An Internationalization Competency Checklist for American Counseling Training Programs

Abstract

Through a mixed method design the researchers sought to develop an internationalization competency checklist that U.S. counseling training programs could use as a pragmatic guide in their efforts to internationalize their curriculum and training environments. Based on a six-domain framework and using content analytic method, 70 potential internationalization competency items were generated. The items were further validated by 66 counseling professionals in the field who were knowledgeable about counseling training and have experience with international activities, resulting in 43 items with 60% or more positive endorsement. These 43 items were selected to form an International Competency Checklist. Practice and research implications of the study's findings are discussed.

A working definition and conceptual model of internationalization for school and educational psychology

“…Within the existing literature, I identified at least nine types of goals that various authors have described. Some examples include finding solutions to local and global needs (e.g., Gerstein, Heppner, Ægisdóttir, Leung, & Norsworthy, ; Heppner, Leong, & Chiao, ), including but not limited to developing and evaluating culturally appropriate, evidence‐based interventions and assessments (Begeny, Levy, Hida, & Norwalk, ; Spilka & Dobson, ); creating a more culturally informed, inclusive, and internationally applicable profession, and in so doing, enhancing professionals’ training and development in areas such as intercultural competence (e.g., Bullock, ; Hurley, Gerstein, & Ægisdóttir, ; Ng, Choudhuri, Noonan, & Ceballos, ); improving representation of international professionals working within the discipline—such as by having geographically representative scholarship in discipline‐specific journals or representative leadership in international organizations (e.g., Arnett, ; Pieterse, Fang, & Evans, ); ensuring that theories, practices, and systems within a discipline are tied to the local culture (e.g., Leong & Ponterotto, ; Leung, ); and creating a better synthesis of theories, procedures, and/or data across cultures (e.g., Leung et al., ; van de Vijver, ). Later in this article, each of the nine identified goals are summarized in a table and presented within the context of a conceptual model of internationalization.…”

“…Several possible advantages of internationalization relate to improved training and development of professionals within the field, including pre‐service and in‐service professionals (Begeny, ). A small number of empirical studies in school and counseling psychology have examined factors related to professionals’ international or multicultural knowledge (e.g., Oakland, Jones, & Callueng, ) or graduate training programs’ integration of internationalization concepts and practices (Hurley et al., ; Ng et al., ; Turner‐Essel & Waehler, ). Overall, this initial empirical work and other forms of scholarship (e.g., Belar, ; Leong & Ponterotto, ; Marsella, & Pedersen, ; Oakland & Hatzichristou, ) suggest that internationalization processes can and should play a meaningful role in the development of psychologists.…”

An overview of internationalization and its relevance for school and educational psychology

“…">Also related to issues of professional training—where for many applied disciplines in psychology, North America and Western Europe are home to a sizable percentage of the doctoral training programs (Kim et al., )—it is worth highlighting that common ideologies of “Western psychology” (e.g., positivism and individualism) may be inconsistent with many cultures around the world (Bernardo, Yeung, Resurreccion, Resurreccion, & Khan, ). Thus, promoting internationalization should help to improve training for international trainees who might otherwise feel that their experiences or perspectives are poorly understood, devalued, or ignored (Marsella & Pedersen, ; Ng et al., ).…”

“…Many have also described how internationalization strengthens researchers' and practitioners' professional development in locations around the globe, including but not limited to their university training (e.g., Turner-Essel & Waehler, 2009). This arguably helps to enhance professionals' intercultural competence-or critical consciousness-so they are better able to meet challenges (domestically or internationally) that arise within a globalized society (Lanfranchi, 2014;Ng, Choudhuri, Noonan, & Ceballos, 2012). Similarly, intercultural knowledge and understanding should directly help to minimize the number of psychology professionals who lack multicultural interest or "competencies" (Leong & Leach, 2007;Oakland, Jones, & Callueng, 2012), hold culturally encapsulated assumptions about theory or practice (Pedersen & Leong, 1997;Pieterse et al, 2011), or, at worst, harmfully misapply knowledge or resources developed within one country to clients in (or from) other countries (Gerstein & Ǽgisdóttir, 2005;Leung, 2003).…”

Postcolonial Theory and Humanism: A Framework for International Work in the Counseling Profession

“…For example, counselors trained in the United States are moving to other countries to be employed as professional counselors (Lau & Ng, ), and counselors are conducting international research more frequently (Norsworthy et al, ; Tang et al, ). In addition, counselors and counselor educators are advocating for the inclusion of global perspectives in the profession (Ng, Choudhuri, Noonan, & Ceballos, ); assisting with the advancement of counseling in other countries (Guth, Lorelle, Hinkle, & Remley, ; Leung et al, ); including international students in counselor education (Lau & Ng, ; Ng et al, ); and leading international educational trips, such as immersion or study‐abroad programs (Barden & Cashwell, ). Counselors and counselor educators have described the challenges and benefits of engaging in this type of work, including working past ethnocentric biases and developing professional friendships (Tang et al, ).…”