Can you remember a time when someone made you feel small, made you doubt yourself and your worth? When someone made you and your personal experience feel invalidated? We innately know that all people need validation. This holds true within the classroom as well. Validation in education is defined as  “an enabling, confirming and supportive process initiated by in- and out-of-class agents that fosters academic and interpersonal development” (Rendón, 1994, p. 44). However, students from low-income families as well as first-generation college students have a greater risk of being invalidated, and therefore a greater need of validation within their educational experience (Rendón, 1994). Nonetheless, all students benefit when validation is put in the center of the classroom and campus. Below you will find some tips to utilize validation theory within your own practice. While all of these are encouraged, you can start by picking just one and then gradually incorporating the other tips as you see fit.

How to How to Validate and Affirm Students in Your Own Teaching

Prioritize getting to know your students.
While class is of course dedicated to the material and to the overall process of learning, validation theory emphasizes that students learn and perform better when they are in a validating, supportive, and comfortable environment. Therefore it is important to put aside at least some time (particularly at the beginning of a semester) to get to know your students as full people, not just as students in that particular class or program. This showcases that you care about them beyond their grade, and you are willing to listen to them and their specific realities. 

EXAMPLE: You could distribute a survey at the beginning of your course asking students to describe themselves, their backgrounds, what makes them unique, their past coursework, their interests. Refer to these surveys throughout the course to find places to gently include students when an area of their expertise or interest arises in the course (Drawn from Step 1: Getting to Know Your Students | Instructional Moves) 

Great additional tips for getting to know your students can be found in Professor Jessica Rico’s Teaching Tip Connecting with Students in the First Weeks as well as CETL Faculty Director Sarah Hosch’s Tip Knowing “Who’s in Class” Supports Inclusive Teaching)

Treat Students’ Funds of Knowledge as an Asset 
As you are listening to your students, you will come to find that they possess a rich tapestry of beliefs, knowledges, and backgrounds. These backgrounds are strengths you can use to improve learning and increase students’ sense of validation. The Theory of Funds of Knowledge describes this by emphasizing that all students “bring a reservoir of funds of knowledge and experiences that render… students open to learning with validating instructors and classroom climates” (Rendón & Muñoz, 2011, p. 25). In short, allow more, not less, of a student’s background into the classroom. Each student brings unique and valuable knowledge and experience which, when properly tapped into, enriches and enlivens the learning experience for not only your students, but yourself as well.

EXAMPLE: You could design an assignment which asks students to consider how knowledge and understanding of a given topic has been usually developed and compare the benefits of both the traditional western-dominant system as well as local, familial, and non-western forms of knowledge acquisition. This indicates to your students that learning can be done in many ways and that each culture and perspective has their own merits and places of impact. It also simultaneously trains their critical thinking and reflection skills, while growing their knowledge of discipline-specific perspectives. 

Embrace Students’ Diverse Life Responsibilities 
Related to Funds of Knowledge, each student has a rich life filled with competing interests and obligations. As you get to know your students, try to learn if they have work, family obligations, or other responsibilities which also demand their time and energy. This is especially important given OU’s large population of commuters. Parents and family play a crucial role in affirming students (especially for non-dominant groups), so devaluing or ignoring the role they play in students’ lives can cause dissonance and leave students feeling invalidated and torn between their education and their lives and backgrounds outside of campus (Rivera et al., 2024). 

EXAMPLE: When designing your syllabus, consider building in ways for students to naturally have flexibility in their completion of the course through some syllabus-specified mechanism. This could be in the form of token system wherein each student is assigned a limited number of tokens which they can use to extend assignment deadlines, get extra feedback, rewrite an assignment, or request a special meeting outside of office hours (in case they have other commitments during office hours). This will allow students both the agency and responsibility to determine when they need flexibility and it validates them as people with different and oftentimes competing cultural and professional obligations which do not always line up with the planning as initially proposed in the syllabus. 

Look Inward, and Expand Your Worldview 
The structure and philosophical underpinnings of our education system (and all education systems) are centered within certain dominant-culture expectations and assumptions. Even with the best intentions, an action which is meant to be an opportunity can turn into an act of invalidation (Willis, 2021). Combine this tip with the tips above to learn about the social/cultural contexts of not only your students, but yourself. You too have funds of knowledge, a unique socio-cultural background, and a rich life beyond campus. Remember that validation in education is a continual process, so in cases where good intentions go astray, try to keep listening with compassion. Any missteps can provide opportunities for success in the future. This will also get easier as you grow in your knowledge and expertise in validation praxis.

EXAMPLE: Ethnoautobiography can be a powerful tool for you to explore your own socio-cultural background with both its privileges and disadvantages. Take some time to consider the power dynamics of your own educational experience. Some questions you could ask yourself are: Where do I come from? Where does my family come from? What do I value most in life? What does my community look like? And what do they value? How did I receive knowledge and learning in my culture? Who were the ones responsible for that learning? What does a good/bad student behave according to me? And where did I get that belief from? Where does that belief itself come from? (Drawn from Kremer & Jackson-Paton, 2013)

Consider Not Just What You Teach, But How
It is not just what we say, but how we say it. This age-old adage holds true for our last tip for validation. It is not just the material, but how that material is presented, discussed, and approached. A wonderful lesson plan can fall flat because students don’t feel comfortable and understood enough to engage with the activities and material. Ensure that students know that you are there for them and that their concerns are your concerns. Offer consistent encouragement and regularly reaffirm to each student that they belong and they are capable of not just passing, but thriving within your course and the university overall. Additionally, remember to showcase concern and approachability, ensure students learn the material gradually over time in a manner which meets learners where they are, and ensure that feedback is ample, timely, and meaningful (Pacansky-Brock, et al., 2020).

Conclusion

These tools of Validation Theory are but some potential pathways for you to create a more inclusive and universally impactful pedagogy. Further resources are provided below for you to explore and consider what measures you can implement in your classroom. While all of these methods are impactful, remember, the most important step is to just listen with openness, compassion, and genuineness to each and every student. This will look different in a class for 100 undergraduate students, one small course with graduate students, or an asynchronous online class. So, remember, adjust these tools as needed, and regardless of the form it takes, validation is just another means of building relationships and not only learning about and improving the lives of your students, but also yourself.

References and Resources

For more information on practices of ethnoautobiography see: Kremer, J. W., & Jackson-Paton, R. (2013). Ethnoautobiography: Stories and Practices for Unlearning Whiteness, Decolonization, Uncovering Ethnicities. Revision Publishing.

Humanizing Online Teaching to Equitize Higher Education  (For Online Instruction)

For an overview of Validation Theory see: Nora, A., Urick, A., Quijada, P. D., Cerecer,. (2011). Validating Students: A Conceptualization and Overview of Its Impact on Student Experiences and Outcomes. Enrollment Management Journal, 34–52. https://tgslc.org/pdf/emj-s11.pdf 

Step 1: Getting to know your students. (n.d.). Instructional Moves. Harvard Graduate School of Education.  

Take advantage of CETL resources such as:

"Chat with Your Professor" Builds Instructor-Student Rapport: Teaching Tip
Civility and Compassion: Faculty Resources
Inclusive Practices and Diversity: Teaching Resources
Embodied Learning, Empathy and Emotion: Teaching Resources  
Indigenous Perspectives on Teaching and Learning: Faculty Resources 

Resources Used

Kremer, J. W., & Jackson-Paton, R. (2013). Ethnoautobiography: Stories and Practices for Unlearning Whiteness, Decolonization, Uncovering Ethnicities. Revision Publishing.

Pacansky-Brock, M., Smedshammer, M., & Vincent-Layton, K. (2020). Humanizing Online Teaching to Equitize Higher Education. Current Issues in Education, 21(2)  

Rendón, L. I. (1994). Validating culturally diverse students: Toward a new model of learning and student development, Innovative Higher Education, 19(1), 33-51

Rendón, L. I., & Muñoz, S. M. (2011). Revisiting Validation Theory: Theoretical foundations, applications, and extensions. Enrollment Management Journal, 12–33. https://tgslc.org/pdf/emj-s11.pdf  

Rivera, J.; Núñez, A.-M.; Covarrubias, I. (2024) Without my family, I don’t know If I would be here: The role of families in supporting Latinx computer science students at HSIs. Educ. Sci. 14, 815. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14080815

Step 1: Getting to know your students. (n.d.). Instructional Moves. Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Willis, A. S. (2021). Teachers’ cultural, social and emotional capabilities: how teacher compassion and humility is an antecedent to student confidence. Pedagogy Culture and Society, 31(1), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2021.1884122  

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About the Author

Thomas Baranski is an intern at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. His main research interests lie in sustainability and equity in education, critical pedagogies, and arts education. When he finds the time, he enjoys playing music, and reading and writing a poem or two.

Others may share and adapt under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC.

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