International Supervisees’ Experiences with Discrimination: A Critical Events Model

Although there is burgeoning literature highlighting international trainees\u27 experiences in clinical supervision, limited attention has been given to trainees\u27 challenges related to discriminatory instances in counseling and supervision. Research suggests that international supervisees experience both overt and covert instances of discrimination during counseling and supervision interaction. Supervisors\u27 intervention is critical in discussing such events during supervision, as it can either promote or hinder supervisee competencies and growth. Yet, little is known about how supervisors handle such critical situations and its relation to supervisee outcomes. Therefore, using the Critical Events Model in supervision (CEM) and a mixed-method design, the current study examined supervisory interventions in addressing international supervisees\u27 perspectives on their experiences with discrimination and its influence on predicting supervisee outcomes (supervisee competencies: knowledge, awareness, skills; supervisee self-efficacy, supervisory working alliance, and supervisee perception of supervisor\u27s multicultural competence). Consensual Qualitative Research-Modified (CQR-M) was utilized to explore the discriminatory events experienced by international supervisees and their reactions following these events. Results revealed seven categories of discriminatory events including, negative attitude toward supervisee\u27s language ability, witnessing prejudiced/racist comment, assumption about supervisee\u27s culture or knowledge of culture, supervisor invalidated/ignored supervisee\u27s cross-cultural experience, supervisee not seen as competent, questioned supervisee\u27s interpersonal style, and lack of supervisory support/encouragement. Supervisee reported their reactions to the discriminatory events through endorsing various feelings (sadness, anger, frustration, confusion, helplessness), thoughts (self-doubt, reflection on supervisory relationship, rationalization, worry about professional issues), and behaviors (avoiding topic or contact with supervisor, impact on clinical work, seeking support from outside networks, processing with supervisor, masking their feelings or advocating for own needs). An exploration of the kinds of supervisor interventions revealed that supervisees perceived their supervisors to predominantly use four interventions, namely, focus on self-efficacy (71%), skills (66%), evaluation (64%), and exploration of supervisee feelings (60%). Additionally, supervisees perceived focus on countertransference (56%), therapeutic process (51%), multicultural awareness (50%), normalizing experience (44%), focusing on reactions in an indirect manner (40%), focus on self-disclosure (40%), focus on supervisory working alliance (39%), becoming angry/dismissive (36%), focusing on supervision process (36%), changing topic of discussion (36%), and discussion of parallel process (20%) as interventions used by their supervisors. Quantitative analyses using multivariate multiple linear regressions revealed that only focus on supervisee feelings was a significant predictor of supervisory working alliance, and supervisee perception of supervisee\u27s multicultural competence. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed

Person-Context Influences on Educational Involvement in Rural Cambodian Schools

Based on Bronfenbrenner’s Process-Person-Context-Time model, this study explored the attitudes and potential factors affecting children’s educational participation in two non-governmental organization-sponsored rural schools in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with students (female and male), teachers, principals, and parents. A discovery-oriented qualitative analytical approach revealed that at the individual level, truancy and student respect for school regulations impacted school participation. At the family level, parental support and family difficulties influenced school participation. At the school level, teacher ability, teacher-parent interactions, and adequate resources either facilitated or hindered student success. At the socio-cultural level, socioeconomic conditions, communal supports, and traditional gendered expectations created gender disparities in school involvement. Policy implications include a nation-wide comprehensive professional development program targeting teacher training (structural level), a strong teacher-counselor partnership to facilitate the development of literacy campaigns (community level), and increasing female mentors and counselors to increase gender parity (cultural level)