Multicultural Settings and School Psychological Services—a Norwegian Experience with Developing Competency in Multicultural Counseling

Abstract

During the last couple of decades, immigration, family reunification, and refugees have brought about increased demographic diversity in many western countries. In kindergartens and schools, minority students with different indigenous, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds are given their education side by side with students of a majority cultural background. Yet, these students may have different socio-economic backgrounds, experiences, sexual orientations, and special education needs. Though it can be challenging, it is the duty of the educational system—with its psychological service institutions, its schools, and its educators—to meet such diversity with recognition, appreciation, and cultural sensitivity and to provide adapted and appropriate special needs education for eligible children. This article illuminates the importance of multicultural counseling competence among school psychologists. We mainly address issues where school psychologists and cultural and linguistic minorities are involved. We present and discuss critical approaches that are relevant for school leaders, teachers, special education teachers, occupational therapists, family therapists, behavioral analysts, health care professionals, child welfare workers, and paraprofessionals working in educational institutions in many countries. The examples and cases we present are from our own country of Norway.