Assessment Description
School counselors must consistently strive to maintain cultural competence, respect for all, and remain unbiased when facing the cultural, physical, and cognitive differences of students, families, faculty, staff, and administrators. The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors, ASCA’s Position Statement on the School Counselor and Cultural Diversity, and a plethora of current literature point to school counselor advocacy as a key factor in making progress toward this vision of equitable schools and communities.
In 500-750 words, construct a professional development action plan in a Word document. Detail how you will strengthen your cultural competence, advocacy, and leadership skills to meet the diverse needs of your school and community.
Include the following in your plan:
- Discuss the roles of advocacy and compassion in addressing the needs of all students including multicultural and pluralistic characteristics within and among diverse groups nationally and internationally.
- Locate two additional professional resources relevant to theories and models of multicultural counseling, cultural identity development, social justice and advocacy to identify contemporary issues and trends.
- Identify a list of strategies and interventions that support the impact of heritage, attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and acculturative experiences on an individual’s views of others.
- Identify a minimum of two professional development opportunities related to professional organizations, preparation standards, and credentials relevant to the practice of school counseling to support cultural competence and leadership/advocacy skills.
- Finally, identify a professional mentor who showcases cultural competence, leadership, and advocacy skills in their professional practice. Make contact with your proposed mentor and briefly discuss how your mentor may offer your support.
Support your professional development action plan with three to five scholarly resources.
While APA format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
*This assignment is recommended as a representative artifact in your e-Portfolio.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
This performance assessment assesses the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for the School Counseling Specialty Area.
This assignment is informed by the following CACREP Standards:
2.F.2.a. Multicultural and pluralistic characteristics within and among diverse groups nationally and internationally.
