As aspiring professionals in the field of education counselors, instructors, and professional faculty are prone to serve and assist a diverse student population. Therefore, it is in the best of interest for the student for professionals to be aware of their biases, privileges, and prejudices that can hinder a genuine and authentic relationship with the student. Also recognizing that certain groups have more power and privilege than others. And having awareness of your biases, privileges, prejudices, and power as a counselor can lessen the probability of you using it in a way that can be hurtful towards clients. Furthermore, it is crucial to take into account the power dynamics in the client and counselor relationship. Counselors are in a
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I co-presented for my Seminar in Counseling Theory and Practice class on foster care college students and their difficulties with the education system. While doing the research, I found that only 10% of foster care will attend college and, of that 10%, only 3% will graduate (Foster Care Facts). From those who graduate , only 46% of foster care will find employment (Courtney, M.E., Dworsky, A., Cusick, G.R., Keller, T., Havlicek, J., Perez, A. et al., 2007). After doing the research, I have learned that foster care students face many challenge and barriers upon entering the system. This population has to deal with the reality of having to move from home to home that also means that foster youth experience frequent transfer between schools. All this instability leads to them having a hard time trusting anyone. And it certainly translates to higher education, which makes it difficult to succeed in this setting. Therefore, it is the university’s responsibility and counselors to support and advocate for this population to eliminate the barriers that make it challenging for them to succeed in the educational setting. Coming up with strategies to combat the barriers that the foster youth population faces will make their higher education experience less …show more content…
As professionals, it is also our responsibility to do our research and educate one’s self on the needs of the underserved student populations to be able to best serve them and fill in the gaps where there are needs. In addition, understanding the important role that counselors play in the development of the student, therefore, counselors can serve as mentors and role models to these students. I believe that when students have someone who they can relate to and show genuine care for their development, the ability to succeed increases
I co-presented for my Seminar in Counseling Theory and Practice class on foster care college students and their difficulties with the education system. While doing the research, I found that only 10% of foster care will attend college and, of that 10%, only 3% will graduate (Foster Care Facts). From those who graduate , only 46% of foster care will find employment (Courtney, M.E., Dworsky, A., Cusick, G.R., Keller, T., Havlicek, J., Perez, A. et al., 2007). After doing the research, I have learned that foster care students face many challenge and barriers upon entering the system. This population has to deal with the reality of having to move from home to home that also means that foster youth experience frequent transfer between schools. All this instability leads to them having a hard time trusting anyone. And it certainly translates to higher education, which makes it difficult to succeed in this setting. Therefore, it is the university’s responsibility and counselors to support and advocate for this population to eliminate the barriers that make it challenging for them to succeed in the educational setting. Coming up with strategies to combat the barriers that the foster youth population faces will make their higher education experience less …show more content…
As professionals, it is also our responsibility to do our research and educate one’s self on the needs of the underserved student populations to be able to best serve them and fill in the gaps where there are needs. In addition, understanding the important role that counselors play in the development of the student, therefore, counselors can serve as mentors and role models to these students. I believe that when students have someone who they can relate to and show genuine care for their development, the ability to succeed increases