Tensions around the Use of Research and Theory in Student Affairs ...

1960s and 1970s; today many faculty members worked as practitioners and their research
reflects this influence much more closely. Yet the assumption is still there.
The guidelines for the Journal of College Student Development state that main articles
may include utility for practitioners (“support for practitioner efforts to apply theoretical or
developmental constructs to programs in the field; or Support for increasing our knowledge of
organizational behaviors so that effective tactics and strategies might be applied to the
implementation of developmentally focused programs on the campus” (ACPA). As previously
mentioned, the recent NASPA/ACPA document Professional Competencies for Student Affairs
Practitioners (2011) included “Assessment, Evaluation, and Research” as a competency area,
with basic skills to include “effectively articulate, interpret, and use results of assessment,
evaluation, and research reports and studies, including professional literature” (p. 8), indicating
an expectation for practitioners, even at a basic level, to engage with the available data and
literature to inform their practice. The information, however, must be made accessible in ways
that are applicable to the work of the administrator if he/she is going to spend time reviewing it.
Broido (2011), in her response to Blimling’s essay, explained the tension between these goals
when she noted that student affairs faculty could make scholarship more useful to practitioners.
Additionally, research that is “cutting edge” or innovative, as opposed to “proving” what is
believed to be obvious, will be more appealing to those who will apply the findings in their daily
work.
Despite the lack of available time that seems to preclude professional reading, there are
some ways that administrators can access theory and research information using time already
allocated to professional development. Many student affairs administrators attend professional
conferences where theoretical and research presentations are available. Attending sessions is one
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