May 13-14, 2011 was the 8th annual Action Research Conference at the University of San Diego. Each year, the conference serves as a chance for researchers from across the country, and even from across the world (!), to present their research. For others, it is a great chance to learn about action research being conducted and how it is affecting/improving a community.
As part of the program requirements, the Student Affairs cohort has conducted their own projects. With work focused in our individual areas of student affairs, I learned lots from my peers this weekend, covering a range of issues from relationships and connections, to advising strategies, to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's "flow".
As part of the program requirements, the Student Affairs cohort has conducted their own projects. With work focused in our individual areas of student affairs, I learned lots from my peers this weekend, covering a range of issues from relationships and connections, to advising strategies, to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's "flow".
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| Four generations of the USD Student Affairs Cohort |
I began my experience at USD as a graduate assistant for Residential Life, serving as an Assistant Community Director and Advisor to the Residence Hall Association (RHA). In the first six months, I discovered that there was a large disparity between men and women in RHA, with a ratio of 1:3. As a student organization that is supposed to build community and advocate for resident needs, full representation is a must.
This matches recent trends in higher education that show low rates of male involvement in campus activities. College men often have lower involvement rates on campus, are disproportionately involved in the judicial process, and have higher attrition rates than females (Edwards and Jones, 2009).
In addition to this, as an ACD and supervisor of two residential areas, I saw a higher rate of repeat conduct offenses for male populations. I began to wonder how level of involvement affects the college experience, specifically looking at academics, retention, and overall experience.
kjI decided to focus my action research on male involvement. Through surveys and interviews, I planned to gain insight into the male experience, providing me with a better understanding of the male lens. Using this information, I hoped to formulate suggestions for campus administrators in how to better support our male students.
Through interview responses, several themes emerged:
Through interview responses, several themes emerged:
•Review and critique of current university efforts
•Building relationships – the healthy and the risky
•Motivators
•Effects of female-dominated campus
•Effects of involvement
The men identified positive aspects of their experience and areas they felt needed improvement. One suggestion focused on lengthening the Precept experience - a program for first years lasting the first six months that provides a Preceptorial Assistant and faculty Precept to support a small group of first years.
Studying existing literature about gender construction and male student involvement, reviewing survey responses, and engaging in conversations with men on a one-to-one basis has provided me with a better understanding of the male experience at the University of San Diego (USD). With that, and with the many suggestions from research participants, I was able to craft actions and interventions in the hope of improving the male student experience at USD.
Pre-Cycle Action
Based on my first year in my Residential Life graduate assistantship and based on lessons learned from existing research, I was able to craft two actions before actually beginning my first research cycle. The first action targeted the Residence Hall Association (RHA) membership. As we were struggling with a male to female member ratio of almost 1:3, I proposed to the RHA Executive Board that we recruit members from each residence hall floor, increasing membership and providing better representation of our residents. The Executive Board was in support of changing our constitution and now, with the support of Resident Assistants and the Department of Residential Life, each residence hall floor is strongly encouraged to have Residence Hall Association council representatives. As most floors are divided by gender, this guaranteed an increase in male participation.
Part two of the pre-cycle actions was focused on marketing strategies. This action was about awareness and education. With a female Director of Marketing (a common occurrence in RHA), it is important to provide education for her and the entire Executive Board on inclusion and diversity, emphasizing the need to understand experiences outside their own. This includes attempting to understand the male student experience and needs. Marketing cannot be only pink with frills and hearts. Varied approaches in marketing should be used to reach as many of our residents as possible. The new strategies for membership and marketing have already brought more males into the organization, increasing the number of male student leaders at USD. Hopefully, it will have a domino effect with other males on campus.
Making the Male Voice Heard: Plan of Action
Using the survey responses and interview data, I created a recommendation plan for the university suggesting strategies and approaches for how to better serve our male student population. The plan is outlined below. Please note, the plan is not comprised of fully outlined actions, rather, it is meant to provide insight into the major areas of need. My hope is that it prompts conversation and reflection, as this is the first step in making change.
1. Make the male student voice heard
a. The lack of male involvement on campus is clearly visible. As an institution, we need to ask men about their experiences. The surveys and interviews I conducted are just the tip of the iceberg. This is a giant problem affecting the University of San Diego community, and also the nation as a whole. To make impactful change, male voices are necessary and needed. I suggest including men’s voices in strategic planning, committee opportunities, and other decision-making processes. While I do not support choosing people based I gender, I do think an effort should be made to include men as often as possible with the goal of having equal gender representation.
2. Increase programs and events geared toward males
a. A large part of programming efforts is in the hands of student organizations. However, the university and its practitioners advise these student organizations. We should prompt our student leaders to consider new approaches and strategies to involving the entire student population. For example, many of the student organizations are female-dominated (ex. RHA), as practitioners, we need to provide educational leadership development focused on inclusion and diversity. This can include lessons on gender constructions and stereotypes, and how student leaders have the power to make change. With this, we should continually reflect and brainstorm on how we can engage the entire student population.
3. Advertise and market opportunities better
a. Great programs and support initiatives already exist, but are we effectively reaching students? Programs like the Men’s Retreat have the power to change male students’ understandings of masculinity. It has the power to help them let go of gender constructions to authentically express themselves. There are hundreds of other leadership opportunities within Associated Students, Torero Program Board, the Residence Hall Association, the Earth Week Planning Committee, etc. These can be better marketed to men by actively recruiting them for these leadership roles. Advisors, professors, Resident Assistants, and any other members of the USD community can encourage men to seek out these opportunities. We could even compile a list of male-specific opportunities, possibly making it more comfortable for men to get involved and serving as a gateway to other opportunities.
b. Food for thought: Facebook, emails, and flyers are grand, but it is lazy to solely rely on these marketing methods. As the interviews showed, too much writing dissuades men from reading these sources of information. How else can we reach our men?
4. Offer ongoing support
a. The Precept experience
i. The Preceptorial Assistant is highly valued by incoming first year students. From interview responses, the PA relationship is invaluable. The PA class provides time and space to connect with peers, allowing men to establish strong relationships in a safe space. Can we extend this relationship in some way beyond the first semester?
b. Resident Assistants
i. Resident Assistants are charged with the responsibility of connecting with each student on a personal level. As literature and my action research shows, many men often shy away from “personal connections”. However, they would welcome more social programming in the residence halls. Perhaps RAs could organize more opportunities for students to connect in smaller settings than large residence hall wide programs or campus wide programs. Simple social programs held on individual floors could foster more connections.
ii. RAs also serve as resources and guides for residents. Are we equipping RAs with enough information on the male student experience? This is where the leadership development and education on issues of diversity and inclusion is effective. RAs should see encouraging resident engagement as a priority.
c. Advisor
i. The role of the advisor is key in some students’ experiences. Some advisors are more hands on than others. Can we develop a system to promote connection between students and advisors? Perhaps something as simple as an interest worksheet. Advisors would then know what sparks the students’ interest and could refer them to different opportunities on campus. While wanting to respect advisor time, I do feel consistent meetings would be beneficial for students. Perhaps once or twice a semester?
5. Mentorship The three participants all identified strong support systems throughout their experience. Brett has a close relationship with his advisor who doubles as a mentor. Arturo’s time at the Men’s Retreat provided guidance and mentorships from great role models. The men see this close support as one of the major influences on their involvement and overall experience. The university currently provides Precepts for incoming first years, but this is only for the first six months. There are no ongoing mentorship programs specifically aimed at supporting men.
Conclusion
Low rates of male involvement are evident in the Residence Hall Association, visible on the University of San Diego campus, and increasingly problematic across the nation. I chose this topic because it is an escalating issue that needs attention now. I am confident this project has provided some insight into the male experience and how to improve male involvement, retention, and overall experience.
I want to acknowledge a few limitations: First, since the case study was confined to the University of San Diego campus residence halls, the findings provide insight into a specific male population on campus and cannot be generalized to represent all of USD or other institutions. Furthermore, as I could not interview or survey every male resident, the results cannot fully represent all of the male resident population. Another major limit was trying to overcome the tendency to improve male experience by providing opportunities that perpetuate gender constructions. Sports, video games, and competitions are not the only way to meet the needs of men, but they are often the starting place for groups. In an effort to avoid this limited approach to engaging men, I definitely want to emphasize the importance of mentorship and support systems that currently are only accessible in a few ways. By providing a new opportunity and experience of which directly addresses the male gender role conflict, men can begin to define their experience and express their authentic selves.
This project was a process of development for the research and for me as a practitioner. My focus shifted from looking at the experiences of involved male students, to focusing on the uninvolved experience, and then to looking at how specific involvement opportunities affected experience. The 106 survey participants provided an image of the male experience and the three interview participants provided more in-depth information. The research was successful in providing some voice to men. There is still much work to be done, but it is a start. I am hoping this work will stimulate conversations around meeting the needs of the university’s male population. I plan to share this information with more campus administrators, Residential Life staff, and Faculty members, hopefully gaining support for a male mentorship program. Throughout these talks, I will learn more about what currently exists on campus and what we can add. I also hope to discuss judicial sanctions and the possibility of making community service hours a more common sanction, providing more opportunity for males to experience something new and spark an interest in involvement. Going beyond reactive measures aimed at students already at-risk of leaving the university or failing academically, proactive measures in reaching male students and guiding them on a positive path of success will make the difference. Measures like the mentorship program would also serve as a way to bring academics and student affairs closer in relationship, ensuring the holistic success of our students. I am excited to continue this work.
Personally, this project has helped me improve my work as a Student Affairs practitioner. As a woman, it has allowed me to hear from men and to understand a lens other than my own. It has also taught me that despite how much I want to provide mentorship to all students, in the case of men, there is a definite need for male practitioners and male mentors. I can still provide mentorship, but I also now see one of my bigger purposes as encouraging interested male students to pursue the field of Student Affairs. As we increase male visibility and representation, the trend will eventually reverse and men will hopefully become more engaged.
I also think this work is very impactful for me because it goes beyond involvement. It looks at the societal problem of gender construction and clearly shows consequences of limited gender performance expectations. By being more in tune to this larger problem, I am better able to support and reach more students. Simple tools like language are powerful. Phrases like “be a man” are crippling. As a Student Affairs practitioner, I need to provide safe space for all students, and especially for males. This project has allowed me to look at my own assumptions and expectations around gender, helping me to shape my behavior to be more inclusive. My hope is that this research has provided answers, increased awareness around issues of campus environment and male student experience, prompted reflection, and initiated constructive improvements. The work is not finished and further research at the University of San Diego is highly recommended. For me, I will continue this work at USD and in all aspects of my life. I strive to provide space and voice to underrepresented groups, and with the lessons learned throughout the last two years, I believe I am better able to do that. I am positive that as I model this behavior and share my findings, others will do the same as well, ultimately bringing change and bettering the field of education.
