Student affairs work—like higher education—is fundamentally about change. Principally, the change work performed by student affairs practitioners is about supporting the growth and development of individual students and student groups. Increasingly, that work has called for practitioners to become more active in working to change higher education so that it lives up to its radically democratic, inclusive ideals. This means adopting new strategies to transform student affairs staff, students, and institutions, and drawing on insights from critical, liberatory theories. This text represents an effort to describe and document these practices of intentionally centering critical theories.The first section of this text examines the ways that critically-minded practitioners lead through equitable, liberatory frameworks, offering important models for reimagining the future of higher education. In the second section, the editors take up thinking and acting to support the development of critical consciousness in students, providing examples of programs, initiatives, and student support offices that center social justice in their work, and foster a critical lens through their interactions with students. In their conclusion, the editors provide a model for critical praxis, offering enduring strategies for practitioners seeking to incorporate critical, socially just praxis into their everyday work, and defining areas for future research and praxis, including identifying strategies for effective assessment of critical praxis, and modalities for “scaling up” the work for maximal impact.

"This text represents an effort to describe and document these practices of intentionally centering critical theories"--

Student affairs is now part of the management and administrative structure of almost every college and university in the United States. Professional staff working under the banner of student affairs are engaged in a wide variety of educational, support, and service functions. Measured by almost any standard, today’s student affairs profession has never been stronger. There are still, however, a number of critical issues that must be debated and discussed if the student affairs profession is to move forward in the years ahead. Critical Issues for Student Affairs identifies the most vital issues currently confronting the student affairs profession. Each chapter in this important volume focuses on a specific issue and presents a background, a summary of related research and writing, an examination of the issue, related references, and a list of suggestions for further discussion.

This guidebook aims to stimulate student affairs professionals and higher education faculty alike to adopt new approaches when discussing sensitive or controversial topics with their students. It provides teachers and professionals with a critical social understanding of social justice, social agency, reflection, and actionable knowledge to develop new and effective skills, practice them in safe spaces, and apply them in the field. It offers tools that are equally applicable in a classroom or cocurricular setting.The exceptional teachers, scholars, and professionals contributing to this volume provide a diverse and alternative lens through which to examine the intersection of social justice education and professional practice. The text is organized in three overarching themes: Part One, “Existing Theories, Examining Claims, and Proposing New Understandings”; Part Two, “Concrete Tools and Safe Spaces for Practicing Difficult Dialogues in Professional Practice”; and Part Three, “Professional Development, Action Research, and Social Agency.” In Part Four, “Moving Forward,” the book concludes with a chapter on implications for daily life and practice.The action-oriented research model provides strategies and frameworks for using social science research to engage in critical social and educational problem solving. The emphasis is on moving colleges and universities to widen their moral and ethical lenses, beyond understanding diversity, to developing multicultural competence and enriching their campus communities.Written for faculty in higher education and student affairs professionals, along with master’s and doctoral students in these fields, this book provides a framework that is grounded in research and sound pedagogies and theories.

The foremost scholars in student affairs discuss issues facing the field today, approaches to those issues, and skills necessary to enact the approaches Professionals in student affairs administration need practical, timely, and applied information on the myriad issues they encounter in supporting the success of the students and the institutions they serve. In the Handbook of Student Affairs Administration, the top scholars in the field share the latest information, methods, and advice on addressing these issues. The book is sponsored by NASPA, the leading professional organization for student affairs in higher education. This fifth edition has been updated to reflect current and effective techniques in student affairs administration including new chapters on anti-oppressive frameworks and equity in praxis, access for students with disabilities, men and masculinities, support for students’ mental health and well-being, and student employment as learning-integrated work. There is also an emphasis throughout on adult learners, online learners, part-time students, and transfer students. Chapter authors of diverse gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, experiential background, and type of institution offer broader perspectives. Learn about the dominant organization and administration models in student affairs Stay up to date on core competencies and professional development models Discover research-based strategies for addressing both emerging and lasting issues in student affairs Instructor resources available The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration is a comprehensive and thoughtful resource, with expert insight on the issues facing student affairs. This is one handbook students and professionals in the field won’t want to go without.

College and university administrators are increasingly called to confront the deeply entrenched racial inequities in higher education. To do so, corresponding attention must be given to historical and contemporary manifestations of whiteness in higher education and student affairs.This book bridges theoretical and practical considerations regarding the ways whiteness functions to underwrite racially hostile and unwelcoming campus communities for People of Color, all the while upholding the interests and values of white students, faculty, and staff.While higher education scholars and practitioners have long explored the role of race and racism in college and university contexts, rarely have they done so through a lens of Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS). Exploring such topics through the lens of CWS offers new opportunities to both examine white identities, attitudes, and ways of being, and to explicitly name how whiteness is embedded in environments that marginalize and oppress students, faculty, and staff of color. This book is especially concerned with naming the material consequences of whiteness in the lives of People of Color on college and university campuses in the United States.Part one of the book introduces theoretical ideas and concepts administrators, scholars, and activists might use to interrogate how whiteness functions on campus. Part two of the book explores practical considerations for how whiteness functions across campus spaces, including student leadership programs, fraternity and sorority life, faculty tenure and promotion, LGBTQ support services, and so forth.