A critical analysis from the Global South on Student Affairs as a profession

Abstract

This article discusses the nature of the student affairs professionalization project, by analyzing the discourses evident in and legitimized through the Journal of Student Affairs in Africa (JSAA). The analysis is driven by three research questions: What is the extent of the journal's engagement with the terms profession, professionalism, professional, and professionalization? How are these terms used in the journal and how do these uses relate to the social justice imperative in Student Affairs and Services (SAS)? Overall, we find a stronger social justice discourse in comparison to the discourse on SAS as a profession. Furthermore, the professionalization discourse draws strongly on notions of professional traits and high-level knowledge and skills. Finally, this article considers opportunities for a scholarship on the development of SAS as a profession and further theoretical development of the Sociology of Professions (SoP) from the Global South.