Dissertation Proposal Announcement Ed.D. Program: Esther Quezada “School Counselor Training and Readiness to Work with Multilingual Learners”

This qualitative study seeks to understand how school counselors are trained to work with multilingual learners (ML). Providing culturally responsive counseling is especially crucial in New Jersey, which has experienced a steady increase in MLs in public elementary and secondary schools (NJ Consortium for Immigrant Children et al., 2021). This increase in cultural and linguistic diversity underscores the need for New Jersey schools to successfully integrate MLs into the school community. School counselors are well-positioned to create and nourish a sense of belonging for MLs. Unfortunately, some school counselors report feeling underprepared to meet the needs of diverse and marginalized students (Day-Vines et al., 2022; Kim et al., 2019).

One reason why school counselors may feel underprepared may be due to a lack of training. Although school counselors receive multicultural competency formal coursework in graduate school training, research has shown that additional training is needed to build counselor efficacy. Counselor educators are integral to the efficacy of school counselors. Counselor educators are often responsible for developing courses and curricula for their students (Haddock & Whitman, 2019). Considering the influence of counselor educators on school counseling practice to work with multilingual learners, this research study seeks to explore how counselor preparation programs prepare school counselors to work with multilingual learners.

The study is guided by the following research questions: (1) How is CACREP (2024) Standard 3, Social and Cultural Diversity, addressed in formal counselor training programs in New Jersey? (2) How do school counselors incorporate their formal counselor education training into their practice with multilingual learners? (3) How do school counselors incorporate their informal knowledge and/or personal experiences into their work with multilingual learners? Findings from this study can provide insight into counselor preparation programs and the needs of counselors based on the diverse linguistic and cultural needs in New Jersey.

To access the Zoom link required to attend, please contact academic.services@gse.rutgers.edu.