Advising and Supporting in Student Affairs

Advising and Supporting in Student Affairs is a practical guide that will help student affairs professionals do the perpetual reflection needed to sustain themselves in a career that requires they bring their whole self to work in order to be good company for students and in community. It brings into focus essential aspects of professional development, such as how to raise your self-awareness, how to reflect on your personal and professional identity, and how to do so in the context of the standards and competencies of the profession. It is a unique offering to the profession that extends beyond reviewing the literature or reporting the competencies. It assumes that to be competent in advising and supporting students, student affairs professionals must not only possess the skills, knowledges, and dispositions to complete the basic tasks, but also, they need to build the stamina to situate themselves in relation to the challenges they are facing in their professional lives. This type of reflection asks that student affairs professionals strive to make meaning of their identity, background, historical context, cultural norms, and institutional dynamics as they work with students. Through a specific focus from each of the chapter authors, the editors provide specific guidance on professional competencies that goes beyond surface-level understanding of the 'what' (specific policies, ethical guidelines) and into inviting a more thoughtful connection between those and the all-important 'why and how' (reflective action, traversing conflict, and controversy). That is, it offers content along with the processes of how to engage these professional ideals in real life by providing relevant examples through case studies and practice scenarios. Also, essential guidance is given on how to reflect and to learn and absorb lessons that will help the student affairs professional embody a whole life in the profession.