Developing a Social Advocacy Model for Counselor Education

Abstract

This article describes how the faculty of a counselor education program developed and implemented a social advocacy model of counselor preparation.'The College of Education will be eliminated." Those words, delivered by the university president and provost to a crowded classroom filled with anxious faculty members, had the shock value one would expect from such a dire pronouncement. As a group of counselor education faculty sitting in the room, we heard the news of our imminent closure with the rest of the college of education faculty. Following a brief period of personal struggle and introspection, we developed a coordinated, assertive, and constructive response to the announcement that the counselor education program was to come to an end.This article presents an abbreviated case study of how one counselor education program developed responses to the situation and emerged with a new social advocacy program model. The process of developing these responses and the new counselor education model of social advocacy that emerged are the focus of this arJudith L.

The Historical and Political Context of the Civil Rights of Persons With Disabilities: A Multicultural Perspective for Counselors

“…Development of a social advocacy model for counselor education programs is one alternative (Osborne et al, 1988 We support the emergence of disability policy as a signijlcant _field of study and research. Previous neglect of this subject in the counseling profession cannot be overlooked.…”

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“…In order to address social justice issues, some counselors and counseling psychologists in the United States have adopted a professional commitment to ensuring global or international social change (Osborne et al, 1998). Others have been involved primarily at a domestic level by being concerned with helping members of U.S. society to deal with the personal, societal, and institutional barriers that impede their academic, personal, social, or career development.…”

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