”What skills are required of a professional counselor in the encounter with different cultures”
MULTICULTURAL MEETINGS OF PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE
Tools for adult counselors in the Nordic countries
This material is a compilation
NVL 2013 Š Nordic Network for Adult Learning www.nordvux.net
This publication has been financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers through the strategic means of NVL.
This material is a compilation and editing of mapping and discussions in collaboration with NVL Network Adult Guidance Counselors with different background, working in institutions and organizations in Denmark, Finland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Sweden. The work has been carried out during 2011. Based on the above issues, discussions and questions have been raised and are aimed at reflecting on the counselor`s training and development of multicultural competence.
SUMMARY Multicultural guidance requires, of the professional counselor, a deeper reflective insight about themselves, their own culture, their own values, knowledge about the world and its terms and conditions. More so there also requires the ability to put this knowledge into the conversation and guidance methodically.
Approach and attitude out of every diverse counseling situation into the guidance situation are crucial, in terms of what turns out of the counseling Counselors possess cultural competence from awareness of themselves, from their commitment and intuition Specific methods and models for multicultural guidance are lacking The compilation of responses based on the discussions can be summarized in following headings:
Awareness and commitment Knowledge and understanding Skills and ability
INTRODUCTION ADULT GUIDANCE IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF LIFELONG LEARNING, BOTH IN A NORDIC AS WELL AS IN AN EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE. THE NORDIC NETWORK for adult guidance has as its primary mission to identify, investigate and reflect on the professional skills of adult counselors and opportunities to upgrade their skills for developing the field of guidance. THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURES, the mobility
in the labor market, increasing skill requirements that are hard to define and structural changes in the world makes great demands on the counselor in the meeting with the individual. A necessary starting point in these situations is to raise the awareness of their own cultural background, their values and their own position on how learning takes place.
THE AIM OF THIS WORK has been to gain a deeper
knowledge of the Nordic counselors’ practical experience and understanding of what multicultural guidance is for them and how to handle these meetings methodically.
BACKGROUND GUIDANCE NVL uses, in this paper, the definition of guidance which OECD and CEDEFOP use in the OECD publication Career Guidance; A Handbook for Policy Makers (2004 p 11).
MULTICULTURALISM Culture itself is a neutral term that includes a group`s collective experience and the characteristics of that particular group. CULTURE DICTATES what we do, how we do
and why. Culture is a mechanism we use to distinguish between “us” and “them”, usually with “we” as the norm. Any problems with culture arise when different cultures meet. EACH INDIVIDUAL creates a unique cultural
synthesis in her own life. She carries within her, the ability to prioritize herself as an individual or herself as a social being. Which tendency dominates in an individual is determinate by both personal factors such as preferences and lifestyle, as well as social factors, cultural heritage and community structure (Sjögran, A 1993:18).
MULTICULTURAL GUIDANCE THE MULTICULTURAL GUIDANCE ASSUMPTIONS
are that people are similar, yet different, and that the differences can be explained by, among other things, Cultural Differences. MULTICULTURAL GUIDANCE AIMS to be able to see the
differences and similarities between people, and to be able to highlight to the individual and society, the development potential and usefulness (Ringstrรถm 2009). The definitions above have made it easier in
the network to continue with some general questions that have since been followed up by more specific questions prior to the forum discussions. Is the Multicultural Guidance specific? Requires Multicultural Guidance specific skills of the counselor?
RESEARCH In order to get a reflective comparison based on the questions the forum groups have discussed about the Network has decided to use some of the research results that Launikari and Puukari (2005) have found. Launikari and Puukari have, in their research,
come up with a framework of competencies required for a qualitatively satisfactory guidance, to be implemented in the meeting of different cultures. BELOW you can find the headlines which
make up the framework of the Multicultural Guidance according to Launikari and Puukari. The guidance counselor should have awareness of their own values The guidance counselor should have a prior understanding of the worldview that the applicant from a different culture has. The guidance counselor should recognize the cultural limitations of the use of traditional methods and develop appropriate mediation techniques.
FORUM DISCUSSIONS The representatives in to the Network have gathered a number of adult counselors (approximately 10-15 participants in each group represented) on several occasions, to reflect on, and discuss previously prepared questions. In order to answer the ques-
tion “Requires Multicultural guidance specific skills of the counselor?” The network chooses to clarify the definition of what guidance is about generally: As previously mentioned
the Network uses the general definition of Guidance from a European perspective, OECD, Career Guidance: A Handbook for Policymakers (2004 p 11).
Guidance, in practice, the
actual encounter between the counselor and the guidance seekers, can be defined as a negotiation about the individual´s opportunities, terms and conditions for belonging to the society in the most respectful way as possible. In this encounter, in this negotiation, specific skills based on the individual and the situation are required.
The individual
Society
Guidance
QUESTIONS FOR THE FORUMGROUPS TO DISCUSS 1 What is a cultural competence? 2 How do I define my current cultural competence? 3 Where does my cultural competence come from? 4 In what situation am I aware that I use my cultural competence? 5 What do I do when I use my cultural competence? 6
Which method have I experienced most successful
in the counseling situation?
What support do I need and What literature in the field 7 by 8 whom, to further develop can I recommend others to
my cultural competence?
take note of?
PROCESSING The notes from the same forum discussions have been compiled afterwards. Based on the answers the counselors provided the network
could deduce certain themes or interpretations. These were later used to systematize the experiences and perceptions of what multicultural guidance is and what is required of the counselor. From this material three main headings were found which can be
interpreted as consistent with the analysis model below: Awareness and commitment Knowledge and understanding Skills and Abilities
To get an overview of the results, we have chosen to illustrate this by using the analysis model from Scotland, used to ensure the quality of guidance (QAA Scottish benchmark Career Guidance statement (2007) see fig.
AWARENESS AND ENGAGEMENT
COMPETENCES
SKILLS AND ABILITY
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
OUTCOME After processing the forum discussions in the represented countries, the network discussed to what extent the results reflected the knowledge and experience of the network’s representatives. The representatives of the network agreed that
the results are only representative of the discussions held at the stated forums, but they can reinforce the experience, the ideas and the knowledge network members possess.
The result can also be said to reflect the results Launikari and Puukari have found in their research, which reveals that the counselor should have an awareness of oneself, having an understanding of the operating environment and relevant skills for the task.
The use of the outcome could be reflective
in nature, basis for further discussion or action oriented.
Below are the results obtained based on
the aforementioned main headings and practitioners perceptions of how best to develop their skills.
AWARENESS AND ENGAGEMENT Being open and willing to meet another person
High level of awareness of their own backpack To respect and to be interested in other cultures and to be curious To appreciate the other person as an individual and representative of their culture Finding new dimensions of themselves as counselors Being able to restructure their own values and to be vigilant of their own “shadow sides” To be humble The guidance counselor must be balanced within their own culture
voice: …”Guidance needs to be seen in relation to the
individual`s habits, potentials and possibilities to make choices from the available options and opportunities”.
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING Needs to possess basic facts about society, culture and the possible options for the counselee Recognize barriers in employment and education, both formal and informal Know about the environment where diversity is looked upon as a resource Building on a broad definition of culture and diversity A focus on individuals in their environment You must tolerate the unknown and the unstructured Cultural competence changes in time Both the guide and the guided are part of their own culture The meeting is more important than the culture Cultural competency is insight, understanding and foresight.
voice: …”the counselor´s cultural competence shows in the individual person´s way of making choices among the possibilities and options offered”.
SKILLS AND ABILITIES Being empathetic Ability to facilitate participation and context Being able to hear/listen To ask relevant questions To see the context and overall picture Balancing diversity Being aware of resources and opportunities To concretize context Being action- and activity oriented Being able to use visualizing material Being able to inform and create mapping materials Using the group To have knowledge about validation and the validation process
voice: …” when you forget who you are talking with, then you are culturally competent”
COUNSELORS PATH TO DEVELOP THEIR COMPETENCE Using life experience Broadening their perspectives Through media Through reflecting meetings Through education Through deep thinking Through structured gatherings with colleagues Through colleague tutoring Taking part in new research
quote: ”Before he became a migrant he was a human being!” Shahamak Rezaei, Ph.D, Associate Professor. Roskilde University
TO REFLECT FURHER ON Guidance counselors should be more attentive to the relationship between guidance – education – information Be aware of understanding versus categorization, the ethical dimension. Be aware of the balance between the personal, the intellectual, the cultural and intuition Be mindful of the importance of their own cultural identity WE ARE ALL, EACH ONE, A CULTURE IN ONE OR ANOTHER SENSE, WHICH ENCLOSES US OR EXCLUDES US. We all aim for a membership in the group and in the
community. Meeting individuals in a guidance situation is an act of balancing listening and attitude of respect and ethics. The guidance model (see fig below) may be seen as a
basic model for the considerations the counselor should do before each meeting.
MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING MODEL
COUNSELOR
STORY
the applicant
Guidance APPROACH REPRESENTATIONS PREJUDICES THEORY/PRACTICE TOOLS
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS
ACT
WHO AM I? WHAT CAN I? WHAT DO I WANT? WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE FOR ME?
GOAL
REFERENCE LITERATURE CEDEFOP (2009) Panorama series;164 Practioners European Qualification Framework (2008)
The Concept of Competence
INRP – (2007) Service de Veilles scientifique et technologi-
que, la letter d`information nr 25
NVL (2008) Aspects on Workinglife Knowledge in Nordic Adult Counseling OECD (2004) Council of the European Union The European Training Foundation (EFT) (2009)
On Demand: Career Guidance in Europe
QAA Scotland (2007) Scottish subject benchmark state-
ment, Career Guidance
ELPGN Tools No 1 (2011) Lifelong Guidance Policy Deve-
lopment: An European Resource Kit
ELPGN Concept Note No 1 (2011) Flexicurity, Implications
For Lifelong Career Guidance
ELPGN Concept Note No 3 (2011) Career Management
Skills, Factors in Implementing Policy Succsessfully
IAEVG/AISOP (2003) Competencies for Educational and
Vocational Guidance
Launikari M, Puukari S (2005)
Multicultural Guidance and Counseling Lorentz H, (2006) Interkulturella perspektiv:
pedagogik I mångkulturella lärandemiljöer
Ringström A-C, Vägledning i validering.
Valideringsdelegationen RAPPORT 2005/13.5
Sjögren A, (1993). Här går gränsen
MEMBERSHIP IN THE NORDIC NETWORK OF ADULT GUIDANCE COUNSELING 2012 Denmark: Mette Werner Rasmussen, Jobcenter Köpenhamn Finland: Carola Bryggman, Regionförvaltningsverket i
Västra och Inre Finland FaROE ISLANDS: Hanna Jensen, Studentaskúlin og
HF-skeiðið í Eysturoy Greenland: Beth Krogh, Center for Vejledning i Grønland Iceland: Arnheiður Gígja Guðmundsdóttir, Education and Training Service Centre Anna Sigurdardóttir, Svan ehf Norway: Ingjerd Lorange, Norwegian Agency for
Lifelong Learning, Vox Sweden: Ann-Christine Ringström, Malmö högskola Åland: Johan Tronestam, Ålands arbetsmarknads- och
studieservicemyndighet NVL: Pirkko Sartoneva, koordinator,
Medborgarinstitutens förbund MiF Website: http://www.nordvux.net/tema/aktuella-tema/vagledning
i mötet med olika kulturer?” av en professionell vägledare ”Vilken kompetens krävs