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Future Research in Student Development and Student Affairs
69 Plays9 months ago
This episode on-air host Noah Arney is joined by Dr. Stephanie Waterman and Dr. Christine Arnold as we explore the topic of Future Research in Student Development and Student Affairs. We hope that you enjoy and choose to follow along as we release a number of episodes geared towards celebrating our past, present, and future as an organization.
The CACUSS50 Oral History Project is an initiative of the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services in recognition of our organizations 50 years of engaging student affairs professionals in Canada. The series of podcasts is recorded and produced by: Sean Fast, Adam Kuhn, Nicholas Fast, Rachel Barreca, Stephanie Muehlethaler, Noah Arney, Sally Chen, Estefania Toledo, Paula Jean Broderick, Jennifer Brown, Margaret de Leon, and Becca Gray. This podcast is recorded, produced, and published on the traditional territories of hundreds of Indigenous nations from across the northern half of Turtle Island, also known by its settler-colonial name, Canada. We are grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and learn on this land. For more information on the territories you may reside on, visit: https://native-land.ca/
Music: Expanding the Limits | Performed by Audiorezout & Written by Oleksii Striapchyi | Stock Media provided by Audiorezout / Pond5
Podcast Cover Art by: Ravi Gabble (UTM)
Twitter: @cacusstweets
Instagram: @cacussphotos
Website: https://cacuss.ca/
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Transcript
Introduction and Purpose
00:00:18
Speaker
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Caucus 50 podcast. I'm one of your many hosts, Noah Arney. We are recording this in June 2024, so you're probably listening to it while enjoying a beautiful summer. And so I'm glad you have joined us today. We are discussing a fantastic topic and one near and dear to my heart, future research in student development and student affairs. And I'm joined by two people I look up to in student affairs, Dr. Stephanie Waterman and Christine Arnold. Before we begin, I want to recognize that I'm joining you from Takamalup's Teh Shqitmukh within Shqitmukhulu, the traditional and unceded territory of the Shqitmukh people. To begin with, with introductions, I'd like you to say who you are, where you are, and how you're connected to research in student development and student affairs. Stephanie.
Host Introductions and Research Backgrounds
00:01:04
Speaker
Thank you. I'm Stephanie Waterman. I'm on the Dogga Turtle Clan. um My original homelands are in the center of New York State.
00:01:15
Speaker
and the ah political and spiritual seat of the Haudenosaunee. I join you today from a very sunny and humid Tkaronto, the lands of the Huron-Wendat, Seneca, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Mississaugas of the Credit. I am connected to research in student affairs i've been because I've been in student affairs from like the majority of my career in the United States and here. oh My research has been on um indigenous student experiences in higher ed and um indigenous student affairs. And I worked in student affairs for a long time and was the first faculty associate for the native student program at Syracuse University. Thanks for having me here today. Thank you. And Christine.
00:02:09
Speaker
Hi everyone, I'm Christine Arnold. I'm at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, and so I want to respectfully acknowledge that Memorial University is located on the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, and that the island of Newfoundland is the ancestral homelands of the Mi'kmaq and the Beothuk. I also recognize the Inuit of the Nazivit, Inunatuvit, and the Inu of Natasianen, and their ancestors as the original peoples of Labrador. I join you today from a fairly rainy Newfoundland Labrador. However, the sun came out later this afternoon and we're hoping it's going to stick around because it has been raining for a week straight. um We think we might float away. um I entered into student affairs and services um in my graduate work um and was introduced to someone for scholars, including Dr. Tricia Seifert at that time.
00:02:59
Speaker
um Since that time, I've been conducting research in this space um with regard to the organization and communication structures um within, as well as partnerships between academic and student affairs and services sides of the house, um what those look like, as well as senior leaders and administration. um which is what I've currently been doing. I also have the privilege of teaching in our Student Affairs and Services programs here and always include all of that research within that work. So I also like to embody that research and ensure that my students are well aware of what's occurring in the field too and sharing all of the wonderful work, including my colleague here, Stephanie Waterman. Thank you so much, Christine.
Evolution of Student Affairs Research
00:03:40
Speaker
So let's start by situating what we're talking about today. What is the field of research in student development and student affairs? Where does it come from or out of? And how is it different from other educational research fields? And we're going to start with Stephanie. Okay, just a short little answer to a very complicated question. And I don't think I said where I work. I'm at the Ontario Institute for Studies and Education and I coordinate our Student Development Student Services Program Street. Whoops. So the student affairs is really interesting because it started with fields that were cobbled together to study students. So like some of our very early theories weren't drama psychology or social psych,
00:04:34
Speaker
um field like chickering with the vectors of competencies was I think an English instructor, faculty member who just saw patterns in how students um approached their work. So psychology, social psychology, human development were used as fields to answer some questions about how students experience um college and university. So patterns of how they approach their work through a very white middle class male perspective in the beginning. And over time that's changed quite a bit. So maybe not education in the beginning, um maybe more towards human development and psychology.
00:05:26
Speaker
Christine? Agree. I think that sociology and psychology had a large role, especially when we look at the theories and models of student development. My favorite article um on these student development theories has always been Dallas Long in 2012 and the various families. um But we know, we talk about those psychosocial theories, the cognitive structural theories, and the topology theories, or the person environment theories. And yes, they definitely come from various backgrounds and individuals. um I think what's interesting in the Canadian space though, um the book Achieving Student Success from Donna Hardy Cox and Carney Strange,
00:05:59
Speaker
They describe four phases of the evolution of student services. And I think that's where we see a lot of the theories we use in Canada come from. And so those four kind of waves or phases they speak about was the first was really that local in parentis. And so that, you know, looking after students, that embodiment, this also, you know, mirrored the United States. And then we see in the second, the 1950s to the 70s, more professional identities and roles and responsibilities. And we do start to see some of those theories come around around professional competencies and values and ethics. and how we approach our work. And then the third really around the preparation and skills and those graduate programs and assessment initiatives. um The fourth leading to more specializations. And this is where I think we saw a lot of the theories around the student experience, mental health and wellness come into play, where we're actually looking at those tailored specific regions and roles and responsibilities. So we start to see student affairs individuals and and housing and career services. And we actually started to kind of shape out our roles and units and divisions um within this area.
00:06:58
Speaker
I think one of the largest things though, Noah, around these theories and how they really vary from others that we study. So when we pull from psychology and sociology um and some of those pieces um with regard to those various ontologies that we use, we tend to see though within student affairs and services that these are scholar practitioner unique purposes in the way we actually look at theory and use theory. And I guess what I mean by that is that those scholar practitioners who study student development engage in this research. These scholarly endeavors really work in the field as an imperative for the profession. And it's what distinguishes the professionals in their work when they use these theories to bring about some reasoned explanations of the phenomenon that they're claiming expertise in. They're working in every day. What's interesting about that is they're actually
00:07:46
Speaker
updating, innovative, and evaluating um the basis for their work every day in practice and their interactions with students and their approving the work they do. I think ah one of the best quotes on this is actually from Boyer, and it's a dated quote, but Boyer in 1990 said that scholarship enables these professionals to assess their work, to make connections between theory and practice communicate with colleagues and identify and share knowledge with students. And I think that's really what differentiates this field. Although the theories were pulled from multiple places
Current Trends and Practitioner Expertise
00:08:17
Speaker
like Stephanie cited, I think that really how we've developed them and used them though is quite unique compared to other fields, to be honest. Fantastic. um And Stephanie, do you want to talk a little bit more about ah some of the philosophical ideas within the field today, um like axiology and ontology especially?
00:08:37
Speaker
Yeah, um I think um a really important change over time has been the ontology that we accept now that there are different views of reality and different perspectives that inform the field oh and inform our research. In the beginning, there really was a dominant Western settler colonial perspective that informed. the research and the work that we did with our students. um And now we accept that they're, we accept mostly without challenge that there are different points of view and that there are valid different points of view. um And the values that we all have different perspectives and research and approaches and ways of working with students and research um that are valid.
00:09:33
Speaker
you know, we can do qualitative research, we can do arts research, we can do interviewers and qualitative. You know, I still have students occasionally say, can I write in the first person? And you know, that's an example of how things have changed over time. And you know, we're not quite there yet, um but we're getting there.
00:09:55
Speaker
I agree. I think, Noah, we've seen that racialized and border and liminal spaces celebrated and the critical and the cultural when it comes to some of these ontologies, blended perspectives. And I see a lot in the research, the advocacy and practice and some of that like distributive, inclusive leadership and constructivism. The fact that we do this as a team and we do this as a group um and that no one perspective will be able to understand or appreciate fully that student experience. So I agree. We've we've seen a shift. And I think as Stephanie said, widely accepted um and incorporated and valued and upheld and celebrated, to be honest. The caucus conference, we saw these realities celebrated, which was great. Right. Yeah. Thank you. And and now that we've talked a little bit about sort of where it's come from, um how have you seen the field of research theory and philosophy and student affairs change over the last 10 to 15 years? And we're going to start off with Christine this time.
00:10:53
Speaker
Sure. I am excited about this question because we have seen ah you know some significant changes worth ah talking about. One is I think we've seen research based on the student experience and that it's changed into more some of those programs and initiatives and the leadership and organization, some of those structures and communication channels behind the scenes. um which has been exciting. Also, in examining the research in Canada on student affairs and services recently for an article, we found that there were clusters of student services professionals working across the country, which was exciting to see. We can see those kind of blistering groups pop up, which is wonderful. But I think one of the largest things over the 10 to 15 years, I'll say, is that we always had competencies from ACPA and NASPA.
00:11:34
Speaker
But now we have the caucus competencies and they've been informing and applying our work and those research questions and foci as they've come about. This was a really large thing to be, um you know, on the plate at the time and that we've seen it incorporated um in our conferences and our work. We're really trying to make sure that's there. um I also think that some of the theories have moved from that student development and retention that we've seen so often, the student conduct, and we've moved really towards some of these more proactive social justice, um you know, EDI lens pieces, which has been great. I also, as one more before I hand it over to Stephanie, just want to say one of the big things I've actually celebrated and love within my courses with my students is assessment.
00:12:16
Speaker
And I think there's been this co-creation and collaboration with students from the beginning, designing with students and not for students. And I'm quoting the Innovation Hub at the University of Toronto um that design thinking um that says there's domains of innovation and that access for every student and fostering connectedness and future ready students integrated learning experience and the whole student development is really important. When we look at assessment, I think within Student Affairs and Services, not only have we tried to expand in Canada and reply to those calls for action that we've heard so often, but also we found ways to include students on the ground, which has been really exciting, which was not occurring before, and comment in conversation now and preparation for programs. And Stephanie.
00:13:02
Speaker
Yeah, to follow up on that, and hopefully I don't forget what I was originally going to say, um you know, our ah the people in the profession in student affairs are really the experts of Canadian student affairs. And while there is some criticism that like caucus and some of the research is maybe too practitioner focused, including practitioners in that those assessments and in the work we do, I think is a real strength. And we're starting to see valuing staff and practitioners um in the field. And I would, I know that's a question later, but I would like to see more of that in the future. um
Innovative Research Pathways
00:13:48
Speaker
You know, if you've been in this field for 20 years, you're an expert of student affairs in Canada, right? In that in their practice.
00:13:57
Speaker
Um, so changing over the past 10 years, you know, we've had this ah Christine mentioned the, um, um, I want to say waves because I think that's the title of the book, the waves of, um, student affairs, the critical perspectives in student affair, uh, student development theory. Um, you know, the foundational ones that were in sociology and psychology, and they were foundation. some people say they were foundational, to the the next wave that included marginalized and rationalized folks so that we started really being critical about them. And then now where we're being critical about those early theories and being able to incorporate those different perspectives into the work that we do and and um theories. And I was part of the team that developed the
00:14:56
Speaker
CAS standards for Indigenous Student Affairs. So CAS, in the US, there are CAS programs based on the CAS competencies. And CAS is the Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. And there's all these functional areas, so housing, student affairs, et cetera. And we were able to work on that. And that's the first time. And how many years has all of this been around that there's a focus competencies on addition to students? So, you know, those are to me, huge changes over the years. And that we can focus on these different populations on our campuses that have been around for a very long time. and They're getting that visibility.
Future Research Directions and Underexplored Areas
00:15:44
Speaker
Wonderful. Thank you. and And Stephanie, can you talk more about um some of the new and innovative research pathways in the field today, now that we've sort of talked about how we've gotten to now? What's new and innovative there? Well, I think podcasts. You know, we can hear from researchers and practitioners about how we feel and how we do our work. um We're bringing students into those conversations. I think They're much more accessible. You can listen to it in the car on the subway, commuting, just going for a walk, um embracing those those are different ways of disseminating ah some of the research and the knowledge that we we're doing.
00:16:27
Speaker
um I like things that everyone can access. So when we publish in journals, right, we use a certain language, typically. that other researchers understand and these concepts that can sometimes be very hard to put into practice. But I see now that we're really embracing a more common language in the research and in dissemination so that anybody can read it. And I really, I like that. And I'm a big advocate for that.
00:17:06
Speaker
Wonderful. Thank you, Stephanie. And Christine, what have you what are you seeing as the new and innovative pathways and research in the field? Sure. So i I think that dissemination piece is wonderful. um I agree. I also think that we're seeing a ah lot of places where we can share research in new ways, even at our caucus conference, for example. um We have different channels versus just the research portfolio or you know the research presentation. And so we've seen so many different formats played with, which is great. you know kind of On the ground, i'm starting this I'm starting this project or innovation, and I'm wondering how it goes. Can you give me feedback? All the way to like a spotlight or a blueprint.
00:17:44
Speaker
Um, but what I'll say is I, we always talk about assessment and I'm going to speak about assessment a few times a day because it's so important. I just need to put out that, you know, challenge. Um, but I think assessment practices to mirror what Stephanie said earlier, the CAS standards being used by institutions within SAS across um the country has been really something. and you can have these common conversations now, which is great. Caucus, ACPA, and NASPA. um I also think senior leaders in administration within Student Affairs and Services doesn't always get quite the attention. um We think it should, but we're seeing a lot more research focused on those folks and the stresses um of that position, as well as CEM. I'm noticing in a lot of the Student Affairs and Services um you know interactions I've had over the last few weeks have really always come back to CEM, and that broad-based data-informed
00:18:33
Speaker
How do you attract, admit, retain students? What does that look like? And how do we incorporate STEM within those pieces? But the biggest one I think I'm noticing on the pathways is campus well-being and health equity. And across campuses, those service offerings and initiatives and the programs and the welcoming formats for all students. um One of my common issues is that we admit the student and then we're not really so concerned about how all of those who may lie in the periphery you know, fair afterwards. And so looking at adult learners and looking at mature learners and looking at our indigenous students, um ensuring those from various backgrounds have services, offerings, hours, um folks that represent them, speaking with them and walking them through the programs as models is really important. And if you look through some of our recent, you know, program conferences and others, you can actually see
00:19:25
Speaker
that jumping off the page in the conference programs, you can see that it's very much coming to light. And so I think we're noticing those pathways highlighted. And if I could follow up on that. um Please do. So different approaches to say orientation. So going beyond the land acknowledgments and having separate or indigenous informed orientations for students um and that being It's expected now. There is an expectation to be trying to address the TRC actions and tasks.
00:20:06
Speaker
Agreed. I think we see that with credit transfer students and adult mature learners too. um Different forms of orientation and that we're not just ordering one block. We're not one block orientation anymore. We have almost like a platter to offer and there are various items that you can identify with. And if you identify in multiple ways, you can also attend multiple you know interactions with regard to that welcome, orientation, events, programming. I agree. it's It's expected. And students almost have this agency that they know I should be asking for these things. you know I have some rights to ask for this. This is important to me. It's fantastic. Yeah. and And as we're on that, um what areas of research do you want to see that you don't think are being given enough coverage yet? And we're going to start this time with Christine.
00:20:54
Speaker
All right, I do have an opinion on this one. I very much want to see more on the student affairs and services profession, what we actually do within that profession in Canada. We don't study ourselves enough. What we see in analyzing the research is we study the student experience, retention, departure, various groups, populations, but we don't really look at the crises, um you know the moments of roles and responsibilities, the values, the partnerships, ethics, those functional areas and what we mean by those function areas when we say study abroad, career, wellness, counseling. I don't know that we always have a good understanding of what that rounded out means within those various units and portfolios and it's something across Canada I think we could, you know, band together on.
00:21:38
Speaker
The other piece around our own research and ourselves as professionals is our mental health and wellness. We are practitioners managing crises and moments of crises and crises movements on campus, but yet we know very little about the knowledge and the training and the resources that are provided to us as individuals as personal counseling and assessments ourselves. We see a lot in the literature around, once again, our students and maybe sometimes staff members, but we don't see a whole lot around ourselves and managing those moments. Yet we're the ones who pick up the phone. You know, we're the ones who are there in those moments that need to assist everyone else. So I think we need more of a focus inward on ourselves and what this profession looks like, what we hope it can be and what we want it to embody down the road. I thank you totally agree. Totally agree.
00:22:27
Speaker
And when I teach my student development theory courses, it's not I try to emphasize that this is not
Pandemic Impact and Publishing Recommendations
00:22:34
Speaker
just about students. It's about how we work with each other. And if you have a problem, say, with a um ah manager or someone in your office, how can you think about using these theories to help understand what's going on? And to know what the health and wellness supports are on your campus so that you can help each other with that. And I tried to model self-care. Excuse me. So in my class last year, I had to run to a funeral that I was not expecting. And when I came back for class, I was not ready for class. So I just emailed the class and said, I have to cancel because I have to take some time for self-care. And I said, you know I'm modeling this for you.
00:23:27
Speaker
If you have to do this in class, let me know, but realize that this is something we should be doing for each other. Bye.
00:23:38
Speaker
I think the pandemic really put that into focus, Stephanie, in the sense that it became nonapologetic to just be human and to express with ourselves and our students and our colleagues every day that this is what's occurring. I'm going to be open and transparent and that we are going to support each other in those moments because we opened up our doors and our homes and our offices. um You know, all of those things became, I just say, you know, we kind of, we they exploded. um We became very much aware of all of our different realities and lenses and opportunities and priorities, and I don't think we've gone back, to be honest. We have had a new moment with regard to how we approach each other, and it's a wonderful moment. I think it's absolutely excellent. um I say the same to my students. We are all in this together. you know We are going to share where we are today, and if we are prepared to you know move forward, and if not, that's okay. We will find other means.
00:24:33
Speaker
Thank you, yeah. That's really powerful to to bring up here, I think. um As we're talking about ah student affairs and research, well, there isn't actually a specialized student affairs research journal in Canada. So where would you recommend people who who do research in student affairs within Canada look to for for publishing their research? And we're going to start with Stephanie here. Well, there are two Canadian journals of education, the Canadian Journal hall of Education and the Canadian Journal of Higher Ed, Higher Education. Yes. So those are two avenues. I mean, we could start flooding those journals, right? um Special issues are hard to do, I think, because um there are more there would be more student affairs focused submissions for one issue. There are journals in the US that they you sir we certainly could
00:25:31
Speaker
submit to. um I've seen articles published in the Journal of College and Development Review of Higher Ed. so Yes, the Review of Higher Ed. The Journal of Higher Education is a US-focused journal. um I can't remember the name of it. But there are into international journals, qualitative research, um anything to do with teaching, ah You know, just see what but would fit your topic and go for it. Thank you. And Christine.
00:26:12
Speaker
I have to agree. I think we need to look inside the box. So in addition to CJ and CJ HE, which Stephanie's mentioned, we have CJ Soto, the Canadian Journal of Scholarship and Teaching and Learning. They're a wonderful group out of Steli, and I think that they publish some of this work commonly. Also, the Journal of Teaching and Learning, um a little bit of a shout out to the folks at Windsor and that journal, um also quite great, and the Brock Education Journal. um we can find student affairs and services pieces. In the United States, I always look to JSARP, the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice. And in Australia, New Zealand, I just have to put a plug. JANSA, the Journal of Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association, is amazing.
00:26:54
Speaker
they love international work they really like to hear from north american studies in particular in canada we've had some great pieces published there recently and our colleagues have too. One thing that i will say though to that practitioner piece we spoke about earlier is that we know we've had caucus communique over time and i know there's some discussions on what that will be moving forward um And also that CSSHE, the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education, ah there's conversations and plans um with caucus about encouraging practitioners and scholar practitioner pieces and finding venues. So I know I'm sitting on both boards at the moment in this unique position. I know there's conversations about what would an outlet look like? How would we plan for that and how could we work together?
00:27:37
Speaker
But I do know I just have to put out a call um because we had a knowledge dissemination committee through caucus that Noah and I had the privilege of being on. Noah was the chair along with um Dan and ah we actually put together a special issue with the Canadian Journal of Higher Education. and it's live right now, so forgive me because I'm going to put out a plug. This special issue is called Canadian Student Affairs and Services and myself and my colleague Kathleen Clark are leading this as the co-editors of this edition. um Abstracts are 500 to 600 words and they are encouraged by June 28th is the deadline. The manuscripts would be November 1st and the actual tentative publication would be spring and summer 2025.
00:28:21
Speaker
A bit of a background here, we're looking at who are today's college and university students. How do they experience college and university? What do students learn in college and university? And how does college university affect what students learn and the organization and communication structures that actually characterize student affairs and service divisions? those competencies and qualifications that actually guide our profession. So to my comment earlier, but not really having enough work that actually looks at our own profession, um this is really important. That last question we're hoping folks will tackle, knowing that we found some gaps in the literature and that's where this special issue is coming from.
00:28:58
Speaker
So, I am hoping to put a plug here and hope that everyone will submit some pieces. We've had great action and interest so far, um and we're looking to have quite a bit more by the time the month rounds out. So, my apologies, Noah, but it's been some great work, and I really appreciate all of your assistance, Noah, throughout that process.
Research Advice for Practitioners
00:29:15
Speaker
Fantastic. I was actually hoping you would plug that one, and hopefully this does go out before the the deadline on that as well. I'm just crossed. um So with that in mind, a common topic of discussion at caucus conferences is the idea of Student Affairs folks as being primarily focused on practice and having less time for research, um that usually that that research idea is going to be off the corner of a desk. um What is one piece of advice you have for people who are interested in research and want to explore it more? And we're going to start with Christine here.
00:29:47
Speaker
Sure. So partnerships. Stephanie mentioned earlier partnerships with regard to working with practitioners. These folks being practitioners are scholar practitioners. Partnerships are great. They're meaningful and impactful, and they provide time designations and accountability among the research teams. We can't do everything, especially when it's off the side of our desk. And so setting those schedules and breaking those research projects up into its component parts from the beginning in a bit of a Map back exercise, I always say, is really helpful in terms of keeping them on ongoing when you have a full-time position.
00:30:19
Speaker
um The one last thing I'll say though before I hand it over to Stephanie is research ethics. We see a lot of questions this week alone in the presentations that I conducted for caucus around how do I, you know, break down research from assessment and evaluation and use student data or campus data to actually conduct some of this work. And I think the biggest thing is ah my recommendation would be to meet with the REB, the research ethic boards on campus. They have great guidance around that, the use of institutional data for research purposes in advance. Because what we normally see with regard to folks working in student affairs and services, those questions after the data is collected, but what we really need to be looking at is in advance, what would you do to set that up for institutional purposes?
00:31:00
Speaker
and then also maybe for a research purpose. And so meeting with those research ethics folks can really assist from day one. Even though that may seem scary or out of the usual, they're wonderful people and they've seen everything and they always gave great insight. Fantastic. Stephanie? Yeah, I agree. And even if you go through the ethics process and you don't use the data, it's still quite, you have the option later. um So there's a criticism that there's a lot of practitioner sessions at conferences. But I'd like to remind people that you sat down and you wrote a proposal for a presentation or to start a program at your institution. There was writing involved, right there was a proposal, you had feedback. yeah Those are the
00:31:59
Speaker
That's the outline for an article. And it's really important for us to learn how you went about it. So maybe you weren't able to collect data on something, but it's really important for us to learn how you thought about your program or assessment, how you may have introduced some critical theories into it and how you applied it. That thinking, we need those conceptual pieces too. And so if you do all of that, I mean, you have pieces written for an article. And faculty, you know we love to help you write. And there are people who will help you get it into a form for for submission to a journal.
00:32:51
Speaker
It's true. I have to say one of my favorite pieces, Stephanie, that I'm i'm hoping they bring back is ah the caucus communique student issues. It was a wonderful outlet for all of those pieces, those thoughts around the conceptual and theoretical frameworks, ah critiquing and you know deconstructing a little bit some of those theories that we hold to be so sacred at times, as you mentioned earlier. It was a wonderful outlet for that. And what I found is Folks tended to really read and know more about those pieces that were out than some of the pieces in the scholarly journals because they were relevant timely. They weren't sitting in review somewhere. I agree you've done all the work and some of the papers we read as professors coming out of the student affairs and services programs are exceptional. exceptional, just completely off, you know, the mark, just wonderful, wonderful, really progressing the field. And we don't look enough to those grad programs in Canada to move the bar forward for the rest of us within practice. And we should. So thank you so much, Stephanie. It's such a great point. Folks have done all the work, you know, let us know about it. and We would love to help you. There's so many outlets for assistance.
00:34:02
Speaker
ye
00:34:04
Speaker
Wonderful.
Hopes for Student Affairs' Future
00:34:05
Speaker
So now that we've kind of had this discussion about where we've been, where it is now, let's talk about futurity. So where do you see research and practice going in the next 50 years? So what are your hopes and dreams for research within student affairs? And we're going to go with Stephanie first on this question. Well, I keep telling my class, my classes, you're the experts. Please write. but oh So I would like to see oh so much more in the journals and maybe books or monographs um about what it's like now. We've gone through COVID. Things have really changed. They've been at the front line of all of this change.
00:34:55
Speaker
oh Climate change, there's just so much that they could be writing about. So my hopes and dreams are that there would be much more Canadian-based research out there. um I like that you know we're being more critical of theories and systems, you know talking about settler colonial policies that impact all of our students, all of us, and to have more of that be part of the the literature and research. and
00:35:29
Speaker
I encourage students to be creative in their reflection papers. So I've had some so pieces of so fabric art and what's it called? that's It's locked my mind. You do the stitching. A needlepoint, painting, poems, short stories. Those are um ways to reach a broader audience. And I very often think that there's a higher level of cognitive understanding of the theories and what we're talking about if you put it into art. So I would like to see it those avenues be encouraged and embraced. I love that. Christine.
00:36:18
Speaker
That's such a great comment because I'm finding arts-based work and arts-based study and research so intriguing and encouraging students to do that. And I agree, Stephanie, the way they interact and can actually choose in a creative piece how to put it together, you're making decisions on what to disclude as well, you're interacting, you're having to massage it, manipulate it. It means that there is much more intentionality um around the pieces and I know students comment, I am retaining the information because I actually had to digest it and
00:36:49
Speaker
consider it and you know spit it back out essentially in a new version versus just on a page, um which is great. Noah, I really do have three things though that I'm hoping for for these dreams and I'm dreaming big here. So I'm hoping that that we'll see collaborations across Canada with our academic and student affairs and services colleagues at the level of more macro studies. We see a lot of the case studies and the micro level studies at my institution, my program, my initiative. They are wonderful things. But what I'm really hoping is that we see a lot more of these research clusters I spoke about earlier banding together to have these macro level studies to look at what student affairs and services looks like at the system, sectoral level, et cetera, that we're not quite um seeing at the moment in the research.
00:37:32
Speaker
So those multi-institutional and campus research studies. um The second one is, um I'm really hoping, and this is large, but some institutional and organizational support and maybe some financial assistance for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who actually want to conduct student affairs and services research while working full-time or part-time as practitioners. It would be great to see that support and that financial piece organizationally and institutionally come to bear. um We know some are better than others, but I think we should really be encouraging those folks and you know lifting them up.
00:38:05
Speaker
The last one is near and dear to me, which is I really want to see more student affairs and services research and work within colleges and vocational education, vet, institutional. What we're noticing is a lot of the research is coming out of universities and it's more university focused, which falls right in line with that history we've seen with regard to student development theory. And we notice a bit of a gaping hole in the literature when it comes to college, vocational, vet, TAFE, et cetera, work in this area. globally, um but especially within the Canadian context. So I'm really hoping we can encourage a little more there, especially with the focus on research and applied research that we've seen from that college sector. Yeah, I would like to see more college research too. You said something about... Okay, I'll think of it. It'll come back. Sorry.
00:38:58
Speaker
okay Let's give you. um So while you think of that one, Stephanie, I'm going to pitch this one to Christine and then we'll come back to Stephanie and she can ah come back with her idea and then also answer this last question.
Final Thoughts and Recommendations
00:39:11
Speaker
So the last question here is, um what's a recent article or who is a current author that you really want listeners to check out? Okay, so you're going to laugh because we we wouldn't necessarily say a current author. But the article that actually I absolutely had to mention was Vincent Tinto's Reflections, Rethinking Student Engagement and Student Persistence, July 2023, published in Student Success. The reason is this. Vincent Tinto, after the pandemic, um in all his glory, um revisited that student integration model from 1975.
00:39:47
Speaker
and what's lovely about this piece and why i've been using it in almost everything recently and i encourage everyone to read it is the last few years and post-secondary we know have been challenging and the conception and implementation of engagement and persistence it's provided a lot of innovative frameworks for redeveloping our connections with students. And this is one of those frameworks. So Vincent Tinto revisited that model and said, let's rethink engagement and persistence through administrator, faculty, staff, and students' social networks. And so pulling networks in was really interesting within this work. And the networks now that are studied within that context in that article um really focus as context for understanding how different forms of networks, um tight or loose, dense or sparse, can engender different outcomes for students.
00:40:33
Speaker
And so I love in that article that Tinto has thought about nodes and how we make nodes as students and how we connect students and the nodes together. Also the loose versus tight networks and how students may have one connection within one network. And when they get to the level of two, they hit a bit of a saturation point where they actually start to branch out and learn about more services and opportunities because of their connections over two within those little nodes themselves. We know that students are the best connectors, the best they share, they collaborate. They can tell you more about the services occurring on a campus than most of the individuals working there. They are such an incredible resource. And with that being said, Tinto really acknowledges this current ah version of the campus, of the system, um of how services are celebrated and how they're shared and how students actually
00:41:26
Speaker
you know connect with one another and are actually a lot of times self-sufficient in doing so. So I love, love, love this article. Not a new individual, but someone that I am so excited to have seen a revisiting after all this time. That is fantastic because I did not realize he had revisited that. I'm going to have to look that up after this. so ah Stephanie, you had one other idea on the the next 50 years question and then we're going to go into that question about a recent article or a current author. Yeah, internships. We don't have a lot of internships in Student Affairs in Canada, where in the master's programs in the US, it's expected. And it is one of the functional areas of the CAS standards, that they have a certain number of hours of internship. I would like to see more of that for our students who are not working full time. It's a great networking experience. it's a way to um
00:42:25
Speaker
learn what functional areas we have in the field. I know when I was a graduate student, when I took Introduction to Student Affairs, that's where I said, oh, so that's why we do it that way. Well, those are those connections, right? So I think those internships would be a really good thing to see expanded across our programs. So the last question, Godray and Lawrence wrote an article on indigenization and inclusion, reconciliation, and decolonization, navigating the different visions for indigenizing the Canadian Academy. So it's in response to the TRC's test, calls to action. And I think they do a really good job of explaining different levels of indigenization and how we can approach it. I think it's a very practical
00:43:22
Speaker
piece and I know a lot of folks have been using it and citing it. Another thing that I've been learning using and learning about is appreciative inquiry and I always have a framework for my courses and I used that this past winter for the student experience.
00:43:46
Speaker
It just takes a very different approach to the work that we're doing. So looking at the strengths of students or the strengths of programs, asking positive questions like, what worked? We're always like, oh my God, this was a disaster. This didn't work. Well, what did work? quite And taking those the philosophy of um the principles of appreciative advising and applying it to the to the classroom and to the work and to the rubrics. So it's a different approach. And i I think that's a really good way to go forward, especially in these very troubling, trying, stressful times.
00:44:32
Speaker
Thank you. Those were both really good ideas there. Ganow and Occentine had a special no directions for a student services, I think.
00:44:49
Speaker
Fantastic, some great options there. So I want to thank both you both of you here today, Stephanie and Christine, for for joining me. I really appreciate your time. I'm always having something new every time I get to meet with either of you. To our listeners, I want to thank you for joining us today. I hope you were inspired by our discussion, and I hope that you have a fantastic week. And we've got four articles and ideas for everybody to look up now after this. ah Hopefully everybody probably not while you're driving. ah But once you're not driving, we'll be able to look up them. And I hope that you enjoy the rest of the summer. Thank you all and enjoy.
00:45:45
Speaker
The Caucus 50 Oral History Project is an initiative of the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services in recognition of our organization's 50 years of engaging student affairs professionals in Canada. The series of podcasts is recorded and produced by Sean Fast, Adam Kuehn, Nicholas Fast, Rachel Barreca, Stephanie Mulettoller, Noah Arney, Sally Chen, Estefania Toledo, Paula Jean Broderick, Jennifer Brown, Margaret de Leon, and Becca Gray. Intro and outro music is courtesy of Alexei Stryapji. This podcast is recorded, produced, and published on the traditional territories of hundreds of Indigenous nations from across the northern half of Turtle Island, also known by its settler-colonial name, Canada. We are grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and learn on this land. Miigwetch.