This document discusses societal responses to school shootings from individualist and collectivist perspectives. It defines individualism as focusing on individual responsibility and not considering outside factors, while collectivism considers both the shooter and their family as victims and takes a more forgiving stance by viewing incidents in their broader social context. The document applies these concepts to provide guidance for school counselors in crisis response by recommending allowing diverse processing methods and having cultural awareness of different perspectives.

1. Individualist vs. Collectivist
Societal Responses to School
Shootings: A School Counselor’s
Role in these Global Perspectives
Lisa A. Wines, Ph.D., (PC-Intern)
Regina R. Edwards, Graduate Student
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Directors of Guidance Conference
September 9, 2013

2. History of International School
Shootings
School shootings are a worldwide issue.
▫ “In the last decade, school shootings have occurred in
Finland, Norway, Germany, Thailand, Canada,
Australia, Argentina, Lebanon, Israel, and India.”
(Sewezy, Throp, 2010)
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3. History of National School Shootings
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1966
University of
Texas
May 1976
Kent State,
Ohio
Dec. 1988
Atlantic Shores
Christian
School
1997
Heath H.S., KY
Dec. 1997
Pearl H.S., MS
May 1998
Thurtson H.S.,
OR
April 1999
Columbine H.S.,
CO
March 2005
Red Lake Senior
H.S., MN
Sept 2006
Bailey, CO
Oct 2006
Nickel Mines
Amish School
Feb 2010
University of Alabama
Dec 2012
Newtown, CT

4. International School Shooting Timeline
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March 1997
Sanaa, Yemen
April 2002
Erfurt, Germany
Sept. 2004
Carmen de
Patagones,
Argentina
May 2007
Toronto, Canada
Sept. 2007
Finland
Nov. 2007
Finland
Dec. 2007
Gurgaon, India
Jan. 2008
Madhya Pradesh,
India
April 2009
Baku, Azerbaijan
March 2009
Berlin, Germany
April 2011
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
March 1996
Dunblane,Scotland

5. Definition of Individualist societies:
• Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov (2010) stated:
“Individualism pertains to societies in which the ties
between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to
look after him- or herself and his or her immediate
family.” (p. 92)
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6. Definition of Collectivist societies:
• “societies in which people from birth onward are
integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which
throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in
exchange for unquestioning loyalty.” (Hofstede et al.,
2010, p. 92)
• “Collectivism is the rule in our world, and individualism
the exception.” (Hofsteded et al., 2010, p. 94)
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7. Holistic Overview & Controversy
• Collectivist:
▫ Harmony is such a major component of collectivism,
that in instances of school shootings, collectivist
societies have exhibited a more forgiving attitude
toward shooters.
▫ Collectivist societies consider both the shooter and the
shooter’s families to be victims of the incident.
▫ Consider outside factors when considering
responsibility for shooting
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(Hofstede et al., 2010)

8. Holistic Overview & Controversy
• Individualist:
▫ Community does not consider the shooter and the
shooter’s family victims of the incident.
▫ Shooter is solely responsible for incident, no
consideration of outside forces.
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(Hofstede et al., 2010)

9. Key Words and Themes
Collectivist Individualist
• Key Words/Themes:
▫ Forgive, forgiveness
▫ community attempts to
forgive shooter
▫ community sees the shooter
and shooter’s family as
victims as well
▫ Focus on
environmental/societal
factors as cause of shooting
• Key Words/Themes:
▫ community does not intend
on forgiving shooter
▫ community does not
consider shooter and
shooter’s family to be
victims
▫ Focus on individual as cause
of shooting
▫ Negatively labeling the
shooter
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10. School Counseling Strategies
• Tool (participants take questionnaire)
• Use of ‘I’ vs. ‘We’
• Allow students to process event in a variety of ways (as a
group, individually, discussing what happened, reflecting
by themselves)
• Have cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills to know
how school shootings may be perceived in various
cultures (Hofstede et al., 2010)
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11. Application to School Counselors
• This knowledge allows school counselors to be better
equipped to help the school system process and cope if a
school shooting incidence occurs
• Due to AMCD multicultural competencies, counselors
must understand how different cultures may process
accountability for school shootings
• School Counselors will encounter students and staff of
varying cultural backgrounds, so it is important to be
educated with belief systems
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12. Application to School System/Globally
• With school shootings becoming a global issue, it is
especially important that counseling professionals
understand how other cultures process these events and
understand personal bias
• School shootings may also cause other mental health
concerns throughout schools and school districts (acute
traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, anxiety disorders, etc)
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13. Application to Other Professionals
• Counselor Educators- train school counselors, especially
in crisis management
• School Counseling Supervisors & Directors of Guidance
Counselors- prepare and implement crisis management
plans (lockdown) in schools
• Community Mental Health Agencies- school shootings
affect entire communities, understanding the way
individuals process school shootings may aid in
counseling
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14. Multicultural & Diversity Implications
AMCD Multicultural Counseling Competencies
1A4) Culturally skilled counselors recognize their sources of discomfort
with differences that exist between themselves and clients in
terms of race, ethnicity and culture.
IIA1) Culturally skilled counselors are aware of their negative and
positive emotional reactions toward other racial and ethnic
groups that may prove detrimental to the counseling relationship.
IIB1)Culturally skilled counselors possess specific knowledge and
information about the particular group with which they are
working. They are aware of the life experiences, cultural
heritage, and historical backgrounds of their culturally
different clients. This particular competency is strongly linked to
the “minority identity development models” available in the
literature.
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15. Multicultural & Diversity Implications
AMCD Multicultural Counseling Competencies
IIIB1) Culturally skilled counselors have a clear and explicit knowledge
and understanding of the generic characteristics of counseling
and therapy (culture bound, class bound, and monolingual) and
how they may class with the cultural values of various cultural
groups.
IIIB4) Culturally skilled counselors have knowledge of family
structures, hierarchies, values, and beliefs from various cultural
perspectives. They are knowledgeable about the community where
a particular cultural group may reside and the resources in the
community.
IIIB5) Culturally skilled counselors should be aware of relevant
discriminatory practices at the social and community level that
may be affecting the psychological welfare of the population
being served.
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16. Considerations
• This information can be used as a part of a
contingency plan for possible school shootings.
• Professionals should attempt to understand the way
other cultures view power, and how school shooters
can gain power from committing a school shooting
• Professionals should learn risk factors of school
shooters and patterns of secrecy within the student
body.
• School Counselors must remain impartial to cultural
reactions to school shootings
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17. References
• Bondu, R., Cornell, D. G., Scheithauer, H. (2011). Student homicidal
violence in schools: An international problem. New Directions for Youth
Development, 129, pp.13-30. doi: 10.1002/yd.384
• Carvalho, E. J. (2010). The poetics of a school shooter: Decoding political
signification in Cho Seung-Hui’s multimedia manifesto. The Review of
Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 32, 403–430. doi:
10.1080/10714413.2010.510355
• Davies, G. K. (2008). Connecting the dots: Lessons from the Virginia Tech
shootings. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 40(1), 8-15.
• Flores de Apodaca, R., Brighton, L. M., Perkins, A. N., Jackson, K. N.,
Steege, J. R. (2012). Characteristics of schools in which fatal shootings
occur. Psychological Reports, 110(2), 363-377.
• Harris, J. M., Harris, R. B. (2012). Rampage violence requires a new type of
research. American Journal of Public Health, 102(6), 1054-1057.
• Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and
organizations: Intercultural cooperation and its importance for survival
(3rd ed.). United States of America: McGraw-Hill.
• Kasdorf, J. P. (2007). To pasture “Amish forgiveness,” silence, and the West
Nickel Mines school shooting. Crosscurrents, 57(3), 328-347.
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18. References Continued
• Lenhardt, A. M. C., Farrell, M. L., Graham, L. L. (2010). Providing anchors-
reclaiming our troubled youth: Lessons for leaders from a study of 15
targeted school shooters. The Educational Forum, 74(2), 104-116.
• Leushner, V., Bondu, R., Schror-Hippel, M., Panno, J., Neumetzler, K.,
Fisch, S., Scholl, J., Scheithauer, H. (2011). Prevention of homicidal
violence in schools in Germany: The Berlin leaking project and the
networks against school shootings project (NETWASS). New Directions for
Youth Development, 129, pp. 61-78. doi: 10.1002/yd.387
• Lindberg, N., Sailas, E. Riittakerttu, K. H. (2012). The copycat phenomenon
after two Finnish school shootings: An adolescent psychiatric perspective.
BMC Psychiatry, 12(91), 1-11.
• Littlefield, R.S., Reierson, J., Cowden, K., Stowman, S. Long Feather, C.
(2009). A case study of the Red Lake, Minnesota, school shooting:
Intercultural learning in the renewal process. Communication, Culture, &
Critique, 2(3), 361-383.
• Logue, J.N. (2008). Violent deaths in American schools in the 21st century:
Reflections following the 2006 Amish school shootings. American School
Health Association, 78(1), 58-61.
• Nykodym, N., Patrick, B. A., Mendoza, J. D. (2011). Mixing blood and
books- killings at universities: Campus violence- what are the options?
Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 12(6), 20-28.
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19. References Continued
• O’Grady, W., Parnaby, P. F., Schikschneit. (2010). Guns, gangs, and the
underclass: A constructionist analysis of gun violence in a Toronto high
school. Revue Canadienne de Criminologie et de Justice Penale, Janvier,
55-77.
• Pegeuro, A. A., Popp, A. M., Latimore, T. L., Shekarkhar, Z., Koo, D. J.
(2010). Social control theory and school misbehavior: Examining the role of
race and ethnicity. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 9, 259-275. doi:
10.1177/1541204010389197
• Reimer, M. L. (2011). Murder and madness in a Mennonite village. Journal
of Mennonite Studies, 29, 75-90.
• Ridgwell, D. M. (2008). Campus commons dozens of lives: Ten thousand
lessons. About Campus, January/February 2008, pp. 27-29. doi:
10.1002/abc.236
• Sewezay, J. A., Thorp, K. A. (2010). A school shooting plot foiled. Journal of
Research on Christian Education, 19, 286-312.
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