Fostering Critical Feminist Multicultural Qualitative Research Mentoring

Abstract

Qualitative research mentorship is essential to the development of counseling psychology as a field that supports socially just and multicultural inquiry. This type of research aligns with the core values proposed by the American Psychological Association. However, the governing beliefs and practices of neoliberal structures in higher education challenge critical qualitative research mentorship in counseling psychology. Namely, the values of economic gain promote practices that may constrain the potential for effective mentoring and socially just qualitative research practices. In opposition to these forces, we propose a critical multicultural feminist praxis for qualitative research mentoring. Critical feminist multicultural mentoring attends to systemic and relational power dynamics through transparency, collaboration, reflexivity, and attention to context. We describe the assumptions of critical feminist multicultural mentoring and apply them to case vignettes to illustrate ways to mentor students engaging in socially just qualitative research. In our discussion, we articulate implementation, policy, and research implications.

The methodological integrity of critical qualitative research: Principles to support design and research review.

“…When considering the example of counseling refugees, stating shared values, acknowledging differences in power, and sensitively phrasing questions may support participants to feel comfortable discussing their experiences (Bemak & Chung, 2017). Researchers also can take care to train interviewers and counselors on principles of culturally sensitive counseling skills (e.g., Arczynski, Christensen, & Hoover, 2018; Byars-Winston et al, 2005). This training improves cultural self-awareness and advocacy skills (Castillo, Brossart, Reyes, Conoley, & Phoummarath, 2007; Midgett & Doumas, 2016), which may reduce the likelihood of inadvertently harming participants, and may lead to questions that produce more insightful data.…”

Diversity in Unity: An Analysis of Multicultural and Multi-Religious in a Biblical Gender Perspective

“…There is the possibility of clashes between minority components in social groups and the principle of equality. Multicultural feminists are critical thinkers who use case studies to demonstrate how to mentor socially engaged pupils (Arczynski et al, 2018). Practices such as polygamy, female genital circumcision, forced marriage of girls, including girls at an early age, and other genderbiased practices are legitimized by multiculturalism which gives each cultural group autonomous rights to perpetuate social order.…”

The Hidden Curriculum of Academic Writing: Toward Demystifying Manuscript Preparation in Counseling Psychology

“…We hope that this article and companion checklist serve as a userfriendly guide to demystify this process. When applicable, we recommend combining the use of this article and checklist with a reflexive, open, and rigorous approach to research mentorship (for more, see Arczynski et al, 2018;Gruber et al, 2020;Hollingsworth & Fassinger, 2002). Your research questions and hypotheses should be about constructs not measures (unless you are doing a measurement study).…”

“…Indeed, a strong publication record is a major factor for promotion and tenure in academic positions (Clay, 2018) and who is and is not promoted and tenured shapes the prospects for transforming academia from within. Academic journals can also serve as important venues for challenging disciplinary norms, for example through publishing articles that foster epistemic disobedience (Bennett, 2021;Mignolo, 2009), encourage decolonizing as methodological innovation (Gone, 2021), and promote intersectional reflexivity and coalition building (Arczynski et al, 2018;Moradi & Grzanka, 2017). Moreover, academic publishing is one of the primary ways to contribute to the empirical record of what is known about whom; contributing knowledge about the experiences of under-studied and/or systemically marginalized social groups is one of the ways psychologists can enact meaningful social change.…”