practicein a socially just way through their practicum experiences. Yet, there is also a recognition that thereis so much more to learn, but the foundation and framework for practice is in place. This is illustratedthrough one of the participant’s responses;

I would rate myself at about a level 4. I feel that I’ve made a lot of personal progress in understandingand being aware of privilege. I was initially worried that I wouldn’t like the urban environment orthat I wouldn’t be able to feel successful – but I loved practicum and am so excited to be able to bean intern in Columbus City Schools. I feel that I can now understand how to use my “privilege” tohelp students succeed – I think our program does a good job at preparing students to work with theteachers, students and other administrators using a cross cultural approach.

Another participant shares her experiences in practicum and how it will help her in her futurepractice:

I am working with an African American female bullying group. This group has been a culturalchallenge. The girls we’re working with come from a low SES background that includes violence(e.g., witnessing death, fights, and partaking in fights), drugs, and a generally different outlook onlife. Training through classes and my life experiences has helped me to recognize that differencesexist and that it’s okay to not fully understand but try to understand and be accepting of the life theseindividuals live. In addition, I try to acknowledge my biases and weaknesses with these individuals.Building this rapport, having theoretical knowledge about low SES African Americans, and beingopen to new possibilities has allowed me to further prepare myself to work with urban students.

Of course, as with any training, you are hopeful that what you have instilled will remain aspart of their future practice. Most training programs address the diversity issue through a singlecourse. We have come to believe that is simply not enough. Training in the area of diversity hasto be a multifaceted approach that includes coursework, self-reflection, and structured practicum


364 Miranda et al.

experiences. While the practice of school psychology may be viewed as naturally aligning witha social justice agenda, simply saying that it does is not enough to lead to socially just practice.Programs will need to be intentional in laying out an agenda/curriculum that provides students withboth coursework and field based experiences. As our school systems continue to increase in diversity,it is imperative that our school psychology practitioners are culturally competent to practice in theseenvironments so that all students have an equal opportunity to obtain the benefits of an education.Hence the need for a social justice training model to help school psychology programs best prepareculturally competent practitioners.

Limitations and Future Directions

The findings from this study provide a model for critical components that can be integratedinto training to enhance the development of cultural competency. However, these findings representa picture of how one school psychology program integrates a social justice philosophy into trainingand need to be replicated within other school psychology training programs that also integrate asocial justice perspective. Additionally, the findings are from three years of data; it is important thatdata continue to be gathered to build support for the proposed model of training.

Understanding students’ perceptions of their cultural competency and understanding of sociallyjust practice after two years of coursework and field-based training is critical to effective trainingfrom a social justice framework; however, these results only help us understand the short-term effectsof training. Therefore, the next phase of this research is to assess graduates of the program (e.g.,early career practitioners, trainers) to explore how students perceive and engage in socially justpractice after having been out of the program for a couple of years. For example, do students engagein activities that they proposed as socially just practice at the end of their practicum year? This nextstep is particularly important for understanding what training programs can do to enhance supportsand reduce barriers to practicing in a socially just manner.

CONCLUSION

Social justice has become more than a buzz word within the field of school psychology, withsome advocating that it is explicitly linked to the mission of school psychology (Shriberg, 2009).Hence, the need for school psychology programs to strongly consider adopting a philosophy ofsocial justice. The results of this study highlight the critical need for program self-evaluation todetermine the effects of integrating a social justice framework. Specifically, it is not enough tosimply integrate social justice into existing training, but it is important to evaluate whether or notstudents are developing cultural competence and understanding what it means to engage in sociallyjust practice. Additionally, programs can use faculty and peer interactions to provide support andguidance to students. The results of this study suggest that specific assignments, course activities,and even specific courses are critical to nurture cultural competence and to foster opportunities forstudents to engage in socially just practice.

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Fagan, T. K. (2004). School psychology’s significant discrepancy: Historical perspectives on personnel shortages. Psychologyin the Schools, 41, 419 – 430. doi:10.1002/pits.10185

Gutkin, T., & Song, S. Y. (2013). Social justice in school psychology: An historical perspective. In D. Shriberg, S. Y. Song,A. H. Miranda, & K. M. Radliff. (Eds.), School psychology and social justice: Conceptual foundations and tools forpractice. New York, NY: Routledge.

Lynch, E. W., & Hanson, M. J. (1998). Developing cross-cultural competence: A guide for working with children and theirfamilies (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brooks.

Miranda, A. H., & Olivo, J. C., II. (2008). Best practices in urban school psychology. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Bestpractices in school psychology V (pp. 1809 – 1818). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

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