Faculty Validation: An Exploration of Validation Theory Through a Survey of Faculty Attitudes

College student retention rates are an oft-studied phenomenon, and much is known about how the characteristics of students and those of the institutions where they attend impact these rates. However, improving the retention rates of college students remains an elusive goal of faculty and administrators in higher education. Validation theory (Rendόn, 1994; Rendόn-Linares & Muñoz, 2011) has shown potential as a theoretical framework to help understand how the validation of college students by faculty and other agents of the institution can lead to better college experiences, improved academic outcomes, and higher retention rates for this population. Previously, the research on faculty validation of students focused primarily on the views of students towards their instructors and not those of instructors towards their students; this research study surveyed faculty from a major research university in the Northeast to quantify the attitudes of faculty towards validation of students. An online survey instrument was created to measure faculty attitudes towards the validation of their students, and will help future research about validation theory. A Principal components factor analysis conducted on the results of the study indicated eight components that comprised the faculty attitudes about student validation. Additionally, these eight components were analyzed by faculty and institutional characteristics, and there were some statistically significant main effects for some of these characteristics. Implications for enhancing the understanding of validation theory, and future practice and research are also discussed.