Running head: VALIDATION THEORY 1

10/10 Formatted: Font color: Red

Validation Theory

Cherlyn Akiens

University of Memphis
VALIDATION 2

Validation Theory

In my past experiences, when one decides to embark on something that is unknown to

them, there is a sense of apprehension from the start. Sometimes self-doubt takes over and one

wonders how a person could come up with such an idea in the first place. For me, it was going

back to college. At that time, I thought of it as some kind of revelation because I felt that it was

time for me to pursue something for myself as I had one daughter away at college and another in

high school. As I look back on that moment, my initial thought was it would be impossible for

me to go back to school. Besides, it had been quite some time since I had graced the doors of a

college for my benefit. During that time, I was consumed with doubt about my ability to succeed

(Rendón, 1994), so the more I thought about what I felt was a major step in my life, the more

anxious I became. In deed I had the support I needed from my family which was important to

me, but I also needed the confidence to know that I had the ability to succeed in this new

endeavor. This brings me to the validation theory that increased my development as an

undergraduate student.

In the Student Development in College Theory, Research and Practice textbook, there

were other theories that I thought played a significant part in my development as an

undergraduate student, but the validation theory described my experiences more than others.

Rendón (1994) defines validation as “an enabling, confirming and supportive process initiated by

in- and out-of-class agents that foster academic and interpersonal development” (p. 46).

Reflecting back, most of what I remember at the beginning of my undergraduate studies was the

feeling of not fitting in. For example, not fitting in meant the feeling of not being able to relate to

other students, teachers, and the college environment. This thought pattern heightened my doubts

about my ability of being the student I wanted and needed to be. Rendón (1994) points out that
VALIDATION 3

many nontraditional students desire to have their doubts of succeeding in learning erased, and

that this is especially true for community college students, first generation students, Hispanic and

African American students, and students who have not been in college for a length of time.

Therefore, fear and doubt at that time was my worst enemy.

My experience with fear and self-doubt about my education prompted me to seriously

consider a two-year college as opposed to a university. The determining factor was based on my

discussions with my family and friends about the benefits of attending a community college.

Smaller classes/campuses and lower tuition convinced me that was what I needed. Still, even

with a host of mixed feelings, I decided to enroll in a community college and start my program.

At the onset of my classes, a variety of questions surfaced about my ability to succeed. For

example, “will I be accepted into the community of other learners?” or “will I be respected for

my ideas about how to solve problems?” and “will I be respected for the knowledge I have

gained from my own personal experiences?” just to name a few (Rendón & Jalomo, 1995).

Although I knew that I had family support, I was more concerned about adapting to the college

environment as a whole.

When I registered for classes I knew that I was not prepared to start college-level courses

due to the length of time that I had been out of college. That meant I was going to need

developmental courses, and I was right. After testing, I found out that I needed remedial classes

in English, math, reading, and study skills. As daunting as it seemed, I knew taking the

developmental courses was in my best interest especially if I wanted to be prepared to start my

college-level courses. At the start of my developmental courses, I hoped that I was going to be

able to build a relationship with my instructors. In other words, I wanted my instructors to know

who I was as a student and that I had “a genuine concern about learning” (Rendón, 1994). I felt
VALIDATION 4

that if my instructors were aware of this then they would demonstrate the same genuine concern

for teaching their students. Thus, the more I attended my classes the more I began to receive

support and encouragement from my instructors. This allowed me to feel accepted and validated

as a capable learner in a campus community (Rendón, 1994). Furthermore, there were fewer

nontraditional-aged students in my developmental classes which was another concern at the

beginning, but the traditional-aged students were encouraging and striving for the same outcome

as I was which made my experience easier. This was an important factor that began to decrease

as I began erasing self-doubt. Rendón (1994) stated that students who are validated by a person

on or off campus, in or out of classes are more than likely to believe that they can be a successful

student in college.

After I finished my two years at community college, I was able to transfer to a four-year

university. Thus far, throughout the rest of my educational journey, validation through my

family, friends, and instructors have made every transition point to college a path that has made

me become a powerful life-long learner (Rendón, 1994). Since then, I have been able to

complete my baccalaureate degree and start graduate school of which I have joined two

organizations one of which I hold a leadership position. Furthermore, I have learned much from

Rendón’s validation theory concerning my own college student development and I hope to learn

more to help other students realize that they too can rid themselves of self-doubt about their

education and realize they have the ability to succeed (Patton, Renn, Guido & Quaye, 2016).

As a future student affairs practitioner, I often think about what kind of impact I would

like to make on college students to help them transition and persist through college. After

reflecting on my past experiences as an undergraduate student through the lens of the validation

theory, I understand how important it is for students to have validating agents. For example,
VALIDATION 5

there are several people who could serve students by becoming validating agents outside of

faculty. Patton et al. (2016) suggested “validating agents can be instructors, classmates, student

affairs staff, relatives, friends, or other people who are significant to the student in some way” (p.

41). Thus, I understand should a student express having self-doubt about their educational

journey, as a practitioner, I want to be able to support and encourage students as a validating

agent. To add, my goal is not to foster support and encouragement alone, but to take an active

interest in students. Rendón (1994) found that “when validation is present, students feel capable

of learning; students experience a feeling of self-worth and feel that they and everything that

they bring to the college experience is accepted and recognized as valuable” (p. 48). Thus, I

would encourage students to get involved early on in their own learning and participate in

organizations that interest them where they can interact with faculty and their peers.

Furthermore, validation could be the missing link to involvement, and may be a prerequisite to

student development (Rendón, 1994).

To summarize, validation occurs on or off college campuses, in or out of classrooms

where validating agents take an active interest in students. Validating agents usually have a

significant role in college students lives and thereafter. Similarly, during my development as an

undergraduate student, validation was offered early on, and in my experiences, the application of

validation erased self-doubt about my ability to succeed as a student and it still continues today.

Thus, I realize that becoming a student affairs professional also means that I would become a

validating agent promoting academic support and student involvement. To add, validation is a

development process that occurs along a continuum of which the more students get validated, the

richer the academic and interpersonal experience (Rendón, 1994). This experience should

continue throughout a student’s college years if not longer.

VALIDATION 6

References

Patton, L. D., Renn, K. A., Guido, F.M., & Quaye S. J. (2016). Student development in college:

Theory, research, and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Rendon, L. I. (1994). Validating culturally diverse students: Toward a new model of learning and

student development. Innovative Higher Education, 19, 33-51 Retrieved

from http://ezproxy.memphis.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc

t=true&db=eric&AN=ED371672&site=eds-live&scope=site

Rendon, L. I., Jalomo, R. Jr. (1995). Validating student experience and promoting progress,

performance, and persistence through assessment. National Center on Postsecondary

Teaching, Learning Assessment, 1-29 Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.memphis.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tru

e&db=eric&AN=ED381051&site=eds-live&scope=site