Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 1 - 83

population subfoci, topic, and methods-
and found several descriptive and temporal
trends. In these ways, discipline-specific
analysis of conference and program materials
has provided value to other disciplines beyond
housing and residential life.
RELEVANCE OF ANALYSIS
TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
The content analysis of conference material
not only provides value to disciplines but can
also be used in a variety of ways to inform
professional practice. Some scholars, for
example, used research to observe and subsequently
diversify discussion within their
respective professional contexts (Kamphoff
et al., 2010). As Kortegast et al. (2021) generalized,
" similar patterns regarding topics
potentially reinforce the links between the
scholarly literature and professional practice "
(p. 18), further reinforcing the usability
of a thematic analysis in identifying common
and uncommon topics within the field
of higher education and in applying the frequency
or infrequency of those topics to indicate
themes in need of more or less dialogue.
Others have used content analysis research
to identify knowledge and awareness
of trends or identify areas for future research
(Barberet, 2007; Hairon et al., 2017). Thus,
thematic content analysis findings within
higher education-or, more specifically, the
residential college movement-could help
determine current trends, identify past influences
on the field, aid in planning future
research, advance dialogue, and help shape
the future direction of the field.
As discussed previously, several studies
have analyzed discipline-specific material
(Barberet, 2007; Cohen & Suen, 2012;
Scherer, 1985), and, within the scope of
higher education, many studies have been
conducted on particular academic fields like
mathematics or physics (Krause et al., 2020)
or topic areas like LGBTQ knowledge production
(Kortegast et al., 2021). Yet there is
a gap as it pertains to college and university
student housing and, more specifically, residential
colleges. Analysis of the conference
programs of residential college professional
associations in particular could give directive
insight into the increasingly popular residential
college movement.
PURPOSE AND
RELEVANCE OF STUDY
Residential colleges are not solely the work
of student affairs departments, nor that of
a particular academic discipline. Therefore,
we found in the field and its literature a need
to further the professionalization of residential
colleges to complement the advancement
of professional practice. As Young (1988)
posited, " I prefer to think of the field as dynamic
and professionalizing, rather than as
static and fully professionalized " (p. 16). To
aid the professionalization of practice, our
purpose was to provide a historical review of
conference schedules for Collegiate Way International
and Residential College Society.
The review included a thematic content
analysis of conference programs to identify
themes connected to professional development
topics relevant to residential colleges,
The content analysis of conference material not only provides value
to disciplines but can also be used in a variety of ways to inform
professional practice.
Volume 48, No. 1 * 2021
83
Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 1
