Peer Advising

58 Pages·2013·5.12 MB·English

2003 HUMAN SERVICE EDUCATION EDITORIAL BOARD
HUMAN SERVICE EDUCATION
AJournalofthe NationalOrganizationfor HumanServiceEducation
AJournalof the National Organizationfor HumanService Education
Co-Editors FALL2003 VOLUME 23,NUMBER 1
Tricia McClam Rob Lawson
Contents
UniversityofTennessee WesternWashingtonUniversity
448ClaxtonComplex 421MillerHall
Knoxville,Tennessee37996-3452 Bellingham,Washington98225-9087 FromtheEditors 3
phone[phone] voice360/650-3886 TriciaMcClamandRobLawson
[email protected] fax[phone]
Articles
rob.lawson®Wwu.edu
MultipleFormsof Scholarship:Implicationsfor Human ServiceEducators ...5-13
Reviewers H.FrederickSweitzer
PromotingProfessionalisminHumanServiceEducation 15-24
Anderson, Deborah Pam Kiser
Thomas L.EvensonandLindaL.Holloway
SpringfieldCollege AssociateProfessor,Elon College
161WestWisconsinAvenue HumanServicesDepartment PeerAdvising:OpportunityforLeadershipand CompetencyDevelopment.25-37
SuiteLL-llOO CampusBox2275 JoelF.Diambra
Milwaukee,WI 53203 ElonCollege,NC 27244
Students,Agencies,andAcademia:Goodnessof Fit? 39-51
[email protected]
Miriam Clubok LynneA. KellnerandJanelLucas
OhioUniversity Patrick Morrissette
SoYou Wantto MajorinHumanServices:An Explorationof Students'
531MortonHall SchoolofHealthStudies
Motivations 53-65
Athens,OH 45701 BrandonUniversity
MarianneWoodside, TriciaMcClam,Joel Diambra,andRobertF.Kronick
[email protected] 270- 18thStreet
Brandon,Manitoba CanadaR7A6A9 ACounselingandHumanServicesCourseinSpirituality 67-74
Sandra D.Haynes
[email protected] MartiRiemer-Reiss
MetropolitanStateCollegeofDenver
P.O. Box173362 Edward Neukrug AReviewof ProminentPsychologicalInjuryConstructs 75-86
Denver,CO 80217-3362 OldDominionUniversity PatrickJ. Morrissette
[email protected] CollegeofEducation
PreparingStudentsinHumanServiceProfessionsfor
Norfolk,VA23529
MarkS. Homan InterdisciplinaryPractice 87-96
[email protected]
PimaCommunityCollege LindaK.Knauss,LisaG.Kramer,MargaretInmanLinn,PaulaT.Silver,HusseinH.Soliman,
2202WestAnklamRoad Donna Petrie andRobertH. Wellmon
Tucson,AZ 85709 St.John'sUniversity
Book Reviews
[email protected] 204Beut Hall • 8000UtopiaParkway
An IntroductiontoHumanServices:PolicyandPractice(5thedition) 97-99
Jamaica,NY 11439
Jurgens,Jill C. ByBetty Reid Mandelland BarbaraSchram
petrierfsstjohns.edu
OldDominionUniversity ReviewedbyJoan KlemptnerGold
DardenCollegeofEducation FrederickSweitzer
BecomingaHelper, 4thEdition 101-103
[email protected] UniversityofHartford
ByMarianneSchneiderCoreyandGeraldCorey
Norfolk,VA 23529-0157 220HillyerHall
ReviewedbyJillC.Jurgens
WestHartford,CT 06117
[email protected] An IntroductiontoHuman Services 105-108
ByMarianneWoodsideandTricia McClam
ReviewedbyToddR.Gomez
Announcements
AnnualConferences 38
ProfessionalDevelopmentAward 52
GuidelinesforAuthors 110-111
Copyright,2003,bytheNationalOrganizationforHumanServiceEducation
NationalOrganizationfor HumanServiceEducation 112
PrintedonRecycledPaper
From the Editors
This issue marks the end of our tenure as co-editors of Human Service
Education. Since 1995,we have strived to publish manuscripts thatadvance
human service education as well as reflect the generalist nature of human
services.We hopewehavebeensuccessful.Ifwehave,thenitisinlargepart
duetotheenergyandeffortsofthejournal'seditorialboard,and we wantto
recognizetheircontributions.Thesecolleagueshavebeendiligentinfulfilling
their responsibilities as members of the board: Deborah Anderson, Miriam
Clubok, Sandra Haynes, Mark Homan, Jill Jurgens, Pam Kiser, Patrick
Morrissette, Edward Neukrug, Donna Petrie, and Frederick Sweitzer. Two
others whose contributions are significant are Charlotte Duncan, our copy
editor,andBillRoe,ourtexteditor,pagedesigner,andpublisher.Allofthese
individuals deserve our thanks for their service to the journal and to the
organization.
It is our pleasure to introduce Sandra Haynes who will assume the
editorshipofHumanService Education thissummer. She isno stranger to the
journal,havingservedonitsEditorialBoardforanumberofyears.Hertimely
articles and insightful book reviews have also appeared in the journal. At
MetropolitanStateCollegeofDenver,sheiscurrentlyInterimAssociateDean
of the School of Professional Studies. Prior to this, she was Chair of the
Departmentof HumanServices. Sandra has received numerous grants and
awards. ManuscriptsshouldnowbesubmittedtoDr.HaynesatMetropolitan
StateCollegeofDenver,CampusBox8,P.O. Box173362,Denver,CO 80217.
Ithas been a pleasure serving as co-editors of the journal and we look
forward to its continuedevolutionas aprofessional, refereedjournal under
theeditorshipofSandraHaynes.
TriciaMcClam Rob Lawson
Co-Editor Co-Editor
HumanService Education ispublished onceyearlyby the
NationalOrganizationforHumanServiceEducation.
Thisissue ofHuman Service Education was supported in part by the University of
TennesseeandWesternWashingtonUniversity.TriciaMcClamandCharlotteDuncan
served as copy editors and supervised text entry. BillRoe,Western Washington
University, servedastexteditor andprovidedpagedesignand desktop publishing.
ThecoverwasdesignedbyWendyAndrews-Bolster. Thisissuewasprintedbythe
WesternWashingtonUniversityPrintingand PublicationServices.
HumanServiceEducation.Volume23.Number1•Page2 HumanServiceEducation.Volume23.Number1•Page3
Human Service Education
Volume23,Number1:pp. 5-13
Multiple Forms of Scholarship and Their
Implications for Human Service Educators
H. Frederick Sweitzer
Introduction
Over the past 15 years I have been fortunate to have attended many
national human service education conferences, as well as conferences in
nearlyeveryregionofthe country. Ihavealso visitedprogramsofavariety
ofsizes,shapes,andinstitutionalaffiliations. Ineverfail to learnsomething
fromtheseexperiences,and1oftenfindmyselfinquiringofsomeonewhether
the ideasIhavejustheardarepublishedanywhereorwhetherornotthereare
plansforpublication. Sometimestheanswerisyes,butmoreoftenitisno;and
Iget a range of reasons, including NI don't do that," "I can't do that," "My
institutiondoesn'tvalue that," and "I don'thave time."
Although1havebeeninvolvedin humanserviceeducationfor 18years,
talkedtoalotofpeople,andbeentoalotofconferences,Ihavenosystematic
dataaboutthisissue;itwouldmakean interestingresearchproject. Thisisan
editorial, and it is intended to frame issues and provoke thinking and
discussion. Ibelieveitisveryimportantthathumanserviceeducatorspublish
their workfor a varietyof reasons. Ialso believe Ihave learned something
aboutthe barriersandimpedimentsto thatscholarship,althoughagainIdo
notoffersystematic data. And Ibelievethatthe workon multipleforms of
scholarship, while certainly not a panacea, offers hope, inspiration and
guidanceaswestrivetomeetthe challengesofscholarshipinhumanservice
education.
Why Should We Publish?
Publishedscholarshipinhumanserviceshelpstoensureoursurvivalon
ourcampusesandmeetourobligationsas membersofthe highereducation
community. Humanserviceeducationwasbornas a response toidentified
needsin the community,notthe academy. Whilehumanserviceeducation
programswerehousedincollegesanduniversities,theirmissionsfocusedon
servingclientneeds,notonfosteringscholarlyinquiry. Programstoservethe
HumanServiceEducation.Volume23,Number1•Page4 HumanServiceEducation.Voiume23,NumberI•Page5
resenttheirexperiments, theirfield trails, or theircase
needs of employers, fill a need in the workforce, or study an identified whichco11eaguesP..... 7"
probleminthelocalornationalarenacomeandgo fromcollegecampusesall f instructionandItSconsequences. (p.16). .
o
thetime;andthatiswhatishappeninginhumanserviceeducation. Programs studies°als h something to say to highereducation. Someof the Issues
We a ave . . ' . 1 h
thatwerestarted in responseto particularneeds,suchastheneedfor mental _trends that are being disc.ussed '111 higherdeduca.tIolenarenirie es, su.e as
healthtechni~ians,ha,:,eclosedorshiftedtheirfocus. Agenerationoffaculty ... . 1 rning experientIaleducatIon,an service oarrung.areissues
o..oIlaborative ea , h
whose energIes wen: mto.~esigning fi.rst-rate tr~ining programs is retiring, aboutwhich human service educators know a lot. Furthermore, t ere.~re
and colleges and universities are havmg to decide whether to continue to lis for collegesanduniversities to truly serve the commurunes
tncreasomgca 1 duni .
invest faculty positions and other resources into human service education andstatesthathouseandsupportthem. Asaresult,col egesan .universities
programs. withwhatitmeanstobeanengagedcampus,featunngdeepand
arestruggling . . iti
Ifhumanservices,or anyotherarea,istosurviveas an accepted,valued, gfulpartnerships with communities. so that our commum res are
o
and supported component of higher education programs, it must make =rouracademicandprofessionalskillsandourprogramsarebetterfor
multiple contributions to multiple audiences. Programs must serve their theparticipationofthecommunity. Ihaveencounteredcountlessexamples
students, of course, and be able to document those results. Recent trends ofsuchpartnershipsinmytravelstoconferences,butalmostnoneofthemare
toward outcome assessment in highereducation, as well as the attempts to discussedinprint.
defineclearskillandknowledgesetsin humanservices andamovetoward
Why Don't We?
credentialing of human service workers are evidence of movement in this
area. Programs must also make contributions to the mission and values of Whyis it thatmoreofourgoodworkisnotmad~public? Again.Ihave
theirinstitutions,whichareasmanyandvariedas thenumberofinstitutions
notdoneasystematicinvestigation;but,whenItalkWIthpotentialpresenters
thathouseour programs. We need to show the institutionsthatsupportus
andauthors,Idohearseveralcommonthemes,andtheygenerallycenteron
thattheycanexecutetheirmissionsmoreeffectivelybecausewearehere. It
institutional demands and personal values. Human service education
willhelpifourprogramsalsocontributetotheissues,problems,andchallenges
programsarehousedinallmannerof2-and4-yearinstitutions. Somedonot
facing highereducationin general.
require their faculty to engage in scholarship nor reward those who do.
A critical obligation, however, is that our programs must contribute to
Teaching loads in these institutions tend to be relatively high, making it
somesortofknowledgebase. Wemustspeaktoawideraudiencethanthose
difficult to find the time to engage in research and publication. Even in
found in ourclassroomsandcommunitiessothatothersmaylearnfromand
institutionsthatsupportor even demand scholarly activity, human service
buildon ourwork. That,inmyopinion,isthedifferencebetweenaprofessor
faculty members I talk with often have values dilemmas. They have high
and a practitioner. One is not better than the other; they have different
levels of commitment to their students and, often, equally high levels of
missions. Ifwedonotmakesuchcontributions,why,in theend,shouldour
commitmenttothecommunity. Theyareon thefrontlineswiththeirsleeves
institutions,statelegislatures,andotherfunderscontinuetosupportus? Do
rolledup,anditishardfor themto disengagefrom thoseactivitiesandmake
wereallybelievethatcollegesanduniversitiescanservetheneedsoftheclient
the timeto reflectand write, let alonelauncha lineofresearch.
communitiesmoreeffectivelythancommunity-basedagenciescan? Arecent
articleintheChronicleofHigherEducationpointsoutthatmanyfoundationsare Multiple Forms of Scholarship - An Opportunity
turning away from higher education as a focus and turning instead to
Theworkof ErnestBoyer,andothers whobuiltonhis ideas,offers real
communities (Pulley, 2002). If, however, we can do something to serve the
hope for human service educators and others in similar circumstances. It
needsofclientsandcommunitiesandteachawideraudienceto dothesame
expands the definition and conceptof scholarship and, in so doing, allows
or contributeto apublic discussion of the issues and problems, thenwe are
faculty members to use their skills in a variety of ways and contribute to a
makingacontribution that only we canmake.
varietyofknowledgebases. Italso allowsthemtoleadmoreintegratedlives,
My personalexperiencetells me wearedoingadmirableandinteresting
sothattheirteaching,scholarship,andservicecanbebranchesfromthesame
workin ourclassroomsandcommunities. Italsotells me thatweoftenlabor
tree.
in obscurity, evenonourown campuses. As humanservice educators, we
Inhisseminalwork,ScholarshipReconsidered,ErnestBoyer(1990)argued
face common problems in pedagogy, ethics, and community collaboration.
that the kind of scholarship traditionally recognized in highereducationis
We workterriblyhard,yetIhavethenaggingfeelingthatweoftenre-invent
onlyoneofseverallegitimateformsofscholarship. Thedevelopmentofnew
thewheel. AsLeeShulman(1999)asked,indiscussingteaching,"Howmany
knowledge,theconductoforiginalresearch,istheformtraditionallyvalued,
professional educators, when engaged in creating a new course or a new
andBoyercallsthisthescholarshipofdiscovery. For humanservicefaculty,an
curriculum,canturntoapublished,peer-reviewedscholarshipofteachingin
HumanSendeeEdueafJon • Volume23.NumberI•Page6 HumanServiceEducation'Volume23.NumberI•Pag~
. . otenou h for reviewcommittees,it isnotenoughtomeetthe
example of this kind of scholarship would be research into the etiology of ough. Itfis~....ghum~nserviceeducation,anditisnotenough to meetour
substanceabuse. Thescholarshipofapplication(which,inmorerecentwritings, nges acm . d .
IIe . th communityof higher e ucation. .
is called the scholarship of engagement) involves using knowledge in a schu~arshlp~f
ligatIOnSto e there is a form of scholarship called the
disciplineorfield tohelpsolverealproblems. Facultycanbringthisworkto t~~~
the fact mean thatteachingis,inandof itself,scholarship Lau.ne
theircampuscommunitiesorthecommunitiesin whichtheyworkandlive. a~ong effect~ve
: gdoe;) makes an excellent and clear distinction
It shouldbe noted that theapplicationof theoreticalknowledgeto practical
. (200holarl teaching, and the scholarship of teachmg. Effechve
problemsoftenaltersthetheory,allowingitto broadenandbe morecontext
ching, sc y. teaching that enablesstudents to learn. Scholarly
sensitive. ching, shesays, 1Sany otbeeffective isinformedbypreviousfindings
Tocontinuethepreviousexample,in this waythequestionbecomesless "';.... whichmayormayn , . d I .
Cllll'~' . . e and edagogy. The scholarship of teachmg an e~rmng
"how can we use our knowledge in the community to alleviate substance ~lsc~plm
illthe inthekowledgebase(s). So,in orderfor it tobeconsidered
abuse?" and more "how can we partner with the community to more fm~m~ere ~o
places hasto be somesortofpublicproductthatisavailable a
thoroughly understand and more effectively combat substance abuse?" A scholarsh1f' Thi troductmaytaketheformofaconferencepr~senta~lOn,
thirdformof scholarship,accordingto Boyer,is thescholarshipofintegration,
wideraud1en IS awideraudience itmustbeavailableinprmt- either
whichexamineshowdisciplinescanworktogethertoilluminatequestionsof butultimatelyc,et.oreac .'
onthewrittenpageor throughelectromcmeans.
theoryandproblemsofpractice. Thehumanservicemovementis,bynature,
aninterdisciplinaryundertaking,blendingpsychology,sociology,education, g~~a:~~YOf anot~er
andotherdisciplines. Finally,thereisthescholarshipofteaching(morerecently Ass;Sin questionshasto dowithassessingquality. Put
C teac~mg
calledthescholarshipofteachingandlearning). Inthescholarshipofteaching :::t is it that determines whether a piece of writing about
and learning, faculty members attempt to build effective bridges between way, bId' aknowledgebase? Inthe caseofthescholarshipof
d servesto epace m . f
whattheyknowandwhattheirstudentsunderstand. Putmoresimply,their e hi what separates a story about what someone did fro~ a pIece 0
teachingbecomesthefocus of theirscholarship. tsecahcolmargsh,ipthatotherscan trulylearnfrom andbUilld on?..Agam'therehas
All of these forms of scholarship have implications for human service been a lot of attention paid to this question; and there I.S, by no means,
syn~hesls
education. Inparticular,thescholarshipsof teachingandengagementseem universal agreement. What is presented here is a of some of the
a~gue,
integrally connected to the work of human serviceeducators. Engagingin writin onthetopic. InordertobeconsideredscholarshIpand:Iwould
ord~r ed~cat1on,
these forms ofscholarshipnotonlyallows facultymembers to study, reflect in tobeincludedintheknowledgebaseinhumansarvice a
on,andwriteaboutthoseactivitiesthataremostcentraltowhattheywantand scholarlyproject mustmeet the following criteria: Itmust have at ItSc~re a
are expected to do, but it also gives them an opportunity to contributeto a deargoalandaguidingintellectualquestion;itmustrespond~osomeumque
stu~y, ~Sl~g
wider discussion about how to teach and partner in the community most aspect of a situation; and it must be the.result of.systematic
effectively. Eachoftheseformsofscholarshipmeritsanarticletoitself. Here, methodsthatareconsistentwiththeguidmgquestiOn. Eachof thesecntena
Iwillfocus on thescholarship of teachingand learning. willnowbediscussed in turn.
ClearGoals/Guiding Questions . .
Persistent Questions
Faculty members who care about their teaching arc always t~ymg to
As promising as these new forms of scholarship are, there are also changeandimprovesomething,andit is that desire to changeandImprove
L~e
substantial challenges in conducting them. As faculty members, thatisthegenesisofthescholarshipofteachingandlearning. As Shulman
th~
administrators,andfacultyreviewcommitteeshavestruggledtounderstand said thescholarshipofteachingandlearningbeginswithanexpenenceof
andassessmultipleformsofscholarship,twosetsofpersistentquestionshave problematicor avisionof thepossible(Hutchings,2000). Perhaps,overan
emerged. Onesetof questions revolves around the issue of activity versus over there isa topic thatjustdoesn'tseemto intereststudents,eventhough
, d . t Perhaps
scholarship,andthe otheraround issuesof assessingquality. thefaculty memberseesveryclearlyits relevancean Impor ance.
thereisaconceptthateludesstudents,oreludessomestudents. Perhapsthere
Activity versus Scholarship
. .. . hecurri 1 Orperhapsthefacultymember
Iffaculty members want to engage in the scholarship of teaching and ISaperspectivermssmgfromt ecurricu urn.. e~p:n.e"~ce.
hasahope adream avisionofacurriculumthatmtegrates m the
learning, is it enough that they are good teachers? Is it enough that their
" . Th t blingorinsplnngIssuesare
teachingis informedbyscholarshipand research? Iffaculty memberswant communitywitheveryclasssession. ese rou 1
the genesis of the scholarship of teaching,but they are not enough. Before
toconductthescholarshipofengagement,isitenoughthattheyareworking
in the community? The emerging consensus seems to be that no, it is not
HumanServiceEducation'Volume23,NumberI•Page9
HumanServiceEducation. Volume23,NumberI•Page8
proceeding, the facultymembermustdefineacleargoal or questionand do program or the surrounding community and how did they affect your
r
it in away thatwillallow him orherto see whetherit hasbeenattained. thinking? . .,.
In the book, Opening Lines,Pat Hutchings (2000) presents the work of While no two teaching situations are alike. It IS Important.that faculty
eightfaculty members who are engaged in the scholarship of teachingand ~mb~embarkin.g on the scholarship of teaching and.learnmg haveha'n
learning, and she suggests several categories of questions that they are of work that hasbeen done before on similar ISsues. Often, t IS
awareness . ' f I
pursuing. Oneset ofquestions isthe "whatis?' questions. Here,the faculty involves exploring the literature.m educa~lOnal researc~. Some acu ty
member attempts to understand more fully and completely the classroom members m. humanserviceeducatIOnare trained as educa.tIonIalreseahrch.er.s
situationasitexistsnow. Forexample,supposeafacultymemberwouldlike and some are not,butthe issue is not producing educat.iona riedseeriarc ;I.t IS
students to become more authentic and detailed in their appraisals of one understandingit. So,forexample,ifthe facultymem?erISconsi ermgUSI~g
another'swork. It mightbe helpfulto first understandwhat the experience collaborativelearningorpeerteaching,the researchliteratureon thesetop~cs
ofcritiquing and being critiqued is like for students. In the scholarship of needstobeexamined.Thisexplorationallowsfacu~tyme~bersthe.opportumt~
teachingandlearning,understandinganddescribingaphenomenonisjustas tobenefitfromtheexperienceofothersandtobuildonIt. Byseemgwhat.has
importantan undertaking as "proving" something (Hutchings & Shulman, beendonebeforeand in whatcontext, faculty memberscanbetterconsider
1999). andexplainthe uniquenatureof the situationat hand.
Anothercategoryofquestions is "why?" questions. Here, the principle
UsingAppropriate Methods . .
concernisunderstandingwhyaclassroomorprogramproblemexists. Why Themethodsusedinaprojectshouldbesuggestedbyandconsistentwith
are studentsnotable totransferthe informationfromtheirassessmentcourse the questions asked. There is no one acceptable or correct method in the
to their experience in the internship? Why are students not able to see the scholarship of teaching and learning. Chances are tha~ an~ doctorally
ethicaldimensionsofthe cases theyread? Pursuingthis line ofquestioning, preparedfacultymemberhas~eentrainedin s~meform o~mqUIry,and ~hat
thefacultymembercanposeanumberofpossibleanswerstothequestionand form of inquiry can be used m the scholarship of teach~ng and learm~g.
investigateeachone. Excellentexamplesofthis sortofworkcanbe foundin Scholarsfromawiderangeofdisciplinesareengagedinthisworkanddomg
the book, Classroom Research. itin theirownway. In fact,oneof the excitingthingsaboutthe scholarship
Finally,therearethe"whatworks?"questions. Perhapsafacultymember ofteachingand learningisthatseveralpeoplecan explorethe same ?eneral
has an idea for improving students' abilities to respond empathically in a phenomenon or question from different perspectives and use different
helping skills training course. In pursuing this line of questioning, it is
techniques. . .
importantthatfacultymembersbe clearwiththemselvesaboutwhatchange For thosefacultvmemberswhoare nottrainedinanyresearchtradition,
theyare seekingand abouthowtheywill know itwhenandifithappens. A thenreadings,class~s,andcollaborationwithseasonedresearche~scanhelp
faculty member may say that students should feel more comfortable and themlearntechniquesthatspeaktothequestionsinwhichtheyareinterested.
confidentintheircaseassessments. Whatarethosestudentssaying,doing,or Facultywhoaremoreinterestedinthe "whatis?"questionsma~wanttolearn
writingthatmakesthe facultymemberthinktheyare notcomfortable? And qualitative techniques, for theyilluminate the phenomenological aspects of
whatcan theysay, do, or writethatwilllet thatfacultymember- andanyone learners'experiencesbetterthanquantitativetechniques. For"whatworks?"
else- know thatthey are morecomfortableandconfident? questions,once the desiredchangehasbeenclearlydescribed,thereareways
Responding to Unique Aspects to assessthecurrentleveland to trackchange.
Inpresentingtheirworkforpublicationorpresentation,facultymembers
Conclusion
needtodiscussthe waysinwhichtheirworkrespondedto uniqueaspectsof
a situation. There are two components to this task: setting the context and
For those who are new to the scholarship of teaching and learning, this
awarenessofliterature.
mayseemlike adauntingarray oftasks. Itisunquestionablyan investment
Teachingisahighlysituationalactivity. No twoprogramsarealike, even
oftimeand energy. Heavy teaching loadsand campus cultures that donot
ifthe coursesofferedare the same. Notwoclassesorsectionsarealike. There
support, reward, or value scholarship are formidable obstacles. The newer
isalwayssomethingunique,andthatuniquenessoftengeneratesthe guiding
formsofscholarshipwillnotfixthoseproblemsinandofthemselves,butthey
question. Ifothersaretolearnfromandbuildontheirwork,facultymembers
can makescholarship easierunder those conditions.
need to be explicitabout the contextin which their guidingquestion arose.
Thereareotherbenefits,aswell. Beingmoresystematicandreflectivein
Questions to consider include what made you curious about this issue or studyingteachinginnovationsislikelytoleadtomoreeffectiveteaching~nd
problem?Whatarethecharacteristicsofyourstudents,yourcurriculum,your
tohelpguidecontinuingeffortsatimprovements. Whetherornotsomethmg
HumanServiceEducation.Volume23.NumberI•Page 10 HumanServiceeducation'Volume23.NumberI•Page II
works, something is learned, and more can be learned if the questions are Shulman,L.S.(1999). Takinglearningseriously.Change,31(4),10-17.
asked clearly and studied well. For those faculty members who need to
producescholarship,enjoyitbutfightfor timetospendonit,orboth,theextra
Frederick Sweitzer is Professor ofHuman ServicesandAssociate Dean, College (~f
effort may allow them to pursue teaching and scholarship simultaneously.
H ti n NursingandHealthProfessionsattheUllIversltyofHartford, WestHartford,CT.
Finally,itwillhelphumanserviceeducationasaprofessionandan academic Ed·uca 10 , '
disciplinetoclaimamoreprominentprofileinthehighereducationlandscape,
bothon individual campusesand ingeneral.
References
Angelo, T. A, & Cross, K. P. (1994). Classroom assessmenttechniques: A
handbookforcollegeteachers. SanFrancisco:Iossey Bass.
Boyer,E.L.(1990).Scholarshipreconsidered:Prioritiesoftheprofessoriate.San
Francisco:[ossey-Bass.
Boyer,E.L.(1996).Thescholarshipofengagement.JournalofPublicService
andOutreach,1(1),11-20.
Cross,K.P.,&Steadman,M.H.(1996).Classroomresearch:Implementingthe
scholarshipofteaching. SanFrancisco:[ossey-Bass,
Digiovanni,M.,Ruther,F.M.,&Maloney,D.C.(1999).Nationalcommunity
support skill standards: implications for human services education. In H.
Harris & D. Maloney (Eds.), Human services: Contemporary issuesandtrends.
(pp. 119-130) .Boston: Allynand Bacon.
Gelmon,S.B' Holland,B.A,Seifer,S.0. Shinnamon,AI & Connors,K
I 1
(1998). Community-universitypartnershipsfor mutual learning. Michigan
JournalofCommunityServiceLearning,5,97-107.
Glassick,C.E.,Huber,M. T.,& Maeroff,G.1.(1997).Scholarshipassessed:
Evaluationoftheprofessoriate. SanFrancisco:[ossey-Bass.
Huber, M.T.(Ed.). (2001).Disciplinarystylesinthescholarshipofteaching:
Washington, DC: American AssociationforHigherEducation.
Human Services Research Institute. (1998). Community support skill
standards. Cambridge,MA: HumanServicesResearchInstitute.
Hutchings, P. (Ed.). (2000). Openinglines:Approaches tothescholarshipof
teachingandlearning. Menlo Park,CA: CarnegiePublications.
Hutchings,P' & Shulman,L.S.(1999).Thescholarshipofteaching:New
I
elaborations,newdevelopments. Change, 31 (5),pp. 10-15.
Lynton, E.A (1995).Making thecasefor professional service. Washington,
DC: AmericanAssociationfor HigherEducation.
Macht, J., & Whyte, D. A. (1999). Human services: History and recent
influences. In H. Harris & D. Maloney (Eds.),Human services: Contemporary
issuesandtrends,(pp. 35-58). Boston: Allynand Bacon.
Pulley, J. (2002). Crumbling support for colleges. Chronicle of Higher
Education,3/29/02,48/29, A28-30.
Richlin,L. (2001).Scholarlyteachingandthe scholarshipof teaching. In
C.Kreber (Ed.), Scholarship revisited:Perspectives onthescholarshipofteaching,
(Vol. 86 pp. 57-68).SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass.
1
HumanServiceEducation.Volume23,Number7•Page 12 HumanServiceEducation. Volume23,Number7•Page 13
Human Service Education
Volume23,Number1:pp. ]5-24
Promoting Professionalism
in Human Service Education
Thomas L. Evenson
Linda L. Holloway
Abstract
Thisarticlechallengeseducatorstodevelopthehumanservice
student's innate inclination toward a professional approach to
practice.Aconsciousefforttoincorporateindividualprofessionalism
asacentralthemewithinthehumanserviceacademicprogramcan
enhancestudentsself-perception, self-confidenceand,ultimately,
thequalityofservices delivered totheindividuals theyserve.
Introduction
Despite their requirement for a solid foundation of knowledge and
competenciesrelated to human service work, employers frequently shiftto
anotherlevelwhenaskedwhattheyconsidertobe ofgreatestimportancein
ahumanserviceemployee.Theycitesuchqualitiesashonesty,responsibility,
trustworthiness,personalappearance,enthusiasm,commitment,andastrong
workethic. Aspecialfocus groupcomprisedofemployersofbaccalaureate
levelworkerswasconductedtodeterminetheirprioritieswhenfillinghuman
servicepositions.The employersidentifiedspecificskills (verbalandwritten
communication,interviewing,jobplacement,etc.)butwereunanimousinthe
primaryvalue theyplacedon moreabstractcharacteristics,suchas personal
integrity,commitment,willingness to learn,ethicalbehavior,and initiative.
Theviewsofthe focus groupmembersweresupportedbysurveyresponses
obtained from otherhumanserviceemployerswhenasked to prioritize the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes they look for in prospective employees
(Evenson & Holloway, 2000).It is clear that employers want workers who
behavein a "professional" way.
Thereissomeironyinthisexpectationforhumanserviceworkers.While
theyareexpectedto presentthemselvesin aprofessionalmanner, too many
ofthemarenotconsideredtobe"professionals."Thisproblemwashighlighted
HumanServiceEducation.Voiume23.Number7•Page /4 HumanServiceEducation.Voiume23.Number/•Page /5
inadisturbingwayindraftmaterialforthe2002-2003editionofthe0ccupational . edthatthe"cultureandtechnique,theetiquetteandskilloftheprofession,
OutlookHandbook (U.S.Departmentof Labor, 1994)and the Career Guideto claim r in the individualas personaltraits...rr (p. 36).He suggested that the
appea f .
Industries(U.S.DepartmentofLabor,2000-2001)thataccompaniesit.Thejob .{essionali~ed commonlyrefers to the development 0 an occupation,
term pro)''' . ." h
title usedforpeopleweconsidertobehumanserviceprofessionalswastobe th t it is increasingly bemg used to descnbe what appens to an
~u~.
changedtohumanserviceassistants(McKinney,2001).The term"assistant"is ';ualin the courseoftrainingfor his occupation" (Hughes, 1967,p. 4).
~O~:l qUit~ t~
apoordescriptorforpeoplewhoassumethelevelofresponsibilitycommonly recently, Van Zandt (1990) contended that it is possible be
assigned to humanserviceworkers. .onalwithoutnecessarilybeingamemberofarecognizedprofession.
professi f ., t
Unfortunately, from the perspective of many people, status as a Itisappropriatetotalkaboutprofessionalismeveni ano~c~pat1onISno
professionalisreservedfor thosewhohavebeenpreparedatthegraduateor viewedasanestablishedprofession.Webelievethatth~majorityofhuman
post-graduatelevels.Themajorityofhumanserviceworkersaretrainedatthe . workersareprofessionalintheirapproachto thenworkandthatthe
service . formal trai .
associate and bachelors levels, and most of them have significant esis of their professionalism comes as part of then orma trammg in
~~man con~erned
responsibilities.Mostarehighlycommittedtotheirworkandtotheindividuals services.Ritzer(1971)suggestedprofessionalschools"are
theyserve.Theyare giventhe responsibilityforbeingprofessionalswithout with communicating the skills, knowledge, norms, and values which are
the statusorbenefitsthattypicallyaccompanythattitle. The mixedmessage eeded for the individual to be considered, and consider himself, a
is"Youmustbelikeaprofessional...butdon'tget the idea thatyouare one." ;rofessional"(p.71).The preparationthatstudentsreceiveinhumanservice
This article proposes that human service workers have the right to be education programs should include the foundation for the developmentof
treated as professionals on the basis of the qualities that characterize their theirindividualprofessionalism.
approach to their careers. We submit that the educational preparation of
What Is Professionalism?
humanserviceworkerscanestablishafoundationbywhichstudentscanearn
the respect of others as professionals. The article is designed to challenge Definitions or descriptions of professionalism are many and varied.
humanserviceeducatorstoactivelynurtureaspiritofprofessionalismamong
Professionalismisdescribedintermsofattitudes,behaviors,oracombination
studentsinwaysthatensurethatindividualprofessionalismbecomesapart
of the two. Weiss (1981) believes that professionalism extends beyond
of their identityas humanserviceworkersthroughouttheir careers. knowledgeandskillsinthatitreflectsaperson'scommitmentasaprofessional
and her or his socialization into the role of a professional. Peterson and
What Is a Profession?
Nisenholz(1987)didn'tseeprofessionalismassomethingthatisaccomplished
The word profession comesfrom the Latintermprofiteri,whichmeans to but as a process that extends throughout one's lifetime. Van Zandt (1990)
declareor avowsomethingoutloudorpublicly.Originally,the avowalwas explained that the ism in professionalism includes behaviors and attitudes
related to enteringthe religious life;but,by the 16th century, the word had thatare characteristicoftrueprofessionals.Maister(1997)suggestedthatthe
evolvedtoincludedeclaringthe entrancetoan occupationthatwasdevoted oppositeofprofessionalismisnot"unprofessional"buttechnician.~echn~ci.ans
to savinglives or souls-orthe kind ofworkcarriedoutby priests, doctors, arespecialistsinthe competenciesthattheydevelopthroughspecialtrammg.
and attorneys. Bythe 19thcentury, the term was broadened to include any Rather than a set of competencies, according to Maister, the core of
legitimateoccupationby whichan individualmade money. professionalism is attitude. He defined a real professional as a "technician
Doesone have to be a memberof a professiontobe a prcfessionatt Ifso, whocares" (p. 16).
thereareprobablyalimitednumberofprofessionals.Establishedoccupations, While there may be a direct connection between professionalism and
suchaslaw,medicine,dentistry,andthe clergy,appearto meetthe kindsof membersofarecognizedprofession,manybelievethatprofessionalismgoes
standards normally required to qualify as a profession. Other occupations, beyondthatlimitedscope.InacommencementspeechatPennStateHarrisburg,
suchasengineeringandarchitecture,meetmostofthesestandards(Andersen, McClean (1999) warned new graduates that not everyone who graduates
1993).Still other disciplines, like psychology, counseling, social work, and from college as a professional exhibits professionalism and went on to
teaching,havestrivento reachthe statusofprofession;buttheyare notfully challenge students to adopt a spirit of professionalism regardless of the
recognized as such, despite the arguments of their respective advocates. occupationstheypursue.Ritzer(1971)notedthat,whilesomeoccupations~re
Occupations that constitute the broad area of human services generallyare clearlyseenasprofessions,membersofthoseoccupationsdonotnecessanly
notconsidered tobe among the recognized professions. manifest all of the qualities expected of a professional. For example, in the
Most relevant to our discussion is a question raised by Cogan (1955) medicalprofession,individualphysiciansare likelytovaryin theirdegreeof
almost50yearsagowhenheaskedifprofessionalismwasinevitablyagroup professionalism. According to Hall (1968) "some 'established' professions
phenomenonorifitcouldbeachievedon an individualbasis.Hughes(1958)
HumanServiceEducation.Volume23.NumberI•Page /6 HumanServiceEducation.Volume23.Number/•Page 17