An assessment of the cross-cultural training needs of Virginia counselors

Abstract

This study assessed the cross-cultural training of secondary school counselors in Virginia. Additionally, this study assessed the need for training as identified by practicing secondary school counselors.

A survey questionnaire was mailed to 300 randomly selected school counselors across the state. Two hundred thirty-eight or 79% returned usable surveys after two mailings. Specific computational procedures used in the data analyses included frequency distributions, percentages, cross-tabulation procedures, and qualitative methodologies.

A similar survey questionnaire was also sent to the 31 supervisors of guidance services within secondary school divisions across the state. The primary purpose of this questionnaire was to cross-check the study on secondary school counselors. Seventeen or 55% of the surveys were returned. Data analyses consisted primarily of frequencies, percentages, and qualitative methodologies.

The main findings of the study were: (1) more than 44% of the counselors reported very little or no cross-cultural counseling was done at their school; (2) more than 62% of the counselors indicated that 20% or less of their caseloads consisted of cross-cultural counseling; (3) 84% of the counselors reported that cross-cultural counseling or training was necessary for counselors working with culturally different clients; (4) 95% of the supervisors viewed cross-cultural curriculum and training necessary; (5) approximately 82% of the respondents indicated that they needed cross-cultural training activities, and 67.2% reported an interest in receiving such training. A chi-square test was done to determine if there were a significant difference between female counselors' need for cross-cultural training and male counselors' need for training. Results indicated that female and male counselors' needs were similar.

Further, the results of this study indicated that there was an expressed need for cross-cultural training activities for counselors who work within the secondary schools across the state. Moreover, it was concluded that there was a need for curriculum planners to incorporate cross-cultural training activities within both pre-service and in-service training programs.