Abstract
This article explores the idea of the teaching alliance as a framework to help instructors of multicultural counseling courses advance student learning by attending to and strengthening the student-instructor relationship. To this end, and drawing on extant literature, two questions are conceptually addressed: (1) what relational qualities comprise the teaching alliance in a graduate-level multicultural class? and (2) what instructional strategies might help strengthen that alliance? The article concludes with a discussion of teaching considerations and directions for future research.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alvarez, A. N., & Miville, M. L. (2003). Walking a tightrope: Strategies for teaching undergraduate multicultural counseling courses. In D. P. Pope-Davis, H. L. K. Coleman, W. M. Liu, & R. L. Toporek (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural competencies in counseling and psychology (pp. 528–345). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Ancis, J., & Ali, S. R. (2005). Multicultural counseling training approaches: Implications for pedagogy. In C. Z. Enns & A. L. Sinacore (Eds.), Teaching and social justice: Integrating multicultural and feminist theories in the classroom (pp. 85–97). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A. M. (2012). Handbook of research on multicultural education. New York: Macmillan.
Bemak, F., & Chung, R. C. (2011). Applications in social justice counselor training: classroom without walls. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 50, 204–219. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1939.2011.tb00119.x.
Bordin, E. S. (1979). The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice, 16(3), 252–260. doi:10.1037/h0085885.
Bordin, E. S. (1994). Theory and research on the therapeutic working alliance: New directions. In A. O. Horvath & L. S. Greenberg (Eds.), The working alliance: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 1–13). New York: Wiley.
Brotherton, S. J. (1996). Counselor education for the twenty-first century. Westport: Bergin & Garvey.
Brown, A. L., & Perry, D. (2011). First impressions: developing critical consciousness in counselor training programs. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 23, 1–18. doi:10.1080/08952833.2011.548699.
Brubaker, M. D., Puig, A., Reese, R. F., & Young, J. (2010). Integrating social justice into counseling theories pedagogy: a case example. Counselor Education and Supervision, 50, 88–102. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6978.2010.tb00111.x.
Chao, R. C., Wei, M., Good, G. G., & Flores, L. Y. (2011). Race/ethnicity, color-blind r acial attitudes, and multicultural counseling competence: The moderating effects of multicultural counseling training. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(1), 72–82. doi:10.1037/a0022091.
Cheshire, L. C. (2013). Reconsidering sexual identities: Intersectionality theory and the implications for educating counselors. Canadian Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 47(1), 4–13. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1004472.
Coleman, M. N. (2006). Critical incidents in multicultural training: an examination of student experiences. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 34, 168–182. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1912.2006.tb00036.x.
Collins, N. M., & Pieterse, A. L. (2007). Critical incident analysis based training: an approach for developing active racial/cultural awareness. Journal of Counseling and Development, 85, 14–23. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2007.tb00439.x.
Cullingford, C. (2006). Mentoring in education: An international perspective. Hampshire: Ashgate.
Curtis-Boles, H., & Bourg, E. (2010). Experience of students of color in a graduate-level diversity course. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 4(3), 204–212. doi:10.1037/a0017985.
Darder, A. (1991). Culture and power in the classroom: A critical foundation for bicultural education. New York: Bergin & Garvey.
Day-Vines, N. L., Wood, S. M., Grothaus, T., Craigen, L., Homan, A., Dotson-Blake, K., & Douglass, M. (2007). Broaching the subjects of race, ethnicity, and culture during the counseling process. Journal of Counseling and Development, 85, 401–409. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2007.tb00608.x.
Dickson, G. L., Jepsen, D. A., & Barbee, P. W. (2008). Exploring the relationship among multicultural training experiences and attitudes toward diversity among counseling students. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 36, 113–126. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1912.2008.tb00075.x.
Enns, C. Z., Sinacore, A. L., Ancis, J. R., Phillips, J. (2004). Toward integrating feminist and multicultural pedagogies. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 32, 414–427. Retrieved from: http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ699304.
Fier, E. B., & Ramsey, M. (2005). Ethical challenges in the teaching of multicultural course work. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 33, 94–107. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1912.2005.tb00008.x.
Frank, D. A., & Cannon, E. P. (2010). Queer theory as pedagogy in counselor education: a framework for diversity training. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 4, 18–31. doi:10.1080/15538600903552731.
Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. NY: Teachers College Press.
Goodman, L. A., Liang, B., Helms, J. E., Lata, R. E., Sparks, E., & Weintraub, S. R. (2004). Training counseling psychologists as social justice agents: feminist and multicultural principles in action. The Counseling Psychologist, 32, 793–837. doi:10.1177/0011000004268802.
Henriksen, R. C. (2006). Multicultural counselor preparation: a transformational pedagogy. Journal of Humanistic Counseling Education and Development, 45, 173–185. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1939.2006.tb00016.x.
Hovarth, A. O. (1994). Empirical validation of Bordin’s pantheoretical model of the alliance: The working alliance inventory perspective. In A. O. Horvath & L. S. Greenberg (Eds.), The working alliance: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 86–109). New York: Wiley.
Hovarth, A. O., & Greenberg, L. S. (Eds.). (1994). The working alliance: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Wiley.
Jackson, L. C. (1999). Ethnocultural resistance to multicultural training: students and faculty. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 5(1), 27–36. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.5.1.27.
Jones, R. A., Mirsalimi, H., Conroy, J. S., Horne-Moyer, H. L., & Burrill, C. (2008). The teaching alliance inventory: evaluating the student-instructor relationship in clinical and counseling psychology training. Counseling Psychology Quarterly, 21(3), 223–235. doi:10.1080/09515070802360935.
Kim, B. S. K., & Lyons, H. Z. (2003). Experiential activities and multicultural counseling competence training. Journal of Counseling and Development, 81, 400–408. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2003.tb00266.x.
Kirby, J. R., & Lawson, M. J. (2012). Enhancing the quality of learning: Dispositions, instruction, and learning processes. NY: Cambridge.
Koch, L. (2004). The student-teacher working alliance in rehabilitation counselor education. Rehabilitation education, 18(4), 235–242. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1193&context=ij-sotl.
Leonard, P. J. (1996). Consciousness-raising groups as a multicultural awareness approach: An experience with counselor trainees. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 2(2), 89–98. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9225564.
Locke, D. C., & Faubert, M. (1999). Innovative pedagogy for critical consciousness in counselor education. In Kiselica, M. S. (ed.), Confronting prejudice and racism during multicultural training. American Counseling Association. pp. 43–58.
Locke, D. C., & Kiselica, M. S. (1999). Pedagogy of possibilities: teaching about racism in multicultural counseling courses. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 80–86. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.1999.tb02424.x.
Malott, K. M. (2010). Multicultural counselor training in a single course: review of research. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 38, 51–63. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1912.2010.tb00113.x.
Mio, J. S., & Barker-Hackett, L. (2003). Reaction papers and journal writing as techniques for assessing resistance in multicultural courses. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 31, 12–19. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1912.2003.tb00526.x.
Myers, S. A. (2008). Working alliances in college classrooms. Teaching of Psychology, 35, 29–32. doi:10.1080/00986280701818490.
Pack-Brown, S., Coulter, S., & Fuller, L. (2012). Multicultural counseling: Training culturally intentional, competent, and ethical counselors for the 21st Century. In D. M. Perera-Kiltz & K. C. MacCluskie (Eds.), The counselor educator’s survival guide: Designing and teaching outstanding courses in community mental health counseling and school counseling (pp. 93–114). New York: Taylor & Francis Group.
Pieterse, A. L., Evans, S. A., Risner-Butner, A., Collins, N. M., & Mason, L. B. (2008). Multicultural competence and social justice training in counseling psychology and counselor education: a review and analysis of a sample of multicultural course syllabi. The Counseling Psychologist, 37(1), 93–115. doi:10.1177/0011000008319986.
Priester, P. E., Jones, J. E., Jackson-Bailey, C. M., Jana-Masri, A., Jordan, E. X., & Metz, A. J. (2008). An analysis of content and instructional strategies in multicultural counseling courses. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 36, 29–39. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1912.2008.tb00067.x.
Robertson, D. L. (1999). Unconscious displacements in college teacher and student relationship: conceptualizing, identifying, and managing transference. Innovative Higher Education, 23(3), 151–169. doi:10.1023/A:1022990316742.
Rogers, D. T. (2009). The working alliance in teaching and learning: Theoretical clarity and research implications. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 3(2), Article 28. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/vol3/iss2/28.
Rothschild, T. (2003). “Talking race” in the college classroom: the role of social structures and social factors in race pedagogy. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 31, 31–38. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1912.2003.tb00528.x.
Roysircar, G. (2004). Cultural self-awareness assessment: practice examples from psychology training. Professional Psychology Research and Practice, 35(6), 658–666. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.35.6.658.
Ryan, R. G. (2006). Developing student-teacher rapport in the undergraduate classroom. In W. Buskist & V. Benassi (Eds.), Effective college and university teaching: strategies and tactics for the new professoriate (pp. 81–90). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Sammons, C. C., & Speight, S. L. (2008). A qualitative investigation of graduate-student changes associated with multicultural counseling courses. The Counseling Psychologist, 36(6), 814–838. doi:10.1177/0011000008316036.
Seward, D. X. (2014). Multicultural course pedagogy: experiences of master’s-level students of color. Counselor Education and Supervision, 53, 62–79. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6978.2014.00049.x.
Simon, R. (1987). Empowerment as a pedagogy of possibility. Language Arts, 64, 370–389. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ348972.
Smith, T. B., Constantine, M. G., Dunn, T. W., Dinehart, J. M., & Montoya, J. A. (2006). Multicultural education in the mental health professions: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 132–145. doi:10.1037/002-0167.53.1.132.
Smith-Adcock, S., Ropers-Huilman, B., Choate, L. H. (2004). Feminist teaching in counselor education: Promoting multicultural understanding. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 32, 402–413. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ699303.
Steele, J. M. (2008). Preparing counselors to advocate for social justice: a liberation model. Counselor Education and Supervision, 48, 74–85. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6978.2008.tb00064.x.
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (Eds.). (2012). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Hoboken: Wiley.
Sue, D. W., Arredondo, P., & McDavis, R. J. (1992). Multicultural counseling competencies and standards: a call to the profession. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 20, 64–88. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1912.1992.tb00563.x.
Sue, D. W., Rivera, D. P., Watkins, N. L., Kim, R. H., Kim, S., & Williams, C. D. (2011). Racial dialogues: challenges faculty of color face in the classroom. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 17(3), 331–340. doi:10.1037/a0024190.
Tatum, B. D. (1992). Talking about race, learning about racism: The application of racialidentity development theory in the classroom. Harvard Educational Review, 62(1), 1–24. Retrieved from http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic551851.files/TalkingAboutRace%20Tatum.pdf.
Ursano, A. M., Kartheiser, P. H., & Ursano, R. J. (2007). The teaching alliance: a perspective on the good teacher and effective learning. Psychiatry, 70(3), 187–194.
Vella, J. (1994). Learning to listen, learning to teach: The power of dialogue in educating adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Wampold, B. E. (2000). Outcomes of individual counseling and psychotherapy: Empirical evidence addressing two fundamental questions. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (3rd ed., pp. 711–739). New York: Wiley.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Estrada, F. The Teaching Alliance in Multicultural Counseling Course Education: A Framework for Examining and Strengthening the Student-Instructor Relationship. Int J Adv Counselling 37, 233–247 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-015-9240-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-015-9240-9