Reflective Practice Column Introduction September 2020

Welcome to Relay’s sixth Reflective Practice column, where teachers and researchers share deep insights from their practice and explore how autonomy is and can be developed in their local contexts. In the previous issue, papers by Hatice Karaaslan and Mizuki Shibata, Chihiro Hayashi and Yuri Imamura presented reflections from a variety of view points: learners, administrative staff and advisors. In addition, Albert Wong reflected on his use of strategies in an advising session. In the current issue, we continue these themes with three papers which reflect on the use of strategies in advising sessions. The papers demonstrate variety within the advisor perspective, showing advisor roles colliding and combining with other identities, such as researcher, teacher or learner.

Faculty Advisor Perspectives of Academic Advising

A considerable body of research connects students' college experiences to their interactions with a faculty member. Quality academic advising is key to student success and the faculty advisor is a valuable piece of the advisor-student interaction. To ensure student success through academic advising, it is important for institutions to understand how they can best support faculty in their advisor roles. This qualitative study explored the experiences of eleven faculty members at a mid-sized, Midwestern public institution in their role of academic advisor. The findings suggest faculty consider their greatest advising responsibilities are to ensure students fulfill graduation requirements, explain graduate school and career exploration, teach students to navigate systems, and empower students. However, faculty advisors experience challenges navigating software, view academic advising as an isolated process, receive unclear expectations, and observe workload inequity. An awareness of these difficulties should impact how higher education administrators support faculty advisors and how they demonstrate their appreciation for the advising work faculty do.

Extracurricular Settings as a Space to Address Sociopolitical Crises: The Case of Discussing Immigration in Gender-Sexuality Alliances Following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election

School-based extracurricular settings could promote dialogue on sociopolitical crises. We considered immigration discussions within gender-sexuality alliances (GSAs), which address multiple systems of oppression. Among 361 youth and 58 advisors in 38 GSAs (19 in 2016–2017/Year 1; 19 in 2017–2018/Year 2), youth in Year 1 reported increased discussions from baseline throughout the remaining school year; differences were nonsignificant in Year 2. In both years, youth reporting greater self-efficacy to promote social justice, and GSAs with advisors reporting greater self-efficacy to address culture, race, and immigration discussed immigration more over the year (adjusting for baseline). In interviews, 38 youth described circumstances promoting or inhibiting discussions: demographic representation, open climates, critical reflection, fear or consequences of misspeaking, discomfort, agenda restrictions, and advisor roles.

Power, dependence and frustration

Purpose – This study aims to explore the existence and strength of power through focussing on the manner in which accountants exercise power in their advisory relationship with small business. Design/methodology/approach – Interviews provided insights into accountants’ power-related perceptions, experiences and use of power in the advisory relationship. A questionnaire accessed evidence from small business owner-managers (SBOMs). Power theoretical perspectives informed the analysis of the findings. Findings – Accountants’ expert and information power is a consequence of SBOMs’ dependence on their accountants’ expertise and knowledge. Accountants construct advisor roles and exercise power in a manner indicating that they attempt to manage rather than exploit power imbalances to the detriment of dependent SBOMs. However, outbreaks of frustration and conflict in the relationship illustrate the difficulties in managing the dysfunctional consequences of power imbalances. Research limitations/implications – While the findings are restricted to the Australian accountant–small business advisory relationship, they offer a basis for research into the effect of power on the relationship in other national contexts. Research which includes the views of managers of failed small businesses would also extend this work. Practical implications – The study’s focus on accountants’ experiences can assist practitioners endeavouring to develop advisory relationships with small business and designers of professional development programmes seeking to optimise the value of the advisory relationship. Originality/value – The paper extends the study of power to the under-researched yet important accountant–small business advisory area. Its findings are of interest to accountants and accounting policymakers who envisage a broadening of accountants’ small business advisory role.

Advising At The Millennium: Advisor Roles and Responsibilities

This is the first in a series of articles in which we will present the results of the NACADA Academic Advising Survey 2000. In this article, we focus upon the reported roles and responsibilities of academic advisors and examine them according to institutional type, mission, and size. Similarities and differences in the roles and responsibilities of professional-staff academic advisors and faculty advisors are also examined.