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This chapter explores the complexities of leading the improvement of literacy instruction at a secondary school populated by a majority of culturally diverse, at-risk, and low-income students. The principal's narrative charts the journey to evaluate the campus' comprehensive needs and human capital. In an effort to build teacher capacity and foster authentic learning experiences, the school leader partners with an instructional specialist and a nonprofit organization, WITS Houston (WITS), Houston. The unique professional development program designed by WITS allows teachers to connect directly with writers in order to cultivate their own voices as authors and create more culturally relevant writing instruction for students. After navigating the challenges of program implementation and the COVID-19 pandemic, the campus successfully launches the WITS Collaborative as a multitiered approach to school improvement and literacy intervention. To catalog the experience, the principal details the objectives of the partnership, preparatory considerations, tensions regarding enactment, and the implications for the field.

Globally, diversity awareness is a vital aspect of schools. International perspectives on special education invite consideration of views of diversity and disability. Increased diversity in schools and communities has become commonplace and a 21st century norm. This chapter begins with an overview of diversity and multiculturalism. Disability as a category of diversity is explored. Special education and interventions designed to support the educational opportunities for students with disabilities are discussed. A framework for international perspectives on disability and intervention is described.

The recognition of the importance of addressing cultural issues in psychotherapy and counseling has been increasing. The present paper seeks to contribute to the specification of multicultural competencies in the fields of counseling and clinical psychology, based on clients’ perspectives. In particular, its objectives were to explore the experiences of individuals of ethnic minority groups regarding their access to the Portuguese healthcare system and to identify the multicultural competencies of the clinicians (as perceived by the clients) which would be required to improve culturally sensitive treatments.

The sample included 40 adults from different ethnic minority groups in Portugal – a total of 30 women and ten men – with a mean age of 34. Participants took part in one of eight focus groups, which were conducted using a semi‐structured interview plan.

Content analysis revealed that, generally, participants had experienced discrimination in the healthcare system, and that mental healthcare was perceived as mixed (both positive and negative). Furthermore, participants identified specific aspects of multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills required of clinicians to provide culturally sensitive treatments, providing support for the tridimensional model of multicultural competencies.

Implications are discussed for ethical guidelines and clinical training of counselors, clinical psychologists, and other social and health professionals in Europe.

This study involves a content analysis of research published from 2000 to 2018 about American Indian students with the principal aim to identify investigations addressing the supportive factors that contribute to student academic success. Secondary aims involved better understanding the parameters of the investigations, such as sample tribal affiliations and journal outlets.

Out of 6,341 total articles published in PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO and Education Resources Information Center over the time period, 86 articles covering the pre-school to college age years were identified, almost evenly distributed between pre-college (n = 42, 48.8%); and college age samples (n = 44, 51.2%). The 86 articles account for a mere 1.4% of all published articles over the 19 year period. A community cultural wealth approach (Yosso, 2005) was used as a framework for understanding the myriad of strengths students bring to their school experiences and was used as a lens for interpreting the study findings.

When disaggregated, the most common supports for pre-college age youth were culturally-sensitive schooling, personal/intrinsic qualities along with family and social support. For college age students, the most common supports were university personnel, community-based supports and student intrinsic factors. Further results, study limitations and implications are discussed.

This research is original.

Global virtual teams (GVTs) – composed of members in two or more countries who work together primarily using information and communication technologies – are increasingly prevalent in organizations today. There has been a burgeoning of research on this relatively new organizational unit, spanning various academic disciplines. In this chapter, we review and discuss the major developments in this area of research. Based on our review, we identify areas in need of future research, suggest research directions that have the potential to enhance theory development, and provide practical guidelines on managing and working in GVTs.

Businesses in the U.S. are faced with several challenges as a result of the changing world economy. The purpose of this investigation is to shed light on management responses to the global challenges facing businesses in the 1990s and beyond. In addition the paper will focus on some of the problems facing this nation in the coming decade regarding the complexity of its workforce.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the intercultural competence of pre-service special education teacher candidates through the contents of a graduate-level multicultural perspectives course.

This study used a graduate-level multicultural perspectives course to examine the intercultural competence of special education teacher candidates. A paired-samples t-test of significance was performed to investigate the pre- and post-growth of participants’s cultural sensitivity using the intercultural development inventory (IDI).

Participants’ intercultural sensitivity mean score suggested that their intercultural competence needs to be improved. The results showed no significant difference in the overall mean developmental scores between pre- and post-tests. However, significant differences were found between the pre- and post-test scores in perceived orientation and acceptance cluster.

A significantly higher perceived score was identified suggesting that participants might overestimate their level of intercultural sensitivity. Different from the existing literature, this study suggested that gender and education level were significant predictors of post-test developmental scores.

This paper aims to identify how white preservice teachers’ inability to imagine an equitable space for Black and Brown children contributes to the ubiquity of whiteness in English education. Further, the authors contend that the preservice teachers’ responses mirror how the larger field of English education fails to imagine Black and Brown life.

Using abolitionist teaching as a guide, the authors use reflexive thematic analysis to examine the rhetorical moves their preservice teachers made to defer responsibility for anti-racist teaching.

The findings show preservice teachers’ rhetorical moves across three themes: failure to imagine Black and Brown humanity, failure to imagine a connection between theory and practice, and failure to imagine curriculum and schooling beyond whiteness.

By highlighting how preservice teachers fail to imagine spaces for Black and Brown youth, this study offers another pathway through which teacher educators, teachers and English education programs can assist their faculty and students in activating their imaginations in the pursuit of anti-racist, abolitionist teaching.

This chapter will provide an analysis of current educational conditions of Black males within our K-12 school system and the ongoing instructional implications for school leaders working to address literacy leadership and practice. It will provide insight and motivation for school leaders as they navigate political, social, and policy systems that surround the current educational climate and instructional expectations. Readers will engage in a reflective, collaborative, and constructive learning process related to how successful school leaders enhance teaching and learning on their school campuses for Black males and what behaviors are critical to supporting teachers and students through the process. Specifically at the elementary level where foundational decoding, fluency, and comprehension skills are developed and cultivated for early learners we must be intentional with all aspects of the learning process and our instructional pedagogy. This chapter will work to expand the body of knowledge surrounding Black males as we commit to deconstructing existing and reconstructing inclusive, equitable, and just learning environments. Implications for research, policy and practice, including recommendations to support ongoing formal and informal professional learning opportunities for educators to openly discuss their understanding of Black males, challenges they face, and strategies that they have found to be successful will be disclosed.

The aim of the research was to identify factors related to the increased cost of providing health services to clients from a non‐English speaking background (NESB), using a cross‐sectional analysis of the administrative records of clients using community health services in the Northern Metropolitan region of Melbourne for the 2001/2002 financial year. The higher cost of providing services to NESB clients was influenced by four factors: increased consultation time, group attendance to an appointment, increased interpreting cost and the type of service provider. Family members and multilingual staff play a significant role in providing informal interpreting services or low‐cost support for NESB consultations, and these activities should receive appropriate support. Additional funding is needed to support interpreting requirements when dealing with the health needs of NESB clients. Vertical funding equity would provide a better solution than the current horizontal equalisation funding.