Reinventing Our Perceptions of Campus BlueCollar Employees ACPA Conference April 1 2014 Jeremy Reed Phd Student University of Iowa j eremyreeduiowaedu Session Overview Learning ID: 175651
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That’s Dirty Talk! Reinventing Our Perceptions of Campus Blue-Collar Employees
ACPA Conference
April 1, 2014
Jeremy Reed
Phd
Student, University of
Iowa
j
eremy-reed@uiowa.eduSlide3
Session Overview
Learning
Objectives Overview-
1 minute
One Minute
Free Write and
Discussion- 5 minutes
Presenter Introduction/Background/Positionality-
5 minutes
Discussion
of
P
resenter’s
C
ustodial
D
issertation
S
tudy-
20
minutes
Large
Group
Discussion
“How are blue-collar workers treated on your campus?” -10 minutes
Wrap-up/Questions
-5 minutesSlide4
Session Learning Outcomes
Session Participants will:
Explore
their personal perceptions of campus blue-collar workers.
Gain
a basic understanding of blue-collar
identity theory.
Discuss
strategies for privileging the voice of campus blue-collar employees on their own campus.Slide5
One Minute Free Write
What
words
come to mind when you think of the blue-collar
workers on your campus?Slide6
Discuss in small groups.
Anyone care to share with the entire group?
Free Write ShareSlide7
Presenter Background & Positionality
16
years of student affairs work
across
admissions, career services, orientation, advising, and residence
life functional areas
First-Gen, blue-collar/working-class background
W
ork with maintenance/custodial staff on a student paint crew as an undergrad
11 months of dissertation research on campus custodians
Philosophical Frame: Critical Theory: Master Narratives & Counter NarrativesSlide8
Why study campus blue-collar workers?
Inclusivity
Student Success
Employee Motivation/Organizational EfficiencySlide9
Critical Questions:
What do custodians think of college students?
What impact might interactions with students have on custodians’ work lives and occupational esteem?
Do interactions
between students and
custodians have implications for college student success?Slide10
Absence of academic studies of campus custodians
Why?
(
Critical Theoretical Explanation??)
Okay
, so what about related fields/literature????
Communication Studies
Blue-Collar Identity Theory
College Student Development/Success
Faculty/Staff-Student Interactions & Mentoring LiteratureSlide11
Blue-Collar Identity Theory(Hughes, 1962;
Ashforth
&
Kreiner
, 1999)
Dirty Work: “Tasks and occupations that are likely to be perceived as disgusting or degrading” (Hughes, 1962).Slide12
Blue-Collar Identity Theory(Hughes, 1962; Ashforth
&
Kreiner
, 1999)
Types
of stigma or taint:
-Physical Taint: Jobs dealing with garbage,
human waste
,
death.
Janitors
-Social Taint: Interactions with socially
stigmatized people.
Prison guards
-Moral Taint: Perceived as “sinful.”
Pawn
brokers
, exotic
dancersSlide13
Blue-Collar Identity Theory(Hughes, 1962; Ashforth
&
Kreiner
, 1999)
Dirty workers have surprisingly high occupational
esteem.
Relationships
with others
provide an esteem-enhancing function.Slide14
Relationships
Stigma
“Dirty Work”
Blue-Collar
Identity Characteristics
Relationships as a Counterbalance to Custodial Staff “Dirty Work” Stigma
Occupational EsteemSlide15
Student-Faculty Interaction/Mentoring Studies
Interactions between students, faculty, and staff positively impact student success in
college.
(
Kuh
& Huh, 2001; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Crisp & Cruz, 2009; Nora & Crisp, 2007; Campbell, Smith, Dugan &
Komives
, 2012
)Slide16
Student-Faculty Interaction/Mentoring Studies
There are important
academic
(
Kuh
& Ku, 2001)
and
emotional
dimensions of student-faculty interactions
(
Schreinter
, et al., 2011;
Museus
& Neville, 2012)
and mentoring relationships
.
Mentoring can be formal/informal, structured/unstructured, short-term/long-term, sanctioned/unsanctioned
(Nora & Crisp, 2007).Slide17
A Custodial Staff Dissertation Study
Primary Research Questions:
In
what ways do three campus custodians interact with students during their work day at a large public university?
In
what ways do those custodians talk about their interactions with students? Slide18
Case Study Research Design
Three Participants
Particularity v. Generalizability!!!!!
Depth v. BreadthSlide19
Participant Characteristics
Participant Inclusion Criteria
English-speaking custodians, employed full-time in
University Housing
for at least 1 year
Willing to talk!
Recruitment Strategy
Referrals from Director of
HousingSlide20
Data Collection
Participant Observation
3-5 non-sequential work days per informant
Field journal as primary data collection tool
“Guiding Questions” Semi-Structured Interview
Conduct 60-90 minute interview mid-way through participant observation
Artifact Analysis
Describe the nature of college student-related artifacts informants possessSlide21
Data Analysis &Verification
Reflexive Writing
Duel note-taking, memo writing, taking notes on my own notes
What surprises, intrigues, and disturbs me about what I observe?
Data Sorting & Coding
Themes from literature review
Blue-Collar Theory, Typology of Faculty-Student Interactions
Member Checking
Clarifying questions occur throughout participant observation
Disconfirming Examples
D
ata SaturationSlide22
Research MethodsSlide23
Institutional Mission
Employee Assumed
Duties
-Student Mentoring and Support Interactions
Campus Custodian
Institution Assigned Duties
-Cleaning and Maintenance
Indirect Support of
Direct Support of
Informally Performed
Formally Performed
Assigned and Assumed Duties of Custodians as Institutional Agents
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Slide24
Institutional Mission
Employee Assumed
Duties
-Student Mentoring and Support and Interactions
Campus Custodian
Institution Assigned Duties
-Cleaning and Maintenance
Indirect Support of
Direct Support of
Student Interactions
Social Stigma
Informally
Performed
Formally Performed
Potential
Influence
of Assigned and Assumed Duties of Custodians as Institutional Agents
Positive Esteem
Negative Esteem
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Slide25
Recap
We should care about custodians as a matter of inclusivity and potential students success and employee motivation outcomes.
Interactions with students might positively influence custodial staff occupational esteem and by extension, organizational efficiency.
Interactions with
custodians
might positively influence student success, as suggested by the emotional components of student-staff interactions/mentoring.Slide26
Large Group Discussion
Do you have anything to share
about
blue-collar workers on your
campus?Slide27
Questions?
Suggestions?Slide28
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