Political Ideology and Its Relationship to Perceptions of Social Justice Advocacy Among Members of the American Counseling Association (ACA)
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Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 8-2010 Political Ideology and Its Relationship to Perceptions of Social Justice Advocacy Among Members of the American Counseling Association (ACA) Janeé Steele Steele Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Counseling Commons, and the Counseling Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Steele, Janeé Steele, "Political Ideology and Its Relationship to Perceptions of Social Justice Advocacy Among Members of the American Counseling Association (ACA)" (2010). Dissertations. 629. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/629 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POLITICAL IDEOLOGY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY AMONG MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION (ACA) by Janee Marie Steele A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Advisor: Gary H. Bischof, Ph.D. Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 2010 POLITICAL IDEOLOGY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY AMONG MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION (ACA) Janee Marie Steele, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2010 Social justice has become an increasingly controversial topic among members of the American Counseling Association (ACA). Specifically, concerns have been raised over what is perceived to be: (a) the liberal political agenda of social justice advocates, (b) the marginalization of conservative counselors, and (c) the inappropriate use of ACA resources for social activism. Concerns of this nature suggest that contrary to what is most often expressed by social justice proponents, many counselors may question if efforts to address social and political issues are appropriate tasks for counselors in their professional roles. They further imply that opinions about social justice advocacy may be shaped by differences in liberal and conservative political ideologies. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to explore the relationship between political ideology and perceptions of social justice advocacy among members of ACA. A total of 214 members of ACA participated in the study, which included online administration of the Advocacy Characteristics Scales (Paylo, 2007), the Conservatism Scale (Sidanius, 1991), and a self-report measure of political ideology (ANES, n.d.). Data was analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance and step-wise multiple regression. Results indicated that participants generally had positive perceptions of social justice advocacy and supported the use of the ACA resources to advocate for social issues. Moreover, while conservative counselors had somewhat less favorable perceptions of social justice advocacy, their perceptions, in most instances, did not differ significantly from their liberal and moderate counterparts. Conversely, extremely liberal participants had significantly higher perceptions of social justice advocacy attitudes, behaviors, and skills when compared to the perceptions of participants with less liberal, moderate, or conservative ideologies. These findings suggest that assumptions regarding a negative relationship between conservative political ideology in counselors and perceptions of social justice advocacy may be unfounded. Leaders within ACA might benefit the profession and build consensus by doing more to discuss the results of studies such as this, especially as they continue to work on strengthening and unifying the profession's identity. Implications of the study's findings are offered for counseling, training, and future research. Copyright by Janee Marie Steele 2010 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to begin my acknowledgments by first thanking Jesus Christ. I thank him for being faithful, and for seeing me through many tough days. Without him I would not have the confidence or the patience to keep going. Beyond Jesus, there are many others to whom I owe gratitude. I wish to thank my entire family, especially my husband Darryl Steele, my mom Joslyn Jenkins, my dad Matt Jenkins, my sister Stephanie Jenkins, my aunts Dwanna and Diane Ogles, my uncle Russell Hardaway, my grandmothers Doris Ogles and Iola Hardaway, and my sister-in- law Rebekah Moore for all of their prayers, encouragement, and excitement throughout this process. Thanks to my committee members, Dr. Gary Bischof, Dr. Stephen Craig, Dr. Jerry Pillsbury, and Dr. Peter Wielhouwer for their expertise, insight, thoughtfulness, and guidance. They interrupted family vacations, writing retreats, and spending time with a new baby to help me complete this project, and I am forever grateful. I also thank Dr. Phillip Johnson for helping me through the proposal phase of this dissertation; the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) for their financial support of this research; and my cohort, Darryl Plunkett, Darryl Steele, Nikita Murry, Adam Wall, Patrick Kamau, and Daniel Romero for their unconditional support and acceptance. Thanks to everyone who had a role in helping me to achieve this goal. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Janee Marie Steele n TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES xi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 Overview 1 Statement of the Problem 4 Purpose of the Study 6 Research Questions 7 Significance of the Study 7 Definition of Terms 9 Summary 10 II. LITERATURE REVIEW 12 Historical Development of Social Justice Advocacy 12 The 1970s 12 The 1980s 25 The 1990s 33 Recent Developments in Social Justice Advocacy 42 Definitions 42 iii Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER Values and Principles 45 Advocacy Competencies 49 Training 52 Research 55 Criticisms of Social Justice Advocacy 60 Liberalism and Conservatism 63 Political Ideology 65 Liberalism 67 Conservatism 69 The Liberal-Conservative Continuum 71 Political Ideology and Counseling 73 Summary 75 III. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES 78 Research Questions and Hypotheses 78 Participants 79 Instrumentation 86 Advocacy Characteristics Scales 86 Conservatism Scale 93 American National Election Studies (ANES) 94 Demographic Questionnaire 96 iv Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER Data Collection Procedures 98 Data Analysis 100 Missing Data Analysis 100 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 101 Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) 102 Independent-Samples t-Test 103 Multiple Regression 104 Inductive Analysis 105 IV. RESULTS 107 Recoded Data and Data Management 107 Reverse Scored Items on the Conservatism Scale 107 Collapsed Variables 107 Extent and Pattern of Missing Data 108 Exploratory Factor Analysis 112 Hypothesis 1 116 Hypothesis 2 119 Hypothesis 3 120 Hypothesis 4 122 Analysis of Participant Comments 135 v Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER Theme 1: Concern about the Counselor's Role and Professional Identity 136 Theme 2: Rethink Absolutes 139 Theme 3: Political Involvement in Counseling Should be Limited 139 V. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS 141 Summary of Major Findings 142 Findings from Research Question 1: Perceptions of Social Justice Advocacy 142 Findings from Research Question 2: Differences in Political Ideology 143 Findings from Research Question 3: Political Ideology and Social Justice Advocacy 144 Findings from Research Question 4: Demographic Variables and Social Justice Advocacy 145 Themes from Participant Comments 146 Discussion of Major Findings 147 Limitations 153 Implications for the Counseling Profession 155 Recommendations for Future Research 157 Conclusion 158 REFERENCES 159 vi Table of Contents—Continued APPENDICES A. Advocacy Characteristics Scales Items (Paylo, 2007) 179 B. Conservatism Scale Items (Sidanius, 1991) 185 C. Demographic Questionnaire 187 D. Informed Consent Document for Study Participants 192 E. Advanced Notification of Invitation to Participate in Study 195 F. Invitation to Participate in Study e-mail 197 G. Follow-up e-mail to Potential Participants 199 H. Participant Comments 201 I. Approval Letter from the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board 215 vii LIST OF TABLES 1. Frequencies and Percentages of Demographic Variables 81 2. Frequencies and Percentages of Degree and Employment Characteristics 82 3. Frequencies and Percentages of Regional ACA Membership 83 4. Frequencies and Percentages of Participant Political Party Affiliation Compared to National Percentages During the 2004 Presidential Election 84 5. Frequencies and Percentages of Participant Political Ideology (Self-Identified) Compared to National Percentages During the 2004 Presidential Election 84 6. Frequencies and Percentages of Participant Political Involvement Compared to National Percentages During the 2004 Presidential Election 85 7. Frequencies and Percentages of Counselor Educator and Counselor Participant Variables 87 8. Frequencies and Percentages of Counselor Educator and Counselor Degree and Employment Characteristics 89 9. Frequencies and Percentages of Counselor Educator and Counselor Professional Membership Characteristics 90 10. Frequencies and Percentages of Counselor Educator and Counselor Political Characteristics 91 11. Advocacy Characteristics Scales Internal Consistency Reliability Scores 93 12. Advocacy