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Brokers of Opportunity: The Diversity and Social Justice Work of Career Service Leaders in Higher Education
Shoemaker, Wendy Sue
Shoemaker, Wendy Sue
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Abstract
Career services leaders lead complex operations and leverage a vast network of community and employer partnerships to broker career opportunities for the students they serve. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences and perspectives of career services leaders who are working on diversity and social justice initiatives at large, predominantly white and public research institutions. This qualitative study occurred during a time of momentous change within college career services due to confluent pressures of a global pandemic, the racial reckoning movement following the Summer of 2020, and ongoing challenges within the profession to return to social justice as an anchoring value. Three research questions guided this study: How do career service leaders come to understand the nature of diversity and social justice in the context of their work? How do career services leaders go about carrying out their work in leading diversity and social and justice initiatives of career centers? What challenges and supports do career services leaders experience in implementing diversity in their experiences?Responses from 12 career services leaders were collected and analyzed, revealing themes pertaining to their experiences and perceptions navigating organizational cultures following racial events while balancing expanded portfolios to meet the needs of changing college student population. Additional themes included what they are doing to cultivate inclusive teams, how they managing the influence of employers, and how they are mobilizing campus partnerships through coalition building to contribute to campus diversity and social justice dialogues and initiatives. Recommendations from this study include practical strategies for multi-layer engagement for building coalitions, cultivating staff capacities, attending to the needs of minoritized staff, educating employers and influencing senior campus leaders.
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Date
2023-01-01
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University of Kansas
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This item contains archived web content.
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988453_1.pdf
Adobe PDF, 740.28 KB
- Embargoed until 2173-05-31
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Keywords
Higher education administration, Educational leadership, Career Guidance, Career Services, Coalition Building, Diversity and Social Justice, Racial Events, Training