Taking Counseling to Minority Students: The Classroom As Delivery Vehicle

Abstract

This article discusses an alternate treatment approach for helping minority students learn a variety of academic and coping skills. A Special Services course was designed and taught by two counseling psychologists, who were assisted by peer counselors and graduate student group leaders. The goals of this course were to help students develop a more positive set of self‐evaluations and to increase individual responsibility and group cooperation among the students. Specifics of the course are presented, and evaluation methods are suggested. In addition, there are implications of this course for minority student retention.

African Americans: Diverse people, diverse career needs

“…Because some minority students may have difficulty engaging in the traditional, interview style of career counseling, Schauble, Parker, Probert & Altmaier (1979), suggested that the classroom be used as a vehicle for career development exercises and, subsequently, for small group (peer) interactions, group counseling, and individual career counseling. These authors noted that individual personal growth was a clear outcome of their program and indicated that "many Black students who were painfully quiet and shy .…”

Counseling as a Strategy for Mainstreaming Underprepared Students

“…One is that students who have been differentially socialized to learning have a lack of awareness of the usefulness of the counseling process. Schauble, Parker, Probert, and Altmaier (1979) stated convincingly that traditional counseling has a negative connotation; "counseling is something you do when something is wrong with you" (p. 176). This image presents a formidable barrier to students who might easily benefit from counseling services but who do not perceive themselves as having something "wrong with them."…”