As NACADA begins the adventure of internationalization, the Theory and Philosophy of Advising Commission focuses on expanding the theoretical and philosophical foundations of academic advising to better inform the practice of advisors, the scholarship of the field, and the performance of the organization.
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Frost (2000) indicated that the field of academic advising has progressed through three eras: higher education before academic advising was defined, academic advising as a defined and unexamined activity, and academic advising as a defined and examined activity. I assert that academic advising is now facing a fourth era due the societal changes emerging from the globalization process.
...a theory of advising will present for us a statement of what advising is for, and why it is important, a vision of what it ideally would be. Why is that valuable?
When we share the same basic understanding of the underlying theory, it is easier to collaborate on developing strategies, techniques and resources. Although we do not yet have a unified theory of advising, we propose that constructivism offers an archetypal philosophy that influences all practice and theory.
As a scholar now interested in the evolution and history of academic advising, I am eager to see a scholar-practitioner community emerge in this field, and I am spurred by the growth in interest around scholarly inquiry and its rise, particularly among practitioners
