College Pathways
Aggression of South African University Students
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Chris Myburgh, Marie Poggenpoel
Aggression is part of everyday life which includes learning. The dynamics of learning at a university from undergraduate to post-graduate is complex. Within such a context challenges concerning aggression are posed to the involved persons, i.e. for student-learners, professors and management. We address students’ perceptions of self, relationships, and aggression. We explore and describe the differences between the perceptions of aggression of various groups of students perceiving higher versus lower intra- or interpersonal relationships and to formulate guidelines. We use a quantitative, exploratory and empirical research design applying multivariate inferential and descriptive statistics were followed. A questionnaire was electronically distributed to all students in a faculty of education. Cronbach alpha, factor analyses, and multivariate comparisons (Hotelling T-square followed by t-tests) were used. Perceptions of self- love, interpersonal relationships and disconnectedness were used as independent variables and perceptions of various forms of aggression formed the dependent variables. Ethical clearance was obtained. Results reflected that when a person perceives the she or he exhibits self-love there are significant differences with respect to perceived aggression. A student with self-love is less aggressive towards self and others compared to persons perceiving themselves as having less self-love. These students should be assisted to understand and manage their own perceptions of self, relationships, and aggression to facilitate dynamic adult education.
Using an Appreciative Intercultural Model of Leadership to Co-create and Implement a University-wide Cultural Diversity Strategy: Making a Difference through the World of Education and Learning
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Teresa De Fazio
Education is recognised as the transformative agent that has the potential to affirm an individual’s sense of social connectedness and identity, and empower both individuals and communities. Modern tertiary education has a particularly powerful role in its complex interactions with its many stakeholders. Social expectations are that universities should lead both the thinking and modeling of scholarly, vocational, and social practices which respond to various dimensions of diversity. The paper is based on a case study of how one Australian university designed and is currently implementing a unique, university-wide cultural diversity strategy that has influenced policy, curriculum, instruction, and other elements of organisational culture and practices. The study explores how the power of the appreciative model of intercultural leadership can lead to significant cultural shifts around diversity and cultural inclusion. The Australian University is significant for its student and staff diversity, including, multicultural, indigenous, international, social class, and gender. It has a strong community focus in Melbourne, which has a high representation of migrant, refugee, and emerging communities. Based on an appreciative model of intercultural leadership, the University’s cultural diversity strategy has engaged the community to co-create and embed inclusive and proactive practices in its multitudinous activities. Specifically, the strategy reaches across the four main areas of university work: student scholarship and extra-curricular experiences, staff experiences, research frameworks and practices, and community engagement to frame and drive an innovative educational cultural inclusion agenda.
Interrupting Exclusion through Microaggressions on College Campuses
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yea Wen Chen, Brandi Lawless, Kristen Cole
The purpose of this study is to expand participants’ understanding of what microaggressions are, how they manifest in academic spaces, what material consequences occur for people who experience microaggressions, and how to improve communication by eliminating microaggresive communication. Specifically, this paper focuses on the ways students and faculty become targets for microaggressions with regard to race, ethnicity, citizenship, age, sex, gender, and disability status. We also offer advice and recommendations from empirical data from 26 female-immigrant faculty members in the U.S.
