Exploring School Psychologists' Preparation for Multicultural Supervision

Abstract

Multicultural supervision is defined as a supervisory relationship in which the supervisor and supervisee are of different cultural backgrounds and/or the discussion of multicultural issues in supervision. Attention to cultural issues in supervision is associated with positive supervisory relationships and trainees' development in culturally competent practices. This study investigated school psychologists' training and professional development in supervision and multicultural school psychology as preparation to engage in multicultural supervision. Forty-two school psychologists with experience supervising practicum students or interns of a race/ethnicity other than their own completed a questionnaire that surveyed the following: (a) their training and professional development in supervision, (b) their training and professional development in multicultural school psychology, (c) their knowledge of supervision theory and practice, and (d) their knowledge and use of multicultural supervision techniques. Participants reported receiving little training and ongoing professional development in supervision; however, almost all of the participants had some training in multicultural school psychology. Findings and implications for training programs are discussed.

Full text

62Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists

sion
Celeste M. Malone Shareefah Al’Uqdah Sycarah Fisher,
Howard University Howard University The University of Kentucky
Abstract
pervisor and supervisee are of different cultural backgrounds and/or the discussion of mul



supervision and multicultural school psychology as preparation to engage in multicultural


the following: (a) their training and professional development in supervision, (b) their train
ing and professional development in multicultural school psychology, (c) their knowledge of
supervision theory and practice, and (d) their knowledge and use of multicultural supervi

velopment in supervision; however, almost all of the participants had some training in mul

Clinical supervision is a very important part of graduate education for school psychology


          
           
They ensure that trainees deliver clinical services in a competent manner and assume
           
Both the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Association of School
Psychologists (NASP) regard supervision as essential to the professional development and

in their ethical codes and provide guidance about the provision of supervision (APA, 2010,
          
receive little formal supervision training through coursework or professional development
          
training and professional development in supervision and multicultural school psychology

Supervision Training in School Psychology
           


which most school psychologists will engage at some point during their careers (Harvey,

63 Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists
  

   
           
         

           
      
two studies suggest that supervision training continues to be gap in school psychology

One possible reason for the supervision training gap is program approval and accreditation




      
such, all APA accredited programs must provide graduate students with opportunities to
achieve and demonstrate competency in supervision (APA Commission on Accreditation,
        
programs offer coursework and training in supervision may vary greatly with doctoral level
school psychologists being more likely than specialist level school psychologists to have

Though it is unknown the extent to which school psychologists have access to training
in supervision once leaving graduate school, research suggests that the availability of such
        

in supervision over the past year; however, the school psychologists surveyed also reported

Supervision Knowledge and Training Competencies
The lack of access to and interest in formal training in supervision on both the graduate
  



supervisors should be knowledgeable of supervision models, theories, and research, trainee

            
knowledge provides the foundation for supervisory skills such as the abilities to develop the


64Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists

In addition to being knowledgeable and competent in clinical supervision, supervisors
must also demonstrate competence in all areas of school psychology practice, including
  
          
important that school psychologists have a better understanding of the role culture plays in
the education experience and are knowledgeable about cultural competence in all domains
             
training programs address multicultural/diversity issues in coursework and other aspects
 
included some form of multicultural training in either a separate course or an infusion model;

      
practicing school psychologists may have completed a multicultural/diversity course, they
may still have a limited knowledge/skill base around culturally competent practice because
issues of culture and diversity were minimally addressed in courses focused on clinical

         
clinical and supervision practices and help supervisees consider cultural issues in case
         
more likely to occur when supervisors model cultural awareness and skill building during


if school psychology supervisors have limited training in these issues, this affects their ability
to supervise trainees providing services to clients of a racial/ethnic background different



to cultural issues in therapy and that their clients have more positive outcomes (Bukard et

Multicultural Supervision
  

            
ways: a supervisory relationship in which the supervisor and supervisee are of different
cultural backgrounds and/or the discussion of multicultural issues in supervision (Chopra,
           

But, because of the inherent power differential in supervisory relationships, it is especially

65 Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists
important to be aware of how cultural differences may impact the supervisory relationship

The supervisory working alliance is the collaborative process through which the didactic



     
supervision dyads, trainees reported that the most important supervisory behavior for
multicultural supervision is the creation of a safe environment for multicultural issues

of awareness of the power, privilege, and diversity issues operating within the supervisory
and treatment dyads may engage in conscious or unconscious microaggressions and erode




the supervision power differential, and creating an environment in which multicultural

of empirical and conceptual literature on multicultural supervision to identify strategies for


              
modeling and imparting multicultural competencies, and valuing ongoing professional
         
        

Supervisor Modeling of Multicultural Competent Practice.
In addition to creating a safe environment in which to discuss cultural issues, it is also
important for supervisors to address multicultural dynamics in assessment, intervention,
counseling, and consultation; however, increased cultural awareness and skill building may

responsive to cultural issues as related to client treatment or the supervisory relationship,
            
             
multicultural supervision with counseling trainees, the top three culturally sensitive
       
        
   
  

66Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists
           
         


to cultural issues in supervision is associated with positive reactions from supervisees,
improved supervision relationship and increased satisfaction with the supervisory
            
Bukard and colleagues (2006) found that racial/ethnic minority supervisees felt a personal
sense of validation and support and White supervisees reported reduced fear in discussing
           
on multicultural supervision found that almost all of the articles reviewed suggested that
         
and served as an important model in training supervisees to engage in culturally competent

Current Study

ability to supervise trainees on cases with racially/ethnically diverse clients, but it also
impacts the supervisory relationship itself especially if the supervisor and the trainee are
          
    


           





of supervision training in school psychology; however, there is very little, if any, research
        

The purpose of the current study is to a) identify the training school psychologists receive


the relationship between general supervision knowledge and multicultural supervision

Method
Participants


67 Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists
supervising practicum students and/or interns of a racial/ethnic background other than

     




 


Procedure

           
were emailed the invitation letter and encouraged to forward the invitation letter to other
   
         

Measures
General supervision knowledge. Participants responded to seven items on their

from 1 (not at all knowledgeable) to 5 (highly knowledgeable

supervision knowledge such as models and theories of supervision, research on supervision,

Knowledge and use of best practices in multicultural supervision. Participants


not at all
knowledgeable) to 5 (highly knowledgeable
neveralmost always These items are listed in Table

Demographic Questionnaire.    
          

Data Analysis
           

           

68Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists
        
          
      


          
 
          
         
computed to explore the relationship between general supervision knowledge and

Table 1
Best Practice Considerations in Multicultural Supervision
Knowledge
M (SD)
Use
M (SD)
Demonstration of respect and acceptance for individual variations in cultural values
and norms 4.42 (.55) 3.77 (.42)
Initiation of and revisiting of diversity dialogues throughout the supervisory
relationship 3.98 (.89) 3.15 (.74)
Identication of how culture may impact work with children, families, and schools 4.45 (.55) 3.65 (.58)
Proactiveness in learning more about the supervisee’s culture before issues arise 4.13 (.88) 3.33 (.73)
Identication of how previous experiences with prejudice and oppression may have
impacted behaviors during supervision 4.28 (.68) 3.38 (.63)
Initiation of activities that will increase awareness and acceptance of cultural
differences 3.38 (1.15) 2.55
(1.04)
Creation of an open, respectful, and accepting environment that will nurture personal
and professional growth 4.47 (.60) 3.75 (.49)
Setting the tone for supervision so supervisees understand feelings and opinions are
respected and valued 4.40 (.63) 3.73 (.45)
Critically self-evaluating individual beliefs, values, and attitudes 4.28 (.55) 3.48 (.55)
Engaging in genuine experiences with culturally diverse individuals, groups, and
settings 4.22 (.62) 3.30 (.76)
Willingness to share successes, failures, and questions from working with clients of
diverse backgrounds 4.53 (.51) 3.58 (.55)

69 Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists
Engaging in trainings on becoming a more culturally competent practitioner 4.22 (.86) 3.27 (.78)
Seeking out diverse experiences to expand learning 4.28 (.75) 3.42 (.64)
Educating one another on new developments in research and practice 4.10 (.81) 3.35 (.62)
Results
Supervisors’ Training and Professional Development
Supervision training. 
   
         
           
more likely to have had some training in supervision in their degree program compared to
  p  
There was no difference in supervision training by race/ethnicity (p

 
            


Multicultural/diversity training. Almost all participants reported that multicultural

           
   
Seven percent of participants reported that multicultural and diversity issues were not

by degree type (p p
Since becoming a school psychologist, most participants reported having additional



Supervisors’ Knowledge of Supervision as a Professional Practice
General supervision knowledge. Participants reported being most knowledgeable in
MSD
in research on supervision (MSD
M 
SDMSDM
SDMSD
(M   SD            

70Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists
between general supervision knowledge and degree type (rs   p    
ethnicity (rsp
Multicultural supervision technique knowledge and use. Mean scores and standard
          


          

(rsprsp
use and degree type (rsprsp
Relationship between General Supervision Knowledge and Multicultural
Supervision
There was a positive relationship between general supervision knowledge and
    r   p    
r p 
rp 
Discussion
            
supervision and multicultural school psychology as preparation to engage in multicultural



       
          

results suggest that almost all supervisors received multicultural training in their graduate
            
         
   
       
and professional development in multicultural school psychology likely contributed to

The disparate treatment supervision training and multicultural training receive in

Both APA and NASP accredit school psychology training programs; however, APA only
  
          
clinical services to racially and ethnically diverse clients and provide evidence of their
           

71 Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists
     
in school psychology training programs to prepare school psychologists to work with an


psychologists are more likely to have supervision training in graduate school because APA

  
          
school psychologists may continue to be less likely to have coursework in supervision as
           

The moderate to strong correlations between general supervision and multicultural

             
           

Additionally, attention to diversity and culture in all its forms relates to every aspect of the


Implications
Graduate Training Programs
Because supervision is a function of most school psychologists, it is important that formal
supervision training is included in coursework and that the content of this supervision
          





        
           

Professional Development
     
         
partner with local school districts to provide professional development workshops for the

Limitations
While the current study expands our understanding of supervision training, there are

72Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists
          
     
Because of this professional experience, it is possible that participants in this sample may be

          

 
 
   
       


Future Directions
 
studies should survey all school psychology supervisors, regardless of their multicultural
supervision experience, to determine the extent to which they are familiar with the best
         
         


References
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
Conduct. 
Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health
Service Psychology. 
pdf
Standards
of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology

Fundamental of Clinical Supervision. Boston, MA:

The Counseling
Psychologist, 11


Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53


school counselors and school psychologists: A context for providing competent
The Clinical Supervisor, 22, 

73 Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists


Psychological Studies, 58

Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S.
Population: 2014 to 2060


Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 26

The
Clinical Supervisor, 17

NASP Communique,
40

School Psychology Review, 33,


Journal of Multicultural
Counseling and Development, 35, 

Contemporary School Psychology, 18, 



Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60
Journal
of Clinical Psychology, 70

Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 27


Journal of Applied School Psychology, 27, 


Psychology in the Schools, 38


Best practices
in school psychology: Foundations

74Trainers’ Forum: Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists


The Clinical Supervisor,
23
Principles for Professional Ethics.

Standards for Graduate Preparation
of School Psychologists. 
Supervision in School Psychology



School Psychology Quarterly, 25

School Psychology Forum:
Research in Practice, 7

Counseling
Psychology Quarterly, 27
School
psychology at a glance: 2015 member survey results. Paper presented at the annual


School Psychology International 22













Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further
reproduction prohibited without permission.