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Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education
Number of Followers: 0  Open Access journalISSN (Print) 2378-5497 - ISSN (Online) 2378-5500 Published by Informing Science Institute  [11 journals]
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- Higher Education in Crisis' An Institutional Ethnography of an
International University in Hungary
Authors: Laura J Parson, Ariel Steele
Pages: 017 - 034
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Our goal is to provide understanding of if and how the institutional factors found to contribute to a chilly climate are experienced in an international setting and provide a broader understanding of the discourses that create challenges for marginalized and underrepresented groups in STEM.Background: In August 2018 the Hungarian government stopped funding gender studies program and took direct control of funding at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in order to focus “taxpayer money on areas that can generate a payoff for society” (Witte, 2018).Methodology: Data collection and analysis focused on how the interface between students and mathematics education was organized as a matter of the everyday encounters between students and faculty and administration by exploring their experiences inside and outside of the classroom.Contribution: There is little in the scholarly literature on how the recent threats and policy changes by the Hungarian government will impact Hungarian higher education; as such, this research has the potential to be a significant and leading contribution to the field by critically examining how ongoing changes to higher education policy, practices, and procedures in Hungary impacts the educational environment for students seeking a graduate degree in Hungary.Findings: Although students and faculty at IU were aware of the political discourses surrounding higher education in Hungary, they largely felt that their work as mathematicians was not largely impacted by threats to academic freedom and institutional autonomy. Instead, these findings suggest that many of the same discourses that coordinate the work of STEM students in higher education persisted to create similar challenges for IU mathematics students.Recommendations for Practitioners: The first step toward improving the chilly climate in STEM fields requires revising the STEM institution from one that is masculine to one that is inclusive for all students with the goal of creating a STEM education environment that supports, validates, and gives students an equal voice.Recommendation for Researchers: Subsequent inquiries guided by this work can extend to additional institutional environments in Hungary and in other authoritarian countries where academic freedom and institutional autonomy are challenged in order to understand how political reform and institutional factors play a role in creating challenges for students from underrepresented groups.Impact on Society: By providing an international perspective, we can explore trends in institutional factors in order to make recommendations that mitigate or reverse the traditional competitive and intimidating STEM classroom environment.Future Research: Future inquiries can explore discourses that contribute to the chilly climate in STEM with an international perspective, to explore if these discourses are consistent across different types of universities around the world.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 5 (2020)
PubDate: 2020-01-19
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4490
Issue No: Vol. 5 (2020)
- A Review of Yuhao Cen’s Student Learning and Development in Chinese
Higher Education: College Students’ Experience in China
Authors: MU ZHANG
Pages: 035 - 038
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Book Review: Student Learning and Development in Chinese Higher Education: College Students’ Experience in ChinaBackground: This book describes and interprets student learning and development as perceived by students in Chinese higher education institutions.Impact on Society: Overall, this book appeals to higher education scholars from all countries and regions. It is a good resource for faculty in Chinese higher education institutions to deepen their understanding of undergraduate students to promote their learning and development. Chinese student affairs professionals struggling with how to support the students they work with would benefits greatly from this book. Likewise, Chinese graduate students contemplating a career in higher education/student affairs would also benefit from reading this book. It also provides global higher education professionals a good perspective to understand Chinese higher education under the background of higher education globalization.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 5 (2020)
PubDate: 2020-02-10
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4506
Issue No: Vol. 5 (2020)
- Leveraging Higher Education Departments to Promote Institutional Change
for Equity and the Public Good
Authors: Michele Tyson, Cecilia M. Orphan, Chris A Nelson, Judy Marquez Kiyama
Pages: 039 - 055
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Neoliberal ideology in U.S. society and globally is transforming post-secondary institutions into economic drivers of their public purposes, that of promoting societal betterment and educational opportunity. Attendant with the neoliberal transformation of higher education’s purposes has been an erosion of the equity pursuits of postsecondary institutions as they privilege enrolling less diverse students more likely to persist and graduate.Background: Neoliberalism has also distorted the college access imperative and divorced it from addressing historic inequities and marginalizations present in higher education. Instead, the college access imperative is largely situated in the need to meet workforce development needs. The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness about how Higher Education preparation programs resist the neoliberalism transformation to higher education by describing how one specific such program, the Higher Education Department at the University of Denver, is actively resisting the influence of neoliberal ideology in campus life.Methodology: We offer examples drawn from our curricula and co-curricula in which departmental faculty, staff and students embody and enact grassroots leadership focused on advancing equity and the university’s public purposes.Recommendations for Practitioners: We conclude by describing recommendations for other Higher Education departments interested in promoting their institution’s public purposes and equity pursuits while resisting neoliberalism. We also offer reflections intended to encourage other Higher Education departments to take up this vital workImpact on Society: Our hope is that this paper serves as a call to harness the power and expertise within Higher Education department to actively resist neoliberal practices and center equity and social justice. Our intent is to spark ideas, offering organizing practices, and research focused on examining the role of Higher Education departments and degree programs in leading postsecondary institutions in society.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 5 (2020)
PubDate: 2020-02-27
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4511
Issue No: Vol. 5 (2020)
- Disrupting the Dominant Discourse: Exploring the Mentoring Experiences of
Latinx Community College Students
Authors: Gloria Crisp, Erin Doran, Vincent Carales, Christopher Potts
Pages: 057 - 078
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to better understand the sources of mentoring and ways in which mentors, as forms of social and familial capital, facilitate the development of capital among Latinx community college studentsBackground: A more focused and nuanced understanding of the role of mentors in further developing Latinx students’ capital is needed to guide mentoring programs in designing asset-based programs that recognize and build upon students’ community cultural wealth Methodology: Drawing from Solórzano and Yosso’s (2001) work, we use asset-based, counter-storytelling as a qualitative, methodological approach to reframe the deficit perspective that is embedded in prior literature on Latinx college students. The sample included 11 Latinx community college students who participated in the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.Contribution: Results suggest that mentoring programs designed to serve Latinx community college students may be more efficient and may provide more meaningful support by recognizing and building upon the assets and capital provided by students’ networks and communities.Findings: Interviews revealed that participants leveraged community cultural wealth in the form of mentoring networks established prior to and during college, to develop other forms of capital that enabled them to reach their educational goals.Recommendations for Practitioners: The paper provides practical implications for mentoring programs, initiatives that include a mentoring component, as well as more generally for institutional agents who support Latinx students.Recommendation for Researchers: Findings provide a foundation for future research opportunities that could further examine how supportive relationships with institutional agents promote the educational and professional success of Latinx community college students.Future Research: Several suggestions for future research are provided, including qualitative work that explores how students identify and interact with mentors and other institutional agents during college and how they utilize these relationships to navigate the college environment.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 5 (2020)
PubDate: 2020-03-24
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4510
Issue No: Vol. 5 (2020)
- Intertwined Higher Education Places and Spaces
Authors: Elizabeth S Wargo
Pages: 079 - 084
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: This essay highlights how the way educational places and spaces are imagined impacts higher education research, policy, and practice. Background: Drawing on the rapid transition to online education in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, dichotomous thinking about education space is problematized by examining how the physical (e.g., the lecture hall) is intertwined with the digital (e.g., an online course shell). Methodology: Conceptual essay Contribution: I illustrate how shifting towards conceptualizing higher education as an intertwined environment, that which is a blended mix of the physical and the digital is a more robust construct that can better assist researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.Findings: Dichotomous— online or on campus—thinking masks issues of equity and justice deserving of higher education leadership research, policy, and practice in need of attention, which COVID-19 has brought to light. Recommendations for Practitioners: By embracing an intertwined educational environment construct, practitioners may be better positioned to see opportunities for increasing equity of higher education access. Recommendation for Researchers: By embracing an intertwined educational environment frame, future research can better examine higher educational equity issues and opportunities.Impact on Society: The larger societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will inevitably change individuals and institutions. By revisiting higher education through an intertwined environmental frame, higher education institutions will be better positioned to assist ALL in society. Future Research: As higher educational institutions grapple with changes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, future research which problematizes educational space is needed to better understand the shifting, complex, and nuanced environments where learning, marginalization, and opportunities for change exist.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 5 (2020)
PubDate: 2020-04-16
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4535
Issue No: Vol. 5 (2020)
- Assessing a Culture of Mattering in a Higher Education Context
Authors: Samantha Dietz, Cengiz Zopluoglu, Adam Clarke, Miriam Lipsky, Christopher M. Hartnett, Isaac Prilleltensky
Pages: 085 - 104
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of a newly developed Culture of Mattering survey (CoM) that evaluates mattering in the context of relationships with supervisors, colleagues, and the organization as a whole.Background: Mattering can be defined as the experience of feeling valued and adding value. Despite the importance of mattering in personal and occupational domains, there is very little research on organizational cultures that promote mattering. As far as we know, there is no research on the measurement and promotion of a culture of mattering in higher education settings. Methodology: Data were collected from 4,264 university employees across 469 work units using web-based surveys. CoM scores were aggregated into unit-level average scores, which were the focus of all analyses.Contribution: This study is the first to examine the measurement of a CoM in a higher education context. The specific context consists of a set of principles and behaviors enacted in relationship with supervisors, colleagues, and the organization as a whole.Findings: Factor analysis of the CoM resulted in one general factor (α = .90), and three sub-factors dealing with supervisors (α = .95), colleagues (α = .92), and the organization as a whole (α = .86).Recommendations for Practitioners: When trying to improve organizational culture, attention must be paid to how employees feel at all these levels.Recommendation for Researchers: This study shows that it is important to pay attention to three contextual levels when assessing mattering among faculty and staff: interactions with supervisors, colleagues, and the entire organization.Impact on Society: Mattering is a crucial aspect of organizational health and well-being.Future Research: It is important to study how mattering in higher education impacts the well-being of faculty, staff, and students.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 5 (2020)
PubDate: 2020-04-22
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4539
Issue No: Vol. 5 (2020)
- Table of Contents for Volume 5, 2020 of the Journal for the Study of
Postsecondary and Tertiary Education
Authors: Crystal R Chambers, Sydney Freeman Jr., Jessica L Samuels
Pages: iii
Abstract: Table of Contents for Volume 5, 2020 of the Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 5 (2020)
PubDate: 2019-12-15
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4473
Issue No: Vol. 5 (2019)
- Striving to Align with the CAS Standards: Graduate Preparatory Programs in
Higher Education & Student Affairs
Authors: Steven Tolman, Daniel W Calhoun, Kaylee M. King
Pages: 001 - 016
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: This study examined Higher Education/Student Affairs (HE/SA) programs’ curriculum alignment with the CAS Standards. Background: HE/SA programs have a limited number of credit hours (27-65) and must structure their curriculum within the confines. The CAS Standards guides HE/SA programs and recommends this curriculum include a focus on six content areas. Methodology: A quantitative study that examined the curriculum of the HE/SA programs in the United States (n = 230) and their offering of exclusive courses aligning with the six content areas recommended by the CAS Standards.Contribution: This study is the first to broadly examine the curriculum of the collective HE/SA programs in the United States. It can serve as a catalyst to encourage further research and scholarly discussion around the curriculum of HE/SA programs and the professional preparation of higher education administrators.Findings: Key findings included that of the six content areas, History and Counseling were the areas least likely to be offered in HE/SA programs (48% and 41%, respectively) compared to 82% and above for the other four areas. Evidence suggests that program offerings of 36-39 credit hours may be the “sweet spot” in balancing credit hours with their ability to meet CAS Standards.Recommendations for Practitioners: There is a need for HE/SA faculty and practitioners to communicate where HE/SA programs fell short meeting the CAS Standards so that practitioners can continue in the professional development of these young practitioners. This “handoff” between faculty and practitioners will further strengthen the field of student affairs. Recommendation for Researchers: The findings of this study illuminate the important future research question as to whether there is a difference in the academic preparedness (perceived and/or actual) of graduates who attend programs that are more closely aligned with the CAS Standards'Impact on Society: Recognizing the importance that student affairs professionals have on student development (in-and-out of the classroom), this study challenges educators and practitioners to ensure they are adequately developing the next generation of college administrative leaders.Future Research: Examination of the curriculum alignment in the future once the CAS Standards for Graduate Preparatory Programs are revised
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 5 (2020)
PubDate: 2019-12-15
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4472
Issue No: Vol. 5 (2019)
- Table of Contents for Volume 4, 2019, of the Journal for the Study of
Postsecondary and Tertiary Education
Authors: Crystal R Chambers, Sydney Freeman Jr., Jessica L Samuels
Pages: iv
Abstract: Table of Contents for Volume 4, 2019, of the Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-03-18
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4263
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- The Abetting Bully: Vicarious Bullying and Unethical Leadership in Higher
Education
Authors: Leah P Hollis
Pages: 001 - 018
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the phenomena of vicarious bullying, or an abetting bully, when a bully’s subordinate is used to inflict abuse on the target. This study examines who is most affected by this multi-faceted organizational abuse in American higher education.Background: Workplace bullying has received international attention. Recent studies in the United States have focused on workplace bullying in higher education. However, workplace bullying emerges from an elaborate social structure. This research article brings the unique perspective of vicarious bullying for analysis. Methodology: A data collection from 729 American higher education professionals was used to answer the following three research questions which were addressed in this study: RQ1: What is the overall prevalence of vicarious bullying in American higher education' RQ2: What is the likelihood of experiencing vicarious bullying in American higher education based on gender' RQ3: What is the likelihood of experiencing vicarious bullying in American higher education based on a woman’s race' A chi-square analysis was used to examine which demographic groups are more susceptible to vicarious bullying.Contribution: This article expands the literature on workplace bullying in American higher education by considering how unethical leadership can contribute to and inspire abetting and vicarious bullies who are enabled to maintain the toxic work culture.Findings: This article expands the literature on workplace bullying in American higher education by considering how unethical leadership can contribute to and inspire abetting and vicarious bullies who are enabled to maintain the toxic work culture.Recommendations for Practitioners: Vicarious bullying occurs when the organization fails to curtail managerial abuse. The result is higher turnover for women employees. Working with chief diversity officers and EEO officials can develop policies that stifle this behavior.Recommendation for Researchers: While workplace bullying has gained international attention, the organizational behavior of vicarious bullying is a unique organizational perspective that warrants further study.Impact on Society: Data confirm that women are more likely to leave their organizations to avoid workplace bullying. Women’s departures weaken an organization when they take their insight and knowledge with them.Future Research: Future research can consider the relationship between ethical leadership at the department level and executive level of higher education, and how that might have an impact on the prevalence of workplace bullying.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-03-18
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4255
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Parental Attachment of Students as They Move through Tinto’s Rites of
Passage: Separation, Transition, and Incorporation
Authors: Henrietta W Pichon
Pages: 019 - 032
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: This study explored the connection between Tinto’s notion of “rites of passage” and Kenny’s parental attachment. Specifically, this study sought to explain how students’ parental attachment (i.e., affective quality of parental relationships, parents’ ability to facilitate independence, and parents as source of support) influenced their rites of passage (i.e., separation, transition, incorporation) and how this may differ based on different demographic data. By understanding students’ connections to their parents, student affairs/life administrators will be better able to offer programming that helps students move through the rites of passage in order for the students to become more academically and socially integrated within the institution and ultimately persist. Background: There is little doubt that academic and social integration play a major role in college student persistence. Yet, there remains considerable interest in how students reach this integration. One factor that continues to be explored is parental influence. However, little is known about students’ connections to their parents and how this connection influences their ability to move through Tinto’s “rites of passage.”Methodology: This study employed survey design. For this study, 129 students were surveyed at two institutions in the South.Contribution: By further exploring these relationships, this study will add to the growing body of research on persistence, parental attachment, and historically underrepresented groups in higher education.Findings: Findings from this study suggest that programming provided through student affairs/life offices should focus on the facilitation of independence, so students become more comfortable relying on themselves, new friends, and the institution to assist them as they overcome the new challenges that come with attending college. In doing so, the students can become more integrated into the university and ultimately persist. Recommendations for Practitioners: These findings could be instrumental in shaping the freshmen experience of traditional age enrollees specifically through the admissions process, New Student Orientation programming, and Freshmen Seminar courses. Findings suggest that students may benefit from facilitating their own admission process; therefore, institutions should encourage this independence by sending literature to students, requiring students to take action or respond to requests, and facilitating student campus visits prior to orientation. During New Student Orientation, institutions could offer breakout sessions to parents and students to help with the separation, transition, and incorporation processes. Break-out sessions for parents will focus on what these different stages look like and what they can do to assist their students overcome them. Additionally, break-out sessions for students will focus on helping them identify stages, develop strategies for moving through them, and maintaining good relationships with their parents in the process. Finally, the Freshmen Seminar course should reinforce lessons taught at New Student Orientation regarding separation, transition, and incorporation by providing lessons that allow students to explore the different stages via case studies, identify strategies that one can employ to address issues that arise at the various stages, evaluate services of offices created to assist with stages, and other lessons. Recommendation for Researchers: Although this study has limitations the findings are useful in identifying future research opportunities. A study is required with a larger sample, with a diverse population to allow for rigorous testing of all variables. I suggest a larger and more diverse sample at varying institutional types to fully capture differences among the different groups. Although there were a number of significant correlational findings, the relationships were weak. This suggests that these variables need to be further explored to determine the strength of parental attachment and separation, transition, and incorporation. Impact on Society: This study is important to society because it not only addresses where the issues occur as students move the rites of passage (i.e., separation, transition, incorporation) but also identifies strategies that institutions can employ to assist students as they move through those rites. By understanding how connected students are to their parents, institutions can better prepare their students to work more independently to achieve their educational goals. In doing so, the students will be better able to join the work force and contribute to society in a meaningful way.Future Research: Future research should further study parental attachment and persistence at varying institutional types and link student success services to addressing some of the issues related to separation, transition, and incorporation of these students.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-06-05
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4326
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- The Language of Retrenchment: A Discourse Analysis of Budget Cutting in
Higher Education
Authors: Laura J Parson, Jacob P Gross, Alexander Williams
Pages: 033 - 048
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Using discourse analysis, this study analyzed language used at universities undergoing budget cuts. Background: In times of economic hardship and declining public support, institutions can generate more revenue or reduce expenditures, referred to as retrenchment, to meet their resource needs. Yet, scholarship on organizational approaches to retrenchment is scarce. Methodology: Using critical discourse analysis, this study analyzed public communication from university leadership to employees about budget cuts. To understand how institutionalized structures were negotiated, reinforced, and constructed through language we looked for linguistic patterns in the use of pronouns, affective and epistemic stance, and nominalization in institutional emails.Contribution: As educational scholarship on institutional budget cutting behaviors remains almost nonexistent, this study extended understanding of budget cutting behaviors by exploring how university presidents frame budget cuts as a serious problem and persuade stakeholders that their solutions will resolve the budget crisis while minimizing personal harm. Findings: Analysis of corpus data suggested that the language used in SRI and URU’s budget emails was tailored to generate support for university leadership’s authority and plans to resolve the crisis.Recommendations for Practitioners: Through the lens of poststructuralist thought, findings suggest there is room for electronic communication about budget crises and resolution to be clearer about the organization of power and the location of financial decision-making.Recommendation for Researchers: The existing body of knowledge on the language used in retrenchment decision-making is small and triangulation with the literature confirmed findings on a larger scale, more research is needed. Impact on Society: If institutions are seeking transparency, they should use language that clearly communicates the nature of the problem, defines which individuals/groups are creating the plan to return to fiscal stability, and, when decisions are made, outlines the specific details of the plans that include who it will impact and how. Future Research: While much of the research has focused on the impact of retrenchment on institutional and student outcomes, these findings suggest that future research should also explore the impact of retrenchment decision-making on faculty and staff outcomes like morale, sense of belonging, and retention and recruitment.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-07-13
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4365
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Intersectionality of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual International Students:
Impact of Perceived Experiences on Campus Engagement
Authors: Andrew S Herridge, Hugo Alberto Garcia, Mi-Chelle Leong
Pages: 049 - 065
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: While there are studies that examine the experience of LGB or international students, we are not aware of any study that examines both intersectionalities. In this study, we attempt to be the first to examine the experiences of international LGB students and the resources they utilize on campuses. Background: This research provides an understanding of how this population of students interact with the campus environment, how they perceive the campus climate, and what impact their interaction and perceptions have on their performance and overall outcomes.Methodology: This narrative qualitative research study was guided by the unifying model of sexual identity development and the model of multiple dimensions of identity. This study conducted semi-structured interviews with eleven participants from two states to attain a deeper insight and perspective on the experiences of LGB International students. Contribution: With this population of students being understudied in the larger body of literature, the result of this research will allow for institutional staff and future researchers to gain additional insight into the experiences and outcomes of international students that identify as a member of the LGB community. Findings: The respondents indicated a mixture of experiences based on their sexual orientation and national identity. Emerging themes for RQ1 were Fear, Isolation, and Openness. Respondents expressed the utilization of a wide variety of resources from campus based on online resources. Emerging themes for RQ2 were Campus Based Resources, Online Resources, and Negative Experiences.Recommendations for Practitioners: Based on these findings, institutions of higher education can promote the resources available to students within these populations. Institutions should be intentional in supporting the spiritual and religious needs of international LGBTQIA students to aid in the holistic development of their students. Recommendation for Researchers: It is recommended for researchers to explore how international students who identify as LGBTQIA students experience community colleges.Future Research: Future research should explore how staff, administrators, and faculty attempt to support students from regions of the world that are very conservative as they recruit students from those regions.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-08-06
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4412
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Thwarting the Temptation to Leave College: An Examination of
Engagement’s Impact on College Sense of Belonging among Students of
Color
Authors: Joseph A Kitchen, Michael S. Williams
Pages: 067 - 084
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Persistence rates among Black and Latinx students continue to fall behind those of their White peers. One way to address this issue is to promote a stronger college sense of belonging. While student involvement has been linked to sense of belonging, postsecondary institutions need to seriously reflect on, and recommit to, their own role in engaging Black and Latinx students to promote their sense of belonging, a strong correlate of persistence and college completion. Background: A sense of belonging has been linked to college success, including student persistence. One potential way to promote a sense of belonging among Black and Latinx students is through student engagement. This paper examines the relationship between student engagement and college sense of belonging among a national sample of 10,475 Black and Latinx students. Guided by student engagement theory, we parse out the role of student involvement and institutional engagement to examine the unique and net impact of each facet of engagement as it relates to college sense of belonging among Black and Latinx students. Methodology: This study employs hierarchical linear regression modeling to examine the unique and net impact of two facets of student engagement: (a) student involvement, and (b) institutional engagement, as each relates to college sense of belonging among a national sample of 10,475 Black and Latinx students.Contribution: This paper contributes to scholarship on persistence, engagement, and belonging among Black and Latinx students. Guided by engagement theory, the study takes a nuanced view of student engagement that acknowledges the role of student involvement, and critically, examines the role of institutional engagement in terms of variance explained in sense of belonging among Black and Latinx students. Consistent with calls from the literature, this study provides an empirical examination that recognizes institutional responsibility for promoting a sense of belonging among Black and Latinx students, who are often marginalized in higher education, rather than placing the onus on the students alone. Findings: Overall, student engagement explains 18% of variance in sense of belonging among Black and Latinx students, controlling for a range of student characteristics. Student involvement explains a significant amount of variance above and beyond student background characteristics alone. Institutional engagement explains unique variance in belonging above and beyond student involvement alone, and it has the largest impact on sense of belonging of any variable in our models.Recommendations for Practitioners: Administrators, practitioners, and leadership at postsecondary institutions should acknowledge their central role in engaging Black and Latinx students. Institutions should seek out ways to communicate the resources, support, and involvement opportunities they offer through appropriate venues such as minority student and allied organizations, cultural events, and by working with existing networks of minorities on campus. Increased efforts on the part of institutions to have a broader and more inclusive reach to engage their students may communicate to students that they matter and the institution cares about their success—leading to a greater sense of belonging. Findings from this study suggest there may be ways for students and university staff to collaborate on student success to promote desirable student outcomes like sense of belonging.Recommendation for Researchers: The results provide evidence for the utility of a multidimensional conceptual or theoretical model in research that parses out involvement, engagement, and sense of belonging as independent constructs and specifies the relationship between each construct. It also calls attention to the important role of institutional support and engagement as a means of promoting sense of belonging among Black and Latinx students, and supports shifting the onus of engagement and belonging away from the student alone and toward institutions and their practices. Researchers should continue to explore how to promote belonging through different facets of engagement, and acknowledge the role of the institution in promoting belonging.Impact on Society: This paper contributes to addressing seemingly intractable gaps in college persistence rates among Black and Latinx students and their White counterparts. Specifically, it contributes to an understanding of practices and policies to promote sense of belonging through student engagement to reap associated benefits such as college persistence and completion. Closing the persistence and completion gaps among student racial/ethnic groups can contribute to greater educational equity and in turn greater societal equity.Future Research: Future research should continue to parse out student involvement, institutional engagement, and sense of belonging as distinct constructs when examining the relationship between student engagement and belonging. The present study demonstrates the merit to this approach, permitting the researcher to determine the unique and combined influence of each element of engagement on belonging that would have otherwise been obscured if treated as a single construct. Adopting this approach also offered insight into the specific facets of engagement that appear to impact belonging for Black and Latinx students instead of a monolithic treatment of student involvement or engagement, allowing for a more nuanced understanding.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-09-01
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4423
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Lessons from Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiments: Leadership’s Deliberate
Indifference Exacerbates Workplace Bullying in Higher Education
Authors: Leah P Hollis
Pages: 085 - 102
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to apply Albert Bandura’s findings of the Bobo Doll experiments to organizational behavior and workplace bullying in higher education. The Bandura social psychological experiments confirm that people who see aggression also need to witness an intervention to aggression to learn that the organization does not welcome aggression in their work environment.Background: By applying the Bandura experiment, the researcher shows how leadership can intervene to stop organizational aggression and abuse. Without leadership intervention, workplace bullying continues in higher education. Methodology: The researcher used a data set of 730 higher education professionals. The central research question: RQ Which personnel, bullied or not bullied, are more likely to report that no intervention was demonstrated in the organization’s response to reports of workplace bullying on campus' A chi-square analysis was used to examine if organizational inaction was more likely to lead to workplace bullying.Contribution: The application of the Bobo Doll experiments confirms that workplace aggression is either curtailed or proliferates based on leadership’s intervention to stop aggression in higher education. This social psychology approach contributes to the literature on workplace bullying in higher education about the need for leadership to intervene and stop bullying behaviors.Findings: Those who reported organizational apathy, that is the “organization did nothing” were more likely to face workplace bullying in higher education at a statistically significant level, .05 level (χ2 (1, n = 522) = 5.293, P = 0.021). These findings align with Bandura’s theoretical approach that an intervention is needed to curtail aggression and workplace bullying.Recommendations for Practitioners: Organizational leadership should consider 360 evaluations, ombudsmen, and faculty oversight committees to collect data and intervene in workplace bullying problems on campus.Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can further examine how leadership engagement and intervention can curtail costly and corrosive workplace bullying in higher education.Impact on Society: These findings confirm that workplace bullying will not just disappear if left unattended. Empirical data confirms that leadership apathy, or deliberate indifference, to interventions only enable aggression and bullying in the workplace. Future Research: Future research projects can include qualitative approaches to discover what values encourage leaders to intervene in workplace bullying.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-09-02
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4426
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- “This is Not Normal”: Talking Trump in Undergraduate Diversity
Courses
Authors: Ryan A. Miller, Neda Pouraskari
Pages: 103 - 121
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how faculty members teaching undergraduate diversity courses at liberal arts colleges in the southern United States addressed the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in their classrooms. Background: Humanities and social science faculty teaching undergraduate diversity courses faced the decision of whether, and how, to address the 2016 U.S. presidential election in their courses. Diversity courses represent a compelling context for examining this event, as instructors must routinely tackle charged and controversial topics and such courses have become the subject of debates around purpose, course content, and instructional methods.Methodology: This study draws upon one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with 38 faculty members teaching required undergraduate diversity courses at three predominantly White liberal arts colleges in the southern United States. Contribution: Understanding faculty members’ approaches to handling a critical political event sheds light on how faculty in multiple contexts might prepare for difficult dialogues in their classrooms. This study can serve to prompt reflection about how campuses engage with contemporary controversies in an era of reduced public trust in higher education and skepticism that free speech is a fundamental value of higher education. This study also offers a contribution to understanding how faculty members’ and students’ social identities including race and gender influence the dynamics of classroom discussions about contemporary controversies.Findings: Drawing upon the curricular processes detailed in the multicontextual model for diverse learning environments, findings from this study address faculty members’ personal post-election reactions, concern for minoritized students, decisions whether to disclose their political leanings, and their attempts to promote multiple perspectives, civility, and disciplinary connections to the political climate.Recommendations for Practitioners: Faculty members, educational developers, and administrators can use this study to consider how to address challenging and controversial events in the classroom and how to protect academic freedom to teach about and learn from these events.Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can advance understandings of how contemporary controversies and discussions of the political climate play out in college classrooms by investigating faculty and student experiences in multiple disciplinary, institutional, and regional contexts. Impact on Society: Higher education institutions in the United States face increasing public scrutiny and calls for greater accountability. Professors, in particular, are often caricatured as partisan ideologues intent upon indoctrinating students to particular political positions. A better understanding of how faculty members consider and approach discussions of a critical event may help shed light on the reality of many college classrooms and the self-reflective approaches to handling controversy faculty members may espouse.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-09-10
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4430
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- We Built this Joint for Free: Counter-stories of Black American
Contributions to Higher Education
Authors: Chaunte L White, Miranda Wilson
Pages: 123 - 142
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Black contributions to higher education are frequently marginalized by some of the field’s most commonly cited historians. The purpose of this conceptual paper is threefold: to demarginalize the role of Black Americans within the higher education history narrative; to demonstrate the need to reconsider the course reading selections used to facilitate learning in this area; and, to emphasize the importance of higher education history as vehicle for understanding current issues across the postsecondary landscape.Background: Sanitized historical accounts often shape Higher Education and Student Affairs students’ learning of the history of American higher education. This is important due to the role historical knowledge plays in understanding current issues across the postsecondary landscape.Methodology: This conceptual paper juxtaposes commonly used higher education history texts against works that center Black higher education history. Elements of Critical Race Theory (CRT) frame this paper and serve as an analytic tool to disrupt master narratives from seminal history of higher education sources.Contribution: This paper contributes to literature on the history of higher education and offers considerations for the implications of course reading selections. Findings: We found that countering the master narratives shows how our contemporary experience has been shaped by colonial processes and how the historical role of Black Americans in higher education is often minimized.Recommendations for Practitioners: Citing how higher education and student affairs instructors’ choices around scholarship have implications for classroom learning and for the future of research and practice, this work recommends diversifying history of higher education course reading selections to help students gain better understanding of the historical impact of white supremacy, systemic oppression, and racism on postsecondary education.Future Research: Further research is needed to understand the impact of course reading selections on HESA student learning and empirically identify frequencies of text usage in history of higher education classrooms
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-09-25
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4432
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- International Higher Education from a Global Perspective: A Special Series
Authors: Mary Ann Bodine Al-Sharif, Hugo Alberto Garcia
Pages: 143 - 147
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: This preface presents the papers included in this Special Series of the Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education.Background: This special series was put together in an effort to show the interconnectedness of our world through globalization and internationalization within higher education. Methodology: A qualitative conceptual analysis of the themes and insights of the selected submissions of the works for this special series is presented. Contribution: Though a move toward internationalization has occurred across the globe within higher education, there is still a gap in the amount of available relevant research within the field. This special series seeks to help fill this gap.Findings: The works found in this special series challenge us to view the practice and profession of higher education through a broader and more globalized lens in order to expand our vision of what higher education is today and can be for the future.Recommendations for Practitioners: Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to broaden and diversify their methodological approaches to cross-cultural research and practice in order to aid the higher education community in meeting the needs of an ever growing diverse student body.Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers are encouraged to embrace international research, as well as the impacts of globalization and internationalization upon higher education and society.Impact on Society: By embracing the impact of globalization within higher education, we become a stronger society that is more accepting and prepared for diversity and diverse learning environments.Future Research: The conceptual analysis of these selected works may provide researchers with insight and direction for future work that examines programming, curriculum, international partnerships, and student and faculty experiences from a global perspective.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-10-01
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4440
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Worldview Climate and the International Student Experience:
Internationalization Strategies Overlook Interfaith Necessities
Authors: Beth Ashley Staples, Laura S. Dahl, Matthew J. Mayhew, Alyssa N. Rockenbach
Pages: 149 - 176
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare domestic and international students’ experiences of the campus worldview climate.Background: Internationalization efforts have continued to increase and more institutions are codifying internationalization into their mission statements or strategic plans. However, most international students are coming to the United States from countries that do not share a Christian-based worldview and most campuses are already underprepared for their students to engage across worldviews.Methodology: To explore the experiences of international students with the campus worldview climate, we used data from the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS) to examine differences between domestic and international students with regard to campus worldview climate perceptions, engagement in formal and informal interfaith opportunities, and changes in pluralism orientation during the first year of college.Contribution: This study advances our understanding of how international students perceive their campus worldview climates and how they engage in cross-worldview interactions. We offer these findings in hopes of providing an empirical roadmap for improving international students’ experiences with the worldview climate on campus, especially as internationalization strategies continue to grow and diversify our student populations.Findings: We found that international students do find their campuses less welcoming than their domestic peers. Additionally, international students reported engaging more often in formal cross-worldview interactions than their domestic peers.Recommendations for Practitioners: In light of these findings, we suggest three interfaith initiatives campuses can sponsor to better support their international students: 1) find a physical space for a multi-faith center and provide dedicated staff to support interfaith initiatives, 2) help faculty innovate their practice and the spaces they hold in the classroom to foster environments more inclusive of diverse worldviews, and 3) engage student affairs staff in reflection about their own worldviews and train them to create space for cross-worldview engagement among their students.Recommendation for Researchers: Our findings suggest that international students’ experiences of worldview climate differ from their domestic peers. Researchers should continue to explore worldview as a relevant component of the cross-cultural experience and design research that considers these divergent experiences. Impact on Society: Helping our students engage with diverse worldviews is imperative as part of higher education’s contribution to creating democratic societies across the globe. The results of this study point to ways administrators and campus leaders can align internationalization strategies with effective interfaith and worldview diversity practice.Future Research: Additional research efforts should focus on identifying components of the campus worldview climate international students are more likely to experience than their domestic peers. Also, researchers should consider how international students are exhibiting growth on outcomes like pluralism orientation in comparison to their domestic peers and how cross-worldview interactions affect this development.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-10-01
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4434
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Operationalizing “Internationalization” in the Community College
Sector: Textual Analysis of Institutional Internationalization Plans
Authors: Lisa M Unangst, Nicole I Barone
Pages: 177 - 196
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: This paper evaluates three community college internationalization plans using quantitative textual analysis to explore the different foci of institutions across three U.S. states.Background: One of the purposes of community college internationalization is to equip future generations with the skills and dispositions necessary to be successful in an increasingly globalized workforce. The extent to which international efforts have become institutionalized on a given campus may be assessed through the analysis of internationalization plans.Methodology: We use the textual analysis tool Voyant, which has rarely been employed in educational research, being more frequently applied in the humanities and under the broad heading of “digital scholarship”.Contribution: Extant literature examining internationalization plans focuses on the four-year sector, but studies centered on the two-year sector are scarce. This study addresses that gap and seeks to answer the research questions: How do community colleges operationalize internationalization in their strategic plans' What terms and/or concepts are used to indicate international efforts'Findings: Key findings of this study include an emphasis on optimization of existing resources (human, cultural, community, and financial); the need for a typology of open access institution internationalization plans; and the fragmentation of international efforts at the community college level.Impact on Society: It is clear that internationalization at community colleges may take shape based on optimization of resources, which begs the question, how can education sector actors best support open access institutions in developing plans tailored to the local context and resources at hand'Future Research: We recommend additional use of quantitative textual analysis to parse internationalization plans, and imagine that both a larger sample size and cross-national sample might yield interesting results. How do these institutional groupings operationalize internationalization in the corpus of their plans'
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-10-01
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4435
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- An Analysis of Research Productivity in Saudi Arabia and Iran
Authors: Younus Ahmed Mushtaq Ahmed, Nurazzura Mohamad Diah
Pages: 197 - 208
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Education is vital as it is a major investment in human capital. Tertiary education, in particular, contributes to the growth of knowledge and advances skills, which helps in the development of a country. This paper aims to look at the research and technological output at the tertiary level in Saudi Arabia and Iran.Background: Saudi Arabia and Iran have an aspiration for leadership in the Islamic world and have been fighting for regional domination. Providing an overview of their tertiary education in these countries could be used to understand where the countries stand in their social and economic aspirations, especially when their economies move from oil to knowledge-based. Methodology: To achieve the objective of the study, qualitative thematic analysis was done on secondary data extracted from the official websites of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).Contribution: The data suggest that Iran has a higher research output and development at the tertiary level than Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia needs to focus on its research output to achieve its social and economic aspiration to move to a knowledge economy. Findings: The findings reveal that while Iran has a much larger tertiary system than Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia spends a higher percentage of its GDP on education (5.14%) than Iran (2.92%) and has a higher student-instructor ratio (19.85%) than Iran (15.26%). Despite less investment in education, Iran has published more articles (38,299) and filed more patents (14,279) than Saudi Arabia, which has fewer published articles (15,509) and patents filed (2406).
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-10-01
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4404
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- English as Lingua Franca: Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of
English Language on Vietnamese Graduate Student Learning
Authors: Christina W. Yao, Crystal E Garcia, Courtney Collins
Pages: 209 - 225
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: In this study, we explored the learning experiences of graduate students enrolled at Vietnamese-German University (VGU), a transnational collaborative university that uses English as the language for instruction that is primarily conducted by German faculty.Background: Transnational education has gained in popularity across the globe, often with English serving as the common language, or lingua franca. However, English as lingua franca contributes to learning challenges as a result of English language dominance in academia.Methodology: Case study methodology was used to examine the learning experiences of graduate students at Vietnamese-German University, with the institution as the case and 24 participants as the unit of analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face which allowed for rich data.Contribution: Transnational education has gained significant attention in recent years, including how language may influence operations and motivations of institutions. However, few studies exist that examine English as lingua franca at transnational universities from the student perspective. The context of Vietnam is also important as Asia is a growing region for the establishment of transnational universities.Findings: Participants expressed that the primary reason they chose to attend VGU was because of its use of English as lingua franca. However, they experienced several challenges, particularly with technical jargon and an overall language barrier in the classroom. Participants navigated challenges with three strategies for learning: asking the professor questions, talking with peers, and using supplemental resources to understand unfamiliar concepts.Recommendations for Practitioners: Results from this study include implications for instructors to better meet the needs of non-native English learners in the classroom, such as supporting peer engagement, group work, and engaging in pedagogical training.Impact on Society: The findings from this study provides additional perspectives on how English as lingua franca allows for affordances and challenges for student learning at transnational universities in Vietnam. The results of this study could inform other transnational universities in Asia.Future Research: Recommendations for future research include examining English as lingua franca from the perspectives of instructors. Additional suggestions include longitudinal studies on the outcomes of graduates’ English language learning and how English language training contributed to their employment in the global sector.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-10-01
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4391
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- #GhanaTaughtMe: How Graduate Study Abroad Shifted Two Black American
Educators’ Perceptions of Teaching, Learning, and Achievement
Authors: Brittany M Williams, Raven K Cokley
Pages: 227 - 244
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this collaborative autoethnographic research study was to explore how a shared Ghanaian study abroad experience would (re)shape how two U.S. first-generation Black women doctoral students understood teaching, learning, and academic achievement. Through our experiences, we reflected on what a reimagining U.S. higher education could look like to facilitate a cultural shift in educational norms.Background: The centrality of whiteness in U.S. education contributes to the learning and unlearning of people of Black students. The promise of Ghana, then, represents a space for revisioning who we are and could be as student affairs and counselor educators through more African ways of knowing. Methodology: Collaborative Autoethnography (CAE) served as the methodology for this study. CAE can be described as a collaborative means of self-engagement (Chang, Ngunjiri, Hernandez, 2013; Chang, 2016) and is an interplay between collaboration, autobiography, and ethnography among researchers (Chang, Ngunjiri, Hernandez, 2013), where researchers’ experiences, memories, and autobiographical materials are gathered, analyzed, and interpreted to gain insight into a particular experience (Chang, Ngunjiri, Hernandez, 2013; Chang, 2016). Contribution: This study nuances ways of knowing and expectations around learning and accomplishment for Black students. This is done through following the journey of two Black women doctoral students in counselor education and student affairs who are deeply aware of the ways their classroom and educative practices contribute to the socialization and learning of Black children. This paper offers strategies for operationalizing more culturally responsive ways of engaging students and of enacting student affairs and counselor educator practices.Findings: The findings from this study have been synthesized into two major themes: (1) The reimagining of professional preparation; and (2) student and teacher socialization. Together, they reveal ways in which inherently Ghanaian practices and techniques of teaching and learning contribute to increased student engagement, educational attainment, and success.Recommendations for Practitioners: Higher education practitioners should consider how to apply Ghanaian principles of success and inclusion to ensure students can participate in campus programs and initiatives with minimal barriers (financial, social, and emotional) through collective commitment to inclusion, centering non-western constructs of time so that students have flexibility with institutional engagement, and design support systems for student leaders where collective rather than individual accomplishments are centered.Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should consider shifting the centrality of positivist notions of scholarship in publication and research pipelines so that inherently African ways of knowing and being are included in the construction of knowledge.Impact on Society: This study has societal implications for the P-20 educational pipeline as it pertains to Black students and Black education. Specifically, there are implications for the many ways that we can affirm Black brilliance in U.S. public school settings, by acknowledging what and how they come to know things about the world around them (e.g., via singing, dancing, poetry, questioning). In terms of higher education in the U.S., this study calls into question how we, as educators and practitioners, position Black students’ ancestral knowledges as being both valid and valuable in the classroom.Future Research: Future researchers may wish to examine: (1) the direct suggestions for what inclusive education can look like from Ghanaians themselves as outsiders looking into U.S. education; (2) exploration of Black American and Ghanaian student perspectives and perceptions on teaching and learning in their respective countries, and (3) exploration of a broader range of Black people's voices including those of Black LGBT people, Black trans women, and non-millennial Black educators, for insight into making educational spaces more inclusive, transformative, and affirming.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-10-01
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4424
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Global Responsibility in Finland: Egalitarian Foundations and Neoliberal
Creep
Authors: Tiffany Viggiano
Pages: 245 - 262
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: This investigation examines 15 interviews at one critical case in Finland to explore the ways in which practitioners of higher education address the challenges associated with the pursuit of a global social good agenda. Employing the language of the participants, the purpose of this investigation is to explain the ways in which tertiary education practitioners conceptualize their “global responsibility” and how this concept aligns with the pursuit of a global social good agenda. Background: In many nations, at the domestic level, the pursuit of social good is considered a fundamental component of the university mission, but the same logic is not always applied internationally. Finland employs the concept of global responsibility to, presumably, address this mission. When social good is considered internationally, there is little direction on what this means or how to promote this goal. The ways in which practitioners actually define and navigate global social good at institutions of higher education is not researched. Methodology: This investigation is part of a larger research project funded by Fulbright Finland and the Lois Roth Endowment. Throughout the entirety of the investigation, I engaged in ten months of participant observation and collected interviews from actors within multiple Finnish institutions of higher education. Explorational interviews of other institutions of higher education allowed me to confirm that I had indeed selected a critical case. This investigation draws on 15 strategically selected interviews with higher education practitioners at the selected institution. Contribution: Unlike previous scholarship, this empirical work documents an example of an institution in which practitioners conceptualize internationalized higher education outside of the neoliberal hegemony. Although neoliberalism is certainly present, there is strong evidence of a critical/liberal foundation that enables resistance. Findings: This investigation defines and operationalizes global responsibility and explains the duplicitous definitions of global responsibility—the critical/liberal and the neoliberal. In doing so, the investigation provides an example of an institution attempting to purposefully enact globally social good initiatives, and highlights the ways in which neoliberalism impedes a global social good agenda.Recommendations for Practitioners: This research provides an empirical foundation for a non-neoliberal approach to internationalization from which to build higher education policy. Practitioners should consider pursuing the critical/liberal goals of global responsibility from within their own cultural context. Specific elements of importance elucidated by practitioner interviews in the Finnish context include need-based aid for international student tuition, international partnerships with non-affluent institutions, and open access publication. The ways in which neoliberal funding mechanisms distinctivize these global social good initiatives should also be considered. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should consider their own methodologically nationalist assumptions. Social good research that begins from the confies of the nation state selectively excludes most of the world’s most disadvantaged student populations. Within the national container, researchers limit their conception of global responsibility to the neoliberal.Impact on Society: This critical case demonstrates a disconcerting neoliberal creep that will likely lead to increasingly unjust internationalization. University internationalization efforts can and do contribute to global social inequality when policies are left unquestioned (Stein, 2016). Neoliberal global responsibility manifests many of the ethical perils of internationalization identified by neoliberal and critical internationalization scholars, such as assumptions of an equal playing field, win-win situations, nationalism, selective recognition of difference, and knowledge as universal (Harvey, 2007; Stein, 2016). The most salient examples documented here are the decision to charge international student tuition while offering only merit-based aid, as well as the decision to strategically partner with more economically advantaged institutions of higher education. In alignment with the theory of coloniality (Quijano, 2007), these decisions serve to reproduce global structural inequity by continuing to privilege those who have been historically privileged. Naming the action—neoliberal global responsibility—provides a platform from which to discuss, research, and resist this mechanism of global social injustice (Boris, 2005). Future Research: Future research should employ this operationalized frame of global responsibility (adapted for their own cultural context) to assess contributions and impedements to global social good at new institutions of higher education.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-10-01
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4425
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Structuring Diversity: Chief Diversity Offices as Structural Responses to
a Cultural Issue
Authors: Eugene T. Parker
Pages: 263 - 277
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Higher education has faced increasing perceptions, mainly by students, of unwelcoming campus racial and diversity climates. As a result, during the past decade, there has been a peak in the inaugurations of chief diversity officers. Yet, little is known about how these offices are established.Background: This study explores and describes the emergence of the chief diversity office at two research-intensive universities.Methodology: This study utilizes a qualitative case study to answer the research questions.Contribution: The study provides new knowledge about the impetuses that prompt the formation of chief diversity officers. Further, the findings inform the higher education community about the establishment of chief diversity offices at two universities that might help institutions inaugurate new offices.Findings: Findings illustrated that the formation of the chief diversity office at these research universities represented structural responses to cultural issues on campus.Recommendations for Practitioners: A recommendation for practitioners is to consider a thorough assessment of the campus climate as a means to prompt the formation of a chief diversity office. The structural attributes of the realized unit should be directly associated with the specific context of the respective campus.Recommendation for Researchers: Recommendations for researchers are to empirically address social identity when examining chief diversity officers and to further investigate job and work attitudes, such as organizational commitment or burnout, in these leaders.Impact on Society: Present day colleges and universities are the most diverse in history. Considering changing demographics, it is important to understand how institutions are structurally responding to diversity on campus.Future Research: Future research might investigate the nuanced ways in which institutions of higher education are inaugurating new offices and appointing new diversity leaders. Considering the distinct aspects of diversity, scholars might explore the salient skills or relevant background experiences that colleges and universities are seeking in these new leaders.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-10-02
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4433
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Book Review: Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Student Affairs
Practice - A Professional Competency Based Approach
Authors: Crystal R Chambers
Pages: 279 - 280
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Book Review: Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Student Affairs Practice - A Professional Competency Based ApproachBackground: This text explores cases and concepts regarding multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusion in student affairs practice as guided by ACPA/ NASPA competencies.Methodology: ReviewContribution: ReviewFindings: Overall, this text is a useful resource for introductory student affairs coursework at the undergraduate level, master’s level, for workshops and other continuing education/ professional development.Recommendations for Practitioners: Overall, this text is a useful resource for introductory student affairs coursework at the undergraduate level, master’s level, for workshops and other continuing education/ professional development.Recommendation for Researchers: Overall, this text is a useful resource for introductory student affairs coursework at the undergraduate level, master’s level, for workshops and other continuing education/ professional development.Impact on Society: Overall, this text is a useful resource for introductory student affairs coursework at the undergraduate level, master’s level, for workshops and other continuing education/ professional development.Future Research: See Review
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-10-23
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4444
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Informing Expansion of Gender Inclusive Data Collection in Post-secondary
Education in British Columbia
Authors: Gregory S Anderson, Kai Scott, Rosemary Ricciardelli, Mary DeMarinis
Pages: 281 - 298
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: To inclusively consider the diversity within student gender-identification at post-secondary institutions, we investigate expanding gender self-identification options on admissions forms; often the first point of student contact with campuses.Background: Even if inspired and motivated by inclusion, many of the gender categories in use presently have challenges, including conflating gender identity with sex assigned at birth, providing too many response options giving rise to ethical issues, and using outdated or misunderstood terms. Methodology: We conducted a sequential mixed-methods exploratory research design that consisted of interviews (n=9) with administrators in post-secondary institutions, followed by a survey of said administrators (n=21), and finally a survey of students (n=45).Contribution: The data detail experiences and inform best practices for ensuring gender inclusivity, specifically concerning students who identify as transgender or non-binary, when filling out forms.Findings: Results indicate that moving beyond binary gender categories entails a balance between (1) institutional issues of data integrity for effective use of gender data, and (2) providing flexible and inclusive options for gender-identification that extend within and beyond the gender binary to ensure students are counted where historically they have been invisible.Recommendations for Practitioners: To balance inclusivity and data management institutions may consider a two-part question, first asking about gender (woman, man, non-binary), and then asking about gender-identification experiences (yes/no).Recommendation for Researchers: As a system, we must find a way to balance inclusion with data management, and transgender and non-binary students must be free of administrative burdens in order to exercise their voice and access post-secondary education.Impact on Society: Collecting expanded gender categories in the school system is only the beginning of a shift in how transgender and non-binary students feel welcomed and supported on campus. The shift is critical to the focus and wellbeing of these students.Future Research: Future researchers, we suggest, may wish to focus on gathering examples of implementation of expanded categories and illustrations of how these data are used to inform and shape changes to policy, practices, spaces, services, and programs. More in-depth exploration of the inclusion of Two Spirit identities in ways that allow their identity to remain intact rather than partially represented in response to the gender question.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-11-10
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4453
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Setting a New Global Agenda: Learning from International Approaches to
Higher Education Leadership Development
Authors: Russell Thacker, Sydney Freeman Jr., Daniel RL Campbell
Pages: 299 - 306
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: This paper establishes a research agenda for learning from global approaches to higher education as a field of study by encouraging research into new methods and practices in leadership development from emerging scholars and practitioners around the world.Background: Significant growth has occurred in the number of academic programs, research centers, and scholars serving in the field of higher education in the last two decades. This presents an opportunity to expand methods and practices in a new and global direction. Methodology: Conceptual essay Contribution: We identify the need to expand research on higher education as a field of study beyond national and Western constructs. Findings: Several specific initiatives, resources, and potential research areas for future scholars are discussed, including curricular, pedagogical, and programmatic best practices and internal and external leadership development programs in higher education.Recommendations for Practitioners: By adopting best practices in leadership development from other national or regional settings, faculty who prepare higher education leaders can inspire innovation in their leadership development programs and reach diverse audiences. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers in the field of study of higher education can use recently available resources to access global perspectives on the study of leadership development in higher education. Impact on Society: The development of professional leaders in higher education is critical to the future of social and economic development. Understanding the innovative approaches utilized by other countries for higher education leadership development can improve leader preparation efforts everywhere. Future Research: A concise research agenda is set forward for future scholars and practitioners.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-12-11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4469
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- History in Higher Education Programs: Dialogue and Discourse
Authors: Steven Schlegel
Pages: 307 - 318
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: This paper encourages the reader to think about the role history, or foundations, plays in graduate programs in the field of higher education. In so doing it looks at the types of conversations scholars in other fields and disciplines have had concerning the value of teaching students to think historically in settings where history is not the primary mode of scholarship, before thinking critically about the conversation we have had as it concerns higher education graduate programs. Background: In many ways higher education programs have a complicated relationship with history. In some ways it can be seen as a central pursuit and in other ways it can be seen as a marginal scholarly activity. These two conflicting paradigms of central and marginal reflect a lack of scholarly discussion on what the field wants and expects from history.Methodology: This paper considers the scholarly discussion that has happened in three fields apart from higher education administration in an attempt to suggest ways that scholars in higher education programs might conceptualize the value and role that history should play in our graduate programs.Contribution: This paper invites scholars to think about what they want and expect students to gain from coursework on the history of higher education in comparison to what other fields have seen as the major reasons for including similar coursework.Findings: Despite a generalized commitment to teaching the foundations of higher education, the field has not been clear about what it expects students to gain from this type of coursework. Although it is easy to suggest that teaching foundations is important, there has been limited scholarly work that meaningfully grapples with questions about the value of foundations in higher education programs.Recommendations for Practitioners: As practitioners and researchers, we need to better articulate what we think foundations brings to graduate students in higher education programs and we need to do so in a manner that creates a single coherent paradigm for students. Recommendation for Researchers: (Included in Recommendations for Practitioners)
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 4 (2019)
PubDate: 2019-12-20
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4468
Issue No: Vol. 4 (2019)
- Behind Every Good Leader: How Higher Education Institutions Disclose
Information about the Presidential Spouse
Authors: Jon L. McNaughtan, Elisabeth D McNaughtan
Pages: 135 - 153
Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Using the lens of critical theory, the authors of this study analyzed if institutions of varying institutional type acknowledged the role of the presidents’ spouses in presidential biographies and press releases. The purpose of this investigation was to establish to what extent institutions are transparent about the involvement of the presidential spouse. Background: Spouses of high profile leaders, including a university president’s spouse, are often expected to fill time-consuming roles for their spouses’ positions. Past research has found that spouses vary widely in their feelings towards this informal, yet oft-expected, role. While some thrive in the role, others feel taken for granted performing free work with little recognition or personal benefit.Methodology: Using a random stratified sample of current presidents at four types of institutions, a content analysis was performed on 200 presidential biographies and corresponding press releases announcing new presidents. Nominal data was collected and compared to existing data to illustrate in what manner and in what frequency institutions disclosed information about presidents’ spouses.Contribution: While the aspects of the spouse’s role at a university have been researched from the spouse’s perspective and the president’s perspective, the authors researched the role from an organizational perspective. Identifying how the spouse was discussed in organizational mediums and comparing to existing data established a baseline for understanding to what extent institutions are transparent about spousal contributions.Findings: The results of the content analysis indicate that organizational mediums mention spouses and their work at a low rate. There was also a difference between institutional types in how spouses are discussed, with two-year institutions discussing spouses the least. Additionally, spouses’ off-campus contributions were more likely to be mentioned than their on-campus contributions.Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings give reason for practitioners to consider the institution’s transparency of a spouse’s work, and to begin considering this issue during the hiring stage. Hiring committees may need to investigate their institutional culture and what changes may be realistically implemented to create a more egalitarian atmosphere for the president’s spouse.Recommendation for Researchers: Realizing that there is a discrepancy between a spouse’s involvement on campus and disclosure of that involvement to campus constituents, researchers may investigate best practices in how spouses are involved on campus and in the community and how they are recognized for that work. Researchers should also be considerate of how these results may differ by institutional type and gender of the spouse.Impact on Society: Because high profile leaders and their spouses are perceived to lead a life of privilege, the possibility of negative power dynamics within the arrangement is often overlooked. However, highly visible couples should be empowered to set an equitable standard, and this research illuminates one area in which improvement may be considered.Future Research: Future inquiry could seek a more intentional quantitative and qualitative understanding as to how the dynamics of a spouse’s involvement, representation, expectations, and satisfaction differ by institutions type. Future inquiry could also analyze how spouses’ experiences and expectations in their formal and informal roles differ by gender.
Citation: JSPTE, Volume 3 (2018)
PubDate: 2019-01-11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/4170
Issue No: Vol. 3 (2019)
