postmodernism; (4) unveiling the exclusionary aspects of current counseling
theory and practice; (5) examining a proposed paradigm shift in counselor
education, that of critical postmodernism; and (6) presenting two classroom
applications of a critical postmodern approach to counselor education.

The theoretical impetus for this project can be found in the works of the
postmodernists, Stanley Aronowitz, Henry Giroux, and William Tierney; the
critical theorists, Peter McLaren and Antonio Gramsci; the critical pedagogists,
Paulo Freire and Antonia Darder; and the critical psychologist, Edmund Sullivan.

Our journey into counselor education for the twenty-first century begins with
the identification and exploration of the current pedagogical shift that was
brought about by the growing cultural diversity in the United States. It is here in
Chapter 1, that we begin to discover a monocultural resistance to progress,
change, and advancement of justice within members of the profession. Next, by
taking a deeper look at the exclusionary aspects of the psychological foundations
of counselor education in Chapter 2, one begins to unmask previously
unquestioned power structures and biases embedded in counselor education. Then,
through the introduction of critical theory, Chapter 3; an exploration of critical
pedagogy and educational counseling, Chapter 4; aspects of critical psychology,
Chapter 5; and the impact of the economic, social, and political times in which
we live, Chapter 6, we discover some important shifts needed in the theoretical
dimensions of counselor education. The central themes of this theoretical shift
are inclusion as opposed to exclusion, fluidity as opposed to rigid notions,
diversity as opposed to ethnocentrism, and relational realities as opposed to
universal truths. Lastly, along this journey, we shall begin to imagine how
these expanded theoretical foundations might look when applied to a classroom
setting. Chapter 7 describes a pilot project whereby the theoretical foundation
proposed in this book was incorporated in an introductory course in counseling.
A critical postmodern approach to a multicultural counseling course is discussed
in Chapter 8. Again, our travel into the next century begins with the
multicultural counseling movement.

As counselor educators face the challenges of preparing professional counselors
to promote equality and justice in American schools in the next century, issues
surrounding diversity, multiplicity, and exclusion must be addressed fervently.
No longer can ethnocentric, encapsulated, and exclusionary aspects of counselor
education be tolerated. The primary purpose of this book is to voice theoretical
principles from which a critical postmodern pedagogy may be developed. It is an
attempt to provide a path for the crossing over, not out, of differences and to
establish an element of fluidity in counseling theory and practice. In essence, it
sets forth a pedagogy of inclusion that allows for the honoring of difference and
the advancement of social justice.

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