6937Phil

**My Philosophy of Student Affairs:**    I believe that there are many aspects to the very general term “Student Affairs”. This term incorporates everything from Greek Life, to Advising, to Orientation Activities. So, when I am asked about my philosophy I have to first narrow down the concept. In my situation, Student Affairs means //International Student and Scholar Affairs//, because this is the main population that I am interested in working with.  That being said, I think that with international students, I need to be aware of all areas of the university experience. This is because usually I am the main contact point at the institution for these students. Therefore, it is my philosophy that I need to be competent in all aspects of the college experience so that I may advise students appropriately. I need to be conscious that students, and especially international students are exceptionally affected by Involvement Theories, “students learn more the more they are involved in both the academic and social aspects of the collegiate experience” (Astin, 1984). For that reason, the creation of social programming is imperative for this population.  Along with the social theories that need to be addressed, the understanding of diversity and multicultural theories is paramount to creating an environment in which the students feel safe. We have to understand our current social/cultural schemas and how we perceive people from different cultures so that we can treat people with the respect they deserve. We also need to understand ourselves so that we can understand each other. I believe that we need to consistently strive to be inclusive and respectful to all peoples. I also think that the theories such as Pope’s (2007) Multicultural Competence in Administration and Management will have a large effect on my future work with international students and scholars. According to Cox (cited by Pope, 2007, p 54), “managing diversity is crucial to the accomplishment of organizational goals and therefore should be of paramount concern to managers”. I feel that creating a multicultural campus is something that each institution should strive for and internationalization works hand in hand with this goal. Therefore, I will need to use Pope’s book, //Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs// (2007), frequently in my work to keep me focused. I agree with the statement (cited by Pope, 2007, 55) that Multicultural Organization Development makes that;  A multicultural organization is a healthy organization because it reflects the contributions and interests of diverse cultural and social groups in its mission, operation, and …service delivery; acts on a commitment to eradicate social oppression in all forms within the organization; includes the members of diverse cultural and social groups as full participants, especially in decisions that shape the organization; and follows through on broad external social responsibilities, including support of efforts to eliminate all forms of social oppression and to educate others in multicultural perspectives  I also find that, when working with international students and scholars it is very important to know where they are in their identity development so that I am able help them along their path. For example, many of the women who come to the U.S. from their home countries are on their own for the first time in their lives. They are usually in Chickering’s and Reisser’s third vector (1993), “moving through autonomy toward interdependence”. This vector has three main components: “(1) Emotional independence – freedom from continual and pressing needs for reassurance, affection, or approval from others; (2) instrumental independence – the ability to carry on activities and solve problems in a self-directed manner, and the freedom and confidence to be mobile in order to pursue opportunity or adventure; (3) interdependence – an awareness of one’s place in and commitment to the welfare of the larger community” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 117). I try to work with each person to help them in whichever stage or vector they are currently functioning.  Another important area of development theory is Chickering’s and Reisser’s sixth vector, “Developing Purpose”. Here they talk about how “developing purpose entails an increasing ability to be intentional, to assess interests and options, to clarify goals, to make plans, and to persist despite obstacles” (1993, p. 209). I think that this ability to develop purpose is one of the goals of any student or scholar who comes through the doors of a higher education institution, albeit possibly an unconscious goal. The Encarta World Dictionary defines purpose as “an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions or the quality of being determined to do or achieve something”. Again, as Chickering and Reisser state “developing purpose requires formulating plans for action and a set of priorities” (1993, p. 212), and that is what students are doing, planning for their future life and careers. As a student affairs professional, I believe that helping students or scholars learn about who they are and what they want to do with their lives is critical to our profession. Whether we are doing this through tools such as Holland’s Code or Myers-Briggs testing or simply facilitating their journey, it is helpful for students to learn about themselves. <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,serif;">These theories are nowhere near comprehensive. Each person with whom I interact on a daily basis requires me to work with them from a new perspective. Consequently, I need to be aware of a variety of theories to be effective in my position. <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,serif;">So, overall I believe that my philosophy of a student-affairs-professional is that I should be what I need to be, depending on each student or scholar that I am dealing with at the time; and that each person has very different needs, and that those needs need to be met. Therefore, I must use whatever theories or resources are available to me at the time to meet those needs. =  = <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). //Education and Identity.// San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Pope, R., Reynolds, A., & Mueller, J. (2007). //Multicultural competence in student affairs.// San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.