Evolving Landscape of Residential Education: Enhancing Students’ Learning in University Residential Halls 9811689059, 9789811689055

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Samuel Kai Wah Chu · Kevin Kin Man Yue · Christina Wai-Mui Yu · Elaine Suk Ching Liu · Chun Chau Sze · Kevin Conn · Elsie Ong · Michelle Wing-tung Cheng · Jingyuan Fu · Shida Hou   Editors

Evolving Landscape of Residential Education Enhancing Students’ Learning in University Residential Halls

Evolving Landscape of Residential Education

Samuel Kai Wah Chu · Kevin Kin Man Yue · Christina Wai-Mui Yu · Elaine Suk Ching Liu · Chun Chau Sze · Kevin Conn · Elsie Ong · Michelle Wing-tung Cheng · Jingyuan Fu · Shida Hou Editors

Evolving Landscape of Residential Education Enhancing Students’ Learning in University Residential Halls

Editors Samuel Kai Wah Chu University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, Hong Kong Christina Wai-Mui Yu Department of Social Sciences Education University of Hong Kong Tai Po, Hong Kong Chun Chau Sze Nanyang Technological University Singapore Singapore, Singapore Elsie Ong University of Northampton Northampton, UK Jingyuan Fu Faculty of Education University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Kevin Kin Man Yue The School of Chinese Medicine Hong Kong Baptist University Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Elaine Suk Ching Liu City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, Hong Kong Kevin Conn New York University New York, NY, USA Michelle Wing-tung Cheng Education University of Hong Kong Tai Po, Hong Kong Shida Hou Guanghua School of Stomatology Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, China

ISBN 978-981-16-8905-5 ISBN 978-981-16-8906-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Contents

Part I 1

A Review of Current University Residential Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michelle Wing-tung Cheng and Samuel Kai Wah Chu

Part II 2

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Introduction 3

Models and Outcomes

A New Theoretical Model Through Which to Examine Student Residence Life Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michelle Wing-tung Cheng Residential Education in the US . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin Conn

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Part III Current Programmes and Case Studies 4

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Optimising Students’ Learning in Residential Halls: A Case Study of How to Connect Hall Life Education with Community Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elaine Suk Ching Liu

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Care Across Borders Through Hall Life Education Programmes: Case Studies from Hong Kong Baptist University . . . Kevin Kin Man Yue

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Deeper Experiential Engagement Projects (DEEP) in Residential Halls: Equipping for the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chun Chau Sze

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Part IV Students’ Voices 7

Attaining Graduate Attributes Through Hall Life Education: Perspectives of Local and Non-local Residents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin Kin Man Yue

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Contents

ASK: An Undergraduate’s Growth Through International Residential Education Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rosetta Wai-Chung Law and Christina Wai-Mui Yu

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A Comparison Between HKU Residential Life and Residential Life in the US . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Kevin Conn and Katie Ling

10 Introducing Financial Literacy to Residential Colleges’ General Education: A Systematic Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Jingyuan Fu, Shida Hou, and Christina Wai-Mui Yu Part V

Ongoing Research and Implications

11 Comparison of How Residential Hall Experience Impacts Hong Kong University Students’ Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Elsie Ong and Samuel Kai Wah Chu 12 Capacity Building for Advancing and Sustaining Residential Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Christina Wai-Mui Yu 13 Strengthening the Alignment of Residential Educational Aims and University Educational Aims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Michelle Wing-tung Cheng and Samuel Kai Wah Chu Part VI

Future Directions and Conclusion

14 Summarising Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Michelle Wing-tung Cheng, Christina Wai-Mui Yu, Kevin Conn, Chun Chau Sze, Elsie Li Chen Ong, and Samuel Kai Wah Chu

Part I

Introduction

Chapter 1

A Review of Current University Residential Settings Michelle Wing-tung Cheng and Samuel Kai Wah Chu

Abstract This chapter first gives a brief introduction of the aims of this book, providing a global overview of current residential hall systems. It then looks at the rich tradition and history of university residential halls from an educational perspective. A review of the relevant literature with regard to the university residential setting is also provided to illustrate the importance of university residential halls. The chapter concludes by examining current difficulties and challenges encountered by residential communities. Keywords University residential hall systems · Educational value · Difficulties and challenges · Residential communities

Introduction Most universities around the world provide residential accommodation; yet, only a few, such as Harvard University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge, perceive residential halls as part of the higher education curriculum and as providing educational value. Since interpretations of residential education vary among universities and countries, this chapter first describes the history of university residential halls. Then, it provides an overview of current residential hall systems worldwide and examines them from an educational perspective. At the end of the first chapter, a review of relevant literature in regard to the challenges encountered in university residential settings is elaborated upon, so that educators and researchers who are interested in the field may further work on the identified issues to enhance the educational value of university residential halls.

M. W. Cheng (B) Graduate School, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] S. K. W. Chu Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_1

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The Origins of the University Residential System ‘Residential university’ is a concept that was newly raised by the end of the thirteenth century. Neither Oxford nor Cambridge was established as a residential university when it was founded. However, a university residential model named the Oxbridge model emerged from these two medieval universities, in the hope of providing a better and safer teaching and learning environment for scholars and students. As one of the oldest universities in Western society, Oxford grew rapidly after 1167, when students were banned from attending the University of Paris by the British government (Morris, 1978). Social conflicts between students and townspeople arose during the medieval period, as the British King granted more privileges regarding food and shelter to Oxford students. These privileges directly harmed the interests of merchants in the town, as well as deepening social inequality, which resulted in intense relationships between the town and the university in the late twelfth century. Fierce riots broke out when town authorities did not consult orthodox bodies and hanged two Oxford scholars after accusing them of causing the death of a woman. These events resulted in the suspension and reform of Oxford, including the establishment of primitive halls of residence to protect students. Therefore, this context led to the founding of the two oldest colleges in Oxford: Balliol College (1263) and Merton College (1264). During the suspension of Oxford, some scholars took refuge from hostile townspeople by moving from Oxford to Cambridge (Morris, 1978). This migration led to the establishment of the University of Cambridge (Leedham-Green, 1996). However, students in Cambridge were exploited by townspeople there and had to pay for overcharged rooms and food (Roach, 1959). To prevent similar incidents from occurring again in Oxford, the British King tried to ensure the protection of scholars by providing shelters for students through the absorption of hostels in the town. As a result, colleges were able to house students and the first college in Cambridge, Peterhouse (1284), was founded.

The Existing Residential System Worldwide With the colonisation of North America, nine colonial colleges, including intuitions such as Harvard and Princeton, were founded based on the Oxbridge Model (Blimling, 2014). In the 1930s, Harvard implemented their residential college system: ‘the housing system’. It was the first university in the United States to put forth a residential college and has kept the housing arrangement to this day to mitigate socioeconomic disparities. Substantial efforts and resources are invested in the development of the Harvard community, including the provision of academic, personal, and social counselling and community services for students. Academic advisers, peer advising fellows, resident deans, and proctors help first-year students with both academic and personal matters. Under the housing system, all first-year students

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are required to live in Harvard Yard, which has shared suites and dining halls that are exclusive to freshmen. After their first year, freshmen enter the housing lottery through blocking groups (Under the current upper-class housing system, “blocking groups” are self-selected groups of one to eight freshmen who are placed into the same house) (Herwitz & Siegal, 2017); then, each group is sorted into one of the 12 Harvard Houses. The author of this chapter randomly interviewed several students at Harvard. According to the respondents, over 95% of undergraduate students often choose to stay in residential houses throughout their undergraduate years at Harvard, although it is not compulsory to do so after freshman year. At Princeton, all freshmen are assigned to one of six colleges, and upper-class housing is employed after their first year. On-campus housing for undergraduate students is guaranteed and the school has organised academic workshops and seminars in residential halls to provide academic support to students through residential education (Hageman, 1879). The author also interviewed students at Princeton. According to the respondents, residential life is central to the Princeton experience, with 98% of undergraduates living on campus. Intellectual exchange is emphasised at the college; students function as small groups, interacting with and being inspired by academic tutors and senior students. In the above residential systems, every student at each institution has the opportunity to experience the residential system for at least one academic year. Residential experiences are not limited to lodging; they also provide opportunities for personal and social development, as well as career and academic support. Later in the twentieth century, the US National Institute of Education proposed the construction of ‘living-learning programs’ (LLPs) in university residential halls (Inkelas, 2008; Inkelas et al., 2008; Inkelas et al., 2008; Inkelas & Soldner, 2011). LLPs are defined as academic and/or extracurricular programmes that are tailored for undergraduates who live together in halls of residence (Soldner & Szelényi, 2008, p. 15). To put the idea of LLPs into practice, external parties, such as faculties and student affairs offices, take the initiative to host various LLPs in halls for student residents (Inkelas et al., 2008). The long history of campus residency in Western countries and the concept of the residential university have slowly become more popular around Asia. For instance, the University of Hong Kong took reference from the Oxbridge model and was established as a residential-based university in 1912. However, LLPs are not a new concept in Asian countries. The University of Macau has transformed itself into a residential-college university since 2014, providing all undergraduate students with at least one year of residential experience. The school requires all full-time academic staff members to commit one hour per week to resident development services, such as providing support for student learning beyond the classroom and organising activities that challenge students to take responsibility and grow, according to Chen (2017). Prior to that, the National University of Singapore (NUS) clustered residential spaces and learning facilities to launch its University Town in 2008, in order to promote the nexus of living, learning, and working in residential colleges (Chan & Ng, 2008). This system is different from conventional residential halls in Singapore, which have minimal learning activities structured within their operations.

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In 2011, a partnership between Yale University and the NUS gave rise to the Yale-NUS College. Never intended to be a carbon copy of Yale University, it has incorporated Singapore and South East Asian contexts into its curriculum. However, its residential college system mirrors that of Yale and other leading universities in the United States, effectively infusing liberal arts and science education into residential living (Bailyn, 2020). The Yale-NUS College creates ‘nested communities’ that support lifelong learning in liberal arts and sciences by combining academic, intellectual, social, cultural, athletic, and artistic life. It encourages students to pursue a cocurricular life of student governments, clubs, and organisations, so as to develop leadership, independence, agility, and strength of mind. The student-government system enshrines core values of transparency; all meetings are open to the student body, student concerns are effectively reported to all administrative arms, and accountability is employed, with all committees having student members acting as monitors for input and oversight. The college also sponsors education programming events, invites guests for tea, and offers programmes to enhance students’ intellectual and cultural experiences. The intercultural engagement of the college activates diversity consciousness and enables dialogues among students to cultivate greater bravery and inclusiveness. The college advocates a culture of self-discovery through knowledge sharing and self-exploration. In case students need any help, there are professional support staff standing by. Emotional safety plans, solidarity meals, and meditation are offered monthly as spaces for healing. The living-and-learning experience between classroom and community defines the residential model of the Yale-NUS College. Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore, on the other hand, has opted to layer a residential education scheme over its existing conventional residential halls, starting in 2014 with two pilot halls and progressively expanding to all 22 undergraduate halls by 2018. Although most residential activities remain extracurricular, creative projects leveraging links between hobbies and academic disciplines have been weaved into the overall fabric of the NTU residential halls, carving a co-curricular learning niche to strengthen holistic education (Pang et al., 2016).

University Residential Education Residential colleges, which are responsible for providing residence, catering, socialising activities, and academic support to students under the Oxbridge model, have paved the way for university residential education. In the history of campus residency, the possibility of bringing the potential of education to students’ residential environment among education institutions was raised long ago (Astin, 1977; Chickering, 1969; O’ Hara, 2006; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Schroeder & Mable, 1994), particularly in its roles and impacts on student residents. For instance, Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) compared undergraduates who were and were not living on campus. The results demonstrated that university residential experiences led to better persistence and a significantly higher graduation rate among students. Another key study, which followed 101 undergraduates for five

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years to track their personal development, found that social competencies and the appreciation of diversity were higher among those who had residential experience (Magolda, 1992). In addition, Astin (1999) mentioned that students who participate in residential activities to support and build hall communities engage in learning experiences that have a positive impact on their education and personal development. However, Blimling (1989) found that simply living in residential halls does not necessarily support the contention that halls have a significant effect on students’ attitudes, values, academic performance, or intellectual or psychosocial development. Current research related to university residential education is scarce, particularly in regard to student residential learning outcomes and different structured/unstructured residential programmes. Although some residential universities claim to facilitate residents’ whole-person development via student residential experience, a formal evaluation of whether or not residential halls have achieved these goals is lacking, and there are now doubts that such goals can actually be fulfilled (Cheng & Chan, 2019).

Sense of Belonging Past research has reached a consensus that residential experience promotes a sense of belonging to one’s university. According to Hughes (1994), residence halls are the home in which students can develop an identity during the intensive learning period. Past research has investigated the differences between commuter students and resident students in regard to their social development on campus (Lima, 2014; Winston & Anchors, 1993). Studies revealed that, compared to resident students, commuters generally get involved less in on-campus activities and student organisations. As a result, commuters generally feel more isolated and less socially active on campus. Residential halls serve as a safety net for students to explore campus. According to Rinn (2004), ‘the safety a student feels within a residence hall community can thus serve as a starting point for student exploration’ (p. 69). Residents create different social circles and build peer relationships with each other in residential halls. According to the review panel on residential hall education and culture, ‘hall members work hard to sustain their particular hall culture, values and identity, often encapsulated in distinctive names’ (The University of Hong Kong Media, 2017, p. 1). A close-knit community can be created within each hall (Spanierman et al., 2013). When residents are strongly committed to it, a sense of belonging and bonding are created. Social identification within the residential hall can help residents to adjust to university life both academically and socially (Braxton & Mundy, 2001). Residence halls provide a social platform for residents’ interactions and further encourage a sense of community, thereby reducing levels of university student departure.

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Academic Achievement The relationship between residential experience and academic achievement is uncertain. A meta-analysis was conducted by Blimling (1989), which selected 21 studies among published research regarding halls of residence in higher education across 20 years. The results suggested that students living in halls generally have better academic performance, but this result became insignificant when prior academic achievement was controlled. These results are aligned with a study in America that studied the quality of residential education by distributing questionnaires to 2678 residents (Pike et al., 1997). There was no significant increase regarding students’ interactions with faculty staff or the frequency with which they accessed academic resources on campus. Students’ first-year college experiences revealed that academic achievement and persistence were not directly or indirectly improved by their residential experience. However, Astin (1973) found a positive relationship between living in residential halls and GPA. Similarly, another study shows that on-campus accommodation with living-learning centres can positively affect students’ academic development (Inkelas et al, 2007). Thus, the results of previous literature are not only inconclusive, but were also conducted a long time ago. The latest related research concerns how the architecture of residence halls may affect students’ academic outcomes (Brown et al., 2019), but there is still a lack of current studies examining how different types of residential experiences may affect students’ academic performance. As mentioned above, there is an absence of current research on the effectiveness of residential education. López et al. (2010) noted that the actual mechanisms of how student residents benefit from their residential experiences are still unknown and there is a lack of standardised assessment addressing how student residents benefit from residential experiences. University residential halls provide unique student involvement in the collegiate setting, which may have a distinct influence on students’ development and learning, different from in-class or other out-of-class experiences. Given that actual residence life outcomes are still doubtful, the effectiveness of university residential experiences in student development remains as a question. López et al. (2010) believed that there are still missing pieces in the puzzle of why some students benefit from residing on campus and some do not. It is believed that students’ social activities in residential settings should be examined to understand the actual mechanisms underlying this issue, as Terenzini et al. (1996) stated that the real advantage of university residential halls does not necessarily stem from the hall itself, but rather from the opportunities and activities for socialisation facilitated by the living space. Without a thorough understanding of how residents may benefit from residential experiences, it is difficult to design and create educational and meaningful residential experiences for students.

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Challenges to Creating Educational Residential Experiences Although residential systems are different in various countries and universities, similar challenges have been identified in creating meaningful residential education that facilitates student development. First, internationalisation efforts within higher education have led to rapid increases in non-local students. Students with diverse life experiences, such as in their political, cultural, racial, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds, are housed together (Crisp & Turner, 2011). Although this presents opportunities to promote cultural integration, it requires extra efforts to integrate people from different walks of life. As cultural diversity in residential halls may lead to lifestyle conflicts and language barriers among residents, this may further discourage or inhibit students in regard to becoming involved in residential hall life (Blimling, 2014). Yet, some studies suggest otherwise, stating that conflicts are shortlived and students can become more open and accepting of cultural differences by living with very different people (Levine & Dean, 2012). Despite this possibility, it is unclear how cultural integration can be facilitated in hall communities. Second, peer influence is a double-edged sword in regard to students’ residential experiences. It is no wonder that residential halls were described as containing cohesive social atmospheres (O’Hara, 2016), as they are places where students build friendships and meet new people. According to Blimling (2014), this complex social system of the residential peer environment has the potential to create positive learning experiences for students. Unlike living at home, where students can take a break from socialising with their peers, living in residential halls forces residents to interact with and befriend others who are living under the same roof, especially their roommates, people who live on the same floor and residential tutors (Cheng & Chan, 2021). Residential halls provide students with many opportunities to practise interacting with others in different situations. However, residential halls also have the power to create negative peer influence on student residents. For instance, past studies have found that occurrences of binge drinking and drug abuse are significantly higher among hall residents than among commuters (Brower et al., 2003; Novik & Boekeloo, 2013; White et al., 2006). Third, a clear and updated list of factors affecting student involvement in residential halls has not yet been established. The latest lists were developed a decade ago, reporting that intangible factors, such as students’ gender, subject of study, relationships with resident tutors, and frequency of interactions with peers and faculty members have significant impacts on students’ involvement in residential halls (Arboleda et al., 2003). It is not certain if such lists are still applicable today; for example, current studies have found that gender no longer plays a significant role in student hall involvement (Chu et al., 2019), while the quality and quantity of resident assistants may have more influence on residents than expected (Cheng & Chan, 2020). Thus, there is a lack of consensus regarding how various factors affect student involvement, leading to challenges in creating educational residential experiences that attract students to participate in halls.

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Fourth, researchers do not have a clear understanding of the residence life outcomes that students can develop through residential hall experience. Although structured LLPs are popular around the world, Inkelas and Soldner (2011) have criticised these residential hall programmes for lacking a systematic focus of research on their effectiveness in delivering the student residence life outcomes the programmes are designed to promote. Without knowing what residence life outcomes can be developed, it is difficult to create the kinds of residential experiences that can facilitate student development. According to Bronkema and Bowman (2017), evidence proving connections between specific characteristics of residence halls and desired residence life outcomes is almost non-existent. Although Cheng and Chan’s (2019) study provided an updated reference with which to understand students’ residence life outcomes in non-LLP residential settings, their work was not tested in LLP settings. Fifth, despite there being residential educational aims that have been commonly shared by local universities, the particular residential educational aims of institutions generally diverge from one another. Stated or unstated residential educational aims have not been measured regarding their alignment with each university’s educational aims. Therefore, it is still unclear whether or not residential activities are conducted in a way that facilitates the achievement of university educational aims. This chapter has presented the history of residential halls, as well as their current development. It has also discussed the lack of research on student residential experiences and residence life outcomes. After describing the challenges that university residential communities encounter, it is hoped that future studies will be conducted to address the identified problems, as well as to provide evidence-based recommendations for the development of better residential environments that are beneficial to student development and the advancement of university residential education.

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López Turley, R. N., & Wodtke, G. (2010). College residence and academic performance: Who benefits from living on campus? Urban Education, 45(4), 506–532. https://doi.org/10.1177/004 2085910372351 Magolda, M. B. B. (1992). Knowing and reasoning in college: Gender-related patterns in students’ intellectual development. Jossey-Bass. Morris, J. (1978). The Oxford book of Oxford. Oxford University Press. Novik, M. G., & Boekeloo, B. O. (2013). Comparison of student self-reported and administrative data regarding intercession into alcohol misuse among college freshmen dormitory residents. Journal of College Student Development, 54(2), 202–208. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2013.0016 O’Hara, R. J. (2006, November 27). Four foundations for the renewal of university life. Collegiate Way. http://collegiateway.org/foundations/ Pang, N., Sze, C. C., Tan, O. K., Lwin, M., & Kwok, K. W. (2016). Making connections: Fieldwork and visual arts at the studio@ CresPion Halls of residence at National Technological University. HKU Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. https://www.cetl.hku.hk/conf2016/ wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Studio-Paper-FINAL-v2.pdf Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1991). How college affects students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research. Jossey-Bass. Pike, G. R., Schroeder, C. S., & Berry, T. R. (1997). Enhancing the educational impact of residence halls: The relationship between residential learning communities and first-college experiences and persistence. Journal of College Student Development, 38(6), 609–621. Rinn, A. (2004). Academic and social effects of living in honors residence halls. Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council: Online Archive, 173. Roach, J. P. C. (Ed.). (1959). A history of the county of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3, the city and University of Cambridge. British History Online. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/ vch/cambs/vol3 Schroeder, C. C., & Mable, P. (1994). Realizing the educational potential of residence halls. JosseyBass. Soldner, M., & Szelényi, K. (2008). A national portrait of today’s living-learning programs. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 35(1), 14–31. Spanierman, L. B., Soble, J. R., Mayfield, J. B., Neville, H. A., Aber, M., Khuri, L., & De La Rosa, B. (2013). Living learning communities and students’ sense of community and belonging. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 50(3), 308–325. https://doi.org/10.1515/jsarp2013-0022 Terenzini, P. T., Pascarella, E. T., & Blimling, G. S. (1996). Students’ out-of-class experiences and their influence on learning and cognitive development: A literature review. Journal of College Student Development, 37(2), 149–162. The University of Hong Kong Media. (2017, February 5). Towards a holistic education: Transforming education culture. The University of Hong Kong. https://www.hku.hk/press/news_detail_ 15889.html White, B. P., Becker-Blease, K. A., & Grace-Bishop, K. (2006). Stimulant medication use, misuse, and abuse in an undergraduate and graduate student sample. Journal of American College Health, 54(5), 261–268. https://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.54.5.261-268 Winston, R. B., & Anchors, S. (1993). Student development in the residential environment. In R. B. Winston, S. Anchors, & Associates (Eds.), Student housing and residential life: A handbook for professionals committed to student development goals (pp. 25–64). Jossey-Bass.

Part II

Models and Outcomes

Chapter 2

A New Theoretical Model Through Which to Examine Student Residence Life Outcomes Michelle Wing-tung Cheng

Abstract To understand students’ development through their unique residential experiences, a new model is proposed to explain factors that affect students’ hall involvement, particularly in regard to how various residential experiences may result in different student residence life outcomes. The model is built upon a preliminary framework that consists of the input-environment-output model (Astin’s student involvement theory) and the presage-process-product (3P) model. It is crucial to first understand how the residential environment has impacts on student involvement and development, before any practical recommendations or interventions are given to the residential community. Adopting this new model can enable researchers and stakeholders to better understand student dynamics in university residential settings. keywords Residential experiences · Residential outcomes · Theory of student involvement · Presage-process-product model

Introduction Various university residential systems exist around the world; yet, no consensus has been reached regarding how to understand student residential experiences and their residential outcomes. There is an absence of a structured framework with which to investigate student development in non-academic contexts. To better understand student residential outcomes after living in halls, this chapter combines two existing theories—the theory of student involvement (specifically, the input-environmentoutcome model) and the presage-process-product (3P) model—to propose a new student involvement model for university residential halls. The new model complements the I-E-O model by including the cognitive elements of students, while also taking into account the 3P model by considering the impact of the environment.

M. W. Cheng (B) Graduate School, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_2

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The Theory of Student Involvement (I-E-O Model) Astin (1984) proposed the theory of student involvement to study environmental and human influences on student development. The scope of this theory is broad and has abstract assessment constructs (Fawcett & Desanto-Madeya, 2012) capable of exploring how student learning outcomes are associated with the learning environment. This theory emphasises the way in which student participation in the learning process is active rather than passive. Its rationale is that every individual has finite time and energy; therefore, measuring how students spend their time and energy can reflect their priorities and levels of involvement in their learning environment. To structure the theory of student involvement, the input-environment-outcome (I-E-O) model was developed by Astin (1984) (see Fig. 2.1) with five basic tenets. Input refers to the qualities that students originally have at the time of entry; for instance, demographic information (e.g., age, gender, academic year), educational and family background, financial and social status, and behavioural patterns. Environment refers to students’ experiences in the educational setting. Variables such as curricula, programme facilitators, teaching styles, extra-curricular activities, and courses are included as the environment to understand students’ university experience. Output refers to the ‘talents’ that students try to develop through the educational settings. According to Astin (1993), time and energy are limited resources for everyone, but how students allocate time and use energy on various activities reflects their priorities. Five basic tenets were constructed in the student involvement theory to identify the mediating mechanism that explains how different programmes and settings result in student achievement and development: (1)

(2)

Involvement requires physical and psychological energy. The investment of physical and psychological energy in the environment (also referred to as the ‘object’ in the theory and therefore as such in this study) ranges from highly generalised to highly specific. University residential experiences can be very diverse between and within universities. Students may choose to allocate time and energy on different objects. Involvement occurs along a continuum. At various times, individuals show different degrees of involvement in various objects. Students’ involvement

Fig. 2.1 The input-environment-outcome (I-E-O) Model (Astin, 1984)

Environment

Inputs

Outputs

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(3)

(4)

(5)

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levels in residential halls may vary over the course of the academic year and directly affect their residence life outcomes. Involvement has both quantitative and qualitative features. The amount of time and level of involvement invested in an activity influence a learner’s development. Astin (1984) defined the qualitative feature of involvement as the devoted psychological energy involved. For example, a qualitative feature of residential involvement can be a positional leadership role in different residential activities, such as a team captain or chairperson of an executive committee. The quantitative feature is defined as the physical amount of energy devoted, which can be measured by the amount of time spent on different residential activities. Development is proportional to the quantity and quality of involvement. Learning outcomes are directly proportional to the quantity and quality of student involvement. There is a need to identify whether a positive or negative correlation exists between student development and student involvement levels. The effectiveness of education is related to the capacity of that policy or practice to increase involvement. The capacity of educational policy and practice in this context is directly related to its effectiveness in increasing student involvement. Astin highlighted the fourth and fifth tenets to provide suggestions for educators attempting to design more effective residential educational programmes.

Student involvement theory is a suitable theory to use to examine the impact of residential education. Yet, it is a behavioural construct that quantifies time and energy to reflect students’ involvement; ‘it is not so much what the individual thinks or feels, but what the individual does, how he or she behaves, that defines and identifies involvement’ (Astin, 1984, p. 298). Therefore, the adoption of student involvement theory alone cannot provide a complete understanding of student residential development.

The Presage-Process-Product (3P) Model The presage-process-product (3P) model was proposed by Biggs (1989) to explain students’ learning processes. The model (see Fig. 2.2) combines several factors of classroom learning environment and these factors may influence each other. Presage refers to what students possess prior to the learning process (similar to the input in the I-E-O model), process is about learning-focused activities, and the product is students’ learning outcomes. The 3P model has been widely adopted to examine student learning in higher education (Barattucci et al., 2017; McMahon et al., 2016), especially classroom learning (Clinton, 2014; Han, 2014). Until now, a substantial amount of research has modified Biggs’ 3P model (e.g., Cybinski, & Selvanathan, 2005; Freeth & Reeves, 2004). Prosser et al. (1994) developed a version of this model (see Fig. 2.3), as past studies suggested that students’

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Presage

Process

Product

STUDENT FACTORS Prior knowledge, ability, and motivation.

TEACHING CONTEXT Objectiveness, assessment, climate/ethos, teaching, and institutional procedures.

LEARNINGFOCUSED ACTIVITIES Appropriate/deep and inappropriate/surfac e.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Quantitative (facts and skills), qualitative (structure and transfer), and affective (involvement).

Fig. 2.2 The 3P model of teaching and learning (Biggs, 1989)

Fig. 2.3 The presage-process-product (3P) model (Prosser et al., 1994)

perceptions of context affect their learning approaches and learning outcomes (e.g., Trigwell & Prosser, 1991; Ramsden & Moses, 1992). According to Trigwell and Prosser (1991), students with perceived assessment emphasising rote learning were more likely to adopt surface learning, while those with perceptions of high teaching quality and clear goals tended to adopt deep learning. This version of the 3P model was chosen for use in the current study because it is a cognitive construct that explores

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students’ perceptions. This characteristic of the model enables it to supplement the I-E-O model, which involves the use of a behavioural construct to explore students’ devotion to activities by measuring quantifiable time and energy. In addition, Prosser et al.’s version of the 3P model matches the context of residential settings better than Biggs’. The 3P model is understood from a cognitive perspective as a ‘causal chain’ from presage to product (Prosser et al., 1994). From this perspective, information is constructed from the external environment in relation to the student’s internal learning process. In contrast, Biggs proposed a system theory to interpret the 3P model, in which various parts of the model are independently constituted but are in continuous interaction with one another. It is not unusual to find the model combined with other theories in past research. The two adopted models are both flexible constructs in regard to being combined with others. For instance, the student involvement theory was combined with the college impact model to explore student learning outcomes associated with out-of-class experiences (Kuh, 1995) and the 3P model was combined with the DEDEPRO model (an acronym for the phases of designing and developing a product) to understand the processes of teaching and learning (De la Fuente, Sevillano, Sander, & CardelleElawar, 2014). In this chapter, the new model is based mainly on the structure of the 3P model, embedded with essential elements of the I-E-O model.

A New Model of Student Involvement in University Residential Halls To better understand the mechanisms that affect student involvement and development in residence halls, a new model (see Fig. 2.4) is developed under the five tenets that support the I-E-O model: (1) involvement requires physical and psychological energy; (2) involvement occurs along a continuum; (3) involvement has both quantitative and qualitative features; (4) development is proportional to the quantity and quality of involvement; and (5) education is related to the capacity to increase involvement. Since the I-E-O model is a broad and general model (Grayson, 1997), the new model is based mainly on the structure of the 3P model, which lists variants in the presage, process, and product stages. The new model shows a linear progression from presage (residential context and resident characteristics) through the process (residential environment, residents’ perceptions, and residents’ involvement), to the product (residents’ life outcomes).

Presage Input in the I-E-O model resembles the presage in the 3P model; they both focus on the initial characteristics of the subjects. Since inputs only refer to personal qualities that

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Process

RESIDENTIAL CONTEXT (e.g., the hall management approach)

Product

RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENT (e.g., hall cultures and traditions, student autonomy, cultural diversity, and available activities)

RESIDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

RESIDENTS’ INVOLVEMENT

RESIDENTS’ LIFE OUTCOMES (e.g., well-being, holistic competencies)

RESIDENTS’ CHARACTERISTICS (e.g., year of study, country of origin)

Fig. 2.4 A new model of student involvement in University Residential Halls (Cheng, 2019)

students initially possess and neglect the impact of the residential hall environment, presage was adopted in the current model, as it considers the initial characteristics of both teaching context and students in the 3P model. In this new model, presage takes into account the residents’ characteristics and residential context, which affect residents’ perceptions toward residential halls and the residential environment. Residents’ characteristics are the personal qualities that students initially possess. Cheng (2019) examined the impact of demographic information and educational background on students’ residential involvement. The study revealed that only students’ year of study and country of birth were significantly related to students’ residential involvement; no significant correlation between student involvement and other personal qualities (e.g.., age, gender, field of study) was found. Therefore, only these two personal qualities were included as examples. Year of study reflects the weight of students’ academic workload, which further affects their allocation of time for residential activities and how they perceive the functions of residential halls. For instance, assignments and examinations for finalyear students are more demanding and challenging than those for first-year students in general. Country of birth affects students’ tendencies and opportunities to blend into the residential environment, especially when the medium of instruction of the majority of local residents is in their native language. Apart from residents’ characteristics, presage also includes residential context, which specifically refers to the hall management approach. For instance, the hall

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admissions and readmissions policy prioritises the time it takes students to travel from home to campus more than their hall involvement, which affects how students perceive residential halls. Moreover, the hall management approach has the power to influence the residential environment (process), which is discussed in the following section.

Process Process in the 3P model emphasises students’ perceptions and the cognitive strategies used for learning. Therefore, residents’ perception and residents’ involvement are present. However, the 3P model neglects the potential impact of the environment on students during the learning process. Hence, the new model uses the environment from the I-E-O model to form the residential environment, which includes everything that happens during the residential period that could influence residents’ perceptions and residents’ involvement. Considering the results in Cheng’s study (2019), the residential environment consists of five residential characteristics: cultural diversity, unique hall cultures and traditions, people-oriented nature, abundant activities available, and promoting student autonomy. Since different residential halls have different management approaches and cultures, these five residential characteristics are only listed as examples in the model for reference. According to the I-E-O model (Astin, 1993), inputs correlate with environments, and the environmental factors in the new model are also affected by the residential context in the presage stage. For example, the choice of adopting bottom-up or top-down management strategies in a residential hall may decide how many and what types of residential activities are available for residents, or influence how much autonomy students can enjoy in the hall. Residents’ perceptions toward residential halls are formed before their residence begins, and their perceptions will change continuously throughout their stay. Therefore, ‘residents’ perceptions’ is the only variable that is situated between the presage and process stages of the new model. The author is aware that residents may have formed different expectations of residential halls prior to their stay, as they would have conducted research when they applied for accommodation in the halls. Students’ perceptions affect their hall involvement and, in return, how they respond to the hall environment can also impact their perceptions. For instance, a resident who perceives the hall only as a place to sleep tends to have low levels of involvement. In a peopleoriented environment, unmotivated individuals may freeride or demotivate other residents, and further reinforce their own original perceptions. Residents’ involvement is modified based on the students’ approaches to learning from the 3P model, which uses the terms ‘surface’ and ‘deep’ learning to assess and classify students’ learning approaches. Since the new model is focused on students’ holistic development, instead of students’ learning, these terms are not adopted. Still, residents’ levels of involvement need to be measured qualitatively or quantitatively, and can be categorised as high, moderate, or low. As explained above, residents’

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involvement is influenced by residents’ characteristics (presage), while residents’ involvement, residents’ perceptions, and residential environment are interrelated with each other during the process, directly and indirectly influencing students’ residence life outcomes.

Product The product in the 3P model is the result of the learning determined by the interactions between presage and process; it is similar to the ‘outputs’ in the I-E-O model. In this new model, the product refers to all kinds of residence life outcomes, including holistic competencies and well-being.

Conclusion This chapter proposes a new model for students’ involvement in residential halls. The model is refined and validated with empirical support from doctoral research (Cheng, 2019). While Astin’s involvement theory has rarely been applied outside of America (Ting et al., 2016), the new model demonstrates the possibility of combining the input-environment-output (I-E-O) model and the presage-process-product model (3P) to complement each other, and to understand student involvement in a specific learning environment: residential halls. It is hoped that this derived model can be used as a guide to conduct future related research studies, as well as be applied to make practical recommendations for the advancement of current residential halls.

References Astin, A. W. (1984). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Personnel, 25(4), 297–308. Astin, A. W. (1993). Assessment for excellence: The philosophy and practice of assessment and evaluation in higher education. Oryx Press. Barattucci, M., Pagliaro, S., Cafagna, D., & Bosetto, D. (2017). An examination of the applicability of Biggs’ 3P learning process model to Italian university. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society, 13(1), 163–180. https://doi.org/10.20368/1971-8829/1277. Biggs, J. B. (1989). Approaches to the enhancement of tertiary teaching. Higher Education Research and Development, 8(1), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436890080102 Cheng, M. W. (2019). Generic competencies development through experiential learning: Investigating diversity in first-year residential experiences [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Hong Kong]. HKU Theses Online (HKUTO). https://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/279841/1/Ful lText.pdf.

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Clinton, V. (2014). The relationship between students’ preferred approaches to learning and behaviors during learning: An examination of the process stage of the 3P model. Instructional Science, 42(5), 817–837. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-013-9308-z Cybinski, P., & Selvanathan, S. (2005). Learning experience and learning effectiveness in undergraduate statistics: Modeling performance in traditional and flexible learning environments. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 3(2), 251–271. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4609. 2005.00069.x De la Fuente, J., Sevillano, L. Z., Sander, P., & Cardelle-Elawar, M. (2014). The 3P and DEDEPRO models as research heuristic. International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology. Revista INFAD de Psicología, 4(1), 155–164 https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep. 2014.n1.v4.599. Fawcett, J., & Desanto-Madeya, S. (2012). Contemporary nursing knowledge: Analysis and evaluation of nursing models and theories. FA Davis. Freeth, D., & Reeves, S. (2004). Learning to work together: Using the presage, process, product (3P) model to highlight decisions and possibilities. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 18(1), 43–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820310001608221 Grayson, J. P. (1997). Place of residence, student involvement, and first year marks. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 27(1), 1–24. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ550723.pdf. Han, J. H. (2014). Closing the missing links and opening the relationships among the factors: A literature review on the use of clicker technology using the 3P model. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 17(4), 150–168. Kuh, G. D. (1995). The other curriculum: Out-of-class experiences associated with student learning and personal development. The Journal of Higher Education, 66(2), 123–155. https://doi.org/10. 2307/2943909 McMahon, S., O’Donoghue, G., Doody, C., O’Neill, G., & Cusack, T. (2016). Expert opinion regarding the preparation of entry-level physiotherapists for primary healthcare practice, examined using Biggs 3P’s model of teaching learning. Education for Primary Care, 27(3), 196–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/14739879.2016.1179598 Prosser, M., Trigwell, K., Hazel, E., & Gallagher, P. (1994). Students’ experiences of teaching and learning at the topic level. Research and Development in Higher Education, 16, 305–310. Ramsden, P., & Moses, I. (1992). Associations between research and teaching in Australian higher education. Higher Education, 23(3), 273–295. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00145017 Ting, S. R., Chan, R., & Lee, E. (2016). Involving students in residence halls in Hong Kong. Journal of College Student Development, 57(3), 300–315. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2016.0035 Trigwell, K., & Prosser, M. (1991). Improving the quality of student learning: The influence of learning context and student approaches to learning on learning outcomes. Higher Education, 22(3), 251–266. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00132290

Chapter 3

Residential Education in the US Kevin Conn

Residential education in the United States provides an opportunity for students to engage in learning and to connect with their peers in spaces outside of the traditional classroom environment. Through a series of intentional and connected experiences, students are able to participate in programmes and services, and access resources to help enhance their experience while residing in on-campus housing. These services are provided by live-in residence life staff and resident assistants. Activities are typically crafted with some level of structure and continuity throughout the residence life department at each institution. Engagement with students can take place through in-person, virtual, and self-guided experiences provided by their residence hall. This can be enhanced through the direct engagement of faculty and living-learning environments. All of these areas can be uniquely shaped and cultivated based on the nature of the institution and the needs of the student population. The conclusion of this chapter provides hands-on scenarios that allow an opportunity for personal reflection and application, which can be tailored to any campus environment. A focus on student success is paramount to any educational system across the United States. This typically includes aspects that aid a student in feeling connected to the university. Academic services and support programmes provide guidance and connections for students to complement their in-classroom learning experiences. Universities aim to provide holistic development for students through opportunities for student involvement on campus, as well as learning through experiences beyond the classroom, focusing on care for the entire person. Blimling (2010) describes the critical necessity of creating a space for interactions among students in a residence hall in order to facilitate the development of connections between students in such an environment. Learning outside the classroom, as a way in which students can form bonds with their peers through both social and curricular engagement, helps to connect K. Conn (B) New York City, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_3

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students’ experiences throughout their time at an institution: ‘While universities may choose to remain commuter institutions, once they decide to set up residences, their responsibility extends to providing the most intellectually and socially rich environment possible’ (Parameswaran & Bowers, 2014, p. 58). It is critical to articulate the importance of creating a solid foundation for an on-campus residential experience and fashioning a strong foundation to create successful outcomes for students when they enter and if they decide to reside in residential communities within a college or university campus.

Learning Outside the Classroom and Connected Experiences One aspect of students’ relationship to the university experience is the connections they form while living in a residence hall or apartment community. Each institution is uniquely charged with crafting an atmosphere that best suits the surrounding community, as well as with instilling the values of the university in the residence hall environment through programmes, initiatives, and opportunities for student engagement and learning: ‘A residence hall can either contribute to a student’s learning experience or just be a place to live’ (Frazier & Eighmy, 2012, p. 25). According to a research study conducted by Bronkema and Bowman (2017), specific mixes or makeups of on-campus residential populations within a residence hall may impact student outcomes, but they did not note a direct measurement at this time. This could include first-year and upper-class students, or various mixed populations, based on the campus design and structure in question. In addition, one of the benefits of residential education is that it can exist across a variety of campus types, regardless of location or design, whether it be an urban institution located in the heart of a major metropolitan city or residence halls scattered across a single campus environment. A city-based residential environment juxtaposes a more traditional suburban campus community in which the academic and campus residential facilities surround common areas, such as campus quads, or areas that are owned solely by the university or university-related properties; they are quite different from one another by design. Students seek out living arrangements based in part on their desire to live in a specific type of environment. This is where residential education systems can help to provide enhancements and connections for students to aid in the refinement and development of their experience while at the institution. Residential learning communities should aid the creation of a sense of ownership and connectedness for students while also helping students to develop opportunities to contribute to or invest in the space, in order to create an environment that focuses on the overall support of a student (Frazier & Eighmy, 2012). Students who live in residence halls consisting of more traditional corridor style design elements tend

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to have higher GPAs than those in the more desired apartment-style residences, as articulated in a recent study analysing several cohorts of first-year students (Brown et al., 2019). ‘College and university leaders should consider how specific design structures may need to be strategically coupled with processes to encourage student persistence within student subpopulations’ (Brown et al., 2019, p. 278), indicating the strong need to be intentional with residential design, as well as the importance of a focus on residential education efforts as institutions. These efforts should work in tandem not only with academic initiatives and programmes, but also with the structural approach of the halls themselves.

Structured Support Universities provide structure and support through academic and other services in both in-office and virtual environments, in an effort to further provide a connection to ongoing learning, support, and guidance in both social and learning-based approaches. When students enter their residence hall for the first time at the start of an academic year, they receive greetings and warm smiles, shared agreements and policies to review, and peers to connect with within their community. According to Graham et al. (2018), those residing on campus have slightly higher results in a few areas, including interactions between students and faculty, fostering conversations and dialogue with diverse groups, and increased involvement with collaborative learning, over those who have to commute to campus from further distances. The authors went on to note that, although these differences are slight, their research does not directly indicate that there is a benefit to all aspects of living on campus, and further studies are needed (Graham et al., 2018). Many residence hall environments also offer a focus on residential education, with structured learning environments within these halls that provide ongoing support and connections to the students. This environment grants another layer of connection and support for students, enhancing their connection to the university. These learning-focused environments often include a first-year or upper-class curriculum or alternative approaches using thematic areas, to focus on students’ experiences and education throughout their time in halls of residence. ‘The residential college model provides a reconnection of faculty to the social lives of students, thus significantly enhancing the education students receive’ (Penven et al., 2013, p. 124); this approach is in part based on the overall hall environment, while other approaches involve students opting into specific thematic or engaged living-learning communities or residential colleges. This topic is further discussed later in this chapter. Each of these methods aims to help make the university feel smaller and more connected for the student, providing another means of outreach and connection for them during their time at the institution.

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Residence Hall Staffing Support Within these residential experiences, staff members are critical in helping students to connect and engage with others during their time in a university residence hall or apartment complex. Promoting the advancement of student learning within the residence halls and focusing on direct outcomes linked to this within their work is a critical component of the work of residence life staff (Blimling, 2014). Live-in staff members provide a presence not only for administrative functions that include safety, security, and the overall operation of the building, but also for communitybuilding, connections, and the promotion of opportunities for holistic growth and development within these halls. According to Frazier and Eighmy (2012), focused or intentional involvement among hall staff or faculty within these environments results in an overall higher level of student satisfaction, as compared to those same areas when this type of support and involvement is not present. Typically, staff in these facilities include a professional staff member who oversees the operation of the building, as well as supervising the resident assistant (RA), who serves as a paraprofessional student team member in the building. The terms for these positions can vary from institution to institution, but this structure is common across institutions throughout the United States. Professional staff can provide a strong foundation for the building and operations in the halls of residence, and help to build the necessary structural elements for a selected team, as well as guide the curricular implementation that is necessary for a successful residential education experience. RAs work directly with staff members to help connect students in the building to these initiatives, fostering community development while helping to create an environment that sparks both social and academic connections for students within the community and the university at large. As current students, RAs also have direct knowledge of what is happening on campus and a student’s academic experience, helping them to enhance other students’ experiences and initiatives in the residence halls through their direct input and influence in the planning process. An RA’s support and direct influence in this process can also help to generate greater buy-in from other members of the residence hall communities, including students and community members, such as the hall council.

Engagement Opportunities and Outreach Providing an opportunity for residential education and residential engagement also allows for connections and check-ins with resident students. Creating space for students to connect with peers, staff, and faculty in both direct and indirect structured and unstructured formats is important. In-person outreach during one-on-one communication, programming, and holding defined office hours with professional staff members, RAs, and faculty can provide opportunities for checking in and

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grounding students through enabling them to connect with a member of the university team. These office hours can also help to answer any questions, troubleshoot issues, and further build bonds with individuals or teams in their building. Students are now starting to gravitate less toward face-to-face interactions and engagement and more toward virtual connections; it is therefore important to note how this can impact how a community is built, how students solicit support, and how interactions are formed in a virtual environment (Boone et al., 2016). As alternatives when in-person connections are not possible, virtual methods of communication and check-ins are also utilised to enhance bonds and connections with students. These connections can come in many forms, including virtual newsletters, webinars, and even virtual one-on-one meetings. Newsletters can provide specific engagementbased content for students to connect with and learn during their own time. These self-guided experiences can be pursued by students when they are ready and when convenient for them. Topics that may be related to a specific point in the year to engage students in specific subject matters, such as financial literacy, civic engagement, conversations about equity and inclusion, and many other facets, are further areas to explore in future research. These topics are sometimes more accessible for students through virtual methods than through in-person events, and can provide tools and resources to be utilised by students whenever needed. Newsletters can also provide a space to promote upcoming events and programmes, highlight student and team members in the building, and further build a sense of community and continuity for students within the hall. Other methods within this strategy include webinars that can be hosted for a large audience with scripted content and an opportunity for engaging in question-andanswer-based discussions. Webinars or similar methods of engagement can help to provide material in a more digestible way, allowing presenters to showcase content to students and enabling individuals watching live to actively take part in the experience. Often, presenters can record these sessions for later use and reference. Finally, there are many other virtual forms of telecommunication, such as that enabled by Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, and other similar online instruments. All of these tools provide a digital platform for students, through which they can connect with the residence life team at an institution and virtually attend programmes, gather resources, and engage with other individuals. These formats can be a place to share new information, create an open dialogue, or even to break students into smaller groups to discuss a current hot topic or issue within a floor or community. Residential education is ultimately focused on helping students learn and develop outside of the typical classroom environment and can include fostering student development through a variety of methods and means, to enhance the holistic growth of each student.

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Learning Outcomes and Goal-Driven Work It is necessary when working within a residential education framework to create a way to assess the level of student learning taking place as a result of the engagement opportunities (both structured and unstructured) in residential halls. It is essential, that university administrators and educators take on the challenge of working to prioritise student learning through creating measurable educational outcomes, viewing this area as a priority, and while being willing to take on the challenge to discover what works best in this context of their specific student population (Penven et al., 2013). Residential education focuses on student learning and development, intending to help students achieve set benchmarks through predetermined learning outcomes that are designed to measure students’ ability to learn and develop over time, as a result of programmes and initiatives implemented within their residence hall. These learning outcomes are crafted by residence hall professional staff in conjunction with the design of the programmes and initiatives they are developing for the academic year. It is essential for residential education to not only establish defined policies but also systems of accountability, reporting measures, and ways in which to assess each of these areas (Parameswaran & Bowers, 2014). These learning outcomes are structured to provide a specific level of measurement as a result of a student learning from an event or initiative. This learning should be something precise and measurable, such as being able to articulate a new fact the student has learned, articulating a new technique, or leaving having formed a new connection or identified new resources, while also knowing how to utilise those resources for future support. In one example of additional resources, Strothmann and Antell (2010) described a library support programme aimed at residence halls, to expand efforts and connections to support engagement services. This study elaborated on the importance of finding the right mixture of timing, location, focused services, and the overall promotion of what students can receive from these efforts (Strothmann & Antell, 2010). This programme is no different from anything that can be offered within or in partnership with a residence hall community to expand student engagement and access to support resources. All of these factors are critical in helping ensure that everything aligns for the student whom the university team is hoping will participate in these events and offerings. At the same time, they provide targeted outreach and structured resources to meet the needs of the student population in the residence hall environment. Residence life professionals can help to provide opportunities for engagement with students, ways in which they can strengthen connections within the residence hall environment, venues for learning, and assessments of the learning and development that take place along the way.

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Faculty Support and Residential Colleges Residential colleges further refine residential experiences, enhancing student learning and development, while students live in the residence halls that exist in colleges and universities across the country. These experiences are self-selected by the student and may require an application process or other material to participate in such a community. According to a study conducted by Ellett and Schmidt (2011), student learning and development can be fostered through the creation of a consistent understanding of community building among both the residence life team and faculty within the residence halls. These communities typically provide a variety of resources and support to the students within their residence hall environment, which expands the standard offerings that currently exist within a residence hall. These connected communities can include structured faculty involvement, completing shared courses as a cohort, thematic programming, and specific training for RAs and professional staff. Faculty programmes help to provide a place with a high level of commitment from all involved parties, including faculty, staff, and students (Davenport & Pasque, 2014). This focused level of engagement can help provide even more development for the participating students and a way to further focus their efforts within their community and foster connections with their peers. Faculty involvement in this is critical and can stem from classroom experiences, after-hours programming, and other support mechanisms. Within residential education models, faculty can exist in residential colleges and through partnerships with residential environments. Furthermore, live-in roles as faculty members may also be present in residence halls to engage in programmes, events, ongoing support, and other areas. Faculty-based programmes in residence can provide direct and intentional connections and opportunities for students to engage in structured topics and outcomes, with a focus on connecting theory and practical application (Davenport & Pasque, 2014). Engaging faculty within the residence hall environment is critical to helping further enhance students’ experience and connect students to faculty on campus. This enables students to connect to the faculty working within the halls and helps them to feel more comfortable connecting with other faculty throughout their college experience. A version of faculty involvement or in-house support for this type of engagement typically exists on college and university campuses across the country (Benjamin & Vianden, 2011). Davenport and Pasque (2014) noted that widening the ability of students to become involved on campus, expanding student development, furthering connections between faculty and students, and cultivating an arena that can support student development are all enhanced through the use of expanded and enhanced faculty roles in residence programmes. These programmes can begin at any level with bringing faculty into the residence hall environment for a programme or an event, and expanding these partnerships further as time, resources, and structure allow.

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Concluding Thoughts and Questions to Consider It is important for professionals in the field to work on refining and developing their skillsets. The areas below illustrate residential education structures in the US that could be applied in a college or university setting. For each of the areas listed below, questions are provided to promote reflection, analyses, and how to incorporate good practices as residence life professionals. These questions can be used as a point for both individual, shared, and departmental level reflection and advancement.

Core I: Residential Education and Staff Development 1.

2.

3.

What model or framework is used to guide ongoing staff development within your department or division? Is it grounded in a mission or divisional priorities? Is this framework or foundation understood by members of the team/department? When providing structure to your professional staff development, does the department provide a place to track and outline plans and progress for individual team members’ growth? Is this growth as a unit or division? After articulating the professional development structure for the department or division at your institution, establish an outline for the academic year in advance for both the department at large and individual team members. (a) (b)

What does this look like for the department (e.g., what are the areas of collective focus and growth)? How will the department provide support to help individuals achieve these set goals and objectives (i.e., ongoing training and development, professional development funding, mentorship and support, etc.).

Core II: Residential Education and Curricular Enhancement for Student Success 1.

2.

Does your residence life department follow a programming model or utilise a residential curriculum? If not already using a curriculum, what could be the potential benefits to switching to a system that has a curricular approach in relation to guiding student engagement, outreach, and programmatic efforts? When reflecting on the department’s focus and process for student engagement, articulate the key areas that guide the work of the staff and campus partners when working with the student population.

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How will your department involve all members of the team in the process of further developing and enhancing this work? How will your team focus on student engagement to create support and buy-in on all levels? What stakeholders need to be looped in and included in this process?

Conclusion Residential education and the incorporation of learning and engagement outside the classroom are certainly not new concepts in the US or around the globe. However, how these ideas are integrated and refined can always be revisited and adjusted based on the nature and demographics of our ever-evolving student populations. Student needs in regard to learning and engagement change over time and it is necessary for institutions to keep up with these dynamics to adapt and develop optimal programmes and services. Furthermore, developing a successful focus on residential education takes commitment at all levels of an institution. With institutional support for learning outside the classroom, it is important to also involve professional staff and RAs in the process. Staff and students should connect and discuss how to plan and adapt to meet the changing needs of the student population.

References Benjamin, M., & Vianden, J. (2011). Stories of faculty in residence hall involvement. Journal of College & University Student Housing, 38(1), 6–9. Blimling, G. (2010). The resident assistant: Applications and strategies for working with college students in residence halls (7th ed.). Kendall Hunt. Blimling, G. S. (2014). Student learning in college residence halls: What works, what doesn’t, and why. John. Boone, K., Bauman, M., & Davidson, D. (2016). The evolution and increasing complexity of the resident assistant role in the United States from colonial to modern times. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 42(3), 38–51. Bronkema, R., & Bowman, N. A. (2017). A residential paradox? Residence halls and student outcomes. Journal of College Student Development, 28(4), 624–630. Brown, J., Volk, F., & Spratto, E. M. (2019). The hidden structure: The influence of residence hall design on academic outcomes. Journal of Student Affairs Research & Practice, 56(3), 267–283. Davenport, A. M., & Pasque, P. A. (2014). Adding breadth and depth to college and university residential communities: A phenomenological study of faculty-in-residence. Journal of College & University Student Housing, 40(2), 46–65. Ellett, T., & Schmidt, A. (2011). Faculty perspectives on creating community in residence halls. Journal of College & University Student Housing, 38(1), 26–39. Frazier, W., & Eighmy, M. (2012). Themed residential learning communities: The importance of purposeful faculty and staff involvement and student engagement. Journal of College & University Student Housing, 38(2), 10–31.

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Graham, P. A., Hurtado, S. S., & Gonyea, R. M. (2018). The benefits of living on campus: Do residence halls provide distinctive environments of engagement? Journal of Student Affairs Research & Practice, 55(3), 255–269. Parameswaran, A., & Bowers, J. (2014). Student residences: From housing to education. Journal of Further & Higher Education, 38(1), 57–74. Penven, J., Stephens, R., Shushok, F., & Keith, C. (2013). The past, present and future of residential colleges: Looking back at S. Stewart Gordon’s “Living and Learning in College.” Journal of College and University Student Housing, 40(1), 114–126. Strothmann, M., & Antell, K. (2010). The live-in librarian: Developing library outreach to university residence halls. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(1), 48–58.

Part III

Current Programmes and Case Studies

Chapter 4

Optimising Students’ Learning in Residential Halls: A Case Study of How to Connect Hall Life Education with Community Service Elaine Suk Ching Liu Abstract In this chapter, I will discuss my experience of merging my roles both as a Residence Master to a Residential hall and a teacher in the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences for fifteen years in City University of Hong Kong. These concurrent appointments had finally given me a challenge to create a youth volunteer project which in turn has also helped my hall to build its hall culture. I will share some of the background history on the inception, development and maturation of this project, as well as the theoretical concepts I have used to give its implementation a solid ground. From theory to practice in a hall environment, I called it a HumanisticEmpowerment model through the practice of a youth volunteering project. Its impacts on individual, hall, organization and community levels are also discussed. Keywords Youth empowerment · Volunteering · Residential hall · Humanistic approach · Community connection

Introduction In this chapter, I will discuss my experience as a residence master in one of the halls at the City University of Hong Kong. This role led me to implement a youth empowerment and community involvement project, first for my own hall and then for the entire university, aligning the goals of residential education and the university in regard to social responsibility for students. Since I was the key person who created this initiative by merging the two goals, I start with my own journey in education, my training in social science/social work, and my passion for attempting to put into practice a community involvement project for my hall students, who are mostly not studying in these fields. I became a teacher in the tertiary education sector for social work programmes after working as a youth social worker in an NGO for almost 10 years. With no

E. S. C. Liu (B) City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_4

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previous experience in teaching, my first goal after joining CityU and its Department of Applied Social Studies (renamed the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences in 2018) was to become an effective teacher. It took about 10 years to achieve competence in my new role. After adapting to my new role, I found a small space to enjoy classroom teaching, as well as some time to shift back to my expertise of noticing many ‘social problems’ around me in the education sector. Very soon, I began to actively engage in many student activities. My first endeavour was in 2000, when I became the convener of the ‘Maximizing Students’ Learning Group’ in my department. Here, I initiated a new co-curricular programme called the ‘CrossCultural Learning Program’ (CCLP). Over the course of the following three years (2001, 2002, and 2004; in 2003, the CCLP was cancelled due to the outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong), the CCLP organised a total of 27 student groups with 328 participating students attached to universities or NGOs in different Asian countries or different cities in mainland China for enhancing their cultural learning, participating in community service, and studying or researching on different social problems in those cities for three weeks. Each of the 27 groups was also coached and led by a teacher from our department acting as an adviser; those leading teachers would also accompany students in cross-the-border exchanges for at least seven to 10 days, helping to negotiate and arrange with our overseas partnering organisations and universities to offer different learning activities for our student groups. In these three years, CCLP programmes were implemented in mainland China, Cambodia, Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan. In 2002, CityU began to offer residential halls for undergraduate students. It planned to build 11 halls in four phases over the next 10 years. I applied to be one of the very first three residence masters in the first phase and was offered a co-current appointment as a residence master, in addition to being a faculty member in my department. When we started to implement hall management in its first phase, all those involved were new to hall management and we were faced with many student problems. It was found that, for most students, the experience of moving from home to residential halls was a challenge. For most of them, it was their first time living far away from home and the transition involved a set of new relationships and behaviours. On dyadic and group levels, co-existence among students and the issues arising from a collective lifestyle are not easy for anyone. Communication between the students and the university was also challenging. As a whole, we were confronted with how and what to cultivate for a hall culture? The vice president of CityU at the time was also involved with the management of the student residence. One day, a group of colleagues, including the vice president, were talking about strategies to help with students’ problems in the residence halls. Several methods were suggested in regard to helping students to benefit more from hall life, besides just being living close to campus. One of the suggested ideas was to offer meaningful social engagement programmes for students, so as to combat the general feedback that students who were living in residential halls were enjoying more free time. Engaging students in volunteer work was then identified as one possible solution. Since I was a social worker, I followed up on the idea of implementing a volunteer project in the student residence. Someone suggested that

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I could contact local NGOs for volunteering work opportunities, and that students could be matched with different NGOs to work as volunteers. However, I explained that ‘matching individual students with NGOs to be volunteers’ is a very different concept from ‘setting up a volunteer project by and in the hall’, and the latter idea would be more impactful for building a hall culture involving community service. It would not be an easy task, however. I offered to commit to launching a new project that was supported and funded by the university. It was then agreed that I would draft a proposal to suggest how to create a volunteer project for the student residence. One week later, I prepared a two-page proposal, asking for two staff members, and the City-Youth Empowerment Project (CYEP) was subsequently launched in 2005, three years after I became a residence master at CityU. The year 2005 was a very special converging point in my career. I had been a teacher in social work programmes for 15 years. I had previous experience of launching a series of cross-cultural learning programmes for students in my department. This experience convinced all involved teachers and students that community service and international exposure are useful transformational processes for university students. I had put emphasis on youth empowerment as a guiding principal for transforming university students and received very positive academic and community support for this theme. Wearing several hats now (being a teacher and a residence master, as well as a residence master who had launched the CYEP), I gained a more holistic view of the generic ‘educational’ challenges of university students.

Developing a Humanistic Empowerment Model of Education in Halls of Residence 1.

Adopting a humanistic perspective and seeing university students as respectable humans. When I first became a residence master, we were confronted with many issues concerning hall residents failing to comply with some hall rules, which were in fact new to them. In this early stage of implementing hall residential education in our university, I noticed that, when hall residents exhibited some kinds of rebellious behaviour, they were judged as purposeful and antiauthority. Alternatively, I advocated for seeing this group of students as ‘victims’ of their previous experiences when interacting with authorities. Their rebellious responses were simply automatic responses to stressful environmental factors, including all kinds of pressurising educational goals that they have experienced in the past. A strong emphasis in my own management team then was to respect students irrespective of how they might have behaved in the hall environment. Instead of overreacting to their present exhibited behaviours, we also have to understand that their past might have constraints on their present behaviour and relationships with others. By connecting hall residents’ past to their present, when they do not perform as is expected, the appropriate question we should ask is ‘what have they experienced that they are not able to be responsible in hall

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3.

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life?’ instead of ‘why are they doing that?" In this way, I guide my hall management team (staff and hall tutors who are senior students) to adopt a humanistic approach when relating to our hall residents, and to avoid our judgemental attitudes. Adopting a youth-centred empowerment approach to meeting the needs of university students so that they will be coached and nurtured and so that they will be coached and nurtured to benefit from hall and university education. Hall residents are generally young university students. However, we are preoccupied with seeing them only as ‘students’ that they always make mistakes. Therefore another of my guidelines for my management team was to see our hallmates as developing young people who are on their way to tackling many developmental issues, including how to benefit from collective hall life and from a university education, as well as how to help them to feel attached to the hall culture as well to their outer community. We also have to be aware that some of their previous experiences as students might have taken away from them motivation and confidence in regard to being independent and responsible. Living in the hall might therefore will be a good chance for them to unlearn some of their previous experiences, to try new skills through their present hall life, and to finally regain confidence in regard to self-development through new experiences in hall life. A synthesised humanistic-empowerment model for students. After the CityYouth Empowerment Project was first created by our hall, we defined it as a model of youth empowerment, a process by which young people can gain selfdevelopment through taking care of their own growth, while helping others through volunteering. The synthesising of the concepts of humanistic and empowerment together has generated a guiding model to systematically implement service learning in the hall. To implement this model, I chose to put it into practice through youth volunteering. My previous experience as a youth worker has given me a great deal of support in confirming youth volunteering is a meaningful process of interconnecting young people to the outer community reality, diverting them toward the understanding that there are many people out in the community who need help, and that university students have lots of potential to help them. On the other hand, the community outside of the hall environment should also strive to play a role in creating opportunities for students to take action through helping, serving, and becoming involved in social causes and situations that they feel strongly about, thus facilitating a process of transformation in regard to students’ prevailing ‘weaknesses’, whereby they move from their past constraints into new present strengths. The resultant emerging sense of empowerment leads to a positively rewarding reinforcement cycle, which provides students with a sense of motivation and confidence to involve themselves more and in better ways in their roles as volunteers. This is also a way to emphasise ‘what they can do well’, rather than continuing to focus on ‘what they are doing not so well’. The theoretical framework and rationale for choosing youth volunteerism, and its benefits on hallmates are elaborated below. Volunteerism enables a young person to participate in a personal process of growth. Volunteerism involves a personal altruistic process supported by

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6.

7.

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evidence that it is very effective in showing one’s purity of altruism and deep sincerity to help others. However, individuals, especially young people, need many antecedents and supportive factors for them to make the decision to sign up for, try, and sustain volunteering activities. So, if a volunteer project is created in the hall environment, it will build a structural and managerial base through which to motivate and encourage young hallmates who have no previous connections with volunteerism to succeed and sustain in volunteering (Liu, 2019, p. 18). Successful volunteering emphasises teamwork. Volunteering demands strong teamwork in order to be successful. In the process of recruiting and training a group of volunteers in order to accomplish a new volunteer project with a planned schedule and clear goals, the hall environment plays a facilitating role. Very often, it begins with a few hallmates who are motivated to join a newly formed volunteer project, which then creates a snowball effect by which the few motivated students (always as role models) convince others to participate in order to form a proper team. This process is followed by training, the division of labour for different tasks, the delivery of services, retraining, debriefing, and so on. In such a process, teammates gain a sense of success and the friendships built in the process are also enhanced. These elements greatly benefit the connections among students living in a hall through a common social goal. Volunteering is an organisational process. Volunteering is the most effective way to facilitate a young person in understanding an organisation and its values and goals in regard to the community. The CYEP worked closely with NGOs and all kinds of volunteer services. Since most volunteering behaviours happen in an organisational setting, the hurdles to joining an organisation must carry many meanings for the individuals involved. This reflects the individual perspective of seeing the limitations of one’s efforts to create change in a society. Instead, becoming attached to an organisation will facilitate new volunteers in becoming more knowledgeable about how to contribute to a bigger social goal. By identifying an organisation or a project, individuals experiment with how to incorporate macro social values and goals into their personal values and goals. This process also provides group dynamics, training, knowledge, and a culture for volunteers to use to sustain their individual interest. An organisation further provides a specific focus on a social problem, whether that is a specific target group (the elderly, children, women, the disabled, etc.) or a specific cause (the environment, poverty, peace, etc.). By engaging in a specific problem or a target group through supporting an organisation, volunteers are connected to the community as a whole (Liu, 2019, pp. 18–19). Volunteerism is a community process. Volunteering is an effective way of encouraging young people to get involved with community problems and goals. We all need to feel that we are part of a community and to narrow the gap or ‘anomie’ we feel in our community. As such, ‘community as a process’ is understood as a participatory process by which young people in a community can feel a part of and a sense of belonging to the community. Volunteerism is said to be the easiest community process by which people can become connected to and involved in action to solve community problems. Those who volunteer will

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Fig. 4.1 The humanistic-empowerment model

likely achieve a stronger sense of community and contribute more to social cohesiveness, harmony, and stability. The community also achieves social capital that ties and binds individuals and society together. So, volunteering remains a special kind of helping, not replacing professional help, but a community can be recognised as caring if a society promotes and supports volunteering work. It is even suggested that we should incorporate or evaluate a country’s volunteering policies to determine its level of development and modernisation, or to distinguish developed countries from developing and under-developing ones (Liu, 2019, pp. 19–20) (Fig. 4.1).

The Inception, Development, and Maturation of the CYEP and Its Impact on Hall Management In early 2005, the CYEP proposal was approved and a first sum of seed money was received to formally launch the project. Originating from a teaching and learning project with a mission to mobilise students in residential halls to volunteer in the community, the CYEP was initially open only to hall residents from the hall where I was acting as a residence master. It then became quite clear that other residence masters also found it a meaningful project and invited us to open it to hallmates from other halls. The project grew from around 150 volunteers in the first year to around 300 volunteers in the third year. The model was found to be facilitative for retaining volunteers and receiving ongoing positive feedback from local NGOs. Volunteers were also found to be participating enthusiastically, and there were overwhelming requests for those who were not hall residents to join. In 2007, a meeting was held between the head of the SS department, the vice president of student affairs, and myself to discuss the future development of the CYEP. It was agreed that the project would become a departmental project, funded jointly by the teaching and learning fund of our university and the SS department. Since then, it has become an official departmental project. It was opened to participants from all departments, and not just hall residents. During the following six years (2008–2014), we were funded only by the teaching and learning fund from CityU, until 2011, when we received our first donation. From 2014 to 2018, the project slowly evolved until it was almost totally funded by community donations in 2017. So, incrementally, we grew in numbers. From initially being only staffed by two project officers, we gradually expanded to

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five, then six, then, in 2016–2017, to six project officers and one project supervisor. In the last eight years, we have worked closely with the Development Office and the Alumni Relations Office at our university to involve community leaders, donors, and alumni. We also learned during this process that the CYEP has become a popular choice for groups of potential donors who want to contribute to the community through a university platform serving the community. By donating to the CYEP, they are also indirectly contributing to the community. It quickly became evident that this form of student engagement with the community was beneficial to the personal and academic development of participating students, as well as to the community at large, especially those whose accessibility to adequate resources was limited. In 2020, 15 years after its inception, the CYEP is a university-wide service-learning project, under the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, with the mission of mobilising and organising CityU students to serve underprivileged communities through various volunteering services. The project also aims to enhance students’ civic commitment and understanding of social issues, and to integrate practice-oriented experience gained from serving the community with academic knowledge. The project’s objectives are: 1. 2.

To mobilise and organise students from the City University of Hong Kong to participate in volunteer work in the community. To serve underprivileged and marginalised groups as the project’s core mission. The intended outcomes for university students are:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

To facilitate students to gain more knowledge of the needs of people facing social problems, thus enhancing their ability to help effectively. To encourage students to take action toward community building on individual, group, and/or organisational levels. To facilitate students in identifying and applying the dynamics between personal and social problems and values, from an ecological perspective. To assist students in developing a deeper understanding of volunteerism as a social, team, organisational, and community process. To help students align personal values and commitments with community goals through identification with the project and the serving agencies (Liu, 2019, p. 58).

Sustaining the Connection Between the CYEP and Hall Education A brief glimpse of the development and maturation of the CYEP raises the following question: ‘How does the CYEP’s development and maturation ultimately relate to hall education?’ The CYEP originally stemmed from an idea related to the hall environment and the promotion of hall culture and identity. When we found that the model of the CYEP was effective in sustaining volunteers, we expanded and extended

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it to a university-level project to serve all students. Nevertheless, the foundation of the CYEP still lies in the hall where I was acting as a residence master, and I aim to simultaneously benefit the students from the hall community, as well as other students who are not. 1.

Implementing a coaching system in the hall to promote volunteerism. The CYEP has developed a coaching system for all student volunteers, which has two major processes. First, the CYEP adopts a ‘group matching’ method to recruit volunteers. We will not match an individual volunteer with an NGO to meet their volunteer demands. Instead, we negotiate with an NGO for the length of an entire project (or part of their larger projects), so that we can develop a plan for longer commitment as a group to serve a community project. For each of these projects, we plan how many volunteers are needed, for how long, and for how many service recipients (so service recipients are also not individuals, but a targeted group of people in need). When a group of volunteers is recruited to reach the goal of such a project for a group of service recipients through collaboration with an NGO, we then start our training process with a group of designated volunteers. We also assign a project officer to start the training and then oversee the service delivery process, from the beginning until the end of the contracted service period. Overall, this simple and direct coaching system is found to be effective in helping the volunteers to identify with the agency, feel safe from being rejected and assessed by NGOs who do not really understand each volunteer, and focus on learning how to volunteer. Most important of all, they feel they are supported by staff and by their teammates. When the projects that are under planning at the start of every academic year begin, we are aware that we will identify some projects that are appropriate to be entirely owned by our hall. The coaching model shown below, involving recruitment, training, debriefing, and ongoing training, is found to be very successful in engaging and sustaining young people’s volunteerism (Liu, 2019, p. 65) (Fig. 4.2).

2.

Creating opportunities for the hall to play a role in our newly developed community-based projects. Around six years after implementing the CYEP, the project decided to diversify the service level from basically a group-based service toward a more community-based service. We tried to mobilise some interested volunteers to become engaged with some comparatively communitybased or macro-based work. Thus, the volunteers needed to understand the needs/problems of our service recipients from a structural perspective, and not confine their thinking to only individual problems. Our first attempt was to

Fig. 4.2 The CYEP coaching model for volunteering

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prepare a group of volunteers to host a press and community conference to help them to understand the needs and problems of the children that we were serving. We named the conference ‘CityU Cares for Children’. At that time, we served around 300 children through the CYEP. At the press conference, we summarised the background, problems, and services involved, to let the community know about the general problems/needs of children from the vulnerable sector (namely, children with learning problems, emotional problems, and family problems, etc.). We then also introduced to the public how we design programmes for them. We found volunteers learned a lot from the different perspectives of the work involved. Since then, we have created a line of work involving ‘community-scale’ work or ‘advocacy work’. Examples of this work include a press conference on the language barriers faced by ethnic minority groups, raising money for the Guide Dogs Association, and the phenomenal Homeless Outreach and Population Estimation (H.O.P.E.) project, carried out across two years, 2013 and 2015, in which a city-count of the number of homeless people in Hong Kong was conducted by more than 300 student volunteers in one night. In all these endeavours, we seized the chance for the hall to participate by owning part of such a big project. From another angle, we also found that, without the support of the hall environment, big community projects could not have delivered so successfully. The H.O.P.E. project will be further described here so as to show the importance of the role of the residential halls to those community projects. The H.O.P.E. project was a borrowed idea from the New York H.O.P.E. project, as an advocacy project for the homeless. Since the government could not carry out a comprehensive city-count of the homeless population, the NY H.O.P.E. project took the initiative to mobilise volunteers to carry out a city-count of the homeless in one night, and we decided to replicate this project in Hong Kong. It took us six months to prepare. We had to work with the NGOs in regard to how to divide the whole of Hong Kong into areas so that we could estimate how many volunteers would be needed. We then carried out recruitment, training, designing the city-count routes, designing the data collection methods, and the data collection methods themselves. Using the 2013 city-count as an example, we finally mobilised over 300 volunteers, who were divided into 48 teams for over 100 routes to be covered in one night. With such a magnitude of work, we were challenged with the needs of lots of space for the storage of materials, the return of statistics, counting statistics, etc. The project also needed a special team of volunteers who would take care of the flow of statistics datasheets. In the end, we realised that we needed an overnight administrative centre from which to run the project. The hall was then found to be the most convenient place to manage an administrative and logistic centre to support the city-count. So, in a short amount of time, we created a temporary space and management office for important tasks to be carried out inside our hall. Without the hall as an overnight support centre, it was difficult to imagine how we would have managed to pioneer and accomplish the city-count in Hong Kong. The data we collected were shared with the public via press conferences and were sent to

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E. S. C. Liu

the Legislative Council to advocate for the needs of homeless people in Hong Kong. Delivering community service within the hall and campus environment. We have also designed several community services with the hall as the base of services. They were found to be very encouraging in terms of building hall identity and culture. The first example is the hall and campus tours for secondary school students. We worked with secondary schools and youth centres to deliver a one-day university campus tour for young people who were identified by their teachers as being unfamiliar with university education or as having a very low aspiration to enter universities. Within the hall, we then recruited a group of hallmates as volunteers who would be the tour mentors for the group of secondary students. Usually, the tour would start on the campus, to enable visitors to see the operation of library, computer centre, lecturing rooms, and student canteens. The final destination was always our hall environment, to show these groups of teenagers the living environment and activities of the residential halls. The young students were always excited to see the bedrooms and study rooms. Our volunteers were also trained to build caring relationships with the young students, to pass on advice and encouragement to them, and to answer their questions about entering university. The whole programme appears to be simple and brief; however, after years of organising it, it has been found to be very impactful on young secondary school students. We also have evidence from our hallmates that it was a very good way to increase their hall and university identity, and thus create a culture for our hall in regard to serving the community. Besides serving secondary school students, with the hall as a base, we also organised short summer camps (one or two nights) for primary school students who were receiving tuition services year-round from the CYEP. We worked with NGOs, organising for their service recipients from low-income families to receive free tuition classes from our volunteers on campus during the academic term. Over the summer, we offered free summer camps to these children, whereby they could stay for one or two nights in the hall residence, usually in a double room with one university mentor paired as their roommate. After this programme was designed and delivered, it became so popular that we installed it as a regular programme later on.

Conclusion The CYEP has been running for 15 years now, with its inception closely related to the goal of enhancing hall education. Below are statistics from the project from 2006 to 2018. The project has been opened to all students to participate in since 2008 and, in the subsequent five years (2008–2013), we have conducted an annual survey in order to monitor how the move of the project from hall-based to university-based affects the number of volunteers from the residential halls. The results show that, in these five years, around one-third of the total number of volunteers steadily came from

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the residential halls. We came to the conclusion that the project, as an original idea from the residential halls, was probably quite rooted as a community service culture in the hall environment, with some halls having a higher percentage of participation, and some lower. In the hall where I acted as residence master, I witnessed how the senior volunteers and hall tutors mentored freshmen in regard to becoming successful volunteers, who later on continued to mentor others. Alongside these joint efforts in the hall to deliver community services, these friendships are also found to be enhancing the hall culture by encouraging hallmates to take pride in the fact that the CYEP, as a bigger project later on, was originated from our hall. So, the project has finally given our hall a very solid way to help individual students who are found to be lacking a direction to develop themselves. It is also a motivation for many of them to form a network with others as a team, and an effective process for them to understand bigger organisational values and structures (when working in NGOs), and to realise that society involves many macro issues that they are passionate in helping. From hall to community, we found a meaningful present time with our hallmates during their short stays in our hall, and we have given many of them a hopeful future by enabling them to feel that they have achieved self-development while serving others. To facilitate a young hall in developing a unique culture in a short period of time, my experience as a residence master for 15 years (2002–2017) in the Jockey Club Humanity Hall has a given a lot for me and our graduated hallmates to look back on, and has helped us to realise the importance of humanity, the power of empowerment, the magic of volunteerism, and the joy of working with young people (Liu, 2019, p.78) (Table 4.1). Table 4.1 The number of volunteers, service recipients, and service hours involved in the CYEP

Year

No. of volunteers

No. of service recipients

Service hours

2006–2007

196

278

4815

2007–2008

312

480

4502

2008–2009

213

422

4896

2009–2010

477

708

7573

2010–2011

545

697

8141 9803

2011–2012

418

570

2012–2013

1436

1139

19,758

2013–2014

1762

2312

22,078

2014–2015

1977

2415

27,217

2015–2016

2019

2549

36,098

2016–2017

1630

2095

28,335

2017–2018

1110

2096

23,447

12,095

15,761

196,663

Total

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Reference Liu, E. S. C. (2019). Empowering Asian youth through volunteering: Examples of theory into practice. Routledge.

Chapter 5

Care Across Borders Through Hall Life Education Programmes: Case Studies from Hong Kong Baptist University Kevin Kin Man Yue

Abstract Student involvement in enhancing student learning and development is playing an important role in the whole person education advocated by the Hong Kong Baptist University, particularly in the undergraduate halls which aim to foster a living-learning environment. Through the two programmes, namely the Community Engagement Organisers and the Green Quest, it is demonstrated that there is a positive correlation between student involvement and the success of these programmes, fostering a care towards the community by the students.

Introduction ‘To be a leading liberal arts university in Asia for the world, delivering academic excellence in a caring, creative, and global culture’ is the vision statement of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). The undergraduate halls (hereafter, halls) at Hong Kong Baptist University provide a living-learning environment with a structural residential education, which is integral to the whole-person education at the university. The halls accommodate 1770 residents in two interconnected towers of 20 floors, with a mix of local and non-local students. In line with the vision of the university, the halls aim to promote dynamic intellectual exchanges, unleashing the creativity of the residents, and strengthening the culture of care and proximity to one another at the university. ‘Care’ is the process of protecting someone or something and providing what that person or thing needs, according to the Cambridge Dictionary. There is a strong culture of care and support among the student residents within and beyond our halls. Within our halls, there is strong pastoral care from hall management, including the residence masters, attentive support from hall student leaders, such as hall tutors and mentors, and intimate peer bonding among hallmates across rooms, units, floors, and halls. Beyond the halls, students participate in structured residential K. K. M. Yue (B) Office of Student Affairs and School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_5

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education programmes to promote care across borders of generations, time, and space.

Background Residential education programmes at HKBU focus on the academic, social, and personal growth of residents across four development dimensions: ‘Personal Enrichment’, ‘Residents’ Bonding’, ‘Community and U’, and ‘Green and Health Mindfulness’. This is in line with our university mission, in which ‘HKBU is committed to academic excellence in teaching, research, and service, and to the development of the whole person in all these endeavours, built upon the heritage of Christian higher education’. We therefore strive to nurture our students based on a wholeperson education ethos, particularly students living in the halls, through residential education established over the years. Residents participate in residential education programmes organised by the residence master and student leaders of their own halls, and joint hall programmes organised by the hall life education team. Residential education programmes are often evaluated and revised to adapt to students’ changing needs. One significant improvement that has been made is the increasing involvement of students. Student involvement refers to the quantity and quality of the physical and psychological energy that students invest in the college experience (Astin, 1984). Involvement theory (Astin, 1999) states that student involvement is one of the key factors enhancing student learning and development. Various studies in different contexts validate the notion that the quantity and quality of involvement are major factors in students’ learning outcomes (Astin, 1984; Ganser & Kennedy, 2012; Ting et al., 2016). This paper illustrates how care across borders could be strengthened through student involvement, with case studies of two residential education programmes: Community Engagement Organisers, a programme promoting community care; and Green Quest, a programme promoting care for the environment through the study of sustainability.

Case Studies Case 1: The Community Engagement Organisers (CEOs) Programme Design and Implementation The Community Engagement Organisers (CEOs) programme was launched in the first semester of the 2016–2017 academic year. CEOs across the four halls at HKBU were recruited to organise activities involving engagement with the community on a social or cultural level, or themes that concern

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the community. Within four years, the number of CEOs increased from four to 100 students. The evolution of the programme design and the changes in student involvement are illustrated below. Phase 1: Complete Student Initiation The objective of the CEOs programme is to gather like-minded students to initiate activities addressing social issues that they find interesting. Student involvement initially began with students passively participating in the activities, forming an Organising Committee (OC), and designing programme activities themselves. In the pilot year of the CEOs programme, mainland and international exchange students volunteered to form the OC. The OC brainstormed social issues in Hong Kong and discussed how our resources could be contributed. They eventually chose the study of street sleepers as a topic for further investigation. After visiting districts with street sleepers and meeting with local NGOs, the OC proposed to arrange hotpot dinners for the street sleepers. Unfortunately, it was difficult to find an ideal venue and a lack of rapport made it difficult to motivate the street sleepers to join the dinner. Finally, the OC worked with a restaurant serving a vegetarian buffet, gathering its leftovers and distributing them to street sleepers in the neighbourhood. The OC was inactive after this service to prepare for examinations and it was dismissed as the academic year came to an end. The outcomes of the CEOs programme in 2016–2017 were unsatisfactory. We evaluated the programme with our participants. Their reflections are summarised as follows. • Low participation rate: The programme was launched in the first semester of 2016 and received five local applicants who did not show up after learning the details of the programme during their interviews. Another round of applications began in the second semester, and two mainland students and two exchange students were accepted. It seems that students, especially local ones, were not keen on forming or organising activities related to social issues. • Lack of sustainability: The food distribution project began in the beginning of semester two and lasted for three months, until the examination period. There was only one activity organised, due to the short programme period. Also, as half of the OC were exchange students who left Hong Kong after their examinations, there were no follow-up activities in the programme. • Lack of differentiation: There were other similar programmes available on campus and we had not fully utilised our advantages as a student hall to differentiate ourselves from others. Our comparative advantage is that students are living together and are affiliated with our neighbourhood. • Demotivation: From our last experience, the street sleepers were from a place far away from our university, so students found the location inconvenient for a service that lasted for half an hour only; thus, it demotivated them in terms of their participation.

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Phase 2: Collaboration Between Students and Programme Facilitator Riding on this experience in 2016–2017, we aimed to organise programmes that answer community needs in our neighbourhood, utilise our unique position, and improve community bonding. While we would remain open-minded about proposals initiated by students, we would provide some guided topics, so that students interested in specific topics could meet. As we were preparing for recruitment for the CEOs programme in 2017–2018, we were fortunate to receive a generous donation in order to arrange an elderly care programme for three years. We invited one of the CEOs participants from 2016–2017 to be our student ambassador and worked to design an elderly care programme. The objectives of the CEOs elderly care programme were as follows. • To promote a healthy lifestyle and provide support and care to the elderly; • To provide learning opportunities for students in regard to their development as caring citizens and creative problem solvers; • To connect students with stakeholders of HKBU, to strengthen their sense of identity. • During our discussion with the student ambassador, we brainstormed the reasons behind and solutions to students not being able to commit to the community engagement programme. The programme design of the CEOs elderly care programme was confirmed as follows. • Service target: Elderly people who are childless and living alone in locations near our university. • Programme outline: • Rounded training is provided to students (including care skills training, experience sharing from experts, and experiential learning experience); • Students are teamed up and each team is grouped with a few elderly people. • Students arrange regular visits with their own elderly buddies in their group. • Some outings are organised for the students and the elderly by the hall life team. This programme aims to provide a structured learning experience to the students. It allows students to have the flexibility to discuss with their elderly buddies a suitable visit schedule, especially with the service location conveniently located. Participants can arrange their visits in between classes. When students are occupied with their studies and are not able to make the arrangement, they can invite their elderly buddies to join in with activities organised by the hall life team. Instead of being a completely student-initiated programme, the involvement of the hall life team ensures the smooth running of the programme without overburdening the students. This programme enables the elderly to form connections with a few students who can visit them regularly to build up a sustainable form of bonding. They can also engage in different activities organised by the students and the programme facilitator.

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Analysis The programme began to involve an increasing number of students and elderly participants. In 2017–2018, the CEOs elderly care programme recruited around 40 students and around 30 elderly people. In 2018–2019, there were around 100 students serving 80 elderly people, including around 50 elderly people grouped with our students for regular visits. Up until the first semester of this year, there were 150 students serving 60 elderly buddies. During these years, some of the students withdrew from the programme as they graduated, or due to increased study loads, but there was a steady intake of new participants. To expand our network of care, the programme was also opened to HKBU students who are non-hall residents. From the year-end evaluation surveys and debriefing sessions with the students, we learned that the CEOs elderly care programme excels compared with other similar elderly services in the following aspects. • Duration: The programme lasted a year, rather than for only a single visit, which allows students to build strong bonds with the elderly. Students are encouraged to continue to stay in the programme during their entire study period at HKBU. • Flexibility: Students could directly discuss with the elderly participants their visitation schedule and communication methods. This makes the arrangement flexible and improves the time management skills of the students. • Dynamic: The programme is responsive to feedback. It is regularly evaluated and improved through debriefing sessions with students. A few student ambassadors are recruited each year to assist in the planning, promotion, and delivery of the programme. The outings organised for the elderly and students are different every year. Not only are there fresh experiences for the elderly and students, but the activities help retain the participants. • Support from the hall life team and teammates: The hall life team facilitates and enriches the programme by providing support to students, including the preparation of food packs for students to bring to the elderly, sending regular reminders, arranging appropriate training, and organising outings. Visiting the elderly in teams allows participants to support one another, especially during the early stages of the programme when students are less confident about talking to strangers. Some non-Cantonese speaking students were grateful for the help from their teammates in regard to translating. The elderly buddies, who are childless and living alone, enjoy the company of the students. We do not have an accurate record of the total service hours of the students because students do not have the habit of recording their visitation schedules, and intangible communication, such as phone calls and text messages, cannot be counted. However, we often receive appreciation in regard to the students from the elderly, especially in terms of the number of messages they have received or the places they visited with the students. In fact, the care and support is mutual. The students learn and experience a lot from this intergenerational bonding. Drawing common words from student feedback from the year-end evaluation (Fig. 5.1), 49% accounted for

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Fig. 5.1 Keywords from a year-end evaluation of CEO participants 2017–2018 and 2018–2019

‘happy’, ‘care’, ‘love’, ‘warm’, and ‘friends’. Through the CEOs programme, students learn to care for their elderly buddies, which leads them to reflect upon their own relationships with their own family members and to open themselves up to be caring for by others and by themselves: ‘Grandma reminded me to tighten my shoelaces, gave me candies for motion sickness, reminded me to sleep well and keep warm, and held my hands in crowded places… Every tiny bit of care made me feel warm. It reminded me of the importance of saving time to support each other no matter how busy we are.’ Feedback from a student after a two-day trip to Macau. ‘I love the bonding with my grandma, which breaks the generation gap and cultural differences. There is humanity and recognition as an integrated member of the society, which could not be taught by any lecturer with any PowerPoints or assignments. This can only be acquired through hands-on experience.’ Feedback from a student after a two-day trip to Macau. ‘I realised that volunteering is more than a thing on your CV. It is amazing to see that I can bring happiness to others.’ Feedback from a student during a year-end evaluation. ‘I find the meaning in doing volunteer work and the worth of myself. It is an amazing feeling when you realise that you are capable of giving something.’ Feedback from a student during a year-end evaluation.

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‘My elderly buddy shared a lot about himself and his past, which reminded me of my grandparents. I learned a lot from his sharing and I was touched and started to reflect on myself.’ Feedback from a student during a year-end evaluation. ‘My elderly buddy kept asking if we had any questions for her. It seems like we are not the ones taking care of her but vice versa. Maybe this is the essence of elderly care, which is ‘the care is mutual.” Feedback from a student during a year-end evaluation.

Moving Forward The CEOs elderly care programme is being extended for one more year until 2021. It is hoped that the culture of care will continue to flourish in the halls and spread across geographic and demographic borders.

Case 2: Green Quest Design and Implementation The undergraduate halls believe that ‘green’ is a living style that strives for balance and aims for economic, social, and environmental sustainability. As a complement to the green programmes at the undergraduate halls, Green Quest was launched in the 2014–2015 year and is run annually by the halls to enhance the green awareness of HKBU students through local and overseas experiences. The programme is evaluated annually to keep abreast of social changes and students’ interests. Each year, there are around 10–15 participants. The programme is open for applications from all HKBU students, with a priority for hall residents. Though students participating in Green Quest are from diverse academic backgrounds, they have one common interest: the pursuit of green living. Green Quest includes three components: ‘Green Foundation’, ‘Green Journey’, and ‘Green Giving’. Based on this main structure, the programme has been improved over the years to enhance students’ learning. One significant improvement is the increasing level of student involvement. The structure and development of the programme are as follows.

Phase 1: Students as Active Learners Stage 1: The Green Foundation (Local Preparation) To enhance students’ understanding of green development in Hong Kong, Green Quest starts off with a series of seminars delivered by local experts on topics covering public spaces, urban planning, and green lifestyle, etc. After the seminars, students are required to submit an

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individual research paper and present their findings in groups on the assigned topics related to sustainability. Stage 2: The Green Journey (Overseas Tour) Students visit two Scandinavian countries, Denmark and Sweden, where the pursuit of a green and sustainable society is being taken seriously. In around two weeks, the participants walk through and experience most of the areas in Copenhagen municipality and Malmo city. Participants pay a visit to local firms and meet with Scandinavian students and experts to exchange ideas on green living in our respective countries. To better engage students, some are assigned as student guides and are responsible for introducing the areas to the whole group. Through the Green Journey, the participants build up hands-on experience and develop a new understanding of how green initiatives could be implemented and promoted in their daily lives, their country’s infrastructure and system, city planning, government policy, culture, and community engagement. Stage 3: Green Giving (Sharing) After the Green Journey, students share their experiences and insights from the tour and pass green messages forward a sharing session.

Phase 2: Students as Collaborators in the Halls’ Green and Health Mindfulness Promotion Campaign Students from Green Quest have commented highly on the programme. The tour was found to have a positive impact on their personal growth and future planning. Yet, the learning was confined to individual participants. In order to extend the impact of the programme to the wider halls community, Green Questers, the former Green Quest participants, were invited to collaborate with the hall life team to arrange a series of Green and Health Mindfulness workshops and to promote green messages to halls residents. The best way of understanding students is through direct communication. Feedback from Green Questers was very useful in the planning of Green and Health Mindfulness workshops, which were well received by students. Green Questers also assisted in the planning of a Green Exploration Trip to Singapore.

Phase 3: Students Are Empowered to Initiate the Promotion of Green Messages in the Halls Building on the positive feedback from the Green and Health Mindfulness workshops, two Green Questers from 2018–2019 were invited to actively initiate the promotion of green messages to residents of the halls in the 2019–2020 academic

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year. During the first semester of 2019–2020, the Green Questers arranged vegetarian food workshops to promote healthy diets. They also held ‘zentangle’ workshops to promote mindfulness through designing a series of promotional materials to raise awareness of saving resources and caring for nature. There would be more workshops on upcycling and calling for green actions in coming months, all initiated and organised by Green Questers.

Analysis An analysis of the results of the evaluation surveys (Table 5.1) indicates that students had positive experiences of Green Quest. Students rated highly the intended learning outcomes, which include instilling the concepts of green and sustainability, and enhancing personal growth. The two most outstanding outcomes were ‘I gained new knowledge and insights on the topics of green living, sustainability, and urban planning from the programme’ and ‘I was inspired by the programme to adopt a healthy lifestyle’. Table 5.1 Overall Means of Comments from 29 Green Quest Participants, 2017–2018 and 2018– 2019 Comments

Overall means (scored on a five-point Likert scale)

Learning outcomes related to major objectives • I gained new knowledge and insights on the 4.69 topics of green living, sustainability, and urban planning from the programme • I was inspired by the programme to adopt a healthy lifestyle

4.62

• I applied information/skills/experience from the programme to my daily life or studies

4.31

Learning outcomes related to personal growth • The programme strengthened my life and 4.45 transferable skills, such as self-confidence, the ability to face uncertainty, and my problem-solving abilities • I experienced different cultures and interacted 4.52 with people from different cultural backgrounds • My oral communication skills were enhanced

4.31

Overall comments • I would recommend the programme to my classmates or friends

4.69

• Overall, the programme was well-structured

4.67

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Table 5.2 T-test results of the self-assessments of 28 green quest participants, 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 Questions

Post-training means Pre-training means Mean differences Significance

Making changes

3.86

3.61

0.25

0.23

Passion for learninga

4.04

3.71

0.32

0.05

Subject knowledgea

3.86

3.11

0.57

0.01

Intercultural knowledgea

3.64

2.96

0.68

0.00

Motivation and 3.93 active involvement in groupa

3.57

0.36

0.04

Health awarenessa

4.11

3.71

0.39

0.02

Self-reflection

3.89

3.75

0.14

0.42

Presentation skillsa

3.64

3.21

0.43

0.01

Team-building abilities

3.93

3.71

0.21

0.18

Intercultural skillsa

4.00

3.50

0.50

0.00

a

Denotes that the improvement (mean score difference) is statistically significant at the 0.05 level)

Comparing the self-assessment of students before and after the programme, students significantly improved in regard to their ‘passion for learning’, ‘subject knowledge’, ‘intercultural knowledge’, ‘motivation and active involvement in group’, ‘health awareness’, ‘presentation skills’, and ‘intercultural skills’ (Table 5.2). From their training in Hong Kong and personal experiences overseas, the Green Questers learned to care for the earth. The seed of caring for the environment was planted in Hong Kong, nurtured during overseas experience, and travelled across continents to flourish back in Hong Kong. This seed of care also journeyed across time when students applied it to their daily lives, which changed their lifestyles and enhanced their personal growth. Green Questers from 2014 to 2018 were interviewed in 2019 in regard to their personal development relating to their experiences during the programme: ‘It’s cliché but it was really eye-opening. The green quest tour marks my first time travelling to European countries. My friends and I treasure the memories we had in Sweden and Denmark. It also changed my lifestyle a lot: I now walk a lot, I don’t purchase any bottled drinks, I don’t use straws, and so on. I’ve become more confident in speaking my mind and respecting different cultures. I would not have become who I am today if I hadn’t met the nicest people from the tour (really)!’ Feedback from a 2017 Green Quester who was involved in the planning of green workshops and the tour to Singapore in 2018.

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‘To me, Green Quest is the turning point of my life. When I was in Year 1, I was insecure about choosing geography as my major. Green Quest cleared my doubts and guided me to pursue urban planning for my postgraduate studies. Currently a teaching assistant, I often share my experience in Scandinavia with my students. Without Green Quest, I believe I would be an aimless graduate.’ Feedback from a 2015 Green Quester. ‘I have made some significant changes to my life. I am more devoted to the discussion of environmental protection and often compare policies in Hong Kong with those in Scandinavia. I have a stronger determination to recycle, to reduce waste, and to promote these messages to my friends. Green Quest changed my mindset and lifestyle. Seriously, I am considering taking up jobs related to environmental protection.’ Feedback from a 2018 Green Quester.

Moving Forward To further strengthen students’ care for the local environment, in the sixth year of Green Quest, it was proposed that the project collaborate with a local NGO to provide training and supervision in regard to a local project internship concerning environmental issues. It is hoped that engaging students in local projects will advance students’ learning in regard to green living and sustainability.

Discussion Community Engagement Organisers (CEOs) and Green Quest are two programmes organised by the halls with the aims of promoting care in the community and in regard to the environment. Although the structures of the two programmes are different, one common factor is the high degree of student involvement, which echoes Astin’s involvement theory. The level of student involvement and the results seen during the development of the programmes in the past few years are summarised in Table 5.3. Summarising the experiences from the two programmes, a model of student involvement during different stages of a programme is proposed. This could serve as an example of good practice to other residential education programmes (Table 5.4).

Conclusion A culture of care is visible in the halls. It crosses the borders of the halls to reach the wider community and bridge generations, time, and space. The two programmes from the halls’ Life Education Team that promote care were studied in this paper. Although there are no statistical figures directly relating student

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Table 5.3 A summary of student involvement during the development of the two programmes Phase

Level of involvement

Result

Community engagement organisers (CEOs) programme Phase 1 Complete student initiation

Programme was 100% initiated and run by students

Phase 2 Students were recruited to Collaboration of students and work on a specific topic; programme facilitator student ambassadors were involved in the planning; students worked under a designed framework and with supervision from the hall life team; students were given flexibility during the programme; regular evaluations and debriefing were carried out to collect students’ feedback

Although students were given complete freedom in regard to the design of the programme, this ambiguity led to low levels participation and failure to involve (recruit) students during the first step Students were involved in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of the programme. Collaboration with the hall life team allows students to receive guidance and support and, at the same time, preserve flexibility during the delivery of programme

Green quest Phase 1 Students as active learners

Students were actively involved as learners in the training and overseas tour, which included individual and group research work, interactive sessions with representatives from Scandinavia, and acting as tour guides for some parts of the tour; students shared their programme experience through sharing sessions

Students acting as active learners strengthened their engagement and sense of ownership in regard to the programme, which enhanced the learning outcomes

Phase 2 Students as collaborators of the halls’ Green and Health Mindfulness promotion campaign

Apart from being active learners, after the tour, students contributed their learning through assisting in the preparation of Green and Health Mindfulness workshops in the halls

Workshops and promotions that involved students’ input appealed to students and attracted participation

(continued)

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Table 5.3 (continued) Phase

Level of involvement

Result

Phase 3 Students are empowered to initiate the promotion of Green Messages in the halls

Apart from being active learners, after the tour, students initiated their own campaign to promote green messages in the halls, which included designing promotional materials and organising workshops

Green Questers shared their learning and experiences in creative ways that appealed to students. Organising workshops enabled Green Questers to directly promote green messages to other students

Table 5.4 Proposed model of student involvement during different stages of the programme Stage

Level of student involvement

Planning

Brainstorm with students in regard to the design of the programme. The programme facilitator needs to strike a balance between students’ interests and the intended learning outcomes

Early stage of delivery

Students take the initiative to promote and deliver the programme. The programme facilitator acts as a supervisor to provide guidelines and support to students

Later stage of delivery

Higher flexibility is given to students in regard to the delivery of the programme, in line with the intended learning goals. The programme facilitator acts as the supervisor/observer of the progress

Evaluation

The timely collection of students’ comments enables the evaluation of their feedback, with the aim of making improvements during and after the programme

involvement to the success of the programmes, qualitative analysis of students’ feedback indicates a positive relationship between these two elements. A model of student involvement during different stages of the programme is proposed in this paper, which could serve as an example of good practice for other hall life education programmes.

References Astin, A. W. (1999). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Development, 40(5), 518–529. Astin, A. W. (1984). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Personnel, 25, 297–308. Ganser, S. R., & Kennedy, T. L. (2012). Where it all began: Peer education and leadership in student services. New Directions for Higher Education, 157, 17–29. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20003 Ting, S. R., Chan, R., & Lee, E. (2016). Involving students in residence halls in Hong Kong. Journal of College Student Development, 57(3), 300–315.

Chapter 6

Deeper Experiential Engagement Projects (DEEP) in Residential Halls: Equipping for the Future Chun Chau Sze

Abstract In Asian societies, such as that of Singapore, bringing about creative and innovative thinking while fostering inquiring minds with a taste for interdisciplinary learning is complex and challenging. A first step toward tackling this is to target the ‘in classroom’ mentality. Taking advantage of the informality of residential hall activities, which are driven by students’ personal interests, has great potential to bring about such learning outcomes that are critical to equipping students for the future. We describe the development and pilot runs of an experiential learning scaffold – the Deeper Experiential Engagement Project (DEEP) – at Nanyang Technological University Singapore, which can be overlaid on residential hall activities for such purposes.

Introduction Education has to keep up with the shifting demands of society over time, e.g. to be relevant to the globally connected twenty-first century and the Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML)-driven “Industry 4.0” (Ministry of Education, 2020). Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU) tackled the latter by addressing the need for conceptual awareness in an increasingly AI/ML-reliant society by introducing courses on Digital Literacy/Computational Thinking, while strengthening “human” attributes that AI/ML cannot substitute for, e.g. empathy, creativity, ethical decision-making. However, as one goes through years of teaching, one eventually comes to the realization that it is not exactly possible to “teach” students how to be creative or have enquiring minds—the attributes that elevates human capability above that of the AI. We may design learning activities of task/problem-based nature that require innovative/creative thinking and the process of enquiry in order to complete the assignment. C. C. Sze (B) Experiential and Collaborative Learning Office, Institute for Pedagogical Innovation, Research and Excellence, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore, Singapore e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_6

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However, what we ultimately assess is the externally visible outcome, and not the students’ internal cognitive restructuring that we hope to stimulate. Students may be able to produce the outcome in a variety of ways that involve very little of their own creative thinking, for example, by putting together bits and pieces of other people’s solutions—which they deem to be applicable to their specific assignment’s context— sourced from the internet. Alternatively, they may simply follow the steps prescribed in a “template method” for going about such assignments dutifully, provided by conscientious teachers wanting to provide guidance to students who appear to be at a loss. Taking on such means of completing assignments falls short of fulfilling the desired learning outcomes, as it involves no self-driven cognitive restructuring on the part of the students. The students are essentially treading paths that will get the assignment completed, which they know will be assessed. The challenge in relation to this group of students is to coach them out of the comfort zones of relying on the thinking of others and to motivate them to want to build constructs from their own seeds of thoughts. Of course, with adequate guidance, a proportion of the students do manage to be stimulated to exercise innovation and creativity as intended by the designed learning activities. Among Singapore undergraduates, we have observed that some students develop the ability to derive creative solutions within their discipline of study through activities that encourage the process of enquiry and synthesis of information, but the application somehow remains boxed within the classroom. It is almost as if the mental exercise of creativity and inquiry has been compartmentalized as “curriculum” by these students and they become at a loss when faced with cross-disciplinary or reallife tasks. Unboxing them from the confines of the discipline thus becomes the challenge we face in relation to this second group of students.

Bringing Learning Out of the Classroom After agonizing over this phenomenon in the Singapore undergraduate scene for some years, it eventually dawned upon us that both problems might have similar roots. We call this root the “awed by the classroom” mind-set. Due to the importance placed on academic performance by Singapore parents (as those from Asian societies tend to do), twelve years of solid pre-university education have given learning a status akin to a battle arena in the minds of most students, held fort by “respectable teachers” (Ee & Tan, 2008; Fang & Gopinathan, 2009). What happens within the classroom is a focused activity of survival confined within the arena. For the former group of students, learning activities designed for creative thinking are just another battle (brought about by the teachers) to fight for survival—“just let us use anything that can get us through this!” The latter group of students may have acquired the necessary innovative thinking skills, but they again perceived them to be just a part of the done-in-the-arena task—walled within the classroom—and the thought to apply the process beyond the walls does not come intuitively.

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How then do we remove this sense of awe and intimidation brought about by the classroom setting? One possible way is to provide a platform for students to go beyond the classroom and curriculum to bring disciplinary knowledge into their daily lives in order to solve problems or accomplish practical tasks. The link with personal interests in a daily-life context may motivate the former group of students to think on their feet, while allowing the latter group to experience the potential of applying their learning beyond the classroom. On our campus of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, twenty-two Halls of Residence for undergraduates exist, housing approximately twelve thousand students (slightly more than half of our undergraduate population). The thought then arose that if we can introduce appropriate learning activities into the Halls of Residence to serve as such a platform, we may be able to break the mental walls associated with classroom learning (Sze, 2017). Considering the size of the in-residence undergraduate population, the coverage will be significant. The activities within Halls are a subset of what we refer to as “co-curricular activities” (CCAs) and it was hoped that with the development of a suitable model to drive creativity through residential hall settings, we can further adopt this in other CCAs.

Co-curricular Activities in Singapore – Experience Only, Not Experiential Learning? Education in Singapore is mapped through a set of developmental outcomes in stages, translated from the Desired Outcomes of Education (DOE) articulated through the Ministry of Education (2020). The current DOE, for example, describes a person who is schooled in the Singapore Education system to be confident with a sound moral compass, who is adaptable and resilient, thinks independently and critically, communicates effectively, is a self-directed learner who takes responsibility for her own learning, an active contributor who is able to work effectively in teams, and a concerned citizen who has a strong civic consciousness. CCAs, often chosen based on students’ personal interests and hobbies, are presented in Singapore education policies as a necessary component because they potentially allow acquisition of many of these attributes through informal learning. “Informal learning” is defined by Rogoff et al. (2016) as a pedagogical model that “is non-didactic, is embedded in meaningful activity, builds on the learner’s initiative or interest or choice (rather than resulting from external demands or requirements), and does not involve assessment external to the activity”. Although CCAs are acknowledged to be a valuable platform for such informal learning, the perceived intangibility of benefits from CCAs tend to discourage students from putting in the effort to derive learning. Cognitive exercises necessary to drive the “experiences” from CCAs to close the Experiential Learning cycle—Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization and Active Experimentation (Kolb & Fry, 1974; Schenck & Cruickshank, 2015)—may be suggested but are often not taken up by students, diminishing their involvement in CCAs to mere “experiences”.

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This is a lamentable state because authentic experiential learning through CCAs, particularly at the tertiary education level, is a valuable channel for students to develop innovative, creative or enquiring minds in a cross-disciplinary context. A setting of CCA inherently releases students from these “classroom confines” as it is driven by personal interests embedded in everyday life, i.e. out of the classroom, and the problem-solving and practical task-based nature of the activities necessitates students to draw materials from multiple disciplines.

The NTU Residential Education Setting How then might we leverage this advantage and maximize informal learning opportunities offered in CCAs more effectively? In NTU, we attempted to do this through a structure overlaid on CCAs that could propel experiential learning. CCAs within the Residence Halls of NTU contribute to the campus vibrancy (Pang et al., 2016). In 2014, two Halls—Crescent and Pioneer (jointly, “CresPion”)—were earmarked to pilot Residential Education (RE) activities to develop such experiential learning scaffolds. Informal experiential and collaborative learning spaces across several disciplines were established in CresPion for exploration of creative activities based on students’ personal interests. For instance, one learning space— The Studio@CresPion—promoted exploration of artistic expression, documentation and communication using various media (Pang et al., 2016). Another space—The Kitchen@CresPion—allowed “good eating experience” to be looked into from the biology/chemistry perspective. In 2016, CresPion adopted a two-tiered RE approach to engage residents and encourage experiential learning: firstly by conducting one-off hands-on workshops to stimulate interests and curiosity, followed by offering opportunities to take up creative projects (team-based) related to, but not necessarily limited to the subject(s) of the workshop(s). The latter was structured to require collaborative work and utilization of cross-discipline knowledge and skills, and would be expected to require commitment of time and effort across one and a half semester, as opposed to the mere few hours one needs to spend through participation of the former. To incentivize the uptake and completion of such projects, we generated a framework for students’ efforts to be channelled to offset a one-course-equivalent in General Education Requirement (GER) of their formal academic requirement. Students may take on creative teambased projects by registering for the GER course, “Exploring the Science of Good Eating Experience” based on their own interests, as long as the project themes straddle “eating experience”, such as recipe development, fermentation, food culture/heritage and food art/visuals. We purposefully scaffolded the project process with deliverables (to be graded) to bring about the cognitive activities of the “Experiential Learning” cycle (Kolb & Fry, 1974; Schenck & Cruickshank, 2015).

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Key Design Elements of the Experiential Learning Scaffold Key elements of course design principles adopted, that address the challenges discussed earlier, are presented: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

The sequence of deliverables we expect from students (as part of what they are assessed) throughout the project are simply documentations that are meant to capture their thoughts naturally generated in a creative process, in order not to reduce the students’ degree of “hobby/interest-based” motivation. These include ideation by individual students, synthesis of proposal as a team, progress journaling and reflection, presentation of products and sharing of experience. The scope of “eating experience” is encompassing enough to require crossdisciplinary application and problem solving. Indeed, students have to consider the chemistry of taste and aroma molecules, the biology of the raw material, the physics of heat transfer and consider engineering principles to make their own tools necessary for certain cooking methods, e.g. in the “Smoked Food” project, team members constructed their own hot and cold smokers using household items, and proceeded to investigate how the type of wood used and the duration of smoking affected or enhanced taste in a variety of local dishes. The involvement of the faculty is limited to two or three critical touchpoints, so that students’ sense of ownership of the project is reinforced. Instead, facilitation of some necessary discussions is assisted by graduate students who are closer to the undergraduates’ age. The course is classified as General Elective Requirements (GER), which does not limit subscription to only a restricted programme. A team is made up of students organically drawn together because they were interested in the same hobby and creative theme, and yet may come from different disciplines. One key intervention by the faculty is included in the process—a one-onone coaching to individual members after the team has done a few rounds of experimentation without interference. The faculty draws input from the student’s progress journal. The coaching only addresses the approaches taken by the student, e.g. the faculty may suggest alternative approaches or query the decisions made, but strictly do not instruct on “what and how to do”. The project process starts with the process of “ideation” and concludes with presentation of their learning journey, allowing the comparison of their initial to the final state through monitoring of the submission of ideation, team proposal, progress journal and final report. The rubrics were designed to assess aspects of logical thoughts and creativity, as well as to acknowledge an individual’s “growth” (see Table 6.1). In many cases, “growth” is an important aspect of such courses intended to promote creativity and innovation.

Competence

Communication

Growth level assignment (For science disciplines) *A person is assigned to one of these categories if he/she fulfils at least 2 of these

Creativity and mastery

Purpose and Passion

Creativity and mastery

Deep learning manifestation Graded category 9

8

6

5

4

2

1

Good kitchen experience; confident; clear ability to relate scientific thinking principles; observable lateral thinking

3

(continued)

Some kitchen experience; somewhat confident; some attempts to relate scientific thinking principles; observable but limited lateral thinking

2

Very messy formatting (lack of consistence in use of fonts, spacing, margins) Grammatical and spelling errors are rampant

There is no logical flow of ideas, concepts and presentation of material

3

Low

Limited kitchen experience; limited confidence; limited ability to relate scientific thinking principles; limited lateral thinking (including fluency and expression)

Somewhat messy formatting Acceptable levels of grammatical and spelling errors

There is limited logical flow of ideas, concepts and presentation of material

7

Moderate

1

Clarity and organization Proper formatting with logical layout No (few) grammatical or spelling errors

There is a clear logical flow of ideas, concepts and presentation of material

10

Score ranges Logic and execution

High

Categories

Table 6.1 Grading rubric for progress journal aligned to manifestation of deep learning

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Purpose and passion

Purpose and passion

10

Score ranges

8

7

6

Moderate 5

4

3

Low 2

1

Clear improvement in any 1 of out 4 traits Clear improvement in any 2 of out 4 traits Clear improvement in 3 out of 4 traits

2

3

Clear improvement in 3 out of 4 traits

Clear improvement in any 2 of out 4 traits

Some improvement in any 1 of out 4 traits

Insufficient improvement (implying a lack of effort)

Insufficient improvement (implying a lack of effort)

No improvement

Good kitchen experience; confident; clear ability to relate scientific thinking principles; observable vertical/organized thinking

Some kitchen experience; somewhat confident; some ability to relate scientific concepts; observable but limited vertical/organized thinking

Growth achieved 1 (For science and non-science disciplines)

3

9

Limited kitchen experience; Limited confidence; limited ability to relate scientific concepts; limited vertical/organized thinking (including the ability to present and organize scientific experiment design and data)

High

Categories

Growth level assignment 1 (For non-science disciplines) *A person is assigned to one of these categories if he/she fulfils at least 2 of these 2

Deep learning manifestation Graded category

Table 6.1 (continued)

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Expansion of the Deeper Experiential Engagement Project Scaffold Over the course of the four runs within the period of Oct 2016 to May 2019, eightytwo students spanning nine Schools from disciplines of Science, Engineering, Business, Humanities and Arts completed seventeen projects. All teams (ranging from three to seven students per team) consisted of students from at least two different Schools, and often a good mix of science/engineering vs humanities/business backgrounds. Students reported a positive experience (more than 90% responded with greater than 4.2/5 score for teaching and learning experience feedback) and exhibited creative initiatives and independent behaviours not often observed in a classroom setting. With the preliminary round of success using this experiential learning model to enhance benefit from CCAs, we are looking to expand this to a wider variety of activities and disciplines across NTU, i.e. linking other CCAs to relevant academic disciplines. Project work adopting this scaffold is now referred to as Deeper Experiential Engagement Project (DEEP), and National Institute of Education, School of Humanities, and School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in NTU are currently developing their own version of DEEP-GERs while the Experiential and Collaborative Learning Office brokers CCAs with faculty advisors in related disciplines. An overall design of the prototype DEEP course (on which all others are based) is shown in Fig. 6.1.

Reflections Despite the recognition (across all education levels) that CCAs are important for holistic education, the reality in Singapore is that competing demands for time/effort from “formal” programme curricula work against deriving maximum learning from CCAs. Students perceive CCAs as an investment with far fewer tangible benefits when weighed against those from academic programmes. However, we considered CCAs to be too valuable a setting to remain as mere “experiences” especially in tertiary institutions, and chose to see how we could take advantage of it to address a common issue encountered in classroom learning—the perceived supremacy of the teachers working against students’ sense of initiative. This perception has its root in the Confucian heritage underlying most Asian-Chinese culture which places a strong emphasis on the instructional status of teachers (Ee & Tan, 2008; Fang & Gopinathan, 2009). The attitude will permeate as long as the setting is “in the classroom” but a CCA-setting naturally removes this. What we need then is a structure overlaid on CCAs that could propel experiential learning effectively while preventing students from taking learning through CCA overly lightly. When we first introduced the two-tiered approach in CresPion’s RE activities, we observed that because of the students’ expected tendency to prioritize their formal

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Fig. 6.1 The structural design of NTU DEEP-GER courses for inspiring learning in students

academic workload over CCAs, attendance of workshops (one-off attendance of a few hours) were high but the take-up/completion rate of project work (commitment over one and a half semesters) was low. To address this issue, we adopted the pragmatic approach of offering project work in the form of a credit-bearing experiential learning GER course. However, offering academic credit necessitates introducing assessments which may reduce the “informality” of learning from CCA. Indeed, we agonized greatly over this and worked hard to avoid introducing assessment components that are “…external to the activity”—as qualified by Rogoff et al. (2016) in the definition of informal learning—that students are expected to go through in such project work. For example, creative projects will naturally carry an ideation phase, and so that becomes an assessment component. We took the trouble to communicate the rationale of the assessment structure so that the students understood them as such and kept their documentation authentic. The strategy of reduced faculty touchpoint also helped in retaining the informality. Students’ post-project comments such as “We had so much fun ….” and “It was an amazing and wild journey…”, underscore our success at maintaining their “out of classroom” mentality. We were encouraged to see that this student perception that they are “out of classroom” significantly minimized the students’ reliance on teachers for instructions— students did not constantly seek “advice” from the faculty on what they should do and made decisions on their own more readily. Even during the few touchpoints, interaction was discussion-rich (exchange of opinions), and not advise-seeking. We noticed

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that many students were willing to sign up for the course despite not having much prior knowledge. This meant that not only were the domain concepts foreign to them, they also lacked practical experience. At the start of the project, very few students were “comfortable” with the open-ended nature of experimentation, where they had to create their own protocols or solve problems unique to their project. As the projects progressed, however, the comfort level clearly increased. In one instance, Business students in a “transformed ice-cream project” sought to test if certain additives had pronounced effects in slowing melting. They devised a “melt test” to evaluate how far the melted ice-cream spreads over a fixed time period (Fig. 6.2). Due to the minimal intervention by the faculty, team members are exposed to each other’s differences in approach to the problem as they work through the project. This brings a considerable level of cross-disciplinarity to their development that we seldom see in the “classroom confine”. Even though faculty involvement was kept to the minimum, we noted that the one key intervention of one-on-one coaching had a dramatic effect on the progress of the project post-coaching. Preliminary factor-based text analysis of student progress journals revealed that there are strong dispersal effects associated with pre- and postcoaching phases (unpublished). Anecdotally, we noticed students becoming more motivated, more reflective, more organized, and more willing to learn independently following the intervention. As we now work on introducing the DEEP model to other disciplines and CCAs, providing the necessary guidance to the faculty advisors who recently come on board is important. Currently, a few faculty advisors from the disciplines of Humanities, Engineering and Education have been engaged, offering projects involving graphic novel production, gadget inventions and student leadership (people development) respectively, mostly within the residential hall context. When we communicated the pedagogical principles of this model to them, it soon became apparent that a

Fig. 6.2 A melt test created by students to evaluate rate of ice-cream melting following addition of additives to impede melting

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few of them needed to be coached into the practice of being “hands-off” and at the same time identifying the “key advice” (that is, interventions) to provide to students during one-on-one coaching. These are therefore potential bottlenecks to the scale up process. However, the positive feedback of students taking up these DEEP-GER, and their demonstration of clearly observable desired outcomes of self-driven inquiry and cross-disciplinary application, suggest to us that the Return on Investment is high from the pedagogical perspective. To benefit more students, the challenges of the lack of manpower who are capable of doing effective one-on-one coaching and the need for constant surveillance of students’ deep learning based on their progress journals are currently being explored with a notable solution based on development of AI-based learning analytics and pre-coaching platforms.

Conclusion In Asian societies such as that of Singapore, bringing about creative and innovative thinking, while fostering inquiring minds with a taste for interdisciplinary learning is a complex and challenging problem. A first step towards tackling this is to target the “in classroom” mentality. Taking advantage of the informality of CCAs, which are driven by students’ personal interests, has great potential of improving such learning outcomes if an effective scaffold such as that of DEEP can be applied. We advocate that unboxing students from the confines of relying on teachers is best achieved when the activities are initiated from what students are personally interested in and associated with their lives “outside the classroom”. Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the EdeX and ACE Grants from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore for support of this work.

References Ee, J., & Tan, O. (2008). Cultural influences of the East & West: Implications on the educational reforms in the Singapore context. KEDI Journal of Educational Policy, 5(1), 49–62. Fang, Y., & Gopinathan, S. (2009). Teachers and teaching in Eastern and Western schools: A critical review of cross-cultural comparative studies. In L. J. Saha & A. G. Dworkin (Eds.), International handbook of research on teachers and teaching (pp. 557–572). Springer. Review of Cross-Cultural Comparative Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73317-3_36 Kolb, D. A., & Fry, R. E. (1974). Toward an applied theory of experiential learning. M.I.T. Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. Ministry of Education. (2020, 25 June). Desired outcomes of education. https://beta.moe.gov.sg/ education-in-SG/desired-outcomes/ Pang, N., Sze, C. C., Tan, O. K., Lwin, M., & Kwok, K. W. (2016, August 30–31). Making connections: Fieldwork and visual arts at the studio @ CresPion halls of residence at Nanyang Technological University (Conference session). International Conference on Residential Education: Beyond the Formal Curriculum in Universities 2016, Hong Kong, China.

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Rogoff, B., Callanan, M., Gutiérrez, K. D., & Erickson, F. (2016). The organization of informal learning. Review of Research in Education, 40(1), 356–401. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732x1 6680994 Schenck, J., & Cruickshank, J. (2015). Evolving Kolb: Experiential education in the age of neuroscience. Journal of Experiential Education, 38(1), 73–95. Sze, C.C. (2017, August). Stimulating innovative thinking through campus life. Association of Commonwealth Universities Bulletin No. 191, 4–5. https://www.acu.ac.uk/publications/

Part IV

Students’ Voices

Chapter 7

Attaining Graduate Attributes Through Hall Life Education: Perspectives of Local and Non-local Residents Kevin Kin Man Yue

Abstract Whole-person education at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is manifested in the seven graduate attributes (GA) our graduates will have attained after their studies at HKBU. The seven GA are: citizenship, knowledge, learning, skills, creativity, communication, and teamwork. Hall life education is an integral part of whole-person education. The undergraduate halls serve as a living and learning platform for residents to equip themselves with the GA, which are essential to their current studies and future careers. This paper illustrates the fostering of the GA through hall life experience from the first-person narration of two hall residents who are local and non-local students, respectively. Their hall lives may be quite different, yet their both experiences stimulated their personal growth and development. We believe that acknowledging differences and being determined to seek common goals could facilitate the better integration of residents.

Introduction Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) aims to foster students’ whole-person development and aid them in becoming global citizens. The seven graduate attributes (GA) of HKBU students are: citizenship, knowledge, learning, skills, creativity, communication, and teamwork. Apart from students’ formal academic curricula, hall life education is another platform that promotes the development of GA. The undergraduate halls (hereafter, halls) at HKBU accommodate 1770 local and non-local residents under two interconnected towers. In line with the education goals of HKBU, the halls provide a living and learning platform through hall life education programmes that strengthen students’ development across social, personal, and academic aspects. The benefits of residential life are cited in many studies. In particular, the residence halls form a platform that brings about the closer integration of the student’s living environment with his or her academic or learning environment K. K. M. Yue (B) Office of Student Affairs and School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_7

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(Pascarella et al., 1994). They also provide opportunities to incorporate and influence students both academically and socially (Marchese, 1994; Mayhew et al., 2016). Two of the authors of this paper are student residents with three years of hall life experiences. From their own narratives, we can understand the meaning of learning through hall life. Miss Tam, a final-year local student, and Miss Sun, a third-year non-local student, were both active in hall life during their studies at HKBU. Both of them have taken up leadership roles in the halls.

Experiences Shared by Student Residents Part a: The Meaning of Halls and Hall Life Miss Sun: ‘HKBU provides hall places for non-local undergraduate students during their first year of study. Thus, all non-local students share the same experience of starting our four years of life in Hong Kong living in the halls. Our own circle of communication and culture begin in the halls. Take my own experience as an example: The hall was the first building I entered at HKBU. Bonding with my hallmates began when I saw a welcoming postcard on my door from my nonlocal mentor and received the first greetings from my roommate. Although language was a hurdle to overcome, both local and non-local students took the initiative to learn to get along. We often discuss our cultural differences with respect and, when we know more about other cultures, we start to understand each other and begin to unite. I am attached to the halls and considered it as my home away from home. On my first visit to mainland China, I thought I would feel at home. Instead, I felt homesick. I could calm down only when I saw the streetscape flashing backward on the MTR on my way back to Hong Kong. By the time I saw the hall building, I said to myself, ‘I am home at last’. The halls are a place to exchange ideas and to support my exploration of the community within and outside hall, and around the world. I totally agree with the saying that children explore more when they feel safe at home. Feeling safe and secure at the halls, I participated in many hall life education programmes and gained a lot from them. For example, I toured Hong Kong with elderly buddies in the elderly care programme. The experience expanded my comfort zone and led me to explore Hong Kong. From the large variety of hall activities, ranging from arts, sports, and social sciences, I gained new experiences and returned to the halls to share my experiences with others. To conclude, the meaning of the halls transformed across time; it changed from being a shared form of accommodation to an energy that supports residents’ further exploration.’

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Miss Tam: ‘The meaning of the halls is very personal. I am not staying in the halls this year, but I would summarise my three-year experience with a quotation: ‘carpe diem’. I can still remember how ignorant I was on the first day. Luckily, I met a caring Hall Tutor, who patiently guided me to expand my comfort zone and adapt to changes. From then on, I gained many precious memories. I remember we once stayed up all night to practice for our performance in a singing contest. One may argue that it was a waste of time because it had no actual benefit to our academic profile or livelihood. But these memories of joint effort spent on achieving a common goal are precious and non-replicable. I believe team spirit is the essence of hall life and one’s relationships with hallmates is the key to a fulfilling hall life. Looking back, I wish I could have spent more effort on creating memories with my floormates, because memories belong to yourself and you can own them forever. It is always touching to listen to former residents sharing their feelings about hall life because, no matter how different the experiences are, the emotions are always positive and students always say that they would love to stay in the halls again. Isn’t it amazing that such a simple building can uphold the memories of generations of students? All in all, the hall could just be a place for people to live together, but the way each of the residents give and take helps to shape hall life and build a hall community. I strongly recommend that one should make the most out of hall life while one can. Carpe diem.’

Part B: The Contribution of Hall Life to Personal Growth and Future Planning Miss Sun: ‘Living in halls has changed me a lot and contributed positively to my personal growth. I grew from being an ordinary resident to taking up leadership roles and being a non-local mentor in my third year of residency. Through the people I have met, the environment I live in and the change in my duties and roles, I have strengthened my attributes in regard to citizenship, knowledge, learning, skills, creativity, communication, and teamwork. First, the activities organised by the halls have expanded my horizons. The experience reminded me to be open-minded to new thoughts and knowledge. For example, the elderly care programme taught me to immerse myself in the local community and the short experiential trips during semester breaks exposed me to other cultures around the world. These are very important experiences because, being a student studying film, every story I hear could be a valuable resource for script writing; for instance, I learned about how the elderly buddies viewed the protests concerning the anti-extradition bill, and how local affairs related to global culture and history. These

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are the things we can only learn through conversation instead of books, and these are the experiences that could be brought into learning outside the classroom offered by the halls. Second, my communication skills have hugely improved through the communal living experience in the halls. We have four or five people sharing one bathroom in a two-bedroom unit, which is quite different from other living experiences prior to university. In addition, for many of us, it is our first time living on our own. Thus, we need to learn how to plan our own schedules, and, at the same time, coordinate with the lifestyles of other hallmates. For example, some local students often make noise when they stay up late. Other students use different ways to cope with the situation: Some choose to endure it and use earplugs, some choose to send reminders in WhatsApp groups to keep the noise down at night, and some bring up the issue for discussion. It is always true that only those who are willing to communicate and believe in team effort can settle issues and overcome cultural clashes. Many issues in the halls require close communication between floormates, from coordinating the schedule for tidying and using the bathroom and kitchen, to maintaining the public areas to ensure they are comfortable for all residents. This kind of discussion improves the communication skills of all residents involved. Third, my leadership skills have improved a lot since I became a non-local mentor. We have a lot of international students on our floor. As a mentor, I was obliged to talk to residents from different cultures and introduce our hall in different languages. At the beginning, I was scared because of the uncertainties involved. People from different cultures, for instance, would name facilities differently and it was hard to translate and react to different responses properly. However, by repeating the instructions various times, not only did my listening and speaking skills improve, but I also mastered the skills necessary to communicate with and motivate different residents. Gradually, I found it enjoyable to see freshmen’s reactions when they arrived at their new rooms and felt welcomed in their new life in the halls. I also started to make new friends from France, America, Korea, and Gambia. Fourth, after exchanging ideas with residents from other cultures, I cared more about local and global issues, which improved my sense of citizenship and broadened my international mindset. On my floor, we often talk about the different cultures in our hometowns and how social and educational experiences shape our views and development. Having discussions in a relaxed and informal environment can facilitate effective and respectful conversation. Take our discussion regarding the protests concerning the anti-extradition bill as an example; we learned that many countries had had similar experiences throughout history. This allowed me to not limit my understanding to appreciating current events, but also extend it to events that happened in the past. It calmed me down and enabled me to think with a clearer mind, all thanks to my hallmates from other countries. Finally, hall activities build up teamwork and stimulate the creativity of residents. A hall decoration competition encourages residents to decorate their floor with a theme. On my floor, we chose HKBU International Airport as our theme because we were from different parts of the world. Each of us contributed creative ideas and, as

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a team, we worked together to make our ideas a reality. It was exciting to see that we could decorate our floor with our own collective idea.’ Miss Tam: ‘My experience in the hall was not always positive because I encountered many obstacles while trying to get along with others. But, with help from my hallmates, I overcame those obstacles and taught myself to live out the seven graduate attributes, especially communication and learning. I am grateful that I was equipped with these qualities from my hall life, which contributed to my personal growth and development. One of the experiences I had in the halls began with a big argument with my roommate and I felt stressed. My Hall Tutor suggested that I talk to my roommate openly about my feelings and expectations to reduce the chances of misunderstanding. It proved that being open-minded and willing to communicate were important in reaching agreements. The traits I developed helped me fix broken relationships. After this incident, I understood myself more in terms of my own preferences and ways to express myself and, in my later years of residency, through countless interactions and discussions with different people, I learned appropriate ways of building and maintaining relationships. They include being polite and humble while raising concerns, making compromises about personal habits, and setting reasonable expectations. All these elements helped me reduce potential conflicts with my roommates and improve my readiness in handling disagreements and getting along well with my co-workers during my internship. Yet, being able to speak up was not enough. Once, I was deeply disturbed by someone breaking hall rules. I believed that someone should be reprimanded. I tried very hard not to judge the wrong-doing of others but I could not handle the negative feelings of grievance and disappointment. It proved that critically judging others was not helpful in problem solving, as too much energy was wasted on emotional fluctuations and negative thoughts. Fortunately, one of the merits of living in a big community was that I could observe and learn from others. This critical lesson reminded me of the importance of self-reflection and the possible ways of solving problems, which are also important reminders in regard to my further development. To conclude, my experiences of hall life contributed positively to my development. I used to have low levels of resilience and was easily affected by negative experiences. However, through the continuous learning processes involved in living in the halls, I learned to handle my emotions and solve problems in creative ways. Hall residents also form connections with Hall Tutors, alumni networks, committee members, and staff and professors, who are always helpful and encouraging. I have made use of the resources and experiences available to equip myself to solve future problems.’

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Applications The experiences and feelings shared by the two students are personal, but they lend gravity to what hall life means to many students. To the two students authoring this chapter, hall life carries different meanings. As a non-local student, Miss Sun considered the halls as her home away from home, which supported her further exploration and development. Miss Tam, as a local student, treasured the bonding and team spirit built up with her floormates, which could not have been replicated elsewhere. Summarising their three years of hall experiences, hall life helped shape both students positively in regard to their personal growth and future development. For Miss Sun, her participation in different hall life programmes and her role as a nonlocal mentor broadened her horizons, and strengthened her communication and leadership skills. Similarly, Miss Tam improved her communication, problem-solving, and other crucial soft skills through her close interactions with different residents. All these hall life experiences contributed to the attainment of graduate attributes for the two students. In addition, both students agreed that the halls is a place to seek harmony among differences and where the integration of people with different backgrounds, values, or lifestyles happens. Based on their experiences, the two student authors shared their views on how integration could be promoted in the halls. Miss Sun: ‘As each individual student has his or her own personality and living habits, only by sharing some common goals could we make integration among residents better. First of all, it is very important that students agree that the halls are a place to rest so that we do not deprive such needs from any students. Yet, simply taking the halls as a place to sleep could not integrate students, as there is no communication and learning involved. When residents have some shared goals, communication and teamwork begins and can develop the halls into an environment that embraces differences in harmony. For non-local students, curiosity about their new life without parents and old friends, and the belief that the halls are a place of freedom to discuss and explore together make hall life attractive. Exploring new life in our halls becomes our common goal, which enables the interaction and integration of residents come naturally. Another common goal is avoiding and coping with negativity, such as pressure from studying and examinations. I remembered that I was working on my movie script one night and I found that my classmate was working on the same piece of work. She appeared to be as stressed as I was, so we decided to discuss and share our ideas. We even told each other about our dreams. This discussion made both of us less stressed and we completed our work much more easily than we would have done alone. By supporting each other, we bonded. This bond was even stronger compared to that formed when we were having fun. Working together to overcome obstacles and growing up together forged stronger bonds and kinship.

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In fact, residents share many common goals in our halls, which focus mostly on the living part of hall life experience. We could promote the halls as an academic learning space where hallmates can learn and study together. Currently, we have study rooms in the halls, but we could make improvements. For example, it would be fun if there were areas in the halls where students could write study tips for different disciplines during examination periods. This could integrate students from different majors and cultural backgrounds. After all, everyone needs to take exams.’ Miss Tam: ‘Local and non-local residents, with their cultural differences, seem to be rival stakeholders of the halls, but the truth is different if we understand one another more deeply. To achieve integration and promote mutual respect in the halls, acknowledging differences in our lifestyles is a difficult but essential first step. Then, through a lengthy process of resolving endless conflicts about values, and negotiations of boundaries among residents, agreement and integration can be achieved. This is a learning process for all residents. Creativity may be the key to pushing forward integration for a better tomorrow. Being imaginative and persistent in seeking ways to build up a harmonic co-living environment through trial and error is essential. Apart from giving space and time for residents to try to build up their own harmony, the hall office could also provide some assistance in searching for common goals and proposing reforms. One way to collect information could be through in-depth interviews or questionnaires with the residents. The proposals and ideas received could then be further discussed with resident representatives to collect further feedback. It is crucial that any idea adopted should be relevant to the current residents.’

Conclusion This article has provided some personal experiences and observations from two undergraduate students who resided in the halls for three years. Their experiences align with existing literature reviews, which suggest that residence halls are more than living spaces. They are also places that benefit the learning experience of students. This paper is not intended to be an analytical study, nor does it represent the experiences and views of all students. Yet, it gave us some insights into the students’ perspectives of the meaning of hall life and its impacts on students in terms of personal growth and future development. Further studies could be conducted to explore the meanings and impacts of hall life education from the perspectives of different stakeholders. In addition, to further strengthen the design and implementation of hall life education, studies on the alignment of students’ learning experiences and the intended learning outcomes could also be conducted. Furthermore, this chapter has included some suggestions from the two student authors on promoting integration and seeking harmony among differences. Further

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studies could focus on how to encourage continuous communication and search for common goals in the halls in creative ways that would be suitable to students today.

References Mayhew, M. J., Rockenbach, A. N., Bowman, N. A., Seifert, T. A., & Wolniak, G. C. (2016). How college affects students: 21st century evidence that higher education works. Wiley. Marchese, T. J. (1994). Foreword. In C. C. Schroeder & P. Mable (Eds.), Realizing the educational potential of residence halls (1st ed., pp. i–xiii). Jossey-Bass. Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1991). How college affects students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research. Jossey-Bass. Pascarella, E. T., Terenzini, P. T., & Blimling, G. S. (1994). The impact of residence life on students. In C. C. Schroeder & P. Mable (Eds.), Realizing the educational potential of residence halls (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Chapter 8

ASK: An Undergraduate’s Growth Through International Residential Education Experience Rosetta Wai-Chung Law and Christina Wai-Mui Yu

Abstract This chapter, from a student’s perspective, reports on a descriptive and exploratory analysis of a Hong Kong (HK) undergraduate’s transformative growth through her 4-year residential experience in the United Kingdom, Canada and HK respectively, using the “Attitude-Skills-Knowledge (ASK)” educational model which proposes that a person’s ability is the synergy among the three domains. The chapter will first highlight the undergraduate’s use of the ASK model in decomposing her experience into three learning categories. Then, it will include her personal reflection on how her learning synergistically equips her with transferable learning outcomes. In conclusion, plans for how stakeholders at different levels can help promote the ASK model to facilitate student residents’ growth will be presented. Keywords Undergraduate Residential Experience · International Residential Education Learning · Attidute-Skills-Knowledge (ASK) Model · Experiential Learning

Introduction Residential education (RE) provides a very specific learning context to undergraduate students, and can have significant impacts on their learning experience and growth, especially for those who have had international residential experience. As Kolb (1984) states, ‘learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience’ (p. 38). This definition includes a process of adaptation and learning, an understanding that knowledge is continuously created, and that learning then transforms experience (Kolb, 1984).

Present Address: R. W.-C. Law Graduate, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] C. W.-M. Yu (B) Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_8

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Mezirow (1996) further emphasised that ‘learning is understood as the process of using a prior interpretation to construct a new or revised interpretation of the meaning of one’s experience in order to guide future action’ (Mezirow, 1996, p. 162). Mezirow (1997, p. 7) described four processes of learning: (1) elaborating on an existing point of view; (2) establishing new points of view; (3) transforming a point of view; and (4) transforming thinking habits by critically reflecting on generalised biases regarding others. In fact, it is the process of creating change through which we understand experiences and move toward a frame of reference that is more inclusive, discriminating, self-reflective, and integrative of different experiences (Mezirow, p. 5). Therefore, knowledge is created through initial experiences, followed by reflections, thoughtful development, and eventually alterations of experiences. Hence, embedding ‘reflection’ within experiential learning in residential education is rather important. In fact, what learning has taken place through international RE and how does it impact one’s growth? With the use of the attitude, skills, and knowledge (ASK) learning model in a reflection of experiential learning, this chapter uses an undergraduate case to illustrate how international RE learning can be achieved. The chapter first introduces the ASK model and the use of it in deconstructing the undergraduate’s international RE experience. Then, it shows the undergraduate’s personal reflection on how her learning synergistically equipped her with transferable learning outcomes. In conclusion, plans for how stakeholders at different levels can help promote the ASK model to facilitate student residents’ growth in international RE are presented.

The Use of the Attitude, Skills, and Knowledge (ASK) Learning Model in RE In architectural education, Bakarman (2005) found that the design of education has three main components (attitude, skills, and knowledge), which are expressed in the model’s acronym, ‘ASK’. Each component of the ASK model is devoted to the specific purpose of enabling students to acquire and obtain different characters as means to becoming professional designers (Yang et al., 2005). Hence, ASK, as an educational model, aims to identify the professional attitude, skills, and knowledge at hand by deconstructing the relevant discipline into manageable elements that reflect the main ingredients needed to form a new perspective of the professional through reflection (Bakarman, 2005). In the context of RE, the ASK model does not only serve as a tool with which to deconstruct one’s residential experience into manageable chunks, it also constitutes key aspects of RE and categorises them into the three domains: attitude, skills, and knowledge. Learning does not seem to be considered a term that is worth defining in the field of education. However, Kpolovie (2012) sees its multi-dimensionality and unfolds it as follows:

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Learning is […] the complex synergy of cognitive, affective, psychomotor and environmental experiences and other influences for the acquisition, maintenance, organization, reorganization and enhancement of changes in an individual’s behaviour, knowledge, skills, values, personality and world views for better resolution of problems. (p. 186). Bloom and Krathwohl (1956) further identified that the notion of learning can be summarised as consisting of three domains: attitudes (affective), skills (psychomotor), and knowledge (cognitive). Though the three domains share equal importance when evaluating one’s learning, Kuusinen and Leskinen (1988) suggested that individuals who are without the appropriate attitudes tend to lack the readiness for the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, which is crucial to one’s adaptability to changing circumstances. The affective domain takes into account how individuals deal with things emotionally, such as in terms of their feelings and attitudes (Krathwohl et al., 1964). Attitudes significantly affect the way individuals think and their responses to specific experiences (Fazio & Roskes, 1994). With such significant influence on one’s behaviours, attitudes are not static. A famous social psychologist, Festinger (1957), recognised their dynamic nature and proposed cognitive dissonance theory, which states that we have a tendency to harmonise our attitudes, understanding of a particular topic (or beliefs), and behaviours. In other words, our inner drive follows the principle of cognitive consistency. The theory also suggests that we tend to avoid dissonance. When there is disharmony between attitudes and behaviours, attempts will be made to reduce dissonance, to minimise self-reported negative affect (Harmon-Jones & Harmon-Jones, 2008). Therefore, the consequences of cognitive dissonance involve attitudinal (or behavioural) alteration. Daily life experiences do not only shift our attitudes, but also equip us with new skills and/or leverage existing skills. Skills are generally classified into technical abilities (or hard skills), which are related to skills that are learned through training, such as proficiency in a language, and non-technical abilities (or soft skills), which may be influenced by personality traits, such as communication skills (Hsin & Xie, 2012). In recent years, an increasing amount of literature shows that soft skills have equal importance as hard skills when predicting success in life, including academic achievement (Duncan & Magnuson, 2011) and career development (Hall & Farkas, 2011). Having considered that hard skills are similar to the knowledge component in the ASK model, this paper refers to ‘skills’ as soft skills. Soft skills are viewed as ‘generic skills which include cognitive elements related to non-academic abilities, such as positive values, leadership, teamwork, communication and lifelong learning’ (MOHE, 2006, p. 5). The K in the ASK model stands for knowledge, which is defined as ‘justified true belief’ (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995, p. 87). According to Neta and Pritchard’s (2009) ‘justification true belief (JTB)’ theory of knowledge, three requirements of knowledge must be met to claim that a person knows something. They offer an explanation of the three requirements. The justification requirement demands the claim to be supported by logic and there should be no contradictory evidence. The truth requirement expects the propositional claim to be true, and this differentiates opinions from

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knowledge. The belief requirement demands the person to know the knowledge claim and he or she believes it. Ayer (2009, p. 13) reorganises the order of the requirements: ‘The necessary and sufficient conditions for knowing that something is the case are first that what one is said to know be true, secondly that one be sure of it, and thirdly that one should have the right to be sure’. After building a conceptual understanding of what knowledge is, Waheed and Kaur (2016) point out that quality knowledge should be adaptable, applicable, expandable, true, innovative, and justified. The three components of ASK are not isolated, but fulfil complementary needs that are the prerequisite of developing the core competencies of a person. The following shows the inextricably intertwined relationships of the three dimensions, as illustrated by Kwan (2019) for school managers and simplified by the undergraduate in the study (Fig. 8.1). As with all models in the academic world, the ASK model is not without limitations. First, attributes identified by individuals who do not have an extensive understanding of the ASK model may be generic and casually applied in learning, instead of being context-specific and carefully used in certain specific learning areas. Second,

Fig. 8.1 The simplified intertwined relationships among attitude, skills, and knowledge (Kwan, 2019)

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people may either have a tendency to view the model as three separate domains or combine the three categories as a full representation of the model. However, to utilise the model, integrating all three ingredients is key, as they fulfil separate but complementary needs. In short, the framework of the model should be highly transferable to many contexts under the condition that an effective application of it depends on the accurate identification of the attributes under each of the three categories. Research on the application of the ASK model has been mostly restricted to limited contexts, such as: (1) vocational education and training, where learners’ competencies, including their ability to handle difficult situations and self-directedness, will be improved (Nagendra et al., 2013); (2) design education, where teachers in the field will direct their efforts to the three well-defined domains to nurture professional designers (Bakarman, 2005); (3) family-centred empowerment, where caregivers will be able to offer more efficient care to patients (Masoudi et al., 2010); and (4) geropsychology training, where practices related to the three components are suggested to professionalise practitioners (Karel et al., 2010). No research has been found that investigates the ASK model in the context of RE. To fill this research gap, this chapter looks at how the three components (attitude, skills, and knowledge) of the ASK model can be used to dissect an undergraduate’s residential experience. The chapter includes a reflection on how her learning equipped her with transferable learning outcomes.

An Undergraduate Case of Four Years of Residential Experience in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Hong Kong In the following sections, an in-depth case study of an undergraduate’s residential experience is presented, to explore her personal growth over her four years of residential life in different places, including in a college dormitory in the United Kingdom, a home-stay family in Canada, and a university hall in Hong Kong, based on the ASK learning model. To streamline the extensive learning experiences, an in-depth analysis and discussion are conducted in regard to the undergraduate’s growth in the specific competencies acquired across the three learning components of ASK in RE experiences. These specific competencies are open-minded attitude, communication skills, and language-related knowledge.

Attitude Attitude toward Cooperation and Perseverance. The undergraduate’s transformative learning in regard to ASK in the three places is addressed by starting a residential experience journal in the United Kingdom, which enabled her to experience attitudinal alteration and develop increasing open-mindedness.

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In Oxford in the UK, she travelled alone to attend a summer course in Somerville College and was assigned to live in one of the halls. She co-organised hall activities with a group of foreign hallmates who were from many different countries, such as Sweden, Switzerland, the Philippines, Indonesia, and China. She took the initiative to invite them to form a social group, where everyone took turns planning after-school and/or weekend activities; they attended these social engagements together. In the course of planning, she had to handle both her schoolwork and the arrangement of the activities, which was challenging and sometimes frustrating. Later, the smooth running of the activities allowed the students to promote their plans and invite other hallmates to participate. She developed an attitude of cooperation during her stay. During the peak period for assignment deadlines, she planned trips with a relatively lower level of cooperative attitude and tended to minimise her contributions to it. Though with reluctance, she was fully aware of the fact that she had to plan trips; otherwise, she would no longer be a ‘member’ of the social group. As their friendships developed, the driving force of taking turns to plan the group activities gradually shifted from the ‘binding force’ of a promise among classmates to expectations from friends. The enjoyment and relaxed nature of joining pre-planned day trips organised by her hallmates and feeling the joy of her friends during their participation in activities planned by her reinforced her determination to continue to be more cooperative and persevering in a group setting, as the students’ collaborative efforts paid off. Attitude toward Herself. She valued personal touches of communication as well. In Canada, where she participated in a language immersion programme and lived with a host family who were all native speakers of English, the undergraduate initially lacked confidence in her English proficiency level, especially among English-asfirst-language speakers. Her host mother, who was an English teacher, evaluated her English ability on the spot using the three assessors: the accuracy of the meanings conveyed by the message sender, the effectiveness of the use of language, and the appropriacy of the form chosen in grammar teaching. The host mother revealed why she spent time discussing her English level with the undergraduate; she believed that it was the host family’s responsibility to help student residents learn as much English as possible. Moreover, the host mother thought that her English language education degree gave her an advantage when doing so. The host mother objectively evaluated the student’s strengths and weaknesses, which gave the student a sense of recognition. Healthy recognition allowed her to understand her abilities and limitations. The host mother is thereby similar to a ‘more knowledgeable other’ to a person with a low level of confidence. Attitude toward Differences. In Hong Kong, a personal story taught her a hard lesson when there was a huge gap in the room temperature preferences between the student’s roommate and herself. She gave up ‘cosy nights’, where there was no air conditioning, but she took away an impactful lesson with her: She developed a positive attitude toward differences. The student was living in one of her university’s halls. One of her roommates insisted on leaving the room’s door wide open and not turning on the air conditioning in summer. At first, the undergraduate was downhearted, as she focused on her own

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uneasiness and considered her roommate an unreasonable person. Later, she realised that, if she insisted on turning on the air conditioning, her roommate would suffer and think she was unreasonable. With this in mind, the undergraduate tried to negotiate with her roommate to turn on the air conditioning and adjust it to a temperature that did not cause too much uneasiness in either of the parties. The undergraduate started to realise that she and her roommate were on the two opposite ends of the continuum in terms of room temperature preference. Though the negotiation was in vain, she no longer thought about who was right or wrong; she instead started to think of improving her communication skills.

Skills Oral Communication Skills. Since the undergraduate’s classmates were from different countries, many of them had different first languages. English became the only medium of communication. Everyone was using English as their second language and, throughout their studies, they learned to get used to each other’s accents. For instance, one of the observations was that a Filipino classmate seemed to tend to stress the non-first syllables of words, as in ‘/se. rI.mђ.ni/’ instead of ‘/ ser.I.mђ.ni/’ (‘ceremony’) and ‘/ђ.dA /’ instead of ‘/eI.dђ/’ (‘Ada’). This was not an indicator of her English proficiency level or intellectual level; she was knowledgeable and talked about Hong Kong politics with the undergraduate. The undergraduate also paid attention to her own pronunciation. Take ‘/dZOIn/’ (‘join’) as an illustration; when in a hurry, she involuntarily reduced the diphthong ‘i.e./OI/’ into a short vowel ‘/A/’, which caused confusion for her peers from foreign countries. It was considered a precious learning opportunity as the undergraduate always believed that a person who is truly good at English is able to express himself or herself clearly and communicate with people with different accents without too much difficulty. ‘Do not judge a book by its cover’ may be a cliché, but this is probably best learned when two people spend enough time together to gain a deep understanding of each other. Residential education provides student residents with this opportunity. With an awareness of phonological variations in mind, the undergraduate understood that one’s accent does not represent their ability level. This reminded her of some mainland China student residents who may speak English with an accent, but who are outstanding in other areas. In fact, everyone has a specific accent when speaking a language. Language Use in Oral Communication Skills. Having been reminded to be polite and respectful to her host family, the undergraduate always started sentences with, for example, ‘I am sorry to interrupt. May I ask…’ and ‘I am sorry to trouble you. Would you please…’, which were completely fine when communicating with her host parents in Canada. One day when they were out, however, she wanted ask the children of the host parents a question. She realised that they did not seem to understand what she had said. The communication breakdown may have been due to  

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her prolix style and indirect manner, which increased the children’s processing load when listening to her. This reminded her of hall life. When residents encounter difficulties and need assistance, they can only seek help from their hallmates. Areas such as how to operate the washing machines and how to settle the air-conditioning fees can cause confusion to new exchange residents. What may complicate the situation is that exchange student residents are usually non-Cantonese speakers. In other words, they need to talk to their local roommates in either English or Mandarin, which is a common second language in Hong Kong. Having said that, the language barriers to communication still exist to some extent. As she experienced a communication breakdown herself, the undergraduate learned to adjust her language use according to the intended message receiver, in order to achieve her communicative purposes. Applying these communication skills in context is believed to be able to facilitate a caring hall life for residents. Effective Communication Skills. After attending a course related to communication ethics in her second year of studying, the undergraduate learned a ‘hard lesson’ that took place in her Hong Kong residence, which can be analysed in a systematic way. When there is a quarrel, there is no absolute right or wrong. It is believed that there is instead miscommunication between the two parties. None of the parties deserves special privileges to the extent that the freedom and rights of others are put aside. For instance, requests to turn on the air conditioning were sometimes made in an indirect way, which posed the possibility that the receiver of the message did not understand the requests. The undergraduate’s replies to the roommate’s justification for not turning on the air-conditioning often devalued her own needs, which may have sent the wrong message to the roommate. This explains why the undergraduate could not achieve her communicative purpose. With this lesson learned, she communicated with her new roommates in the following years more directly and explicitly, which brought her a harmonious hall life. More importantly, the skills she acquired made her a more communicative person.

Knowledge The undergraduate experienced recursive processes of knowledge transfer and acquisition. In the UK, she learned about a more natural use of the English language through transferring her linguistics knowledge acquired in Hong Kong. In her Canadian homestay family, she experienced the process of knowledge transfer and the extension of knowledge acquisition as she was exposed to colloquial English, such as the word ‘loonies’, which refers to Canadian one-dollar coins. In Hong Kong, her knowledge was further extended in the workplace, where she learned the concept of ‘expectations management’, which was transferred to the context of hall life, such as in regard to roommate selection and the negotiation of common ground.

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Knowledge of Everyday English. Before her trip to Oxford, the undergraduate was aware of the fact that she had learned academic English at university and ‘textbook’ English in her primary and secondary school life, such as ‘I’m fine, thank you’ being the (only and standard) answer to ‘How are you?’ She noticed that there was a knowledge gap between her everyday English and her academic English. She talked with her foreign hallmates as much as she could. Through her interactions with them, she found out that none of them used ‘How are you?’ in everyday conversation; they preferred ‘How’s it going?’, ‘How ya doin’?’, and ‘How’s life?’ As a result, in Hong Kong, she tried to communicate with Mandarin-speaking hallmates more and learned to use Mandarin in authentic contexts and in a more natural way than textbooks teach. Knowledge of Colloquial English. Even though she learned some everyday English in Oxford, the undergraduate still encountered difficulties understanding colloquial English. For instance, the undergraduate took the TTC, which was the only public transport provider in Toronto, with her host family, but she forgot to load her presto card. She borrowed five Canadian dollars from the family, and they said she could either give them a five-dollar banknote or five ‘loonies’, which refers to one-dollar Canadian coins, as the bird printed on the coins is a ‘loon’. Colloquial English is probably only learnable in authentic contexts. In Hong Kong, the international tutors who live in the halls of the university organise cultural activities, such as sharing colloquial words or phrases in their own languages with student residents. This not only broadens residents’ horizons, but also enhances their relationships with other participating residents and the tutors. Applying Knowledge in Context. In Hong Kong, after completing a summer internship before being promoted to her third year of study, the undergraduate could view the issue of different lifestyles among roommates from a new perspective: Expectations management is another key to solving problems. According to Brown et al. (1998), expectations management is similar to sincere disclosure; when managing expectations, one will have a higher tendency to deliver upon expectations to reach the desired outcomes. In reality, if the two parties (the undergraduate and her roommate) could have the chance to start over, they could tell each other in advance about their expectations of their lifestyles in their shared space. With psychological preparedness, they could compromise on the shared common ground—the expectations mentioned to each other before living together. After her first year of hall life, the undergraduate learned to directly tell her potential new roommates about her expectations the first time they met. She also asked about their own expectations before deciding to live together for the rest of the academic year. This kind of truthful dialogue allowed them to contribute to the desired living environment collaboratively. The undergraduate has been living a harmonious hall life with her roommates ever since, as she pays attention to communication ethics and expectations management. Through different sensory experiences, individuals can gain ownership of shared knowledge.

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Transformative Learning as Personal Change Open Attitude toward Otherness. The undergraduate learned to acknowledge the importance of ‘otherness’ in her residential journey. For example, the collaborative activities with foreign hallmates resulted in a fruitful hall life, the intervention of the host mother who recognised her strengths and helped her identify her weaknesses boosted her confidence, and the appearance of the roommate whose lifestyle was different from that of the undergraduate’s all challenged her tolerance and resilience levels. All of these other people fostered the undergraduate’s ability to move one step closer to maturity, teaching her to develop open-mindedness in the process. Interpersonal Skills. Throughout her four years of residential life, undergraduate developed her communication skills, including her understanding of English speakers with different accents, her ability to adjust her language use and information load according to the receiver of the message, and her capabilities in terms of incorporating appropriate directness when conveying messages. It is believed that utilising these skills led to the facilitation of successful interpersonal relationships for the undergraduate. Extensive Knowledge. The gained knowledge mentioned in previous sections, such as everyday and colloquial English, may seem trivial to others but, to an individual learning English as a second language, this kind of knowledge cannot be learned through schools or textbooks, which only teach students ‘standard’ and ‘formal’ language. It is also meaningful that the knowledge gained from the course the undergraduate took at the University, which was about communication ethics, and the internship she was involved in, which taught her expectations management, have been applicable to real-life contexts. In other words, learning outcomes from formal curricula and extracurricular activities contributed to the undergraduate’s transcendence of her hall life experience. In the years to come, it is believed that the attitudinal change, skills acquired, and knowledge gained from her residential life throughout her years of undergraduate study and from different countries will have a wider application to other aspects of her life. More importantly, it is her pleasure to share her personal reflections on her transformative learning in regard to ASK in the RE context. In the past, she was truly embarrassed to let others know how much room was left for improvement and was reluctant to recount not-so-happy experiences. However, now, she is amazed to see her transformative growth and treasures every minute of learning. In the future, she looks forward to seeing how her learning in regard to ASK can continue to help her grow. She intends to be more open toward reflective dialogue and aims to strive to work toward the following ideal representation of a student resident (Fig. 8.2), adapted from Kwan (2019). As mentioned in a previous section, the ASK model suggested by Kwan (2019) offers a very generic overview of the intertwining relationships between the three components. Hence, Fig. 8.2 is created to enrich the content of the model and increase its applicability to the RE context. As a student resident, the undergraduate has considered the attributes of the expected learning outcomes of various experiences that one

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Fig. 8.2 A visual representation of some expected qualities of a socially caring, professionally trained, and intellectually rigorous student resident, Adapted from Kwan (2019)

may encounter during their stay. Halls are not merely a physical location for residents to rest, but a place for them to grow. Hall life offers numerous learning opportunities outside classrooms, ranging from mingling with hallmates with diverse backgrounds and communicating with roommates to managing one’s personal life. To facilitate their growth, residents are expected to gradually develop attitudes, acquire skills, and obtain knowledge through hall life experiences. All these learning experiences can be conceptualised as various sub-attitudes (e.g., entrepreneurial spirit, cultural diversity appreciation, global perspectives, etc.), sub-skills (e.g., mental wellness skills, interpersonal skills, life and career skills, etc.), and sub-knowledge (e.g., academic pursuits, language, etc.). For example, residents may develop their global perspectives, interpersonal skills, innovative thinking, and language competence when they persuade their roommates in regard to how to divide the chores or overcome the language barrier when communicating with a foreign roommate. In short, the figure is context-specific. Some also misunderstand the three components when viewed separately. In fact, the three components also intertwine; combining them not only allows for a thorough synergy of growth analysis, but also enables us to reflect on how different components overlap and effect each other. For example, a university is a place where hall residents can meet people from diverse backgrounds. ‘Cultural diversity appreciation’ can be

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one of the attributes developed—it is arguable if one needs to have an open attitude toward difficult cultures in order to learn more about them or if acquiring background knowledge is sufficient to learn to be open-minded.

Suggestions for International Residents Moreover, in order to help student residents prepare for ASK, different stakeholders across institutions can facilitate residents’ attitudinal growth, skills, and knowledge acquisition through various methods. Below are some possible ways of facilitating the development of ASK for student residents at different levels, for easy reference (Table 8.1). To summarise, stakeholders across different roles within the university are facilitators helping student residents to achieve whole-person development by supporting the suggested measures designed to foster residents’ growth in attitude, skills, and knowledge.

Conclusion This chapter deconstructs an undergraduate’s international residential experience according to the three elements (attitude, skills, and knowledge) of the ASK model, conceptualises the experiences that equipped her with transferable learning outcomes, and proposes plans for promoting the ASK model to other student residents. It is sincerely hoped that readers in the field of RE education will be encouraged to use the ASK framework to nurture residents.

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Table 8.1 Suggested measures that can be taken by stakeholders at different levels (or of expanding spheres of influence) to facilitate residents’ learning under the ASK framework Attitude (e.g., open-minded)

Skills (e.g., Knowledge (e.g., communication skills) language and culture)

Individuals Roles: be willing to learn and proactive in participating in different activities

Opt for living with exchange students, join exchange programmes, take the initiative to offer help to new arrivals, etc.

Learn from successful Set goals for communicators (e.g., knowledge transfer TED talk speakers) and/or acquisition (e.g., teach roommates Cantonese, learn the basics of a foreign language)

Hall tutorial teams Roles: organise activities and workshops to help facilitate the all-roundedness of residents

Foster the mingling of non-locals with locals: watch Cantonese Operas, visit Hong Kong’s cha chaan teng cafés, etc. Foster the mingling of locals with non-locals: make Mexican tacos, hold a French high tea party, etc.

Public speaking, drama performances, resident-led talk shows, resident-led theatrical performances, etc. Encourage local-non-local student groupings during activities, co-organise activities with local and non-local students to maximise engagement, etc.

Co-operate with members from the student residents association (or floor committee) to decorate the floor corridors and boards with a thematic (e.g., delicious food from different countries) or country-specific (e.g., British month) approach, etc.

Hall management teams Roles: offer support and training to hall tutors

Recruit tutors with a global perspective and/or from culturally diverse backgrounds, hold orientation camps for tutors to build teams with friendship bonding activities, etc.

Invite returning students or residents living with non-local roommates to share their experiences, etc.

Offer budgets and support to tutorial teams to help them get festive during holidays (e.g., movie nights or face-painting, etc.), to immerse residents in various customs or cultures

University Roles: formulate policies, provide resources, and offer a supportive living-learning environment

Accept international students and teaching staff to increase the cultural diversity level of the campus, ask the school canteens to offer food for customers with different religious dietary requirements, etc.

Encourage pen pal schemes between locals and non-locals, launch buddy schemes to pair up local and non-local student to offer support to each other, etc.

Offer non-credit-bearing foreign language courses, organise a culture week during which international tutors/students showcase and promote their cultures at booths to all students and staff, etc.

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References Bakarman, A. A. (2005, June 18–20). Attitude, skills, and knowledge (ASK): A new model for design education. In Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA). Kaninaskis, Alberta. https://doi.org/10.24908/pceea.v0i0.3894 Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational objectives. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. David McKay. Duncan, G. J., & Magnuson, K. (2011). The nature and impact of early achievement skills, attention skills, and behavior problems. In G. J. Duncan & R. J. Murnane (Eds.), Wither opportunity? Rising inequality, schools, and children’s life chances (pp. 48–69). Russell Sage Foundation. Fazio, R. H., & Roskes, D. (1994). Acting as we feel: When and how attitudes guide. In S. Shavitt & T. C. Brock (Eds.), Persuasion: Psychological insights and perspectives (pp. 71–147). Allyn & Bacon. Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford University Press. Hall, M., & Farkas, G. (2011). Adolescent cognitive skills, attitudinal/behavioral traits and career wages. Social Forces, 89(4), 1261–1285. Harmon-Jones, E., & Harmon-Jones, C. (2008). Cognitive dissonance theory: An update with a focus on the action-based model. In J. Y. Shah & W. L. Gardner (Eds.), Handbook of motivation science (pp. 71–83). The Guilford Press. Hsin, A., & Xie, Y. (2012, February). Hard skills, soft skills: The relative roles of cognitive and non-cognitive skills in intergenerational social mobility (Report No. 12-775). Population Studies Center. Karel, M. J., Knight, B. G., Duffy, M., Hinrichsen, G. A., & Zeiss, A. M. (2010). Attitude, knowledge, and skill competencies for practice in professional geropsychology: Implications for training and building a geropsychology workforce. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 4(2), 75. Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall. Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Masia, B. B. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives, the classification of educational goals. Affective domain. David McKay Company Inc. Kuusinen, J., & Leskinen, E. (1988). Latent structure analysis of longitudinal data on relations between intellectual abilities and school achievement. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 23(1), 103–118. Kwan, P. (2019). Foundation learning for school managers (I): ASK model. Education Bureau. www.edb.gov.hk/en/sch-admin/sbm/handy-tips/learning-journey-for-school-managers/ ask-model/index.html Masoudi, R., Alhani, F., Moghadassi, J., & Ghorbani, M. (2010). The effect of family-centered empowerment model on skill, attitude, and knowledge of multiple sclerosis caregivers. Journal of Birjand University of Medical Sciences, 17(2), 87–97. Mezirow, J. (1996). Contemporary paradigms of learning. Adult Education Quarterly, 46(3), 158– 172. Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Malaysia. (2006). Development of soft skills for institutions of higher learning. University Putra Malaysia. Nagendra, K. M., Radha, S., & Naidu, C. G. (2013). Enhanced industrial employability through new vocational training framework with attitude-skill-knowledge (ASK) model. IUP Journal of Management Research, 12(3), 45–54. Neta, R., & Pritchard, D. (Eds.). (2009). Arguing about knowledge. Routledge. Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford University Press.

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Waheed, M., & Kaur, K. (2016). Knowledge quality: A review and a revised conceptual model. Information Development, 32(3), 271–284. Yang, M., You, M., & Chen, F. (2005). Competencies and qualifications for industrial design jobs: Implications for design practice, education, and student career guidance. Design Studies, 26, 155–189.

Chapter 9

A Comparison Between HKU Residential Life and Residential Life in the US Kevin Conn and Katie Ling

Keywords Resident assistant · RA · Mentor · Student engagement and support · Hall culture · Residence hall · Hall residency · Residence education · Residence life Residential halls have long been an important component of university education. They are more than just a place to sleep; they form part of a long university tradition and provide students with opportunities to be independent, explore their potential, and interact with different people, thus fostering well-rounded personal development. In fact, these residential hall experiences appear in various formats at colleges and universities that span countries across the globe. In this chapter, we compare the residential systems among a university in Hong Kong and a number of universities in the US, focusing on the number of residents, students’ hall association data, committees and clubs, and hall functions (e.g., orientation camps, high table dinners, sports and cultural teams, floor units and culture, etc.). We then discuss the reasons for the visible differences between the HK and US residential life systems and any associated rationales behind those differences. Residential halls have long been an important component of the tradition of universities around the world. Apart from offering accommodation, they serve as a place for education, where students learn to be independent and interact actively with people from different backgrounds under the same roof. Thus, it is an extremely effective and meaningful way to help students integrate and strike a balance between their intellectual and social lives, thereby providing them with a great opportunity for well-rounded personal development. In light of this, a research team led by The K. Conn New York City, USA e-mail: [email protected] K. Ling (B) The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_9

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University of Hong Kong visited four universities in the US in 2020, to conduct cultural and knowledge exchanges in regard to hall education, and to bring back new ideas to tackle problems inside the hall community.

Residential Halls at the University of Hong Kong (UHK) Hall Education The importance of hall education at UHK has been acknowledged by the HKSAR Government and the university itself over the years. According to the Education Commission (1999), three strategies, including ‘enhancing residential experiences’, ‘enhancing the cultural dimensions in hall lives’, and ‘re-designing the living environments in students’ halls of residence’ were stated in the Consultation Document on the Aims of Education under training leadership skills and promoting the physical and cultural abilities of undergraduates. The residential halls at UHK contribute to the all-round development of their members. Students are encouraged to actively participate in a variety of hall activities in order to explore their personal abilities, such as leadership skills, adaptability, motivation and problem-solving skills, development, communication and social skills, and intellectual ability. For instance, students can develop their interests in a sport or cultural team, facilitate their leadership skills by becoming a committee member and organising events, or improve their communication skills through daily interactions and language exchanges with other members from different backgrounds. Here, every student has the opportunity to engage in various experiences and receive education from fellow hall members, who may eventually become lifelong friends.

Halls and Their Own Distinctive Cultures There are 13 residential halls, four residential colleges, and four non-residential halls at UHK. In regard to the residential halls, 11 of them are directly administered by the university, while two of them are run by outside religious bodies and are financially and administratively independent. Additionally, there are two non-residential halls, where students are encouraged to take part in various hall activities, but without the provision of accommodation. Apart from halls, there are four residential colleges in Jockey Club Student Village III on Lung Wah Street, Kennedy Town. They are the largest and latest addition to the university, and can accommodate 1,800 students, with half of these quotas assigned to undergraduates. Members of the residential colleges are expected to participate in intellectual functions and community projects. Each hall has either a steward or a manager to assist the warden with daily operations and administration.

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Residential Halls at UHK are renowned for their strong, individual spirit. Each hall has its own traditions, history, culture, and special characteristics. As the future pioneers of society, through building up a sense of belonging and commitment to their hall, students are able to grow into vibrant, responsible, and diverse individuals, thus helping them to develop a sense of commitment to society. Therefore, it is very important for students to choose the hall that best suits them.

Hall Residency Hall residency was once compulsory for every student at UHK. Today, however, membership in UHK’s residential and non-residential halls and residential colleges has become voluntary. Applications for admission to residential halls must be submitted via the university’s online information system, with a registered student user account. Students can first select and rank a maximum of three choices from all of the residential halls available, according to their own preferences (e.g., culture, location, and hall activities). Then, applicants will be invited for an interview conducted by the respective hall interview board(s). They will receive their application results via the online information system afterward. Successful applicants must indicate their acceptance of their offer through the online system by a specified deadline. Otherwise, the university will regard it as declined and thus withdraw the offer. The fees for membership for university-administered residential halls are payable in advance, separated into two instalments (one instalment per semester). Other than the basic lodging fee, there is an additional special function fee that covers high table dinners, a tradition at UHK where students congregate in formal dress and green gowns, and other meals or banquets for the residential year.

Students’ Participation in Residential Halls Students are normally required to join at least one or two sports and/or cultural teams from their first year in residential halls. There are a wide variety of sports and cultural teams available to join, from hockey and lacrosse, to debate and religious fellowships, just to name a few. Through participating in a sport or cultural team, students are given the opportunity to explore their potential and play to their strengths; through joining inter-hall competitions with their teams, they are able to further cultivate a sense of belonging and commitment to the hall, thus enhancing their own personal development.

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Residential Halls at Universities in the US A research team led by The University of Hong Kong visited four universities in Boston and New York: Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Columbia University, and New York University. We were exposed to different environments and cultures through meeting the hall directors, staff, and students. They offered us tours around the campuses and various hall buildings. This provided the team with opportunities to share and exchange ideas about residential hall experiences, and hall management and education practices. For instance, we were able to further our knowledge around guaranteed housing practices for all undergraduates, how the hall administration and residence life staff select and distribute their students across different halls, the percentage of hall residents among all students (including freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors), as well as the room, roommate allocation, and selection processes. The visits to these universities also increased our understanding of the successful practices implemented there to help hall residents achieve their residential educational aims, and how the institutions align their residential educational aims with their university educational aims. In the following sections, we discuss some differences and examples of good practices in the residential halls across the universities we visited.

Harvard University Unlike the residential halls at UHK, where students from different years live together, first-year students at Harvard are separated from upper-class students and are assigned suites with other first-year students. They live in dorms in Harvard Yard and eat most of their meals in Annenberg Hall. Through eating and engaging in conversations in the dining hall and participating in a variety of activities that are specially designed for them, first-year students have a number of opportunities to interact, socialise, and bond with each other. Apart from having suitemates, every first-year student is a member of a group, an ‘Entryway’, which involves around 20 to 40 students who live on the same floor or section in their dorms. There is a first-year proctor in each ‘Entryway’, who is responsible for providing academic, personal, and social guidance, as well as planning activities and events. With each ‘Entryway’ being part of one of the four Yards, they create a strong community and network for first-year students, thus helping them to adapt to university life more easily. The house system is one of the most famous traditions at Harvard. From their sophomore year onward, students are assigned to one of Harvard’s 12 houses. Before the allocation of houses, students are required to fill in an extensive questionnaire about their personalities, hobbies, and the kind of residential life they are hoping for. They can even form their own blocking and linking groups with some of their friends or classmates. A lottery will then place each group into one of the 12 houses, which

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ensures that students and their friends live in the same neighbourhood. This method of house allocation is student-oriented and beneficial, as it ensures that every student’s needs and wants are satisfied, and avoids conflicts between students, thus enhancing their personal growth and the development of their interpersonal relationships. Each house provides specific learning, social, and recreational opportunities for its student residents. The differences in personalities and traditions allow all houses to create a distinctive sense of community. Students take up some of the responsibility for operating their houses. For instance, there is a student council in each house, which organises and sponsors different house activities. Unlike the residential halls at UHK, where there are limited space and facilities, the houses at Harvard offer students large spaces and various facilities, including their own dining halls, lounges, fitness facilities, study areas, and libraries. Students can do almost everything in their own houses without having to go out for public facilities. As a result, this provides more chances for students to bond with each other and develop a sustainable hall community.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology At MIT, there are 18 residential halls, each with its own distinctive character and community. Most of the undergraduates live in one of the 10 houses on campus, or in one of the 37 MIT-affiliated fraternities, sororities, and living groups off-campus. Unlike UHK, where first-year students are not guaranteed housing, all unmarried first-year students at MIT are required to live in one of the Institute’s residential halls. There is a live-in head of house in each residential hall, who is usually a senior faculty member. After their first year, students can choose to stay on campus or move to a fraternity, sorority, or independent living group. According to statistics, 3,334 undergraduates are currently living on campus (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019). More than 2,000 graduate students are currently living in one of the six campus houses. In addition, there are two campus apartment complexes, which accommodate over 400 graduate and undergraduate students with families (e.g., students who are married and/or have children). Approximately 90 graduates are living in undergraduate halls as graduate resident tutors. Meanwhile, there is also a residential student advisor programme in some residential halls at UHK, through which students with high GPAs are selected to advise freshmen on hall matters and about balancing academic and hall activities. Similar to those at UHK, resident tutors at MIT help foster a safe and supportive living environment and establish a community atmosphere among undergraduates in the halls by encouraging personal growth, providing outlets for managing stress, and facilitating positive interpersonal relationships. The current resident tutor-to-students ratio is around 1:40. All tutors must receive 16 h of training on mental health conditions before the start of each school year. This helps to increase their capability in regard to handling the mental health of student residents.

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New York University The residential halls of New York University have been working hard to develop a community on a campus that is decentralised, spread across two boroughs of New York City, including Manhattan and Brooklyn. NYU residential life and housing services are committed to providing quality services and programmes that enhance residential student success in safe and inclusive living-learning communities. Through their hall allocation process, every first-year student is required to rank their first three house priorities and answer general lifestyle questions. This helps the staff to better understand the personality and needs of every student, thus facilitating the allocation of houses and the pairing up of roommates. After students meet their roommates, they have to complete an agreement with each other (i.e., making their own living rules and forming agreements about sleeping times and cleaning duties). In this way, students are reminded to live responsibly and considerately, which helps to reduce conflicts between students living together. Students are guaranteed housing for all years of their undergraduate experience as long as they apply on time each year and meet all assigned deadlines and tasks, beginning with their first year in residence and at NYU. Apart from the introduction of the student agreement, NYU has been implementing a resident assistant programme for a number of years. The resident assistant (RA) is ‘a paraprofessional who lives on a floor in an undergraduate or graduate residence hall and serves as a role model, peer counsellor, resource and referral person, advocate, policy enforcer, programmer and leader for residents of the assigned floor(s)’. They report to the residence hall assistant director and/or the residence hall director (New York University, 2020). RAs are usually full-time students with a junior or higher class standing who carry a minimum of 12, but no more than 16, credit hours per semester (for undergraduates), and must hold a cumulative 3.0 grade point average at NYU. The standard period for RAs is one academic year, from August to May. All RAs are required to participate in a training session prior to residential hall check-ins for both fall and spring semesters, to ensure they can perform their duties. They are responsible for managing conflicts between residents, programmatic engagement, connecting and engaging with residents, and supporting on-call rotation within their respective halls. In the first semester, they are required to have a one-on-one meeting with every student within their assigned portion of the community. The RAs will ask questions, including if there are any concerns about residential life, mental health conditions, or other targeted questions for that semester. The student also has a chance to ask questions of or articulate their needs to their RA.

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Columbia University At Columbia University, all first-year students are expected to live on campus, as the residential experience is a paramount component of their university education. Students are guaranteed housing for a maximum of four years, according to their guaranteed housing status and admission standing. They are allowed to indicate their preference for a particular hall, a single or double room, a single-sex floor, or to request a particular roommate. There are a variety of housing options, including singles or suites, halls or brownstones, which students are assigned to based on class year and availability. Columbia University works hard to take care of the housing needs of special communities. Upper-class students are able to apply for special housing options, such as living in fraternities or sororities, or special interest community housing. In particular, special accommodation is provided for students with disabilities. This ensures that everyone gets a chance to experience residential hall life on campus. Columbia University also employs students as RAs to work as leaders within the community. To apply for an RA position, students must be a current full-time undergraduate at the college, with guaranteed housing, and with sufficient academic standing, with a minimum GPA of 2.5 (Columbia University, 2020). They serve as strong team players and great listeners, who focus on the growth and development of each individual in their halls. They further work to promote a healthy environment conducive to the overall wellness needs of residents.

Comparison of Residential Hall Life Among UHK and Universities in the US Residential hall experiences do vary across countries and universities, with different administrations, programmes, and activities. Following the exchange of ideas about residential hall experiences, and hall management and education practices, there are a few practices that stand out among the residential hall systems of the US universities. In terms of the admission of residents, the universities in the US mostly require their first-year students to live on campus or in any of the university’s residential halls, and provide all students with guaranteed housing. Despite the segregation of first-year students in their own separate hall of residence, the fact that all Harvard undergraduates have guaranteed housing, where they are given the opportunity to bond with one another and can do almost everything without having to go out for public facilities, provides students with a great deal of support and frequent opportunities to make connections. This is quite different from UHK, where residing in a campus residential hall is completely voluntary and students do not receive guaranteed housing, as the space and facilities are far too limited to accommodate all of them, including nonlocal students who desperately require accommodation. According to a Legislative Council paper, in the 2014–2015 academic year, only the Chinese University and

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the Education University of Hong Kong successfully housed all non-local students who applied for hall residences. The most serious housing shortage was recorded at HKU, where only 44% of non-local students and 47% of local students received a hall residence (Wong, 2017). Thus, it is not hard to find a student on campus who has never lived in a residential hall at UHK and knows nothing about the hall experiences offered. The idea of providing guaranteed housing and even compulsory hall residence for first-year students is great, as it encourages students to interact and bond with people from different faculties and classes through group activities, rather than merely focusing on their academic studies. With compulsory or guaranteed residence in halls, all students can gain a fruitful experience by exploring their potential and developing interpersonal relationships, hence making lifelong friends who can grow together throughout their university life. In terms of hall programmes and support, most universities in the US utilise some version of an RA or a mentor position to help students adapt to university life more easily. For instance, at MIT, all tutors must receive 16 h of training on mental health conditions before the start of each school year. This helps to increase their capability in regard to handling the mental health of student residents. NYU has implemented a resident assistant programme, in which selected students are responsible for maintaining the daily operation of residential halls, helping students with their residential lives, mental health, and relationship problems, and improving communication between students and the school. As mentioned above, a residential student advisor programme has also been introduced in some residential halls at UHK, in which students with high GPAs are selected to advise first-year students on hall matters and about balancing academic and hall activities. However, when compared to universities in the US, the student advisors at UHK play a rather passive role in offering help to students. It is always the student residents who must take the initiative to seek help from the advisors. Yet, in reality, students seldom seek help when they are in need. Sadly, mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, are not uncommon among university students in Hong Kong. Therefore, modifications could be made to improve the communication between student residents and advisors. Advisors could take the initiative by, for example, organising orientation events and regular meetings, to ensure that students are able to reach their advisors when needed. Speaking of the cultural differences between universities in the US and Hong Kong, the liberty and freedom provided by US universities to their students was very visible throughout our tour. However, there is a larger context to consider, and it is up to the management teams in university residential systems to decide how much freedom students should possess. For instance, there are gender-neutral bathrooms in the Maseeh hall of MIT on some floors, which is a common occurrence in the US but would be remarkable for Hong Kong students and teachers. The culture surrounding sex and gender is remarkably different in the US compared to that in Hong Kong. While residential halls in Hong Kong universities are mainly singlegender, delineated by buildings or by floors, there are no such restrictions in the US.

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The culture is more liberal there, and it is often possible to talk openly about genderrelated matters; they have mainly co-ed halls and floors, and some even allow for mixed-gender rooms. Furthermore, they do not impose restrictions on visitors based on gender, thus creating a more open environment for students to discuss with their roommates and floormates about having visitors over, rather than there simply being written restrictions; students are adults and they have to make their own decisions. There are, however, policies and guidelines in place to help set some standards and practices for students to follow at these US institutions. In reality, most students in Hong Kong do not agree with visitor restrictions and it is likely that many of them have broken the rules throughout their residence life experience. There is an LGBTQ+ centre at NYU, where they have free safe sex supplies (e.g., condoms) and other resources available to students (these supplies are also available in all NYU residential halls). Instead of restricting students, US universities work hard to educate their students on the importance of sexual health and having safe sex. This culture is not visible in Hong Kong at the moment. Only when the management teams in the residential halls in Hong Kong are ready for and open to change in regard to gender, freedom (e.g., in regard to visitors), and sex, can this culture be progressively transformed.

Conclusion This chapter compares and contrasts students’ residential lives among a university in Hong Kong and universities in the US (Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, and Columbia University), in terms of the number of residents, the allocation of hall residents, students’ hall associations, committees and clubs, and hall functions and culture. By discussing examples of good practices in these residential halls, it is hoped that readers in the field of residential education will be encouraged to learn from the shared practices and implement better systems to help hall residents achieve their residential educational aims. This will further help students to align their residential educational aims with their university educational objectives in the near future.

References Columbia University. (2020). Undergraduate student life. https://www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/node/ 442234. Commission, E. (1999). Review of academic system: Aims of education (consultation document). Education Commission. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2019). Housing at MIT. https://mitadmissions.org/discover/ life-culture/reslife/.

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New York University. (2020). Resident assistant role profile. https://www.nyu.edu/content/ dam/nyu/resLifeHousServ/documents/PositionDescriptions/RA%20Role%20Profile%2020202021%20(7_14_2020).pdf. Wong, S. K. (2017, October 15). Non-local students in subdivided flats highlight Hong Kong’s university hostel shortage. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/ community/article/2115344/non-local-students-subdivided-flats-highlight-hong-kongs.

Chapter 10

Introducing Financial Literacy to Residential Colleges’ General Education: A Systematic Review Jingyuan Fu, Shida Hou, and Christina Wai-Mui Yu

Abstract Nowadays, the economy is becoming more complex and social processes are increasingly requiring students to become capable producers or consumers. Hence, it is widely regarded that a person must possess financial literacy as an economic entity. In addition to certain financial institutions, numerous educational institutions have made personal financial literacy education a priority. Obviously, residential colleges play an outsized role in students’ daily lives and should provide an environment in which resident students can learn the skills needed for financial independence. This chapter therefore reviews the extent to which financial literacy activities are embedded in residential colleges through a systematic review method. It also provides practical guidelines on how financial literacy education can be conducted in residential education. Keywords Financial literacy · Residential education · Financial socialisation · Learning community · Systematic review

Background and Introduction Financial Socialisation and Citizenship Socialisation is the internalisation of social norms and ideologies. It includes learning and teaching, and is a means of achieving cohesive social and cultural continuity. J. Fu Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] S. Hou (B) Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan Second Road, 510030 Guangzhou, China e-mail: [email protected] C. W.-M. Yu Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 111 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_10

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Financial socialisation is a subset of general socialisation (Gudmunson et al., 2016). Danes (1994) defined financial socialisation as ‘the process of acquiring and developing values, attitudes, standards, norms, knowledge, and behaviours that contribute to the financial viability and well-being of the individuals’. The general socialisation of everyone in society starts in childhood but, to some extent, the process of socialisation continues throughout the individual’s entire life (McNeal, 1987; Moschis, 1985, 1987). As an example of financial socialisation, Danes and Dunrud (2014) and McNeal (1987) found that children can learn financial management behaviours through observation and participation, as well as through intentional guidance by social agents such as families. Financial knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours acquired during childhood and adolescence will continuously affect all aspects of people’s future lives, including their financial and economic outcomes, and their relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. In a sense, financial habits established during childhood and adolescence can persist throughout adulthood. Incidental learning plays an important part in financial socialisation; students can learn financial knowledge in contexts without plans or intentions (Shim et al., 2010). Although this method of socialisation is not a formalised system, it is not entirely random and usually includes a considerable amount of deliberate guidance. For example, children can learn financial knowledge from shopping with their parents (Danes, 1994). Different social groups provide different environments for financial socialisation. Moreover, these groups are not limited to families, peers, educational institutions, workplaces, and ethnic and religious groups. Conover and Searing (2000) posited that adolescents have a tendency to acquire attitudes toward their own citizenship through practice and they will combine their emerging attitudes toward citizenship to develop ‘a sense of citizenship’ in regard to political and social participation. In addition, Feldman and Elliott (1990) proposed that students in high school experience complicated physical, psychological, and social changes; thus, this period is a new opportunity for young people to become immersed in the socialisation process. Marks and Kuss (2001) further associated socialisation with citizenship. They found that there are different levels at which the principles of democracy and participation in social activities can be instilled by both public and private educational institutions, so as to help students to gain a foothold in the economy. Against this background, financial literacy education is not only a designed form of education that helps citizens make responsible financial and consumptive decisions, but is also a tool that can be used to promote their citizenship, civic equality, and political participation (Arthur et al., 2012). Citizenship means independence, freedom, and accountability. For the economic well-being of society, individuals, and nations, economic citizenship is critically important (Sherraden & Ansong, 2013). According to Amagir et al. (2018), ‘economic citizenship’, as an important aspect of citizenship, requires various institutions to pay attention to financial education, since only financially empowered and qualified children and teenagers are likely to realise their full potential as citizens (Sherraden & Ansong, 2013). Amagir et al. (2018) provided several reasons as to why

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financial education, social education, and inclusive finance serve as core elements of young people’s economic citizenship.

The Importance of Financial Literacy In defining financial literacy, Jorgensen and Savla (2010) argued that financial literacy is the relationship between three concepts: financial knowledge, financial behaviours, and financial attitudes. Amagir et al. (2018) extended these three concepts to define financial literacy; regarding an understanding of financial issues, people should understand the areas related to expected behaviour, to enable them to decide how to participate in the right financial behaviour. Due to the relatively limited impact of knowledge on behaviour change (Hilgert et al., 2003; Perry & Morris, 2005), two additional aspects should be considered: (1) financial skills and behaviour, as individuals need operational skills in the field, such as how to manage a budget, in order to improve their financial conduct; and (2) attitude and confidence, since people usually require a sense of self-agency and necessary motivation to make financial decisions to implement what has been learned outside the background (Bandura, 1997, 2006). Imparting financial literacy also requires financial education. Members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) endorsed the definition of financial education (Atkinson & Messy, 2012; Grifoni & Messy, 2012; OECD, 2012b) as follows: ‘The process by which financial consumers/investors improve their understanding of financial products, concepts and risks and, through information, instruction and/or objective advice, develop the skills and confidence to become more aware of financial risks and opportunities, to make informed choices, to know where to go for help, and to take other effective actions to improve their financial well-being’ (OECD, 2005). Atkinson and Messy (2012) later refined the OECD’s definition of financial education and developed a globally recognised definition of financial literacy as ‘a combination of awareness, knowledge, skill, attitude, and behavior necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve individual financial wellbeing’ (OECD, 2014a). In short, financial literacy is about an individual’s competency in terms of managing money (Remund, 2010); that is, understanding the value of money and knowing how to maximise the benefits of money utilisation (Kadoya & Khan, 2020), such as through the ability to ‘process economic information and make informed decisions about financial planning, wealth accumulation, debt, and pensions’ (Lusardi & Mitchell, 2014, p. 6). In all cases, a comprehensive definition of financial literacy should reflect the idea that it is more than just knowledge and information (Jump$tart, 2015). The outcome of financial well-being is broadly defined as long-term financial security and the avoidance of a suboptimal financial status (Kasman et al., 2018), as well as having positive credit to maintain financial security (Cull & Whitton, 2011). In some countries, many children and young people today will be the first generation to be exposed to financial products. Faced with the current complexity of financial

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products and services, as well as the ever-changing social environment, the financial choices that young people have to make today may be more challenging than in the past. Moreover, young people have to face economic risks as social welfare decreases because of the ageing population (Atkinson & Messy, 2012; Grifoni & Messy, 2012; OECD, 2014b). Acknowledging the value of financial knowledge, an increasing number of countries have developed and introduced domestic policies for financial education, such as a five-year national project the Russian government launched in 2011 to support the financial education and consumer protection of students in schools and universities (Grifoni & Messy, 2012; OECD, 2013a). In reality, the Russian government is increasingly focusing on the younger generation’s key role in enhancing the nation’s financial literacy.

Financial Literacy in Residential Colleges Danes and Hira (1987) pointed out that the college students surveyed in their study only possessed basic financial knowledge and lacked the specific financial literacy needed to deal with practical matters, such as insurance purchases and credit card applications. As a result, researchers have begun to question families’ role in disseminating money management knowledge and financial management attitudes. Although the latest literature on financial socialisation has mostly focused on families, such as the main relational processes and dynamics between parents and children, there is now a more interesting perspective to consider, which involves collecting retrospective data from the college student population (Gudmunson et al., 2016; Kalil et al., 2005; Kim & Chatterjee, 2013). For example, Chen and Volpe (1998) found that college students lacking financial knowledge had more negative views toward financial issues and, according to the questionnaires, those young people tended to make more poor or biased choices. In addition, Bodvarsson and Walker (2004) noticed that poor financial literacy restricted the willingness of college students to make informed decisions, which may also impact their college performance, mental or physical health, and even their employment outcomes (Cude et al., 2006). Cude et al. (2006) used several methods to evaluate college students’ financial management strategies and proposed that educational institutions such as colleges could include courses on personal finance or financial life skills as a graduation requirement for general education programmes. The possibility of successfully learning financial literacy would be dramatically enhanced if universities were to maximise their use of a location where a majority of incoming freshmen spend most of their time: residence halls (Astin, 1985; Minor, 1997). One example of this is the Freshman Interest Groups programme that the University of Missouri applied to residential colleges (Minor, 1997). Likewise, Bobilya and Akey (2002) mentioned the use of residential learning communities to integrate living and learning in a community, which would help students build academic and social support networks inside and outside the classroom, and also bridge the gap between classroom learning and extracurricular living (Shapiro & Levine, 1999).

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College is a particularly significant transitional stage in students’ overall development. Although most college students are not financially independent, after high school, they begin to live independently, especially in residential colleges. Faced with this situation, universities should use a more comprehensive approach to enable various departments, such as financial aid offices, student affairs administration sectors, student health services centres, career centres, residential colleges, and student business service centres, to engage in the financial socialisation process (Cude et al., 2006). Thus, institutions such as residential colleges will also become aware of the importance of developing activities to meet the demand for students’ financial literacy. This study addresses the following question: To what extent can educational activities improve financial literacy as it is integrated with residential colleges? The objectives of this review are two-fold: (1) to describe any designed learning activities in the literature to promote financial literacy education in residential colleges, and to describe to what extent these activities are embedded in residential education if there are any; (2) to interpret whether or not these studies contribute to the further educational programmes application by defining relevant guidelines for embedding financial literacy in residential education. At present, a review of educational activities intended to improve financial literacy in residential colleges is lacking. To fill this gap, the goal of our study was to review the literature on activities related to financial literacy in residential colleges, with a particular focus on designed learning activities.

Methodology This research was conducted using a systematic review (Kitchenham, 2004; Kitchenham et al., 2009). In order to report our systematic review more comprehensively, we adopted the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and metaanalyses (PRISMA) flow chart and checklist The PRISMA model was summarised and updated by Moher et al. (2009) from the quality of reporting of meta-analyses (QUOROM) guide, aiming to provide researchers with a critical appraisal process through which to improve systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Furthermore, considering the review’s transparency and clarity, we also adopted guidance from the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) to evaluate each article in this study by designing four quality assessment (QA) questions (Centre for Reviews & Dissemination, 2009). The literature on financial knowledge, financial literacy, and educational projects or activities related to residential education was identified through a thorough search. The search steps are documented below.

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Search Strategy Databases and Study Period. In this study, we searched the following relevant databases from the year 2000 to December 2019: ERIC (educational literature), PsycINFO (psychology and psychiatry literature, via Proquest), and Google Scholar. We used the following terms in various combinations: financial literacy, residential college, financial education in residence halls, financial socialisation, and residential education. All of the included articles were manually searched and the reference lists of these articles were also searched to identify additional studies related to financial literacy in residential education. Procedures. Two researchers selected each article or conference paper in an independent review. Papers involving any keywords during the preliminary search were determined as potentially relevant. One researcher was responsible for applying detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria in the preliminary screening process and for selecting articles for another researcher’s further screening based on the same criteria. It was expected that the searching accuracy would be increased through this double layer of searching. All three researchers reached a consensus by discussion if there were disagreements. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria. In this review, our emphasis is on the relationship between student financial literacy and residential colleges, as well as the effectiveness of educational programmes in terms of improving student financial literacy. We covered studies published between 2000 and 2019, as articles on improving financial literacy implementation in residential education are relatively limited and preliminary, and most studies on financial literacy education in colleges have been published in the last 19 years. Hence, our inclusion criteria include: • Journal and conference articles published in English. • Educational improvement programmes or assessment reports with general education or liberal learning delivered at residential halls or to undergraduate students living at college. • Experimental, descriptive, or qualitative primary studies. • Financial literacy and economic development embedded in the contexts of residential colleges or residential learning communities. Duplicate articles, research studies undertaken in primary educational level settings, and texts not published between 2000 and 2019 were excluded according to our exclusion criteria. Data Extraction and Analysis. The content we decided to extract from each study was: (1) main topic; (2) research question(s); (3) research design; (4) summary/discussion; (5) whether or not the study had further guidelines; (6) references. After deciding what to extract, the first reviewer extracted the data and the second reviewer checked the data accordingly. When there was a disagreement over the data extraction process, all researchers discussed the details of the data until a consensus was reached. We prioritised our focus on the following data to analyse in

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Fig. 10.1 Checklist of the QA

order to address our research question: (1) main topic; (2) research question(s); (3) research design; (4) whether or not the study had further guidelines. Quality Assessment Guidelines. Since there is no formal scale for financial literacy in education in previous studies, we listed four QA questions, shown in Fig. 10.1, as a new scale and checklist with which to assess each study through a reliable approach to the critical appraisal (Centre for Reviews & Dissemination, 2009). The reasons for putting forward the following QA questions are: (1) the accuracy of research topics represent the quality of the selected study and details of educational activities; and (2) guidelines are important for financial literacy developments in residential colleges. Two researchers independently provided an overall score for each study to ensure the quality of the assessment. The scoring scale for each question of the checklist is illustrated below. • QA1: Y (yes), the authors of the study have explicitly described their study topic; P (partly), the study topic is implicit; N (no), the study topic is not described properly and cannot be inferred. • QA2: Y (yes), there are designed learning activities in the study; P (partly), the study includes some learning activities, but they are not designed by the authors; N (no), there are no designed learning activities in the study. • QA3: Y (yes), the authors of the study have explicitly pointed out the importance of financial literacy education in general education; P (partly), the importance of financial literacy education in the study is implicit; N (no), the importance of financial literacy education in the study is not defined and cannot be inferred.

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• QA4: Y (yes), the related guidelines for further applications are defined specifically in the study; P (partly), the related guidelines for further applications are implicit; N (no), the related guidelines for further applications are not defined and cannot be inferred. These were scored accordingly: Y = 1, P = 0.5, and N = 0. The first and second researcher independently evaluated each paper. In case of disagreements, we discussed the issue until a score was decided.

Results Search Results The items in the flow chart in Fig. 10.2 provide clear instruction and guidance on how we conducted the search process (Gopalakrishnan & Ganeshkumar, 2013; Panic et al., 2013). Across the databases, 5820 results were initially identified. After limiting the timeframe from 2000 to 2019 and the removal of duplicate studies occurred in the initial layer, the first researcher applied the process to identify the relevance of each article according to its title and abstract, which excluded 1926 and 1037 articles, respectively. We added two additional relevant studies (Jariah et al., 2004; Sabri et al., 2010) after reviewing the remaining articles’ reference lists or bibliographies because of their relevance to the current review. We excluded 976 articles after screening the titles and abstracts. Finally, the application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria resulted in the exclusion of 52 out of the 63 studies, leaving 11 studies for appraisal.

Data Analysis and Quality Assessment Results The analysis data were tabulated in Table 10.1 based on our identification of 11 studies in total from the search results, including one literature review (Ahsan, 2013), one research report (Coben et al., 2005), one technical report (Mayhew et al., 2018), and eight journal articles (Chase et al., 2007; Goetz et al., 2005; Jariah et al., 2004; Maurer & Lee, 2011; Sabri et al., 2010, 2012; Shim et al., 2010; Strothmann & Antell, 2010). Meanwhile, we evaluated each study based on three aspects (activities related to financial literacy, learning designed for residential students, and included further guidelines), focusing on practical information. The QA results are shown in Table 10.2, which also depicts the quality assessment score for each study. All studies scored 2 or more on the QA scale; more specifically, five studies scored 3 (Ahsan, 2013; Chase et al., 2007; Sabri et al., 2012; Shim et al., 2010; Strothmann & Antell, 2010), two studies scored 4 (Maurer & Lee, 2011; Mayhew et al., 2018), and one study scored 3.5 (Goetz et al., 2005). As the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination

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Fig. 10.2 Systematic review flow chart

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Table 10.1 Literature data analysis Study

Author

Date

Activities related to Learning designed financial literacy for residential students

Included further guidelines

SI

Ahsan

2013

No

No

Yes

S2

Chase et al.

2007

Yes

No

Yes

S3

Coben et al.

2005

Yes

No

Yes

S4

Goetz et al.

2005

Yes

Yes

Yes

S5

Jariah et al.

2004

Yes

No

Yes

S6

Maurer and Lee

2011

Yes

Yes

Yes

S7

Mayhew et al.

2018

Yes

No

Yes

S8

Sabri et al.

2010

Yes

No

Yes

S9

Sabri et al.

2012

Yes

No

Yes

S10

Shim et al.

2010

No

No

Yes

Sll

Strothmann and Antell

2010

No

Yes

Yes

Table 10.2 Literature quality evaluation Study

QAl

QA2

QA3

QA4

Total score

SI

Y

N

Y

Y

3

S2

Y

N

Y

Y

3

S3

P

N

Y

P

2

S4

Y

Y

P

Y

3.5

S5

P

N

Y

P

2

S6

Y

Y

Y

Y

4

S7

Y

Y

Y

Y

4

S8

P

N

Y

P

2

S9

Y

P

P

Y

3

SIO

Y

N

Y

Y

3

S11

Y

Y

N

Y

3

(2009) states, it is not recommended that the scales of assessing quality are used as the standard to distinguish the overall quality of a study, due to the way in which very few scales are built on standard techniques without bias. Under our QA scale, the high or low scores of selected papers are not evidence that can be used to distinguish a high-quality or low-quality study. Yet, the higher scores mean that the studies in question are more valuable in supporting financial literacy development in the residential education domain.

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Discussion Among these identified studies, S4 scored 3.5 in the quality evaluation because Goetz et al. (2005) put forward curriculum design suggestions for setting up financial counselling sessions in residence halls, college classrooms, and surrounding communities. Supported by college organisations, individuals or groups can offer free financial counselling to students in need, including peer education programmes or community presentations. Due to the rising debt level of college students and the comparatively low level of financial knowledge, there is a great demand for financial services among college students. Therefore, this kind of program could not only meet the financial consulting needs of non-financial students, but could also promote the professional skills of service providers in the financial planning profession. Similarly, as a more specific study, we scored S6 with full marks. Maurer and Lee (2011) designed a peer financial counselling (PFC) program that, compared to traditional classroom instruction, was structured to provide students with budgets, credit, and other financial knowledge extensions. Therefore, the authors applied the PFC courses to the student groups of residence halls and student organisations. The control group was the traditional course group, in which some students were taking a second-year introductory course in family economics taught by Maurer. The differences between the learning outcomes of the two types of financial literacy teaching show that the PFC programme can assist students in residential halls or student organisations in gaining financial knowledge. It is also suggested that this financial literacy programme is perhaps the most effective instruction programme intended to equip students with basic financial knowledge skills. A few studies have compared the differences in financial literacy between students living on and off campus. Jariah et al. (2004) investigated students’ financial situations and assessed the reasons underlying each of them. They found that students living on and off campus had different levels of financial problems, and some even had a degree of debt. Students living off campus spent more money on items that students living on campus do not pay for, such as commuting costs, and they tended to eat meals such as instant noodles to save money. Students living on campus were short of money because of frequent consumption, and a higher percentage of them skipped meals to save money. Most students have a shortage of money because they lack the expertise and skills to address their financial problems, which contributes to impulsive consumption after seeing advertisements and discounts, or excessive spending on entertainment and celebration. Since there are almost no designed learning activities in S5, the topic and further guidelines are briefly described; thus, we scored it as 2. Sabri et al. (2010) surveyed college students’ financial literacy and found that students not living on campus have greater financial literacy, as they must manage their own money to pay bills and liabilities. Moreover, the analysis of data collected by Sabri et al. (2012) indicates that college students living on campus are more satisfied with their perceived financial well-being than others living off campus. Evidence has also shown that students living off campus experience more financial problems. Sabri et al. (2012) concluded that this is because students living off campus may have

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more financial responsibilities than students living on campus. The importance of financial literacy education in S9 is implicit, and the authors did not design learning activities. Thus, we evaluated it as 3. In fact, a variety of extracurricular activities are proposed or applied in several financial education programmes. For example, Chase et al. (2007) believed that students may enter early adulthood without adequate education about consumption behaviour, and often excessively spend on recreational activities on campus as a result. Therefore, residence halls should plan and provide students with extracurricular activities that can develop their financial socialisation and reduce their recreational shopping. Similarly, based on a survey, Coben et al. (2005) noticed that several universities have conducted events that have contributed to financial education and have supported students studying in the community through non-campus activities. An example from the study is Northumberland County Council, which provides local residents with basic skills courses, such as in financial literacy. Therefore, the authors believed that financial knowledge education can be provided in off-campus locations, such as community centres and residential sectors. Another type of program is mentioned by Strothmann et al. (2010), as they received many financial-related questions from students in a residential hall during their first-year implementation of their Faculty-in-Residence (FIR) programme. FIR is a programme for librarians to support student learning and provide educational services to other educational institutions; they believe the residential hall is an ideal and underutilised place for library outreach services. Some studies mentioned the connection between residential education and financial literacy from various perspectives. Ahsan (2013) reviewed four papers, arguing that a lack of financial knowledge and literacy is a current global phenomenon; he suggested that undergraduates need to acquire financial knowledge during their studies, including in residence halls. Mayhew et al. (2018) stated that funded experiences in residential halls could improve students’ financial literacy. However, Shim et al. (2010) found that financial knowledge or financial habits that students learned from their parents will continue into their college years, even though most students would already be living in residence halls at this point.

Conclusion and Recommendations In our review, each of the 11 selected articles included relevant guidelines for further implications, most of which involved financial activities, but only a few articles included the design of residential education activities (e.g., Goetz et al., 2005; Maurer & Lee, 2011; Strothmann & Antell, 2010). This indicates that a fair number of educational programmes are related to financial literacy, but fewer financial literacy programmes and activities are embedded in residential education, and there are fewer experimental studies related to this area. The current review is part of an ongoing research project; as more studies in this area increase, the quality of relevant literature will continue to be reviewed.

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Effective financial literacy programmes and activities can equip young people at university with the skills to take advantage of the available financial services and to better assess the financial risks they face, which is critical to restoring public trust and confidence in the financial system, promoting financial stability, and providing the necessary public backing for financial reforms. Incorporating teaching and learning about finance in school curricula (OECD, 2013a) and beyond by developing additional financial literacy programmes has become popular in many countries. To upscale the financial literacy programmes in university residential education, institutions can refer to the national financial competency framework, which is a national strategy and developmental tool used to recognise the importance of financial literacy education by: (1) establishing the meaning and scope of financial education at different levels through the cooperation of different stakeholders; (2) forming a roadmap to help policymakers and the general public to achieve specific and predetermined objectives within a specified timeframe; and (3) providing guidance to be applied by individual programmes to efficiently and appropriately contribute to the overall strategy at work (OECD, 2012a, 2013b, 2015). Hence, a financial competency framework is a construct that can be used to provide useful summaries of a diverse set of financial elements, in order to affect people’s financial behaviour, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and motivations, in the form of learnable financial competencies in regard to implementation and assessment. They can be put to good use in residential education at university colleges. Overall, the majority of the selected studies show that many contemporary university students lack financial literacy, despite the fact that financial literacy is important for their socialisation and daily lives. Besides, the general level of financial literacy of residential students among student groups is relatively lower, which means students should be encouraged to learn actively about financial literacy through programmes or activities in residential colleges. In reviewing the literature on financial literacy, we suggest that the support related to financial literacy offered by residential colleges can improve students’ financial knowledge and skills. One proposal for future research is to identify suitable residential education programmes to encourage students to increase their interest in financial literacy while participating in activities in a diverse residential environment. These activities may include information sessions or seminars for financial aid and various scholarships, or courses that allow students to learn how to use credit cards and manage money. For example, the studies that this article reviewed involving either PFC sessions or FIR programmes, can be used as a reference for future practice. Another recommendation for future studies is that experimental research is needed to explore the short-term or long-term effects of specifically designed financial literacy education programmes applied in residential colleges. With the analysis of first-hand data, the evaluation of various instructional approaches will become accessible.

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Part V

Ongoing Research and Implications

Chapter 11

Comparison of How Residential Hall Experience Impacts Hong Kong University Students’ Development Elsie Ong and Samuel Kai Wah Chu

Abstract Residential halls are an important component of college education, benefiting holistic personal development, as documented by previous research (Kuh et al in What matters to student success: A review of the literature [Commissioned report for the National Symposium on Postsecondary Student Success]. National Postsecondary Education Cooperative, 2006; Pascarella et al in Foreword. Schroeder and Mable (eds) Realizing the educational potential of residence halls, Jossey-Bass, 1994). While previous research has tended to focus on Western universities, the current research aims to improve Hong Kong university students’ residential hall experiences by providing a comprehensive analysis of the impact of hall experiences on students’ academic, social, and independent developmental domains. Comparing students living in residential halls with those who are not residents, it was predicted that students living in halls would outperform their non-hall counterparts in most aspects of development. A total of 1,904 participants from four universities in Hong Kong were recruited to participate in a self-assessed questionnaire tapping into various aspects of students’ development. Contrary to the predictions, the results revealed that students living in halls significantly outranked non-hall residents in five aspects of development: peer-group interactions and communication skills (p = .012), self-efficacy (p = .019), problem-solving skills (p = .012), self-control (p = .001), and open-mindedness (p < .001). These results imply that there is still much to be done to improve students’ residential hall experiences to facilitate students’ personal development. Keywords College student · Hall residence · Academic development · Social development · Independent development

S. K. W. Chu University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] E. Ong (B) University of Northampton, Northampton, UK e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_11

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Comparison of How Hall Experience Impacts Students’ Academic, Social, and Independent Developmental Domains Unlike academic classes, which aim to deliver one of the major aims of education— intellectual development (Whitehead, 1967)—residential halls are ideal places for college students to grow and develop in areas of practical knowledge, values, maturity, and citizenship (Blimling, 2014). Residential halls are not solely considered as dormitories, which only provide spaces for sleeping. Instead, residential halls are major social and recreational platforms, where students learn and grow outside classrooms (Schroeder & Mable, 1994). The importance of learning communities was raised by Astin (1991), who stated that ‘the potential for their success is significantly enhanced by making use of a location where a majority of freshman spend most of their time—the residence halls’ (p. 21). From this, it is clear that residential halls are places for students to integrate their curricular and co-curricular experience; hence, this is how residential education takes place (Marchese, 1994). Residential education is education provided in an environment where students both live and learn outside of their family homes. Previous research on residential education is mostly focused on Western universities, which is only generalisable to the specific residential hall culture there. The specific benefits of the residential culture in Hong Kong are unclear.

Positive Outcomes Specifically Related to Students Living in Residential Halls Prior studies have demonstrated many positive educational outcomes from living in residential halls (Kuh et al., 2006; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005). For example, the model of multiple intelligences by Gardner (2000) suggests that living in halls contributes most directly to intrapersonal and existential development (which are collectively referred to as the independent developmental domain in this paper) and interpersonal development (which is referred to as the social developmental domain). Ecological theory1 (Peterson et al., 1998) further suggests that an individual is embedded in five ecological systems and the extent of the interactions among these systems influences the growth and development of the individual directly (Bronfenbrenner, 1977, 1989, 2009). Among these five systems, the microsystem is the innermost layer, referring to the groups that mostly impact an individual’s development through interactions, such as parents and classmates. Residential halls operate as an essential microsystem and serve as an immediate context in which university students primarily live throughout the academic year (Renn & Arnold, 2003). Another example is Astin’s (1984) involvement theory, which postulates that students 1

The ecological systems theory holds that we encounter different environments throughout our lifespan that may influence our behavior to varying degrees. The five systems include the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem.

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living in residential halls may learn and develop actively through their intermediate system. This includes development through interactions with other hall residents, social rendezvous, deliberate and inadvertent experiences, and circumstances for probing interests (Blimling, 2014). These models lend support to the importance of scrutinising the unique role of residential halls in student development in terms of three major domains: academic, social, and independent domains. Concerning the academic developmental domain, we explore three aspects in this paper: academic impacts, time management, and planning skills. Academic impacts include striving for excellence in academic studies, enthusiasm for further learning, higher academic achievements, intellectual stimulation, and analytical skills (Chu et al., 2019). Time management includes time estimation and allocation, working under time constraints, designing and utilising systems to trace information, and managing tasks (Lay & Schouwenburg, 1993). Planning skills include establishing roadmaps to plan and prioritise the steps toward goal attainment or task completion, and differentiation between more important and less important issues (Shanahan et al., 2011). In past literature, when compared to those who had no hall experience, students who lived in residential halls learned more, were less likely to drop out, and were more likely to graduate from college (Gellin, 2003; Pelter et al., 1999; Schudde, 2011). When controlling previous academic performance and socioeconomic variables, however, students who lived in residential halls did not show any significant difference in academic performance compared to students not living in residential halls (Blimling, 2014; Pascarella, 1992; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Concerning the social developmental domain, we explore three aspects in this chapter: peer-group interactions and communication skills, cultural exchanges, and global/social awareness and empathy. Peer-group interactions and communication skills, or interpersonal skills, are a set of abilities for dealing with other people and relationships effectively, such as adaptively interpreting social cues, demonstrating social cognition and interests, and interacting with others in an appropriate social manner (Gardner, 2000). Cultural exchanges include the comprehension of how various cultures and people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds interact, perceptions of close relationships and exchanges between students from different cultural backgrounds, and a strong desire to promote exchanges between students from different cultural backgrounds (Palinkas et al., 2009). Global/social awareness and empathy include the awareness of one’s role as a global or social citizen, perceiving information and ideas from a global or multifaceted perspective, and placing oneself in others’ positions, so as to understand or feel what people from other racial and cultural backgrounds are experiencing or feeling (Doscher, 2013; Wang et al., 2003). Intensive social exchanges and interactions boost the social awareness, social cognition, social motivation, and social skills of students living in residential halls (Blimling, 2014). Apart from the better comprehension and interpretation of others’ emotions, hall experiences have been found to be beneficial to students living in residential halls, as students living in residential halls encounter others with various ethnic, racial, or cultural backgrounds, which contributes to their diversity awareness and openness to experiences (Crisp & Turner, 2011; Pascarella, 1996).

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Concerning the independent developmental domain, we explore four aspects in this paper: self-efficacy, problem-solving skills, self-control, and open-mindedness. Self-efficacy is the belief one holds in one’s own capabilities to succeed or accomplish goals (Bandura, 1982). Problem-solving skills include problem identification, solutions generation, and executing the solutions (Beyer, 1988). Self-control is the ability to manage one’s own thoughts, emotions, and behaviour when facing temptations and impulses (DeLisi, 2014). Open-mindedness is a personality mega-trait, tapping into one’s tendency to be receptive in a new situation and being willing to accept information that goes against one’s own opinions (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Self-disclosure among students living in residential halls fosters self-awareness, selfreflection, and introspection (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006; Lee & Kalyuga, 2014), thereby helping students living in residential halls to acquire more self-knowledge (Siegel, 2012). Through trial and error, students living in residential halls self-monitor by learning what to disclose and what not to disclose to articulate their images, even when being compelled to disclose. Thus, students living in residential halls acquire self-control skills at the same time. Moreover, students living in residential halls were found to engage in intellectual discussions or even debates on moral, ethic, sociopolitical, or religious issues, as well as topics related to the purposes and meanings of life and personal missions, as they advance their epistemological judgments and metacognitive skills (Blakemore, 2012; Cullum & Harton, 2007).

Hall Experience Factors Benefiting Students’ Development Social group identity (definition) assists in the personal development of students living in residential halls. The processes of differentiation, assimilation, and the identification of social groups in residential halls help to build up self-esteem (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005), especially when individuals perceive the group they belong to as being better than others (Kimmel, 2008). As students living in residential halls place a great deal of emphasis on their group identity, they tend to devote more time to activities related to their group identity. Thus, their values and beliefs might conform to the group (Cullum & Harton, 2007). Roommates and other peers also assist in the personal development of students living in residential halls. About half of students living in halls spend more time with their roommates than with other friends. Slightly more than a quarter of these students considered their roommates as their best friends (Stinebrickner & Stinebrickner, 2006). In a study conducted by Cullum and Harton (2007), it was revealed that, for students living in residential halls, more than 30% of their friends live in the same living unit or same floor and 18% of their friends live in the same residential halls, while about a quarter of their friends live in other residential halls and about a quarter of their friends do not live in residential halls. Moreover, physical proximity significantly predicts students’ social interactions (Cullum & Harton, 2007). It was found that students living in residential halls tend to interact with their fellow hallmates face-to-face and share more similar attitudes to those living closest to

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them (Cullum & Harton, 2007). Furthermore, roommates were found to be effective in terms of promoting self-acceptance and academic performance (Shook & Clay, 2012; Shook & Fazio, 2008). Finally, roommates and other peers in halls can play a significant role in students’ decisions to take part in social groups or events (Eisenberg et al., 2014; Foster, 2006). Apart from that, peer and social group attachment allows for emotional bonding among students living in halls, so that halls serve as a safe haven for students to explore larger college communities. In order to promote students’ whole-person development and to maximise their positive educational outcomes, over the past few decades, scholars have attempted to identify good practices of successfully integrating college students’ formal and structured academic experiences with their informal residential hall experiences (Foubert et al., 1998; Schroeder & Mable, 1994). Echoing Blimling’s (2001) four communities of practice in the student affairs model (i.e., student development, student learning, student administration, and student services), Riker and DeCoster’s (1971) hierarchy of educational objectives of residential halls argued that halls should not only target the provision and maintenance of a safe physical environment and adequate facilities, but should also construct guidelines favourable for community living, building a harmonious environment for other hall residents, and, ultimately, offering opportunities for students’ growth and development.

Rationale for the Current Research Whereas the existing body of literature has explored the positive outcomes, the factors behind, and the respective good practices of living in residential halls, a research gap was identified by this study. To date, there is a lack of comprehensive research contrasting the academic, social, and independent development of students living in residential halls and students not living in residential halls, as previous research has overwhelmingly examined only a few aspects (e.g., self-acceptance and academic performance; Shook & Clay, 2012; Shook & Fazio, 2008). Moreover, previous research has concentrated on university students in Western countries. Therefore, the results may not be generalisable to Hong Kong university students and the unique residential life there. Chu et al. conducted a study on one university in Hong Kong to identify which demographic is more likely to participate in hall activities. To extend Chu et al.’s study, this research aims to investigate the benefits of living in residential halls in four Hong Kong universities, thus encouraging more active participation in hall activities. Having taken all of the above findings into account, this research aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the development of the academic, social, and independence of students living in residential halls and students not living in residential halls. Given the many positive outcomes found in the previous literature, it was hypothesised that students living in residential halls would outperform students not living in halls in most aspects of development.

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Methodology Participants The research team recruited 1904 hall residents in four Hong Kong universities to participate in the study in exchange for a drink coupon of small monetary value. A total of 1,359 of the participants were female (71.4%) and 545 participants were male (28.6%). The number of participants from the four universities were 762 (40.0%), 270 (14.2%), 441 (23.2%), and 431 (22.6%), respectively. In terms of their cultural backgrounds, 1390 of the participants were local (73.0%), and 504 of them were non-local (26.5%). The majority of the participants were undergraduates (N = 1635; 85.2%) and the majority were currently residing in halls (N = 1528; 80.3%).

Measures The questionnaire used for this study consisted of three sections: demographic information, perception of hall experience, and impact of hall experience. The academic, social, and independent aspects measured in this study were based on 77 self-report items formatted as multiple-choice structured questions in Section Three of the questionnaire. All of the questions were presented in the same order online via SurveyMonkey, which participants accessed via their own electronic devices in their own time. In Section One (demographic information), seven items were asked to ascertain the student’s gender, the university in which the student was currently studying, the student’s status (i.e., full-time, part-time, exchange student, or alumni), the student’s level of study (i.e., undergraduate or postgraduate student), the student’s year of study, the origin of the student (i.e., local or non-local student), and the hall in which the student was currently residing. The impact of hall experience was divided into three parts, with a total of 77 items. The first part, containing 15 items, focused on the impact of hall experience on the academic developmental domain. Ratings for this part were evaluated on a sevenpoint Likert scale ranging from one (strongly disagree) to seven (strongly agree). The impacts of hall experience on the academic developmental domain were divided into three aspects: academic impacts, time management, and planning skills. There were five items per aspect of academic development (see Table 4 in the appendix for the items for each aspect listed under the impact of hall experience on academic aspects). Questions about academic impacts were adapted from a recent study conducted by Chu et al. (2019), while questions about time management and planning skills were adapted from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function—Adult Version (Isquith et al., 2006). A higher score indicated higher proficiency in each aspect. In this sample, the internal consistencies of the three aspects were good (Cronbach’s αs > 0.8; Shemwell et al., 2015, p. 68).

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The second part, with 29 items, focused on the impact of hall experience on the students’ social developmental domain. Ratings for this part were evaluated on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from one (strongly disagree) to seven (strongly agree). The impacts of hall experience on the social developmental domain were divided into three aspects: peer-group interactions and communication skills, cultural exchanges, and global/social awareness and empathy. There were 11 items under peer-group interactions and communication skills, which were adapted from The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988) and the revised version of the Institutional Integration Scale (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980); eight items under cultural exchanges; and 10 items under global/social awareness and empathy (see Table 5 in the appendix for the items for each aspect listed under the impact of hall experience on interpersonal relationships). A higher score indicated higher proficiency in regard to each aspect. In this sample, the internal consistencies of the three aspects were excellent (Cronbach’s αs > 0.9). The third part, with 33 items, focused on the impact of hall experience on students’ independent developmental domain. Ratings for this part were evaluated on a sevenpoint Likert scale ranging from one (strongly disagree) to seven (strongly agree). The impacts of hall experience on the independent developmental domain were divided into four aspects: self-efficacy, problem-solving skills, self-control, and openmindedness. There were six items under self-efficacy, which were adapted from the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalen, 1995); eight items under problem-solving skills; eight items under self-control, which were adapted from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function—Adult Version (Isquith et al., 2006); and 11 items under open-mindedness, which were adapted from The BigFive Inventory (John & Srivastava, 1999) (see Table 6 in the appendix for the items for each aspect listed under the impact of hall experience on intrapersonal aspects). A higher score indicated higher proficiency in regard to each aspect. In this sample, the internal consistencies of the four aspects were acceptable (Cronbach’s αs > 0.7). Figure 11.1 shows the relationship between the developmental domain and the developmental aspect, as described in Section Three of the questionnaire.

Results Figure 11.2 presents the average of participants’ self-assessed scores across all 10 aspects of development. Looking at the pattern in Fig. 11.2, it appears that students living in halls significantly outranked their non-hall counterparts in only five aspects of development: peer-group interactions and communication skills, self-efficacy, problem-solving skills, self-control, and open-mindedness. Moreover, students not living in halls outranked students living in halls in regard to academic impact. To test these apparent effects, the data were analysed using independent sample t-tests. The results are presented in Tables 11.1, 11.2, and 11.3.

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Fig. 11.1 The relationship between the developmental domain and the developmental aspect

Academic Developmental Domain As shown from the data in Table 11.1, students living in residential halls reported significantly lower levels of academic impact compared to students not living in residential halls (t (1879) = −2.371, p = 0.018). In regard to time management and planning (see Table 11.1), we found no statistically significant differences between students living in residential halls and those not living in residential halls in terms of time management (t (1878) = 1.381, p = 0.167) and planning (t (1877) = 1.535, p = 0.125).

Social Developmental Domain As shown by the data presented in Table 11.2, students living in residential halls reported significantly better performance in terms of peer group interaction and communication skills compared with students not living in residential halls (t (1832)

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Fig. 11.2 Average scores of all participants across the 10 aspects; error bars represent standard errors Table 11.1 The impact of hall experience on students’ academic developmental domain Hall residents

Non-hall residents

M

SD

M

SD

1. Academic impact

4.62

1.02

4.76

2. Time management

4.89

1.05

4.81

3. Planning

4.94

1.02

4.84

*

t

p

Cohen’s d

1.03

−2.37

0.018*

−0.14

1.08

1.38

0.167

0.08

1.12

1.54

0.125

0.09

p < 0.05

Table 11.2 The impact of hall experience on students’ social developmental domain Hall residents

Non-hall residents

M

SD

M

SD

4. Peer-group interactions and communication skills

4.97

1.02

4.82

5. Cultural exchanges

4.92

1.05

6. Global/social 5.01 awareness and empathy

0.98

*

p < 0.05. † p < 0.10

t

p

Cohen’s d

1.06

2.51

0.012*

0.15

4.80

1.08

1.92

0.055†

0.11

4.92

1.02

1.44

0.148

0.09

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Table 11.3 The impact of hall experience on students’ independent developmental domain Hall residents

Non-hall residents

M

M

SD

t

p

Cohen’s d

SD

7. Self-efficacy

4.91

0.97

4.77

1.07

2.35

0.019*

0.14

8. Problem-solving skills

5.00

0.96

4.85

1.14

2.51

0.012*

0.14

9. Self-control

4.17

1.25

3.90

1.61

3.43

0.001**

0.18

10.Open-mindedness

4.90

0.89

4.70

0.98

3.56

< 0.001***

0.21

*

p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01. *** p < 0.001

= 2.50, p = 0.012). In regard to cultural exchange, students living in residential halls reported marginally significantly better results than students not living in residential halls (t (1832) = 1.92, p = 0.055). We found no statistically significant difference in students’ global/social awareness and empathy between students living in residential halls and those not living in residential halls (t (1832) = 1.44, p = 0.148).

Independent Developmental Domain As shown from the data presented in Table 11.3, students living in residential halls reported significantly higher levels of self-efficacy than those not living in residential halls (t (1785) = 2.348, p = 0.019). Students living in residential halls also reported significantly better problem-solving skills than those not living in residential halls (t (1784) = 2.510, p = 0.012). Moreover, students living in residential halls reported significantly higher levels of self-control than those not living in residential halls (t (1902) = 3.437, p = 0.001). Students living in residential halls also reported greater levels of open-mindedness than those not living in residential halls (t (1785) = 3.560, p < 0.001). In particular, open-mindedness met the minimum threshold (Cohen’s d = 0.2) of small effect sizes (Cohen’s d = 0.209), demonstrating that the effect of the difference observed between students living in residential halls and students not living in residential halls is small.

Discussion The results of this study lend partial support to the proposed hypothesis, as students living in the residential halls outperformed students not living in halls in only five aspects of development. The results show that hall experience did equip the participating students with better skills in a majority of their social and independent developmental domains. However, hall experience did not contribute much to students’ academic developmental domain.

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Academic Developmental Domain Academic Impact. Students living in residential halls demonstrated significantly lower levels of academic performance compared to students not living in residential halls. This contradicts the existing body of literature, which found no significant difference in terms of academic performance between students living in residential halls and students not living in residential halls. It may be that the current research did not take students’ previous academic performance and socioeconomic factors as control variables and was therefore not able to sreplicate the non-significant difference results regarding academic impact between hall-living students and non-hallliving students. This might also be due to the fact that hall education places a great deal of emphasis on non-academic skills, particularly social and affective skills, instead of academic skills (Savitz-Romer et al., 2015). Moreover, when compared with students not living in residential halls, students living in residential halls are more likely to face hall-specific stressors (e.g., poor relationships with roommates, arguing with floormates, studying in noisy apartments) and conflicts among mesosystems (e.g., the interplay between hall life versus family life), which might indirectly affect their academic achievements (Renn & Arnold, 2003; Ross et al., 1999). Time Management. When compared with students not living in residential halls, students living in residential halls did not seem to be more able to master time management skills, which are essential to executive functioning (Kaufman, 2010). Beyond that, students living in halls are exclusively put under pressure to effectively manage the use of their time and arrange their schedules for hall-related activities (e.g., ball games, cultural events, inter-hall events) (Dusselier et al., 2005). Once hall residents join a hall team, they are responsible for and accountable to not only themselves, but also the group they belong to; they have a new group identity (Terry et al., 1999). This makes time management of the utmost importance for students living in residential halls, as they have to live up to the expectations of their hallmates by utilising their out-of-class time (Clark, 2005). As students living in residential halls are likely to bear various responsibilities, there is still room for improvement in terms of their time management. To help students living in residential halls to equip themselves with time management skills, project-based interactive programmes can be implemented. These programmes adapt the three major components in promoting motivation from selfdetermination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000). In terms of autonomy, students living in residential halls are invited to brainstorm ideas for what they would like to produce at the end of the programme (Deci et al., 1994), such as a video production on social security or a peer activity on multiculturalism. Students living in residential halls have the right to opt to produce something they find meaningful or interesting. In terms of competence, a tutor would guide residents through the preparation work to be done and the estimated time required for each small task (e.g., the time needed for rehearsals, interviews, buying resources, etc.) (Niemiec & Ryan, 2009). The tutor would also teach necessary time management strategies that facilitate and lead to residents’ final production. Thus, by applying the strategies they learned in the

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preparation process, residents are likely to feel competent through enactive mastery experiences. In terms of relatedness, students living in residential halls are motivated to learn time management skills by having close and secure relationships with their tutor (Niemiec & Ryan, 2009). Planning. Similar to time management, when compared to students not living in residential halls, students living in residential halls appeared to not have better planning skills, which are another essential component of executive functioning (Meltzer, 2018). This is surprising because, although both groups of students need to deal with competing priorities (e.g., planning for family and occupational affairs), students living in residential halls exclusively need good planning skills to arrange and deal with hall and campus affairs (Lezak, 1995). This demonstrates the necessity of polishing planning skills among students living in residential halls. Therefore, hall education urgently needs to provide training on planning through organically incorporating life planning into available training curricula. In the life planning curriculum, coaching could be provided to students living in residential halls. Students living in residential halls get to prioritise what is important to them themselves, figure out what they see themselves doing in 10 years, how to organise their own time, and how to self-monitor, self-regulate, and reflect on their progress to make adjustments (Zimmerman & Paulsen, 1995). Life coaches could first invite students living in residential halls to learn more about themselves through interviews and validated inventories, then discuss current and possible future situations with residents, sets major and minor goals, coach residents to break down goals into smaller measurable or observable pieces through task analysis and backward planning, encourage residents to make committed actions that they feel comfortable about, evaluate residents’ progress, and finally serve as confidants for cognitive resources and emotional support (Green et al., 2007). Coaches could be professionally-trained alumni of halls or hall tutors. Thus, it is hoped that, through learning planning skills in coaching programmes, students living in residential halls can carry out life planning in accordance with their passions, missions, professions, and vocations (Miralles & Garcia, 2017).

Social Developmental Domain Peer-Group Interactions and Communication Skills. Living in residential halls enhances students’ interpersonal skills, which might be why students living in residential halls outperformed students not living in residential halls in this aspect. Among all aspects of interpersonal skills, students’ peer-group interactions and communication skills are polished under residential halls’ emphasis on interpersonal cooperation, which can manifest in various group-based activities. Through daily interactions with different parties, including roommates, floormates, and teammates who are of various ages, nationalities, ethnic origins, and cultural backgrounds, students are equipped with interpersonal communication skills,

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such as active listening, affect recognition, verbal and non-verbal communication, emotion regulation and expression, and conflict resolution (McKay et al., 2009). Cultural Exchange. Students living in residential halls performed only marginally better than students not living in residential halls in this aspect. Universities at Hong Kong hold top rankings in internationalisation across various global higher education measures because non-local students make up a sizeable population of the university community. Although residential halls provide a platform for students with diverse upbringings and backgrounds to interact with one another, more should be done to break down the language and cultural barriers between local and non-local residents, which might the crux of why hall residents showed a similar level of cultural exchange when compared with non-hall residents. As explained by Chen (2002), the lack of familiarity with the culture of conversation partners is an obstacle for students to overcome when identifying common topics for conversations. This might sometimes create awkward group dynamics. Such a cultural barrier becomes more salient when students of different nationalities live under the same roof. For instance, residents might be annoyed by their floormates or roommates who cook unfamiliar-smelling food or invite other foreign students to stay over (Pedersen, 1991). Such conflicts between residents from different countries may arise from their lack of intercultural communication competence. As suggested by Flaherty (2009), intercultural communication competence involves being flexible and respectful when interacting with people who come from different cultures and/or have different behaviours, values, and opinions. In order to help students living in residential halls to develop positive and beneficial cultural exchanges during their hall life, not only should intercultural activities be held but, more importantly, evidenced-based psychoeducational programmes (e.g., imagined intergroup contact) should be implemented to celebrate and embrace diversity, to facilitate the acceptance of differences, and to encourage students to take an active role in befriending others (Vezzali et al., 2015). Global/Social Awareness and Empathy. Students living in residential halls did not differ significantly from students not living in residential halls in regard to global/social awareness and empathy. This is a worrying trend, as global awareness and global citizenship have become formal educational and learning outcomes of colleges in the face of sociopolitical, economic, cultural, and technological globalisation (Werner & Case, 1997), and students living in residential halls should ideally have more opportunities to gain global awareness, as they live in close proximity with people from other cultures. In reality, some local residents may be exposed to current foreign affairs through interacting with their non-local counterparts. On the other hand, other local residents might be confined to their indigenous social circles and thus have few motives to learn more about current issues abroad from other non-local residents in hall settings. Social inclusion programmes can be implemented to help students living in residential halls to grasp the construct of empathy. In these programmes, students from diverse backgrounds living in residential halls put themselves in others’ shoes, feel what others might be feeling, and think what others might be thinking. The most significant part of these programmes is their ability to help students translate the

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skills they acquire and to display empathetic and pro-social behaviours throughout hall life. The promotion of a consciousness and understanding of global affairs, and a state-of-the-planet awareness, which refer to having knowledge about global conditions such as population growth and inter-nation relations, can be cultivated through a series of interactive workshops (Hanvey, 1976). This can propagate hall residents’ state-of-the-planet awareness and sympathy by reducing ultimate attribution errors, stereotypes, and prejudice (Case, 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005).

Independent Developmental Domain Self-Efficacy. Students living in halls were more likely to have confidence in their own abilities and perceive themselves as more self-efficacious than students not living in residential halls (Zimmerman, 2000). This comes as no surprise, as it is in accordance with Bandura’s (1993) perceived self-efficacy model. First, students living in residential halls gain mastery experience through goal-directed persistence and overcoming difficulties when participating in hall activities (e.g., drama competitions, mass dances, swimming galas), which might not be available to students not living in residential halls, thereby boosting their self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977). Second, students living in residential halls gain vicarious experience by learning from their peers, shadowing, and through modelling (Bandura, 1982). The strong networking of hall graduates also provides students living in residential halls with mentoring and coaching opportunities, such that they can learn from experienced alumni, thereby enhancing their self-efficacy. Third, students living in residential halls are more selfefficacious, as they receive verbal persuasion from their supportive peers (Bandura, 1977). Slogans such as ‘you can make it’ boost hall residents’ confidence in their own abilities. Fourth, with a harmonious and inclusive environment, students living in residential halls experience positive affective states and thus might translate those states into the impetus of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1982). Problem-Solving Skills. Students living in residential halls reported better problem-solving skills than students not living in residential halls. It may be that this is due to the way in which students living in residential halls have moved into a new environment where they are expected to resolve their own problems (e.g., adjustment issues, daily chores, financial problems, interpersonal problems, etc.) and family members are not always available to offer help (i.e., less parental control and parental support; Mattanah et al., 2004). As they encounter more problems, they engage in metacognitive processes that facilitate the solving of problems (Brown, 1987). In particular, they might first work out the root of the problems, then evaluate possible and feasible ways to deal with them, take action, and review the entire problem-solving process to see if there are new problems that have arisen (Newell & Simon, 1972; Runco, 1994).

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Self-Control. The participating students living in residential halls demonstrated better emotional regulation and impulse control in the face of desires and temptations (i.e., better self-control) when compared with students not living in residential halls. As part of inhibitory control, a core component of executive functioning skills (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000), self-control enables students living in residential halls to be self-aware, to self-monitor, to oversee their own desires and impulses, to evaluate alternative behaviours, and to avoid committing certain aggressive behaviours (e.g., bullying, fighting, arguing, drinking) (Baer et al., 1991). Students living in residential halls are also able to self-discipline themselves by exerting willpower (Terenzini et al., 1994). This might be partly due to the fact that students living in residential halls are under constant psychosocial evaluation by their peers in daily hall life, as well as in post-event evaluation hall meetings, thereby encouraging students living in residential halls to exert self-control over their own behaviour in order to build or maintain a good impression on others (Tangney et al., 2018). Another possible explanation is that news and information regarding individuals’ behaviour spread rapidly and extensively. So, students living in residential halls have to remind themselves to act well and conform to the hall norms. A further explanation may be that there is a great deal of freedom while staying in the halls, as residents get to choose what they would like to do and get to refuse temptations or invitations from others (Trope & Fishbach, 2000). Students living in residential halls need to employ self-control during critical times (e.g., finals week) so that they can balance their academic and non-academic lives. Open-Mindedness. The participating students living in residential halls were found to be more open-minded than the participating students not living in residential halls, meaning that the former were more aware of their own biases and heuristics, and were more tolerant of different opinions, as well as people holding different ideas, than the latter (Hare, 1993). As discussed, it may be that residential halls provide a common place for students with diverse backgrounds to interact, which is not commonly institutionalised elsewhere on the college campus. With more positive interactions with diverse peers of different races, nationalities, or ethnicities, it is not surprising that students living in residential halls are more open-minded in terms of new experiences and diverse opinions than students not living in residential halls (Antonio, 2004; Laird, 2005).

Implications and Future Directions A major implication of the current study is that there was a significant difference in terms of academic impact between students living in residential halls and students not living in residential halls. Further research might replicate the current study, taking students’ previous academic performance and socioeconomic factors into consideration, in order to investigate if this significant difference still exists. Given that the students living in halls did not significantly outperform their nonhall-living counterparts in four aspects (i.e., time management, planning, cultural

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exchanges, and global/social awareness and empathy), future research could explore the factors behind the comparable performance of students living in halls and students not living in halls in regard to these four aspects, and scrutinise the effectiveness of intervention programmes targeting these aspects of students life in residential halls. Future research might also use mixed methods, including self-reported questionnaires, site visits, and individual and focus group interviews, to collect data among university students, to tap into the underlying mechanisms of residential hall education in terms of students’ development regarding peer-group interactions and communication skills, self-efficacy, problem-solving skills, self-control, and open-mindedness.

Conclusion In this chapter, we have provided a comprehensive analysis of the impact of hall education on three major domains of the development (i.e., academic, social, and independent) of college students. We found that students living in halls significantly outperformed their non-hall counterparts in five aspects of development: peer-group interactions and communication skills, self-efficacy, problem-solving skills, self-control, and open-mindedness. Students living in halls did not significantly outperform their non-hall counterparts in four respects: time management, planning, cultural exchanges, and global/social awareness and empathy. The only aspect in which students not living in halls outperformed their hall-living counterparts was academic impact. The data collection was carried out using quantitative and qualitative data methods (namely, self-reported questionnaires, individual and focus group interviews, and site visits), laying the groundwork for future research.

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Tangney, J. P., Boone, A. L., & Baumeister, R. F. (2018). High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), Self-regulation and self-control (pp. 181–220). Routledge. Terenzini, P. T., Rendon, L. I., Upcraft, M. L., Millar, S. B., Allison, K. W., Gregg, P. L., & Jalomo, R. (1994). The transition to college: Diverse students, diverse stories. Research in Higher Education, 35(1), 57–73. Terry, D. J., Hogg, M. A., & White, K. M. (1999). The theory of planned behaviour: Self-identity, social identity and group norms. British Journal of Social Psychology, 38(3), 225–244. Trope, Y., & Fishbach, A. (2000). Counteractive self-control in overcoming temptation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(4), 493–506. Vezzali, L., Stathi, S., Crisp, R. J., Giovannini, D., Capozza, D., & Gaertner, S. L. (2015). Imagined intergroup contact and common in group identity. Social Psychology, 46(5), 265–276. Wang, Y., Davidson, M. M., Yakushko, O. F., Savoy, H. B., Tan, J. A., & Bleier, J. K. (2003). The scale of ethnocultural empathy: Development, validation, and reliability. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50(2), 221–234. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.50.2.221 Werner, W., & Case, R. (1997). Themes of global education. In A. Wright & A. Sears (Eds.), Trends and issues in Canadian social studies (pp. 176–193). Pacific Educational Press. Whitehead, A. N. (1967). Aims of education. Simon and Schuster. Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The Multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52, 30–41. Zimmerman, B. J., & Paulsen, A. S. (1995). Self-monitoring during collegiate studying: An invaluable tool for academic self-regulation. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 1995(63), 13–27. Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Self-efficacy: An essential motive to learn. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 82–91.

Chapter 12

Capacity Building for Advancing and Sustaining Residential Education Christina Wai-Mui Yu

Abstract Capacity building is a term widely used in relation to different organisations and public institutions for improvement. This chapter aims to discuss how RE can be better sustained through capacity building at the individual, institutional and societal levels by comparing the RE practices amongst a local university, the Education University of Hong Kong and some universities in United Kingdom, including the University of Manchester, University of Sheffield and the University of Cambridge. It is expected that a better understanding of the relationship between capacity building and RE advancement, including both its credits and limitations, can be achieved through this chapter. Suggestions for further strengthening RE in universities by capacity building in the three different levels will be recommended. Keywords Capacity Building · Residential Education · Residential Education Advancement · Sustainable Development

Introduction In Hong Kong, under the government’s existing student hostel policy promulgated in 1996, all local undergraduate students should be given the opportunity to stay in student hostels for at least one year. Additionally, all research postgraduate and non-local students, as well as undergraduate students whose daily travelling time exceeds four hours, should be provided with hostel places. However, owing to land and resources constraints, as well as competing priorities, the number of publicly-funded student hostel places has fallen short of students’ needs. By the 2018–2019 academic year, the total projected shortfall of student hostel places in universities funded by the local University Grant Committee (UGC) was 13,473, which represents about one-third of the total shortfall (Legislative Council Archives of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Finance Committee, 2018, p. 3). The shortfall has seriously limited opportunities to recruit international students C. W.-M. Yu (B) Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_12

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and enable local students to benefit from hostel life. A one-off grant of about 10 million Hong Kong dollars was arranged for six out of eight local UGC-funded universities, to expedite the development of student hostels in order to meet hostel shortfalls in full. It is expected that, through this one-off grant, the UGC-funded universities can step up their efforts to organise more hostel-related programmes, engender cultural exchange and interactions, and nurture multi-cultural student integration. In fact, residential student leaders were found to be better developed in terms of leadership, career development, multicultural experience, community involvement, and ethical personal values (Ting et al., 2016). Regarding the significance of residential education (RE) in universities and the significant impacts of capacity development on RE, such as the aforementioned government policy, this chapter aims to analyse and discuss how RE can be advanced and sustained through capacity building at individual, institutional, and societal levels, as well as various components for improvement in the case of the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), which recognises the potential benefits that would be brought by hostel life to quality pre-service teacher education by the UGC. Through comparing the RE practices among EdUHK, the University of Manchester, the University of Sheffield, and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom (UK), a better understanding of the relationship between capacity building and RE advancement, including both its credits and limitations, can be achieved. Suggestions for ways to further strengthen RE in universities through capacity building at the three different levels are recommended at the end of the chapter.

The Capacity Building of RE From the early 1970s onward, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) built capacity for technical and administrative development, which was considered as ‘institution building’ in underdeveloped and developing countries, to improve their performance. After a series of promotions on ‘institution building’ in governance and public administration, the concept of institutional development largely expanded in the public and private sectors in the 1980s (Smillie, 2001). The term was further evolved to ‘capacity building’ in the 1990s and has now become ‘capacity development’, with an emphasis on sustainable development (UNDP, ). Capacity building requires the establishment of conditions that allow individuals to engage in the ‘process of learning and adapting to change’; enable existing institutions to form ‘sound policies, organizational structures, and effective methods of resources management’; and establish societal support to ‘public administration that learns from and responds to the public more’ (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Development Assistance Committee [OECD DAC], 2009). These three levels of capacity building encompass multiple capabilities, such as human, technological, organisational, and institutional capabilities. According to Hughes et al. (2005) and Fullan (2007), capacity building is not only a concept but is also a series of strategic actions to build up a learning community, in

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order to enhance the implications of human and technical resources for the sake of students’ learning. It is even a ‘habit of mind’ to engage in and use to sustain student learning in the broadest sense (Stoll, 2009). RE has multifaceted purposes, but the most essential goal is promoting it at universities as an educational movement, to call upon stakeholders at all levels of awareness and engagement in RE, so that students can benefit from RE. Hence, capacity building in RE is more than a concept; it is also a process, a series of strategic actions, a mindset of learning, and an evolving vision and mission for RE in universities. In a broader educational sense, Stoll (2009) highlighted seven issues affecting educational improvement that should be considered in capacity building, including: (1) differentiating capacity building in different educational contexts; (2) emphasising student needs in learning; (3) addressing both the present and future needs in educational changes; (4) ensuring the sustainability of capacity building through learning and maintaining a ‘habit of mind’; (5) developing leadership capacity in terms of benefits for students’ learning and fundamental changes in learning culture; (6) building educational learning networks; and (7) building systemic change by aligning different parts of the system to mutually support each other. In light of the spirit of capacity building in the educational development of hall life, the following sections report, analyse, and discuss the key features of the capacity building of RE across the three aforementioned levels (individual, institutional, and societal) by referencing key observations and findings from an overseas RE visit to the UK. This chapter also suggest ways to promote university RE through capacity building across the three levels.

Studying RE in Hong Kong and the UK As part of the effort to enhance the quality of RE, an overseas tour to the UK focusing on the theme of the alignment of RE and university graduate attributes was organised for a group of eight undergraduate students and four staff representatives from the hall management team of the EdUHK in early 2019. This overseas tour aimed to facilitate the exchange of knowledge with overseas universities and learn about how overseas universities link their RE aims to their university educational aims. During the tour, four official visits to three universities were arranged, to the University of Manchester (UoM), the University of Sheffield (UoS), and Hughes Hall (HH) and St John College (SJC) at the University of Cambridge. These visits provided opportunities to explore residential policies, programmes, and facilities in both traditional and modern RE systems in the UK. All the participants conducted discussions about their observations and interactions with hall leaders (staff and hallmates) from the host universities. After the tour, all of the participants submitted individual reflective reports on what they had learned from the trip. Through the daily group debriefing notes and individual reflective reports, a comparison of RE in the host universities and home university through content analysis was made possible. Content analysis is ‘a research technique for making

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replicable and valid inferences from text (or other meaningful matter) to the contexts of their use’ (Krippendorff, 2004, p. 18). There are two different forms of content analyses: quantitative and qualitative. The results of quantitative content analysis are presented as frequency counts, while the results of qualitative content analysis are presented as illustrative quotations (Wilkinson, 2010, p. 171). In this study, qualitative content analysis was applied, since it offers a structured way of reducing data into distinct themes or categories to facilitate easy retrieval for subsequent analyses of trends and differences across multiple cases (e.g., Arndt & Bigelow, 2000; Sonpar & Golden-Biddle, 2008). Any texts that are directly or indirectly related to RE policies, programmes, practices, facilities, and outcomes were initially categorised together to form the first layer of analysis. All of the categorised texts were then re-examined and filtered into the fine-tuned themes as the second layer of analysis. In the third and final layers of analysis, all the categorised themes were double-checked and confirmed for a comparative study of the EdUHK and universities in the UK. Finally, a number of issues with achieving various desirable RE aims through capacity building were identified using the qualitative content analysis in the study.

Findings The following explains the key features contributing to the analysis of the capacity building of RE, with quotations extracted from the participants’ valuable insights gained from their visits and noted in their reflective reports. A. Accommodation Hall accommodation policies are the most common concern, since they may have strong influences on individual hall life. ‘The accommodation of the UoM can be divided into self-catered and catered halls. All undergraduate and postgraduate students are eligible to apply for accommodation. The university guarantees an offer for overseas students or students embarking on their first degree at the UoM, even if they are local. In regard to the room allocation policy, the UoM tries to ensure that all students taking longer courses will be offered college accommodation in all three years. They also try to house first-year (especially UG) students on the college’s central site, to better accommodate their studies.’ ‘There are six buildings on the main site at HH. Most of the rooms are for students living on their own. About half of the rooms have en-suite bathrooms and the others have access to shared bathrooms. They also have a few flats/studios for those who want to bring their partners with them, as the majority of them are mature PG or PhD students.’ ‘Basically, the four halls at the EdUHK are reserved for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in shared rooms or houses; however, overseas and mainland undergraduate students may enjoy a longer stay, due to the limited housing supply

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in Hong Kong. Due to limited resources, no room can be reserved for married PG students.’ The accommodation policies among the universities were quite similar for undergraduate and postgraduate students, subject to available resources/conditions. However, the visiting policies are very different. ‘The hall policy at the UoM is not strict, compared with the EdUHK. It allows non-students to stay overnight without paying a fee, for up to a few days, if the floormates agree and there is no interference to the daily lives of student residents. As many students come from different cities or countries, their parents and friends can always come and visit them. It is eye-opening because they welcome everyone to stay overnight in their hall, which is also educating students about showing tolerance and taking care of their neighbourhood.’ ‘HH really focuses on college spirit and alumni relations; they are very pleased to hear from their alumni and to help them reserve rooms in the college when they come back to visit. It is very impressive that they make the college your ‘home away from home’, which helps the students transition from family to the college to the community. They are proud that ‘Hughes Hall is the place for study and friendship’.’ ‘At the EdUHK, non-residents are not allowed to stay later than 11pm. We understand that there are differences in the cultural backgrounds between the EdUHK and the UoM. However, if we take the UoM’s policy as reference, students would probably be able to learn proper attitudes and ways to treat their neighbours.’ B. Technological Applications in Hall Operations The hall facilities at the UoS and the EdUHK are quite similar. Both have basic facilities, such as a common room, laundry room, and catering service; however, the operations are quite different, especially for the impressive laundry service at the UoS. ‘Residents might have to physically queue for laundry in the halls of the EdUHK. At the UoS, washing clothes on campus is quite simple. By adopting managed laundry systems, residents can simply start the laundry directly from their phones using the mobile app. All available washing machines or drying machines can be viewed in the app. Residents can select the machines in real time, as well as making payments. The app also offers a feature that automatically notifies the user when the laundry is done. They will get back their clothes right after the laundry has finished, so as to avoid holding up the next user. The system is well designed and easy-to-use, and makes tedious work easy to manage, as well as saving time!’ With the advancement of technology, a mobile app integrates with multiple connected products and allows a user to control those products in an effective way. Taking the laundry app as an example, laundry seems to be an ordinary part of daily operations, but it can be enhanced to make individual hall life more straightforward and easier.

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C. RE Programmes and Residents’ Participation RE should not only focus on residents’ hall life in accommodation and routine operations, but also on their all-rounded development, including academic, sports, mental health, and social community elements. ‘The UoM inspires us in that they really put effort into hall life education, as they take care of every aspect of their students, ranging from time management to personal life support.’ ‘SJC provides different types of activities to their residents, such as sports, gaming, and workshops. These activities provide opportunities for residents to achieve allround development. Residents can join all the activities.’ ‘There are 40+ sports and societies groups at HH, and students will never be bored if they wish to join any of them. If there is no activity that fits their interests, they can always propose one. It is worth mentioning that we saw many champion paddles displayed on the ceilings of their common room, which helps to boost the college spirit.’ However, the residents’ participation rate in RE programmes is low. ‘In the ResLife Programme at the UoM, the low resident participation rate is not proportional to resources invested. The UoM points out that it is worth investing if even only one student enjoys the activities; at least they would help one student resident who would otherwise have dropped out of university. The persistence of the UoM as a university shows the spirit of taking every opportunity to help students.’ ‘Coincidentally, the EdUHK is in the same situation as the UoM. The university organises a lot of activities and programmes for student residents to achieve allround development. However, the participation rate is surprisingly low, even when the activities are useful for future careers or are fun to join.’ ‘From the HH experience, it is evident that individual residents may prefer riding on bicycles alone or with friends, wandering around the college or the city, to reflect (introspection), to relax (free from study pressure), and to enjoy their free time (the stunning views of Cambridge), since some residents are well aware of the fact that one of the strengths of Cambridge students is their ability to build relationships and networks through various ways. For example, residents can chat with senior academics in a friendly way, talk freely about academia, career planning, the future, and global issues, or simply chat about daily life and hobbies instead of joining some specific RE programmes.’ Hence, diversifying residents’ hall life experience is more important than focusing on residents’ participation rate in the RE programmes. D. Support for Residents In addition, it was not difficult to observe the hall staff showing their support to residents in a variety of ways throughout the visits. Residents’ Associations ‘SJC provides lots of assistance to their students so as to maintain special traditions in the halls. For example, the Junior Combination Room and the Samuel Butler Room at SJC are organised by junior students as spaces for a college Student Union and Graduate Union, respectively.’

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‘At the EdUHK, not only wardens but also the university itself are able to show their respect and support to Student Residents’ Associations (SRAs). The SRA is a very good channel to help consolidate opinions from the hall residents. Without cooperating with SRAs, the university would never know what is happening in the halls. Understanding the differences between halls is crucial for giving proper support to them.’ Tutorship and Mentorship ‘Mentors at the UoS are volunteer undergraduate students who have trained for the role. They are matched with a small group of Year 1 students (the mentees) from their own department and, if possible, from the same course (programme). According to the staff, ‘this can ensure the students can receive suggestions from professionals via the proper channel’. This system reflects the way in which the UoS is not only focusing on the hall life of students but also on their academic development. The university also presents awards to several ‘outstanding’ mentors who are nominated by their mentees. This helps encourage students to become a (good) mentor. In the halls at the EdUHK, tutors are required to take certain training courses so as to help them better prepare for the role. This is very similar to the mentor system at the UoS, which ensures the mentors will listen to your problems and then help the students concerned to identify the right channel through which to solve the problems. According to the staff, ‘this can ensure the students can receive suggestions from professionals via the proper channel.’’. ‘In order to promote academic excellence, HH has a decentralised supervision and tutorial system. Students are required to produce four-to-five papers per year as coursework. They also have projects and need to attend a three-hour handwritten examination for each course. There are weekly consultations in a small-group teaching format, for which students need to prepare extensively. For the tutoring, each tutor (they are staff members, not student tutors) is responsible for taking care of 10 undergraduates and 65 postgraduate students. They have to give pastoral support for all situations and check on those students each term in regard to their academic performance as well as their personal well-being.’

Critical Analysis of Capacity Building in RE From the insightful learning in the above RE comparisons, there are some commonalities and differences in RE among the universities. At the individual level, RE provides various programmes, services, and support in the areas of residents’ academic, personal, mental, and social life by organising residents’ associations and offering mentoring and/or tutorial system(s) in residential halls. Both residential staff and student leaders try their very best to support the implementation of RE. A key area is how individual residents are engaged in RE. Issues such as how busy residents are in their daily college life and their prioritisation of participation in RE influence their individual needs and how RE could cater for those needs. As young adults and college

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students, residents should be respected in terms of their own RE arrangements once their academic and personal development can be sustained through residential life. Moreover, from the different practices described above, the significance of RE policies at the institutional level can be clearly seen. For example, more open visiting policies have impacts on residents’ attitudes and the care they show for others, and the use of a mobile app for laundry services better facilitates residents’ time management. Of course, the openness and advancement of policies might be subject to a number of human and non-human factors in different universities, which may eventually hinder the capacity building of those universities. Such contextual issues are limitations of capacity building too. According to Stoll’s (2009) highlighted issues that should be considered in capacity building for educational improvement, RE can be viewed as a unique educational context that could cater for residents’ informal and formal learning needs, in order to address their current and future needs. It is worthwhile for all university students, faculty members, administrative staff, and institutional and public policy makers to keep ‘advancing RE’ as a ‘habit of mind’, to support better learning and development in terms of RE. Moreover, at institutional and societal levels, stronger networking could be built to ensure the systematic and supportive provision of RE. For example, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of virtual forms of RE is increasing, which requires closer collaboration among universities to save both time and effort in the short and long term. In fact, through the organisation of the overseas visit to the UK, RE was already developed in its capacity through collaborative work with key stakeholders across the three levels of the local and overseas universities involved. At the individual level, the tour participants who served as the core figures of the RE in question could experience first-hand different practices that can facilitate their better learning of RE. At the institutional level, the involved universities that supported the process of RE on a hall basis could learn from each other, to enhance their RE policies and enable the effective management of RE resources. At the societal level, the committees or parties that monitored RE with support from stakeholders in the local community (society) could establish more supportive policies and practices in regard to RE through the study reports from the visit. All these stakeholders played significant roles that made a real RE experience possible at the university. Hence, the capacity building of RE focuses on these three levels of stakeholders and can thereby carefully consider their RE designs and make contributions to RE together. It is suggested that RE provides residents with the opportunity to engage in the ‘process of learning and adapting to change’. Moreover, building a community network among local and overseas universities can enable a stronger sense of collaboration and a driving force for RE from the university organisational level. More importantly, the capacity building of social responsibility can further lead residents to engage in a wider learning context in terms of social interaction, and help them to become more aware of the concerns of others and better understand the world around them. This provides support at a societal level that enables RE to address and respond to the public’s concerns to a greater extent. The current serious shortfall of student hostel places in HK requires societal support to provide necessary resources

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in order to achieve more effective RE. RE is not just for solving students’ housing problems but can also be harnessed to actualise academic and cultural exchange among international and local students, to help develop outstanding young leaders in society. According to Stoll (2020), in view of the increasingly collaborative activities and networking between teachers and school leaders as a positive strategy for teacher development and to support school improvement, everyone in the educational ecosystem, such as parents, school leaders and teachers, communities and agencies, policy makers and politicians, needs to be learning individually and together, and across levels, in light of their openness to achieving transformative learning in the long run. Therefore, RE cannot be developed without the active engagement of all key stakeholders, universities, the government, and community support in policy making in terms of the direction and settings of the resources made available based on student needs. Substantial work on policy and operational support at different levels of RE in the university system is primarily and urgently needed in the near future. Moreover, a further study on how the good practices of RE might be turned into quality university RE is needed. RE learning programmes may be offered through formal or informal learning activities that could be creatively defused and/or developed as an area of study in existing university education according to the innovation-driven and interdisciplinary nature of RE. In fact, the ways of carrying out RE could be multifaced as long as the ultimate outcomes of RE can sharpen residents’ holistic development. Acknowledgements A special thank you goes to the tour participants, it would have been impossible to complete this study without their invaluable learning outcomes achieved through the tour. Credits for this chapter go to the tour participants.

References Anfara, V. A., & Mertens, S. B. (2012). Capacity building is a key to the radical transformation of middle grades schools. Middle School Journal, 43(3), 58–64. Arndt, M., & Bigelow, B. (2000). Presenting structural innovation in an institutional environment: Hospitals’ use of impression management. Administrative Science Quarterly, 45(3), 494–522. Development Assistance Committee. (2009). Inventory of donor approaches to capacity development: What we are learning. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. https://europa.eu/capacity4dev/public-cd-tc/documents/inventory-donor-approaches-cap acity-development European Commission. (2010). Toolkit for capacity development. Europa. https://europa.eu/capaci ty4dev/t-and-m-series/documents/reference-document-nr-6-toolkit-capacity-development-2010 Finance Committee. (2018). Capital works reserve fund, head 708—Capital subventions and major systems and equipment, education subventions, 61EC—Hostel Development Fund (Report No. FCR(2018–19)35). Legislative Council Archives of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr17-18/english/fc/fc/papers/f18-35e.pdf Fullan, M. (2007). The meaning of educational change. 4th ed., Teachers College Press.

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Hughes, G., Copley, L., Howley, C., & Meehan, M. (2005). Measure of school capacity for improvement: User manual and technical report (Report No. ED489134). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/ fulltext/ED489134.pdf Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications. Smillie, I. (Ed.). (2001). Patronage or partnership: Local capacity building in humanitarian crises. Kumarian Press. Sonpar, K., & Golden-Biddle, K. (2008). Using content analysis to elaborate adolescent theories of organization. Organizational Research Methods, 11(4), 795–814. Stoll, L. (2009). Capacity building for school improvement or creating capacity for learning? A changing landscape. Journal of Educational Change, 10(2–3), 115–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10833-009-9104-3 Stoll, L. (2020). Creating capacity for learning: Are we there yet? Journal of Educational Change, 21, 421–430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-020-09394-z Ting, S. R., Chan, R., & Lee, E. (2016). Involving students in residence halls in Hong Kong. Journal of College Student Development, 57(3), 300–315. United Nations Economic and Social Council. (2006). Definition of basic concepts and terminologies in governance and public administration [Compendium of basic terminology in governance and public administration]. Committee of Experts on Public Administration, 5th session, Agenda Item 5, E/C. 16/2006/4. United Nations Development Programme. (2009). Capacity development: A UNDP primer. United Nations Development Programme. https://www.adaptation-undp.org/sites/default/files/downlo ads/cdg_capacity_development_primer.pdf United Nations Development Programme. (2010). Supporting capacity building the UNDP approach. United Nations Development Programme. https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/ home/librarypage/capacity-building/support-capacity-development-the-undp-approach.html Walstad, W., & Kourilsky, M. L. (1998). Entrepreneurial attitudes and knowledge of black youth. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23(2), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1042258798023 00201 Wilkinson, S. (2010). Analysing focus group data. In D. Silverman (Ed.), Qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 168–184), SAGE Publications. World Economic Forum. (2011). Unlocking entrepreneurial capabilities to meet the global challenges of the 21st century: Final report on the entrepreneurship education workstream. World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GEI_UnlockingEntrepreneurialCapabi lities_Report_2011.pdf

Chapter 13

Strengthening the Alignment of Residential Educational Aims and University Educational Aims Michelle Wing-tung Cheng and Samuel Kai Wah Chu

Abstract Residential halls have been seen as an essential microsystem that can promote desirable academic, personal, and social outcomes. However, the extent to which residential education maps onto universities’ educational aims remains ambiguous. Therefore, a study was conducted in two stages, using a mixed-method approach to examine the strength of the alignment between universities’ educational aims and residential educational aims among four government-funded universities in Hong Kong. The results clarify the nature of residential educational aims and found that educators should avoid projecting an ultimate set of residential educational aims onto every institution regardless of the underlying conditions and settings. Keywords University educational aims · Residential educational aims · Alignment · Mixed-method approach

Introduction In recent years, there has been notable dissatisfaction among the public with university graduates who lack employability skills (e.g., Nguyen, 2016; Wickramasinghe & Perera, 2010). To better prepare graduates for demanding and fast-changing work environments, there is an increasing demand for universities to develop students’ soft skills, including both interpersonal and intrapersonal skills (Leonard, 2014; Leung, 2015; Tooley & Bornfreund, 2014). These skills are essential for fresh graduates to make meaningful contributions to society and to succeed in the workplace (Schulz, 2008). Despite the way in which the importance of developing students’ transferable skills has been widely recognised, a systematic review found that there were only a handful of undergraduate courses that target the development of transferable skills in a discipline-specific context. Cheng et al. (2018) revealed a general assumption M. W. Cheng (B) Graduate School, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] S. K. W. Chu Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_13

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that extracurricular and experiential learning are responsible for developing students’ transferable skills. A potential and compelling approach to enhancing students’ transferable skills might be through implementing effective residential education. Quite a number of research studies have recognised that residential education has brought benefits to students, such as social-life enrichment and the nurturing of values such as empathy and tolerance (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). In fact, one difference between commuter students and residential students is that the former are outperformed by the latter in terms of their personal growth and academic achievements (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). According to the ecological systems theory proposed by Bronfenbrenner (1974, 2005), the rationale behind the significant impact of residential education on students could be discussed in terms of the role of an immediate context in which university students primarily live throughout the academic years; this affirms residential halls as a form of microsystem to which students are subjected. This study is part of a funded project1 in which residential halls are seen as an essential microsystem that can promote desirable academic, personal, and social outcomes. On the other hand, this model is applicable to the university as well, as we can imagine college students’ experience at university would also facilitate the impact of residential education. Thus, the university can be seen as a form of microsystem as well, one that is parallel to the microsystem of residential halls. As the two environments are seen as microsystems that college students are subjected to simultaneously, it is likely that an interaction will exist between them. This interaction may consequently shed light on the mesosystem in which the students are embedded. However, the extent to which residential education maps onto universities’ educational aims is still unknown. If institutions were to optimise the education provided based on the theoretical implications of the mesosystem, the alignment between universities’ educational aims and residential educational aims must first be strengthened and proven to be reliable. Therefore, in order to better facilitate residential education as a way of cultivating students’ transferable skills, this study embarks on the task of studying the alignment of the two educational aims and measuring students’ personal development in regard to the impact of universities and halls as two substantial microsystems.

The Present Study Despite the clarification of the meanings of the two educational aims, their relationship remains ambiguous and, as such, the optimal way to utilise college residential education remains concealed. Hence, this study embarks on the objective of examining the alignment of residential educational aims and university educational aims 1

The project, ‘Strengthening the Alignment of Residential Education and University Educational Aims’, was a three-year project funded by the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong in late 2017.

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in the hopes of establishing an essential understanding that could assist the future optimisation of college residential education. In particular, this study was designed to examine the existing alignment between the two educational aims in terms of the setting of Hong Kong universities. In addition, students’ perceptions of hall activities and students’ self-rated achievement of the two educational aims are also explored in this study. In total, four recognisable government-funded Hong Kong universities participated in this study. These four universities have long supported the practice of residential education, through which students develop non-academic skills and abilities (e.g., motivation, self-control, resilience, and creativity; see Gutman & Schoon, 2013). Moreover, in order to prevent the results of this study from being interpreted in a way that is confined by existing impressions within the local sphere, participation from overseas universities is included when context allows. A clear and defined set of residential educational aims that is complementary to the university’s educational aims is needed to maximise students’ gains from residential education. The research objectives of this study are to (1) analyse Hong Kong universities’ residential educational aims and their alignment with corresponding university educational aims; and (2) understand how students relate to the corresponding residential educational aims of their institution. Two stages of studies have been included to achieve these two research objectives.

Study I Methods Stage 1 of the study functions as a pilot study, which commenced in late 2017. The pilot study was implemented to allow researchers to grasp and articulate the residential educational aims of the four participating Hong Kong universities. A total of 24 focus group interviews were organised at this stage.

Results A total of 110 stakeholders participated in the pilot study (107 student residents and three hall tutors). Of the 107 student interviewees, 103 were undergraduate students. By interviewing these closely related stakeholders, data that could reflect the residential educational aims upheld by the affiliating universities were gathered. With the 24 focus group interviews conducted in Stage 1, we gathered data regarding how participants perceive their affiliated institution’s residential educational aims. Participants’ perceptions of related educational aims were coded into categories of aims. It was discovered that five categories were shared by all

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four studied universities: ‘independence and confidence’, ‘communication skills’, ‘cultural exchange’, ‘problem-solving skills’, and ‘peer-group interactions’ (see Fig. 13.1). The other two categories in each list were exclusive to the corresponding universities.

HKU

CityU

BU

EdUHK

Independence and

Independence and

Independence and

Independence and

confidence

confidence

confidence

confidence

Communication

Communication

skills

skills

Cultural exchange

Cultural exchange

Cultural exchange

Problem-solving

Problem-solving

Problem-solving

skills

skills

skills

Peer-group

Peer-group

Peer-group

interactions

interactions

interactions

Communication skills

Communication skills

Cultural exchange

Problem-solving skills

Peer-group interactions

Willingness to try new things and

Empathy and social

Planning and

awareness

organisation skills

Emotional and self-

Global exposure and

control

career planning

Open-mindedness

explore new areas

Time management Social networking and organisation and support skills

Fig. 13.1 Comparing the residential educational aims of different universities in Hong Kong

13 Strengthening the Alignment of Residential Educational Aims …

165

Study II Method Motivated by the results from the first stage, the five categories shared by the four studied universities are seen as general residential educational aims. These shared categories were used to shape the content of the residential educational aims in this second stage of the study. A mixed-methods approach2 was employed. In particular, the methods of (1) distributing online surveys and (2) conducting another round of focus group interviews were implemented. The previous pilot study provided a solid clarification of the residential educational aims. The second stage of the study proceeded to examine the alignment of the two educational aims. Moreover, how student residents relate to the residential educational aims was also explored through the focus group interviews. In total, 1883 responses were received for the online surveys and 192 students participated in the focus group interviews. Both studies were conducted between 2018 and 2019. In regard to the online survey, participants’ perceptions of their own development cultivated through hall experience were studied. The online survey was designed to study and measure the impact that residential education could have on student residents. Participants from a Western university, which is one originator of the Oxbridge model, were also invited to stimulate discussions about unexpected impacts. The survey included 77 self-report items in total, rated on a seven-point Likertscale. The concept of ‘development’ was dissected and categorised into three distinctive domains: academic, social, and independence (see Fig. 13.2). Altogether, the survey was ascribed 10 different domains, such as ‘time management’, ‘cultural exchange’, and ‘self-efficacy’. It was expected that participants’ rating of their development under the hall setting would reflect the impact residential education has on student residents. In order to analyse the potential impact yet to appear in the Hong Kong setting, participants from a Western university were also invited to participate in our study. Following the online survey, focus group interviews were conducted. While 73 focus group interviews were conducted with 192 Hong Kong students, 164 were transcribed for use in this study. Note that students in other countries were not included in the focus group interviews, as the interview questions focused on how Hong Kong students perceive the impact that hall experiences have had on them; the perceptions of students from different geographical backgrounds would be irrelevant in terms of helping us to understand these concrete expectations. The data gathered from the focus group interviews were later processed and analysed using (1) qualitative data analysis (NVivo 12) and (2) descriptive statistics (SPSS 24). In total, four questions were asked during the interviews.

2

The focus group interview instruments are listed in the appendix.

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Fig. 13.2 Ten developmental aspects measured under the concept of ‘development’

Results Quantitative Analysis Moving to the second stage of the study, the data acquired through online surveys presented an overall positive impression of how students perceive the impact that hall experiences has exerted on them (see Fig. 13.3). This is reflected by the fact that all 10 developmental aspects achieved a mean rating above the midpoint of 4. The aspect of ‘academic impacts’ was also included among the 10 developmental aspects, achieving a mean rating of 4.3 out of 7. The results of the online survey thus indicate that participants in general regarded hall experiences as having a positive impact on their academic development. Furthermore, other nonacademic aspects attained an average higher mean rating than academic impacts. A total of 8 out of the 9 non-academic aspects attained mean ratings above 4.8. With the mean ratings higher than the midpoint level, it can be concluded that participants have acknowledged and affirmed the gains in many non-academic aspects that hall experiences could offer. Qualitative Analysis A total of four questions were asked in the following focus group interviews. The alignment between the two educational aims and how students relate to the corresponding residential educational aims of their institution were

13 Strengthening the Alignment of Residential Educational Aims …

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Fig. 13.3 Impact of hall experiences on the 10 developmental aspects

investigated. The first question concerns students’ impression of hall activities in general. The question consists of two parts; participants were required to indicate the hall activities they attended in the academic year 2018–2019 in the first part and rank the top five activities according to their interests in the second part. Across the four Hong Kong universities, informal activities, such as communal living and festive activities, were popular among the highest number of participants; only around 8% of the top three activities that were most participated in are formal activities. Informal activities are in general more popular among student residents in terms of the rate of participation. In addition, the results obtained through the second part of the question indicate that the rate of participation generally aligns with the perceived interesting qualities of the corresponding activities; the activities considered to be the most interesting usually have a relatively higher rate of participation. The second question in the interviews invited participants to self-rate their level of achievement for each of the residential educational aims. These categories were designed according to the result obtained through the pilot study. As reflected by the results (see Table 13.1), ‘independence and confidence’ was the most achieved residential educational aim ranked by participants from all four universities (highlighted in yellow). The category ‘communication skills’ was another prominent residential educational aim, which was ranked either second or third in the most achieved residential educational aims by participants from all four universities (highlighted in blue). Based on self-reported items rated on a Likert scale, ranging from one (totally not achieved) to three (neutral) to five (totally achieved), all the aspects were rated above three. Among them, some were rated close to or above four, reflecting the way in which those aims achievable through living in residential halls. The third question invites participants to self-rate their level of achievement for each of the university educational aims. Using the same five-point Likert-scale, the

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Table 13.1 Ranked levels of achievement for residential educational aims Rank 1st

HKU Independence

CityU 4.12

and confidence

2nd

Communication

Willingness to

4.41

and confidence 4.07

Open-

4.02

try new things

Communication

Independence

HKBU 4.08

and confidence 4.26

mindedness

skills

3rd

Independence

EdUHK

Communication

Problem-

4.05

Communication

3.36

skills 3.85

solving skills

skills

4.00

and confidence

skills 4.12

Independence

Peer-group

3.77

interactions

and explore new areas

4th

Peer-group

3.86

interactions

5th

Social

Cultural

4.00

exchange 3.82

Time

Peer-group

3.75

interactions 3.91

Planning and

networking and

management

organisation

support

and organisation

skills

Problem-

3.66

solving skills 3.60

Emotion and

3.63

self-control

skills

6th

Cultural

3.70

exchange

Peer-group

3.88

interactions

Cultural

3.55

exchange

Empathy and

3.46

social awareness

7th

Problemsolving skills

3.52

Problem-solving skills

3.79

Global exposure

3.10

Cultural

3.31

exchange

university educational aims were generally ranked as well-achieved by student residents from all four universities (see Table 13.2). The educational aim of ‘communication skills’ has been affirmed as one of the university educational aims of the participants’ affiliated institutions and participants do perceive that they have successfully achieved this aim at their corresponding institutions. The last question focuses on the alignment between the two educational aims (see Fig. 13.4). In particular, participants were required to express their opinions on the alignment of the two educational aims by drawing lines to indicate alignments that they consider to exist. Regarding the five categories of residential educational

Intercultural 3.81 communication and global citizenship

3rd

3

Critical self-reflection, greater understanding of others, and upholding personal and professional ethics

2nd

Act professionally

Learn continuously

Honesty

CityU

4.33

4.33

4.34

Oral and written communication skills

Problem-solving skills

Social interaction skills

EdUHK

3.77

3.87

3.94

HKBU 3.77

Have the necessary information literacy skills, as well as numerical and problem-solving skills, to function effectively in work and everyday life (skills)

(continued)

3.82

Be independent, lifelong 3.82 learners with an open mind and an inquiring spirit (learning)

Have trilingual and biliterate competence in English and Chinese, and the ability to articulate ideas clearly and coherently (communication)

The university educational aims are retrieved from the following websites: HKU: http://www.handbook.hku.hk/ug/full-time-2017-18/important-policies/educational-aims-and-institutional-learning-outcomes. CityU: https://www.cityu.edu.hk/about/vision-and-mission. EdUHK: https://www.eduhk.hk/en/about/vision-and-mission. HKBU: https://chtl.hkbu.edu.hk/nso/AY1920-student/.

4.00

Communication and collaboration

1st

4.15

HKU

Rank

Table 13.2 Ranked levels of achievement for university educational aims3

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The pursuit of academic 3.60 professional excellence, critical intellectual inquiry, and lifelong learning

Tackling novel situations and ill-defined problems

Leadership and advocacy for the improvement of human conditions

4th

5th

6th

3.43

3.52

HKU

Rank

Table 13.2 (continued)

Excellence

Communicate effectively

Think critically

CityU

4.09

4.10

4.13

EdUHK

Ethical decision making

Critical thinking skills

Creative thinking skills

3.43

3.51

3.62

HKBU

Be able to think critically and creatively (creativity)

3.53

Have up-to-date, in-depth 3.53 knowledge of an academic speciality, as well as a broad range of cultural and general knowledge (knowledge)

Be ready to serve, lead, 3.66 and work in a team, and to pursue a healthy lifestyle (teamwork)

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Fig. 13.4 An example from a participant who answered question four

aims, the categories of ‘communication skills’ and ‘independence and confidence’ were best aligned with the university educational aims, as participants from the four universities have all linked them to at least one university educational aim. For the residential educational aims ‘independence and confidence’, participants have pointed out that the items in the category have a close relationship to multiple university educational aims. For instance, ‘taking care of themselves’ as an item under ‘independence and confidence’ requires the intensive application of ‘problem solving’ and ‘social interaction skills’. To summarise, the analysis conducted through NVivo12 indicated that the two most prominent residential educational aims are aligned with the university educational aims.

Discussion Each university in the first study has two distinctive categories of residential educational aims in their top seven ‘most perceived’ list. Despite there being residential educational aims that are commonly shared by universities in Hong Kong, particular residential educational aims of institutions always diverge from one another. This result has informed us about the nature of residential educational aims, and

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researchers should avoid trying to project an ultimate set of residential educational aims on every institution regardless of the underlying conditions and settings. Currently, there is still a lack of research investigating residential educational aims; this gap is waiting to be addressed by future studies. When carrying out this research project, the authors were surprised that they were not able to find previous studies that examined the alignment of residential education aims and university education aims. Although many studies have acknowledged the educational value of residential experiences (e.g., Cheng et al., 2018; Leonard, 2014; Leung, 2015), many universities are implicit in stating residential education aims, as they are unsure how they align with the university education aims. This study aims to highlight the fact that residential education aims and university education aims can actually be closely aligned. This also suggests that it is worthwhile for universities to further invest resources in residential halls, as they are able to facilitate students in achieving the university residential outcomes.

Academic Impacts It was observed through the online survey that participants generally have a positive impression of the effects hall experiences could have on their academic development. Intrigued by this response, the rationale behind it was later explored in informal discussions with the student participants. According to the students, the hall setting has encouraged them to study together and has facilitated their work on group projects. In other words, the results could indicate that hall experiences by nature encourage cooperative learning and halls are therefore perceived as a setting that facilitates academic development. This result is aligned with a past study that found that residents on the same floor have positive influences on each other’s intellectual development (McCluskey-Titus et al., 2002). It has also been suggested that increased hall involvement may lead to better academic performance (Arboleda et al., 2003). Nevertheless, in comparison, ‘academic impacts’ has the lowest mean rating among the 10 development aspects. A possible way to interpret this phenomenon is through the way in which participants do not consider the experiences by themselves as playing a significant role in facilitating their academic development. As the mode of cooperative learning is mainly for learning outside of the classroom, it is fair to say that the aspect of ‘academic impacts’ is a side-product of residential education. Therefore, past studies have advised hall administration teams to further refine hall activities and consider organising more academic exchanges or seminars to motivate residents’ academic pursuits in halls (Chu et al., 2019). The impacts of and mechanism behind the cooperative learning nature of hall settings cannot be explained by the results of this study; this particular phenomenon could therefore be seen as an invitation for further research regarding the facilitation of cooperative learning in college residential environments.

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Non-academic Aspects Out of the several residential educational aims, participants rated themselves as having most successfully achieved the aspects of ‘independence and confidence’ and ‘communication’. The rationale behind this situation was further analysed using NVivo12. In general, the majority of the 164 participants believed they had learned to ‘take care of oneself’ through their hall experiences, which explains why the category of ‘independence and confidence’ has been ranked as the most well-achieved educational aim. The results are aligned with a past study that found that residents are able to develop self-regulation skills, which are understood in regard to being able to take care of oneself, such as learning to manage and regulate life, even if they only reside in the halls and do not participate in specific residential activities (Cheng & Chan, 2020). In Hong Kong, many ‘snow-plough’ parents would push all obstacles out of their child’s path to prevent them from ever losing or not succeeding. As a result, these children rely heavily on their parents for their physical and emotional needs (de Vito, 2015). Living in a residential hall provides a precious opportunity for these students to take care of themselves, learn to be independent individuals, and build confidence in themselves. On the other hand, the majority of the participants also described the way in which their hall experiences have bestowed them with the opportunities to implement ‘biliterate and trilingual learning’ through communicating with non-local students and ‘organising hall activities’, attaining the educational aim of ‘communication’. Communication skills are listed in the 21st-century skills framework (Chu et al., 2017), illustrating that the importance of these skills is widely acknowledged. The results of this study reflect expectations based on the impression that residential halls as a setting stimulate communication among student residents. According to Blimling (2014), residential halls facilitate the development of interpersonal skills because living in a group requires students to understand the motives, feelings, and expressions of people with diverse backgrounds, as well as learn how to communicate with them. In addition, as the survey invited students who are relatively less active in terms of engaging in hall activities to participate, it could be argued that the positive impacts of the two aspects are nonetheless applicable to less active students as well. In this study, the alignment of the two educational aims has been outlined based on participants’ general impressions. As analysed in the previous section, the two well-achieved aspects are also the aspects that have been considered to be most aligned with university educational aims. This result shows that the college residential environment has fruitful educational value in terms of non-academic development aspects.

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Conclusion Despite our study collecting data from half of the Hong Kong University Grants Committee-funded universities to make it more generalisable, the data mostly reflect the Hong Kong context only. Although we also collected data from one of the Oxbridge universities, it does not offer a comprehensive view of the corresponding Western context. Both contexts, however, can act as reference points for future research. The study as a whole examines two educational aims and how students perceive their achievement in terms of the two aims. Based on this understanding, researchers could construct refined versions of the residential educational aims, in the hopes of optimising the college residential environment by enabling it to be tailored to university educational aims. This study has been conducted successfully and opens up an insightful window for further considerations of the optimisation of the residential education provided by higher education institutions.

Appendix: Focus Group Questions (A Sample for One of the Universities) Question 1 Please read the list of common residential hall activities in your university in Table 13.A and then: (1) Put ✓ or ✗ in the boxes to indicate your participation in (a) THE LAST YEAR (2018–2019) and (b) THIS YEAR (2019–2020); and (2) Rank the TOP FIVE activities according to your interests in column (c) with #1 being the most interested. Question 2 Please read the list of the residential educational aims of your university, which were collected in Stage One of this project, and: a) Please indicate your level of achievement of the residential educational aims during your stay in the residential hall. (1—totally not, 2—not really, 3—neutral, 4—somewhat achieved, 5 —well achieved) (Table 13.B). Question 3 Please indicate your level of achievement of the university educational aims during your stay in the residential hall. (1—totally not, 2—not really, 3—neutral, 4—somewhat achieved, 5—well achieved) (Table 13.C). Question 4 Please draw lines to line up residential educational aims and university educational aims that you think are in alignment in Table 13.D.

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Table 13.A A list of common residential hall activities Code

Residential hall activities

A1

Big bowl feast

A2

Celebration for Chinese new year’s eve

A3

Cultural nights (e.g., Indonesian night, Diwali night, Taiwanese night, Japanese day)

A4

Dog therapy: an exam energizer

A5

Haunted house for halloween night

A6

High table

A7

Joint hall jam night

A8

Joint hall mid-autumn festival celebration

A9

Meet-and-chat nights

A10

PEK competitions (aquatic meets, athletic meets, soccer, tennis)

A11

Special hall night talks

A12

Yoga day

A13

Others (please fill in): ______________

(a) Last year (2018–2019) (✓ or ✗)

(b) This year (2019–2020) (✓ or ✗)

(c) Rank (top five)

Table 13.B A list of residential educational aims Code

Residential educational aims

Level of achievement

R1

Independence and confidence

1

2

3

4

5

R2

Communication skills

1

2

3

4

5

R3

Cultural exchange

1

2

3

4

5

R4

Problem-solving skills

1

2

3

4

5

R5

Peer-group interactions

1

2

3

4

5

R6

Open-mindedness

1

2

3

4

5

R7

Time management and organisation skills

1

2

3

4

5

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Table 13.C Level of achievement of each of the university educational aims Code

University educational aims

Level of achievement

U1

Excellence Building excellence throughout its educational, research, and outreach programmes, involving every unit of the institution and every member of the City University community. This pursuit of excellence is driven by our respect for knowledge, our passion for learning, and our concern for human well-being

1

2

3

4

5

U2

Honesty Honesty and high ethical standards will inform all actions as an academic enterprise dedicated to scholarship, discovery, and creativity. These standards are the hallmark of our success and our excellence as a great university

1

2

3

4

5

U3

Freedom of enquiry 1 The freedom and responsibility of all faculty and students to engage in critical enquiry, intellectual discourse, and academic debate is vital to the advancement of the frontiers of knowledge and the pursuit of higher truths. Academic faculty should take the lead in promoting the rational debate of ideas and constructive problem-solving based on academic values and priorities

2

3

4

5

U4

Accountability A sustained commitment to openness and accountability is critical to a university’s success as a public institution of international standing. Best interests are served by having in place structures that ensure accountability at all levels and a commitment to raising quality through continuous improvement

1

2

3

4

5

U5

Civility and collegiality 1 Fostering civil dialogue, promoting collegial exchanges, and cultivating mutual respect are essential to our healthy development as an increasingly diverse and robust community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff. These values support a robust academic culture that nurtures our academic enterprise and intellectual life

2

3

4

5

U6

Think critically

2

3

4

1

5 (continued)

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Table 13.C (continued) Code

University educational aims

Level of achievement

U7

Act professionally

1

2

3

4

5

U8

Communicate effectively

1

2

3

4

5

U9

Learn continually

1

2

3

4

5

U10

Discover and innovate

1

2

3

4

5

Table 13.D A set of residential educational aims and a set of university educational aims Code

Residential educational aims

Code

University educational aims

R1

Independence and confidence

U1

Excellence

R2

Communication skills

U2

Honesty

R3

Cultural exchange

U3

Freedom of enquiry

R4

Problem-solving skills

U4

Accountability

R5

Peer-group interactions

U5

Civility and collegiality

R6

Open-mindedness

U6

Think critically

R7

Time-management and organisation skills

U7

Act professionally

U8

Communicate effectively

U9

Learn continually

U10

Discover and innovate

References Arboleda, A., Wang, Y., Shelley, M. C., & Whalen, D. F. (2003). Predictors of residence hall involvement. Journal of College Student Development, 44(4), 517–531. https://doi.org/10.1353/ csd.2003.0036 Blimling, G. S. (2014). Student learning in college residence halls: What works, what doesn’t, and why. Wiley. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1974). Developmental research, public policy, and the ecology of childhood. Child Development, 45, 1–5. Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Ecological systems theory (1992). In U. Bronfenbrenner (Ed.), Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development (pp. 106–173). SAGE Publications. Cheng, M. W., & Chan, C. K. (2020). Do university residential experiences contribute to holistic education? Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 42(1), 31–48. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/1360080X.2019.1659211 Cheng, M. W., Lee, K. K., & Chan, C. K. (2018). Generic skills development in discipline-specific courses in higher education: A systematic literature review. Curriculum and Teaching, 33(2), 47–65. https://doi.org/10.7459/ct/33.2.04 Chu, S., Chau, A., Chung, R., Chong, E., Ong, E., & Tam, A. (2019). A comparison of residence hall experience for students of different backgrounds. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 56(3), 326–339. Chu, S. K. W., Reynolds, R. B., Tavares, N. J., Notari, M., & Lee, C. W. Y. (2017). 21st century skills development through inquiry-based learning. Springer. 10.1007.978-981

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de Vito, E. (2015). The solitary sparrow epidemic: A developmental perspective on loneliness in adolescence. Adolescent Psychiatry, 5(3), 164–173. Gutman, L. M., & Schoon, I. (2013). The impact of non-cognitive skills on outcomes for young people. A literature review. London, UK: Education Endowment Foundation. Leung, C. (2015, February 2). Employers would rather hire mainland graduates over ‘less hard-working’ Hongkongers, experts claim. South China Morning Post. http://www.scmp.com/ news/hong-kong/economy/article/1856540/fresh-hong-kong-graduates-are-less-hard-workingprevious Leonard, W. P. (2014, June 30). Teach students soft skills. University World News. http://www.uni versityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20140611144116863 McCluskey-Titus, P., Oliver, R. S., Wilson, M. E., Hall, L. M., Cawthon, T. W., & Crandall, P. D. (2002). The relationship between community and academic achievement in residence halls. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 30(2), 11–16. Nguyen, T. (2016, January 22). Employers lament lack of soft skills in graduates. South China Morning Post. http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20160119123408402. Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. Jossey-Bass. Schulz, B. (2008). The importance of soft skills: Education beyond academic knowledge. Journal of Language and Communication, 2(1), 146–154. Tooley, M., & Bornfreund, L. (2014). Skills for success: Supporting and assessing key habits, mindsets, and skills in preK-12. New America. Wickramasinghe, V., & Perera, L. (2010). Graduates’, university lecturers’ and employers’ perceptions towards employability skills. Education and Training, 52(3), 226–244. https://doi.org/10. 1108/00400911011037355

Part VI

Future Directions and Conclusion

Chapter 14

Summarising Chapter Michelle Wing-tung Cheng, Christina Wai-Mui Yu, Kevin Conn, Chun Chau Sze, Elsie Li Chen Ong, and Samuel Kai Wah Chu

Abstract Important and interesting ideas from the previous chapters are consolidated. To make this chapter more reader-friendly, the key takeaways are categorised under different stakeholders, including researchers, residential education and management teams, and policymakers. While suggestions are made for individual stakeholders to reflect on, we also share our insights regarding future directions of the university residential community. It is hoped that, with the combined experience and knowledge of the authors of this book, this final chapter will encourage readers to apply the presented ideas in the current challenging and educating residential setting. Keywords Educational value · University residential experiences · Challenges · Recommendations In many ways, the message of this book is a simple one: It is necessary to add educational value to students’ university residential experiences. The residential community is a microcosm of society, as a place where student residents accommodate and grow. As covered in this book, people in various parts of the world have tried to adopt different methods to facilitate students’ development through shaping their residential experiences; for instance, by adding the elements of experiential learning M. W. Cheng (B) Graduate School, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] C. W.-M. Yu Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong K. Conn Residential Life and Housing Services, New York University, New York, United States C. C. Sze Student Experiential Learning, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore E. L. C. Ong Faculty of Health, Education, and Society, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK S. K. W. Chu Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 S. K. W. Chu et al. (eds.), Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8906-2_14

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and community service. Educators see the potential of residential halls, which is to functionally accommodate students, as well as to provide educational opportunities to widen students’ learning experiences beyond the classroom. As simple as this message may seem, there are many challenges encountered when adding educational value to residential halls. To achieve this important vision, various residential programmes have been designed and launched by different countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, and the UK. This chapter summarises the major findings and recommendations in regard to adding educational value to students’ university residential experiences, which are based on the cases illustrated in each chapter of this book. One may suspect that universities need to invest extra resources and time in order to bring out the value of university residential halls. This is not necessarily true; one of the unique characteristics of residential halls is that they are full of energetic young people who are continuously influencing and being influenced by the residential community. Youth empowerment theory sees young people from an ecological perspective, in that young people’s positive development is influenced by a set of social environmental contexts and their interactions. Instead of being passively affected by social environmental factors, youth empowerment theory focuses on how young people can play a role within these social contexts to learn skills and gain resources with which to enhance self-efficacy and gain positive development toward adulthood. Psychological empowerment therefore includes three key components: an intrapersonal component, including self-esteem, leadership efficacy, and civic efficacy; a behavioural component, including leadership behaviour, community engagement, and school engagement; and an interactional component, including adult mentors, adult resources, and resource mobilisation. Residential halls provide the perfect platform to facilitate youth empowerment. According to a hall warden, one of his residents was greatly empowered in his position as the chair of the hall’s student association; due to this and some other residential experience, he eventually took up one of the most senior positions in the HK government. The resident proudly shared that, if he had not experienced residential education, he would not have been able to take up this high-ranked position in the government. Instead of developing and transforming students, the highly competitive education process, as experienced by many young people, could also be disempowering for young students, who end up in feeling unconfident and unmotivated in terms of both their studies and their personal growth. The notion that youth volunteering is one of the most effective ways to help young people to regain power (or confidence) and become motivated in terms of their personal growth again is supported by practice and research findings. The keys to this are that, first, volunteering is a highly self-determining process; second, all volunteer work is basically teamwork and involving young people will enable them to learn how to work with others; and, finally, all volunteering work happens in the community with groups in need, and so volunteering work will facilitate young people to reconnect with the community and to feel that they are taking part in the solution to social problems. From selfdetermination to social participation, young people will feel that they are helping themselves to grow, and they are also helping others to have a better life in the

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process. The resulting emerging sense of empowerment will then lead to a positively rewarding reinforcement cycle, which provides young people with a sense of motivation and the confidence to involve themselves more and in better ways in the community.

Takeaways for Different Stakeholders For Future Student Residents Residential experience is incredibly valuable for undergraduate students. In previous studies, it has been shown, with strong evidence, that the residential environment is one that brings positive impacts to student residents in both their academic and personal development (e.g., Mayhew et al., 2016). As described in Chap. 4, it has been observed that there are varieties of effective empowerment projects initiated in the hall environment. In addition, through Chaps. 7 and 8, we have gained access to previous student residents’ residential experiences, which have provided several insights into the unique beneficial character of residential experience. In previous discussions, it has been noted that the hall environment is a network that facilitates interactions between individuals. With these interactions, opportunities beyond our expectations emerge and catalyse residents’ personal growth. Therefore, it is crucial for student residents to acknowledge and grasp these opportunities, actively shaping their pathway according to their preferences. This educational nature deeply resonates with the spirit of student empowerment, allowing student residents to establish and customise their own hall experiences. To summarise, future student residents are recommended to focus on the following aspects of personal growth: 1. 2. 3.

Interact with different parties in halls, as this could enhance one’s interpersonal and communication skills; Respect and appreciate individuals with different backgrounds, as the hall environment is by nature multicultural; Explore the hall environment, as it offers unique and impactful opportunities for its members, and stepping out of one’s comfort zone is likely to be a rewarding decision.

For Researchers The collaborative efforts of education researchers alongside hall management teams and student resident leaders will help ensure that students’ residential experiences are of a high quality. In order to enhance the educational value of university residential halls efficiently and effectively, it is crucial that education researchers thoroughly examine and understand the nature and dynamics of university residential halls.

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The first chapter of this book served as a literature summary, to lay out the history of university residential systems and examine the relevant literature, in order to reveal the current challenges that are encountered in university residential settings. This book has adopted different theories to examine students’ residential experience; for instance, Chap. 2 introduced a new model regarding student involvement in university residential halls (Cheng, 2019) and Chap. 5 adopted the attitude, skills, and knowledge aspects of the ASK model (Kwan, 2019). In brief, researchers are encouraged to: 1. 2. 3.

Continue investigating the impacts of residential halls on student development; Examine to what extent current theories/models are sufficient to explain student development in residential halls; Evaluate students’ residential experiences in regard to facilitating the achievement of residential experience outcomes (e.g., promoting student enrichment and wellbeing, creating a sense of belonging, growing intellectually beyond the classroom).

For Hall Education and Management Teams To enhance the educational value of students’ residential experiences, hall management teams in different universities organise learning programmes and events for their residents, promoting student integration in the hall community, as students are from all walks of life, with different academic, cultural, socioeconomic, and political backgrounds. For instance, Chaps. 3 and 4 illustrated different hall life education programmes organised at one of the universities in Hong Kong. These programmes include ‘Community Engagement Organisers (CEOs)’ and ‘Green Quest’, which aim to promote care in the community, as well as raise environmental awareness. In addition, Chap. 6 introduced the ‘Deeper Experiential Engagement Projects’, organised by Nanyang Technological University Singapore, which aims to develop student residents’ transferable skills. The idea of ‘living-learning programmes’ (LLPs) in university residential halls (Inkelas, 2008; Inkelas et al., 2008) is becoming more popular. Hall education and management teams can take reference from these good practices to facilitate students’ whole-person development. Furthermore, perceiving residential halls as part of the higher education experience and a contribution to university educational aims, Chap. 13 analysed Hong Kong universities’ residential educational aims and their alignment with the corresponding university educational aims. It is believed that a clear set of residential educational aims is necessary to maximise students’ gain from residential education. In summary, recommendations for hall education and management teams are: 1.

2.

Apply a suitable framework/model to help understand student development in residential halls, and how to further enhance different aspects of student development; Build close bonds with student residents, as well as within the hall education and management team;

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4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

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Apply/create gamifying principles and/or features in residential education programmes, so that they may be more enjoyable for residents as well as potential residents; Consider introducing innovative and interesting residential programmes into the hall to attract different types of students to participate; Empower students to initiate different university residential hall programmes; Enable cultural integration between local and international students; Understand which elements in residential halls have positive/negative impacts on student development; Share good practices within residential communities to better support colleagues in this field.

For Policymakers Higher education does not necessarily provide students with opportunities to reside on campus because of various reasons. For instance, small institutes, especially private ones that operate on low budgets, are less likely than large institutes to be able to provide residential halls to accommodate students (Isaias, 2016), and some university hospitality spaces are unaffordable for students (Hay, 2019). We hope that research results and insights from this book will inform policy makers (such as the funding bodies who decide how to allocate resources to universities and those within universities who decide where to spend their available funding) in regard to the importance and usefulness of residential education. With this enhanced understanding, we hope they will place greater emphasis on spending money on residential education, as it complements students’ university education and helps achieve university aims. Since there may not be enough support from the government (the common body that allocates funding for universities), it’s unlikely that all students can stay in a residential hall for their entire university life. However, university administrators should try their very best to offer an opportunity to every student to reside in a university residential hall for at least one year, so that students can benefit from the residential hall learning outcomes, which are closely tied to the development of soft skills that are highly valued by employers. To summarise, policymakers outside of universities (those who decide on funding and perhaps even land for universities) should seriously consider placing greater emphasis on investing in residential education, which is important for students’ whole-person development. Policymakers within universities should: 1. 2.

Invest in building residential halls and offer facilitates inside halls that support all sorts of soft-skill development that aligns with the university aims; Provide solid support in regard to conducting diverse and innovative residential programmes that enable students to achieve the residential goals, which align with the university aims;

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Raise the number of hall management staff, such as wardens and resident tutors, when the current staff-to-student ratio is low (Cheng & Chan, 2020), to provide proper pastoral care for student residents (e.g., academic support, career advice, mental health consultations).

Future Directions The future of residential life and education is grounded in both past foundational experiences, as well as the potential long-term impacts of global events. These areas can impact the way in which we develop and design our residential offerings at colleges and universities across the globe. Residential life teams have structures in place that are built on curricular and programmatic development, which help to shape and guide student development within residential hall environments. This emphasis on student success and learning can help guide a department’s focus when creating a plan for the year, on-boarding staff, and helping to create an action plan for a successful year at an institution. While working to develop these initiatives, it is critical to remain focused on the future, to see which areas are changing and how to best adapt and restructure to fit the changing needs of not only the current student population, but also the changing aspects of the higher education landscape. How are students learning? How are students engaging? These questions, among others, can be asked to help guide the conversation to reframe and focus on offerings, programmes, and services that make sense for a department aiming to best meet the needs of their specific stakeholders. Gone are the days of simply repeating what was done in the past; the wash, rinse, and repeat metaphor has expired. It is time to rethink how we approach these conversations and what resources we need to best define our work and our engagement with students. How are students showing up and engaging in your department? Prior to the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was already a shift toward multifaceted engagement opportunities, including both online and in-person components, for both academic and residential life (Cheng et al., 2021). It is important to engage students through face-to-face communication, self-guided learning experiences, as well as virtual methods online, in both a synchronous and an asynchronous fashion. These were items that were on the horizon, but varied based on the institution type or student needs. As the pandemic began, the need to shift to virtual learning and the removal of in-person connections fully shifted how we operate as an industry. We must now continue working to create personal and connected learning and development experiences for students in a virtual environment. These types of experiences, while we may be designing them for times during the pandemic, are likely to last far beyond the outbreak of COVID-19. Virtual engagement, once thought to only refer to online learning in the classroom, is now a place to connect, network, and programme within residential life. Setting floor expectations, roommate agreements, game nights, interactive programmes, and much more can be

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facilitated through this new virtual format. This is a new venue for many institutions and is likely something that will stay for many years to come. When we are able to come back to a place when in-person gatherings are not of a social or health concern, there will likely be a place for students who are unable to participate in-person and a need to still participate in online and interactive programming. This new type of format is something that may reach out to those students who may have been less likely to attend in-person programming for a variety of reasons. How we work to create these events, bring students into the conversations, and follow-up to help students create these relationships is critical. This virtual form of community building is necessary in helping to move us forward and look at the future of residential life and community building for the time being, as well as how we use this new form of connection in the years to come. Looking at new ways to develop connections, sustain networks, and help students access and utilise resources across a variety of methods and platforms within residential life will continue to be of utmost importance as we move forward in the years ahead. Finally, as we move into a ‘new normal’ after the COVID-19 pandemic eventually subsides, a new virtual environment has also been launched among professional staff for those working within the professional staff of residence life. Departments typically structured with many in-person meetings, committees, gatherings, and other related functions have now realised that many day-to-day functions could be conducted in a remote or virtual fashion; it is likely that not everything needs to be handled through in-person operations. This shift in operational philosophy will change not only how departments operate moving forward, but also how they recruit, develop, and train staff, as well as how major operational functions and project management are carried out within these offices. This shift can hopefully create new and creative ways of doing things among these departments, and provide greater flexibility and fluidity in terms of resource allocation, to where resources are most needed, to further shape and refine these departments for continued future success.

Conclusion Over the course of half a century, researchers have raised questions regarding the possibility of bringing the potential of education to students’ residential environment (Astin, 1977; Chickering, 1969). This book has taken the readers through a journey of understanding, analysing, and reimagining university residential halls, as it offers readers a theoretically grounded, practically meaningful, and effective way to design university residential halls that facilitate the development of student residents. This book has also provided the perspectives of student residents, hall management and education teams, researchers interested in the residential community, and policymakers. Their narratives, from diversified backgrounds, allow readers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current situation in residential halls. Furthermore, this book includes studies situated around the world, broadening the

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understanding of residential education to a more international and cultural extent. It is our hope that the different ideas shared in this book, together with some of the research recommendations in the concluding chapter, may offer a new direction to the readers. Among different studies, we learned that residential education and student development do not occur naturally. To facilitate students’ personal growth and all-rounded development, it is important for dedicated stakeholders to purposely construct residential programmes that maximise students’ residential experience.

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