The Instruction and Assessment of Multicultural Dispositions in Teacher and Counselor Education

Introduction From the time that the Nation at Risk Report (U.S. Department of Education, 1983) was published up to more recent debates over President Bush's No Child Left Behind legislation, much attention has been given to school reform (Farley, 2005; Gollnick & Chinn, 2009; Huerta, 2009). Of the school factors that bolster student achievement, individual teacher characteristics and the quality of instruction are the most important (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Bransford, Darling-Hammond & Le Page, 2005). Even when home, neighborhood, and environmental determinants fail to provide students with tools to succeed, well-trained educators can make a positive difference in the way students achieve academically (Carter, 2000; Farley, 2005). Teacher training is incomplete, however, if education preparation programs fail to emphasize the need for school personnel to be intentionally inviting with regards to the policies, places, programs, and processes they utilize to construct school climate (Purkey & Novak, 2008). Schmidt (2004) reminds us that school districts who adopt a policy that advocates strict cut-off points on state mandated tests adhere to a misguided belief that everyone should be treated the same, disregarding individual and collective differences. "At the same time, places that reflect only the dominant culture without recognizing the presence of diverse populations practice exclusion rather than inclusion in daily life. Programs that neglect or ignore culture or individual differences [and] processes adopted for the convenience of an elite few, may disinvite people who feel slighted or set apart from the rest of the population," (p.30-31). Theoretical Framework The initial impetus and theoretical framework for this study, related to multicultural dispositions, was inspired by recommendations made by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)--the nation's largest accrediting agency. NCATE requires that teacher preparation programs assess the dispositions of their candidates. It is believed by some, though not all, professionals that teacher dispositions play a critical role in teacher quality and effectiveness as do teachers' pedagogical and content knowledge and skills (Wasicsko, 2002). Additional theoretical impetus was provided from related academic disciplines. From the multicultural education literature comes a recommendation from Klinger & Edwards (2006) and Trent, Kea, & Oh (2008) that beginning teacher education programs and in-service professional development efforts do a better job of equipping educators with culturally responsive, evidence-based strategies. De' Melendez and Beck (2010) warn against adopting a one-size-fits-all, monocultural mindset when teaching students. Gollnick and Chin (2009) emphasize the need for educators to move beyond the dominant canon of knowledge and ways of knowing. Several counseling education experts (e.g., Arredondo, et al., 1996; Axelson, 1999; Baruth & Manning, 2003; Ivey, D'Andrea, & Simon-Morgan, 2002; Constantine, 2003; Robinson, 2005; Sue & Sue, 2008) advocate a set of disposition-like multicultural competencies that emphasize not only knowledge and skills, but also counselor attitudes and beliefs. Principles borrowed from Invitational Theory and Practice (ITP) also provide an important theoretical backdrop. When surveying the literature, one can identify a natural link that appears to connect ITP with the multicultural education movement. William Purkey and John Novak (1996), founders of ITP, affirm that, "In the fight against prejudices, teachers cannot be neutral spectators. They should be combatants against the subtle and not so subtle forces that negate the worth and ability of large numbers of their students," (p. 66). However, Schmidt (2004) notes that, "Over the years, literature and research about invitational education has not addressed the nuances of applying this approach with students, parents, employees, clients, or other populations from diverse backgrounds," (p. …