Models of Culture and School Counselors: The Predicament of Black youth

Abstract

During the 1960s many blacks criticized the counseling profession for an alleged insensitivity to cultural differences among client groups. Responding to this criticism the profession initiated various programs designed to familiarize counselors with Afro‐American culture. However, most persons in the field conceived of Afro‐American culture as if it were a homogeneous and static entity. The article suggests serious limitations to this conceptualization, which Anthony Wallace calls the “replication of conformity” approach to culture, and advocates that counselors try to understand Afro‐American culture as an organization of diverse elements.

“Just as Bad as Prisons”: The Challenge of Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline Through Teacher and Community Education

“…(p. 133) Both of these situations point to specific moments where black males are excluded from educational opportunities, despite their previous academic achievements. The examples also highlight the way school counselors in secondary education often intentionally or unintentionally act as gatekeepers for their students (Banks, 1978;Erickson, 1975). Like teachers, counselors are able to create moments of either inclusion or exclusion (Lareau & Horvat, 1999) for black males, by either opening or closing doors to educational advancement and social mobility.…”