The nature of American academic advising in the 21st century
| dc.contributor.author | Baron, Ken | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-10-04T14:16:35Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-10-04T14:16:35Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1999 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This case study grounded in the tradition of practitioner-research (Jarvis, 1999) was carried out from 1994 to 1999 at a major land-grant university in the United States. Specifically, the study aimed to explore the nature of American academic advising in the 21st century using qualitative research techniques. A review of the traditional literature from the academic advising profession, as well as the literature from the more encompassing field of student affairs (Davis and Liddell, 1997; Gordon and Grites, 1998), suggested that much of the research conducted in these areas has been quantitative and insular in nature. Thus, in response to an apparent need for more naturalistic and broadly-based inquiries in these areas (academic advising and student affairs), this study employed a variety of different qualitative research approaches in an attempt to investigate and contextualize the practice of academic advising within the forces shaping contemporary society. The first part of the thesis engaged the researcher in a comprehensive review of literature from a wide variety of disciplines including economics, history, political science, sociology and education that aided in the construction of a prospective model of society. As a result of this exercise, two research questions emerged that were later posed to 36 participants, representing the following classifications within the model of society: students, academic advisors, career services professionals, faculty, university hierarchy, and employers (6 in each classification). The research questions were: what is the nature of American academic advising in the 21st century in light of the forces of information technology and globalized capitalism, and how were these forces of change resisted? Using the general interview guide approach (Patton, 1990) and "qualitatively-based," content analysis interpretation techniques (Holsti, 1969; Krippendorff, 1980; Patton, 1990) these questions were explored and analyzed and the results compiled into a series of reports based on findings. These uniform reports were subsequently turned into separate chapters based on a comprehensive analysis of each of the 6 participant group "perceptions" of the nature of future academic advising practice. In particular, the inquiry aimed to illuminate participants' awareness of the forces shaping contemporary society, how they perceived the practice would change in the 21st century, how the participants thought the practice should be operated, their perceptions of the major causes of change, and how they perceived the forces of change being resisted in the future. Findings suggested that participant's perceived the future of the practice of academic advising to be influenced greatly by information technology, requiring stakeholders, at all levels throughout the academic advising process to humanistically assess to what degree and in what capacities will information technology be utilized within each, unique practice setting. Other findings suggested that participants both perceived and endorsed a more collaborative mode of practice in the future - consolidating other student services together with academic advising. Recommendations to the profession included the adoption of a new core value that would engage the profession, and its members, in more "outwardly" directed practices reaching beyond institutional barriers. Additionally, there is a recommendation that the profession become more politically and strategically-oriented in the next century, employing "relevance-grounded" public relations efforts to secure stability. Future comparative institutional studies, studies using additional participant groups and the development of quantitative national, and possibly international, surveys using this study as a model and its findings for reference, replication, or further illumination are suggested. | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | First, and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Peter Jarvis, for his extraordinary, “transatlantic” guidance and support over the last five years. Indeed, his commitment to me and my research has been unwavering all through my “intellectual journey” from the hills of Surrey to the dales of Tennessee. His perspectives on the nature of higher education, and its future, have been particularly influential throughout my work on this thesis. It has truly been an honor to work and “think” with him as a student and friend. I would like to thank the Rotary Foundation for awarding me the Ambassadorial Scholarship for the 1994/95 academic year. Their extremely generous grant not only enabled me to represent the West Knoxville Rotary Club as an ambassador of goodwill and international fellowship, it allowed me to begin yet another personal “academic chapter,” fulfilling, in a special way, my life-long dream of returning to England to complete a rigorous course of study. A dream that began in 1984 was realized in 1999 due in large part to Rotary. Indeed, I would also like to thank all past and present faculty and staff in the School of Educational Studies for their support and assistance in “shepherding” me through a variety of different academic, administrative, and “life” challenges. Their personal and genuine interest in my welfare and success was very much apparent throughout my time both here on campus and back in the United States. I hope such bonds will continue to grow in the future. Certainly I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Arts and Sciences Advising Services for providing the “context” within which this research was conceived and fostered. I could not have asked for a finer place in the “world” to begin my academic career. Moreover, I would also like to acknowledge my collaborative supervisor Dr. John Peters from the Department of Psychoeducational Studies for his collaborative supervision and facility in keeping me moving forward whilst “back” in Tennessee. Finally, I most certainly acknowledge Dr. Kirsten Benson from the Writing Center for all her painstaking attention to the revision of key chapters. She is truly a remarkable “person.” | en_US |
| dc.description.uri | https://openresearch.surrey.ac.uk/esploro/outputs/99517016902346 | en_US |
| dc.format.extent | 285 pages | en_US |
| dc.genre | dissertations | en_US |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.13016/m2vz8v-vs14 | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Baron, Kenneth Craig. “The Nature of American Academic Advising in the 21st Century.” University of Surrey. https://openresearch.surrey.ac.uk/esploro/outputs/99517016902346. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11603/29942 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | University of Surrey | en_US |
| dc.relation.isAvailableAt | The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Enrollment Management | |
| dc.rights | This item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author. | en_US |
| dc.rights | Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) | * |
| dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ | * |
| dc.title | The nature of American academic advising in the 21st century | en_US |
| dc.type | Text | en_US |