ERIC Number: EJ1447709
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0332-3315
EISSN: EISSN-1747-4965
Fostering Students' Autonomy within Higher Education: The Relational Roots of Student Adviser Supports
Maurice Kinsella; John Wyatt; Niamh Nestor; Jason Last; Sue Rackard
Irish Educational Studies, v43 n4 p1189-1208 2024
As 'self-law', autonomy contributes to people's psychological health and helps secure meaning in one's life. Within higher education, it enables students to navigate this environment and prepare for professional life, empowering them to take ownership of their learning and development goals. Autonomy is multidimensional, encompassing the local ability to regulate thoughts and behaviours, and the global ability to establish a sense of existential agency; therefore, it is vital to students' holistic progression and attainment. Within a relational context, interpersonal relationships influence people's ability to recognise and exercise their autonomous capacities across local and global contexts. Therefore, fostering students' autonomy is at the heart of support services within Higher Education Institutions. Student Advisers are well placed to undertake this mission, given the range of academic, administrative, and pastoral responsibilities their role entails. In this paper we provide a taxonomy of student autonomy, arguing it is 'becoming oneself amongst others'. Given autonomy's relational foundations, a healthy student-adviser connection can provide an environment for students to operate in a co-directive and self-determined manner. Drawing on University College Dublin's Student Advisory Services, we offer guidance to Student Advisers, proposing two autonomy enhancement strategies: fostering students' self-governance through facilitating intrapersonal ownership and fostering their self-direction by promoting interpersonal embeddedness.
Descriptors: Personal Autonomy, College Students, Academic Advising, Interpersonal Relationship, Student Empowerment, Student Needs, Educational Practices, Self Control, College Environment, Self Concept
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A