Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

Using a social constructivist framework, this phenomenological study intended to capture the lived experiences of academic advisors and advising administrators as they framed advising as teaching. I conducted nine semi-structured interviews with three professional advisors and six advising administrators representing five Midwest, four-year, public higher Education institutions. I also reviewed official documents referencing academic advising from each institution to gain an understanding of how advising was framed at the institution and program levels. Five themes emerged from these data: (1) the form and function of academic advising, (2) advising as teaching, (3) learning theories used in advising, (4) other theories used in advising, and (5) the value of advising. My findings indicated that, although all participants affirmed advising as a form of teaching, student development theories as opposed to learning theories were more commonly utilized by the advisor and administrator participants to frame their advising practice and programs. Recommendations for future research include a call for more practitioners to engage in empirical research on the topic of academic advising and future studies which expand upon this research by creating two separate studies, one for each population and recruiting all participants independently. Furthermore, understanding a units priorities and approaches with regard to professional development would be worthwhile, as would exploring the recruitment, hiring, and training of new professional advisors and administrators. Finally, I recommend applying this study to additional settings, including extending this research to different regions within the United States and abroad and to various types of institutions.

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