Consultation and Human Diversity: First Things First

Abstract: The research and practice of consultation, by nature and definition, affect people from across the range of human diversity. The emergent literature of cross-cultural consultation, including the contributions to this special issue, offers valuable information for increasing the responsiveness of consultation in schools. As a first step toward this improvement, researchers and practitioners must consider the limitations to strategies grounded exclusively in perspectives of the dominant culture. The idea of strong objectivity,which guides the inclusion of perspectives most marginal to a school or community system,offers one promising approach for initiating this inquiry.