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Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Student Life 2024 / Undergraduate Ethnography / Updates
Are Leaders Found or Created?: The Myth of the “Ideal” Student Leader
By Amani Hassan The concept of the ‘ideal’ student is prevalent in universities, often shaped by expectations that reflect the institution’s prestige and effectiveness. The ideal student is typically understood as diligent, respectful, and engaged—traits that align with a ‘professional’ image. Universities further reinforce these qualities as desirable through scholarships, awards, and recognition. The University … Continue reading
Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Student Life 2024 / Undergraduate Ethnography / Updates
Discourse vs. Practice: Ambiguity in Student Roles at Student Life
By Angelina Nguyen, Norah Rahman and Richard Wu Our collective fieldwork revealed some ambiguity concerning how student roles are portrayed in Student Life (SL) discourse and how they work out in practice. Below we discuss student roles as labourers, consumers, and advisors. Student as workers: SL employs hundreds of work-study students and spends over a … Continue reading
Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Student Life 2024 / Undergraduate Ethnography / Updates
A Digital Labyrinth: Navigating Information on the Student Life Website
By Amani Hassan and Hanisha Mistry Staff at the Centre for Learning Strategies Support take pride in the resource library which offers PDF documents on various topics designed to support academic success and help students adapt to university-level learning. Accessing this library involves three straightforward steps: “Student Life Homepage > Departments > Centre for Learning … Continue reading
Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Student Life 2024 / Undergraduate Ethnography / Updates
What was Familiar, What was Strange?: Rediscovering the University Through a Lens of Curiosity and Complexity
By Georgia Hanson, Molly McGouran an Yihang Xu If you are familiar with something, how can it be strange? Our individual experiences with fieldwork in Student Life presented us with new avenues through which we could explore this question, each of us gaining a new perspective on the university that we had once so confidently … Continue reading
Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Student Life 2024 / Undergraduate Ethnography / Updates
What Exactly is Participant Observation?
By Yunshan Li and Georgia Hanson Participant observation is the foundational method of ethnographic research. It requires the researcher to immerse themselves in the field site to gain insights into a culture. However, in the case of our research in Student Life, we were limited from such immersion, barred from participation, and limited to a … Continue reading
Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Student Life 2024 / Undergraduate Ethnography / Updates
The Online World: Ethnography Behind the Screen
By Molly McGouran and Lukey Lu From our first meetings with Student Life administration, it was clear that our participant observation would be different from what we expected. Most of the staff work from home; therefore, much of the programming offered by the Centre for Learning Strategy Support (CLSS), where we conducted our work, was … Continue reading
Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Student Life 2024 / Undergraduate Ethnography / Updates
The Art of Engaging Students: The Impact of Incentives on Student Engagement
By Yunshan Li, Richard Wu and Amani Hassan On an early afternoon in October, we visited the reception office of the Clubs and Leadership Division of Student Engagement for a social event for club leaders. We arrived to find only one club leader, accompanied by two staff members. Half an hour later, another student showed … Continue reading
Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Student Life 2024 / Undergraduate Ethnography / Updates
Managing a Problem You Can’t Solve
By Daisy Sanchez Villavicencio and Lukey Lu Imagine a wilting tree, rotting leaves fall throughout the seasons, the bark is visibly decaying, fungi is sprouting around the roots and bark. Now imagine the role of a forester or dendrologist who was hired to treat the rotting tree; the source of the rot, such as the … Continue reading
Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Student Life 2024 / Undergraduate Ethnography / Updates
Empowering Students – Shaping Students for The Workforce
By Angelina Nguyen, Hanisha Mistry, and Norah Rahman “Why go to University?” Many students pursue higher education to increase their chances for jobs. The University of Toronto entices students with its prestige and reputation for producing high-achieving scholars. However, does your GPA and the name of your academic institution truly matter if you can’t apply … Continue reading
Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Student Life 2024 / Undergraduate Ethnography / Updates
Assessing Assessment
By Cameron Miranda-Radbord and Maia De Caro Early on in our class, we read articles and had discussions surrounding audit, evaluation, and efficacy, which influenced our decision to look into assessment processes within the division of Student Life. In this case, assessment is used to identify and understand how effective programs are at meeting their … Continue reading
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