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Helping Students Reach Higher by
Recognizing Our Own Reality
Danielle Stimpson, MS Academic Advising
Nicole Vouvalis, J.D., Diversity Specialist
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Labels
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How Do You Like Your Label?
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My Labels:
Goth
Freak
Loser
Devil-Worshipper
Anarchist
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December 10, 2010
Graduating with honors in the top
10% of my law school class
Looks not only can be, but often are,
deceiving.
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Labeling Theory
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Individuals, Not Labels
Primary Characteristics
Secondary Characteristics
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Race
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Education
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Age
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Family Status
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Sexual Orientation
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Religious Beliefs
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Mental/Physical Abilities
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Native Language
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Gender
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Income
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Socioeconomic Status
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Work Experience
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Goals
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Ethnicity
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Overcoming Labeling
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Have my interactions with individuals with similar primary
characteristics been largely positive, or largely negative?
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What do I think I know about this particular student?
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After speaking with the student, ask yourself what secondary
characteristics you can accurately identify about that student
that you didn’t know before (how many overlap with
secondary characteristics of yours?).
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Finally, determine whether there was perfect overlap
between what you thought you knew about that student and
what you now know about that student.
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Secondary Characteristics
Exercise
Guess Some of Myron’s Secondary
Characteristics:
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Family Status
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Educational Level
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Income
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Goals
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Interests
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Geographic Location
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Socioeconomic Status
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Reflection
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Contextual Influences
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Influences of student self-perception.
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They include, peers, family, norms, stereotypes, sociopolitical
conditions, and us.
Abes, E.S., Jones, S.R., & McEwen, M.K. (2007) Reconceptualizing the model of
multiple dimensions of identity: The role of meaning-making capacity in the
construction of multiple identies. Journal of College Student Development,
48(1), 7.
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Identity & Self-Efficacy Theories
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Self-efficacy
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“Psychologist Albert Bandura has defined self-efficacy as
one's belief in one's ability to succeed in specific situations.
One's sense of self-efficacy can play a major role in how one
approaches goals, tasks, and challenges.”
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“Self-efficacy is the term used to describe how one judges
one’s own competence to complete tasks and reach goals.”
Ormrod, J.E. (2006). Educational psychology: Developing learners.
(5th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.
Wikipedia. (2012) Self-Efficacy.
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Self-efficacy
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“…developed from external experiences and selfperception…”
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Experiences that contribute to the development of both
positive and negative self-efficacy
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Chickering’s 7 Vectors of
Development
1.
Developing Competence
2.
Managing Emotions
3.
Moving through Autonomy to Interdependence
4.
Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships
5.
Establishing Identity
6.
Developing Purpose
7.
Developing Integrity
Hagen, P.L. & Jordan, P. (2008). Theoretical foundations of academic
advising. In Academic Advising: A comprehensive Handbook. (2nd Ed.).
Chapter two. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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Establishing Identity
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“Identity includes comfort with body and appearance,
comfort with gender and sexual orientation, a sense of one’s
social and cultural heritage, a clear self-concept and comfort
with one’s roles and lifestyle, a secure sense of self in light of
feedback from significant others, self-acceptance and selfesteem, and personal stability and integration.”
Evans, N.J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D., & Renn, K.A. (2010). Chickering’s
theory of identity development. In Student Development in College: Theory,
Research, and Practice. (2nd Ed.). Chapter four. San Francisco, CA: . Jossey-Bass.
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Erik Erikson: Identity Formation
Evans, N.J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D., & Renn, K.A. (2010). Psychosocial
identity development. In Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and
Practice. (2nd Ed.). Chapter three. San Francisco, CA: . Jossey-Bass, .
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How to help: What now?
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Encourage student involvement
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Friendships & Student Communities
Opportunities at USU
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Be a support.
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Encourage/foster the development of self-efficacy
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Developmental advising
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Student-advisor relationships
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Student development programs & services
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Put the student first
Evans, N.J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D., & Renn, K.A. (2010). Chickering’s theory of
identity development. In Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice. (2nd
Ed.). Chapter four. San Francisco, CA: . Jossey-Bass.
Hagen, P.L. & Jordan, P. (2008). Theoretical foundations of academic advising. In Academic
Advising: A comprehensive Handbook. (2nd Ed.). Chapter two. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Astin, A.W. (1984). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of
College Student Personnel, 25, 297-308.
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Outreach
Academic advising is one of the most important services that a university can offer its students, and is
critical to the success of underrepresented and first-generation college students.
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Outreach Strategies
Strategies that promote outreach to diverse student
populations must originate in your own offices; a topdown approach is unlikely to succeed. Those strategies
should include:
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A strategy that promotes diverse hiring decisions;
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A strategy which adds diversity to your values or mission
statements, such that it permeates your office’s decisionmaking processes; and
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A strategy that promotes a culture of facilitation, rather than
fear or ignorance of academic advising, through outreach.
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Diverse Hiring Practices
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Ensure that an equal opportunity statement appears in every
position advertisement – even those housed within Utah State
University’s Human Resources site.
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Advertise positions in various locations, including Diverse
Jobs, the Office of Women in Higher Education, the
Association on Higher Education and Diversity (AHEAD), The
Black Collegian Online, and the Hispanic Outlook in Higher
Education.
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Include a values statement that includes diversity on your
respective websites.
+ Values Statement
Visual Advising Values
Textual Advising Values
Diversity
The value for diversity in thought and
human experience is demonstrated
throughout the advising profession.
Diversity of thought, the center of
academic freedom, is reflected in the
respect for varied academic advising
approaches considering theoretical
and experiential orientations toward
our work. Advisers are committed to
maintaining an awareness of and
sensitivity to diversity issues for all
students. Our intent is to serve as
diversity educators and advocates. Our
role is to help eliminate actual or
perceived university barriers so that all
students may achieve their academic
goals.
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Facilitation vs. Fear
Many underrepresented students view appointments with
academic advisors as a punishment, scary, confusing, or simply
as an “easy out,” hoping that advisors will simply tell them what
to do.
Changing the perception takes work, particularly with
underrepresented students, and the strategies discussed above
assist with changing that perception.
The best way to change perceptions is to create new
experiences. To that end, outreach will best serve your office
and your students.
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Why Outreach?
“Many students – particularly those who are black, Latino/a,
first generation, and low-income – face numerous challenges
throughout their educational journeys that obstruct their paths
to and through college. In order to meet current national goals
for increased access and completion, higher education
leaders must clear these pathways so all students can
succeed.”
“[T]he higher education community [must] ensure that
substantial resources – financial resources, human resources,
and resources of talent, training and mentoring, among
others – are directed toward historically underrepresented
students and the institutions that strive to educate them.”
Michelle Asha Cooper, Investing in Education and Equity: Our
Nation’s Best Future, Diversity and Democracy, Vol. 13, No. 3, Fall
2010.
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Outreach Challenge
Identify one student organization that exists within your
department, and one that exists outside of your department.
(For the outside organization, try to pick a club whose mission
statement interests you.) Plan to attend one meeting each
semester for each organization. If a meeting is not possible,
send an e-mail to the club president to be forwarded on to the
general membership. Build a genuine relationship with these
students that lets them know that you will be a resource and an
advocate for their education.
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Thank you
Danielle Stimpson, danielle.stimpson@usu.edu
Nicole Vouvalis, nicole.vouvalis@usu.edu