TPC-Journal-V2-Issue1

The Professional Counselor \Volume 2, Issue 1 49 In fact, a multidisciplinary review of the literature on multicultural education, social justice advocacy and critical pedagogy revealed not only a paucity of research on effective training practices in counselor education and supervision (Odegard & Vereen, 2010; Toporek, Lewis, & Crethar, 2009), but also a lack of attention and investment in training for social justice advocacy within counselor education programs (Hays et al., 2007; Nilsson & Schmidt, 2005; Ratts, 2006; Ratts & Wood, 2011). It further provided a pragmatic rationale for infusing attention to culture and social justice throughout program curricula (Brubaker, Puig, Reese, & Young, 2010; Dinsmore & England, 1996; Goodman et al., 2004: Green et al., 2008; Hays et al., 2007; Hill, 2003; Paylo, 2007; Ratts & Wood, 2011; Stadler, Suh, Cobia, Middleton, & Carney, 2006; Sue, Bingham, Porché-Burke, & Vasquez, 1999; Watts, 2004), and empirical evidence that suggested theoretically grounded pedagogies could be twice as effective as ungrounded approaches in delivering multicultural education (Smith et al., 2006). The literature also offered anecdotal and empirical evidence that critical pedagogical strategies are effective in raising the social consciousness of students and fostering social justice advocacy. An analysis of the existing evidence, along with more recent findings specific to the field of counselor education and supervision offered a compelling case for further exploration of critical pedagogical strategies in training counselors and research on its efficacy. A brief overview of critical theory and pedagogy is presented, followed by a summary of key research findings. This is followed by a discussion of implications for counselor education and supervision practice, as well as future research. Critical Pedagogy Critical pedagogy is rooted in the work of Paolo Freire, who developed this approach with the explicit goal of empowering Brazilian peasants to advocate on their own behalf for social justice. Freire (1974) theorized that becoming aware of one’s sociopolitical reality and position through reflection and dialogue, or attaining critical consciousness, would serve as a catalyst for social justice advocacy. The application of critical pedagogy in multicultural education has been described as “a deep examination, through dialogue with others, of the legitimacy of the social order in terms of access to socioeconomic resources and opportunities” (Sleeter, Torres, & Laughlin, 2004, p. 82), or in other words, social justice (Chang, Crethar, & Ratts, 2010; Fouad, Gerstein, &Toporek, 2006). Decoding is the term designated by Freire (1974) for this process whereby sociopolitical realities become transparent and a sense of empowerment as change agents is possible. Freire (1974) used the term praxis to refer to social justice advocacy. He was deliberate in specifying that praxis is a manifestation, rather an outcome of critical consciousness. Thus, he emphasized the undeniably catalytic nature of developing critical consciousness, and the inherent charge which accompanies it regardless of one’s social positions of privilege or oppression. Freire also was explicit in observing the inherently value-laden nature of praxis, or social justice advocacy. He explained: “praxis (which can never be limited to mere activity of the consciousness) is never neutral; in the same way, education can never be neutral. Those who talk of neutrality are precisely those who are afraid of losing their right to use neutrality to their own advantage” (p. 132). Sue, Bingham, Porché-Burke and Vasquez (1999) echoed Freire and elucidated the relationship between multiculturalism and social justice relative to mental health training and practice. They made it plain that multiculturalism, “…is not value neutral [and actually] … stands against beliefs and behaviors that oppress other groups and deny them equal access and opportunity” (p. 1064). Recognizing this valence is critical not only to advancing the practice standards of our profession (Ratts & Wood, 2011), but also to how we understand and frame our role as counselor educators and supervisors. “Our task as teachers is to clarify the complexity of the many overlapping economies of power and to work with our students to build the critical skills necessary to examine their own location in such a system and to find strategies of resistance to it” (Chan & Treacy, 1996, p. 214). Enns and Forrest (2005) underscored the connection between the emergence of critical pedagogy from human rights movements and its regular use in multicultural education. They described the scope of multicultural education grounded in these theories as extending beyond the classroom and entailing: (a) a critical examination of the construction of knowledge, (b) an exploration of the relationships among diverse people, and (c) the recognition that cultural identities are dynamic and complex. The intuitive fit of critical pedagogy for raising the social consciousness of counselor trainees,