In this qualitative study, 74 self-reported incidents from student affairs professionals at different levels of experience were analyzed to support the claim that the 10 ACPA/NASPA competency areas increase in complexity as expertise develops. Participants at all experience levels were observed using (a) personal and ethical foundations, (b)…

Studies on college students' racial identities seldom focus on geographic context, despite existing research documenting its role in how racial groups construct and express racial identities. Drawing on theories of ecological systems and racial formation, I explored experiences of race and racial identity among 10 Asian American students who…

Through a year-long study of welfare-to-work students in the community college CalWORKs program, we investigated what self-authorship development looks like by examining developmental progress, and whether there are patterns in development along the three dimensions of self-authorship. Findings demonstrate progress toward self-authorship, but…

This research investigates the relationship between biracial college students and race-oriented student services (e.g., Office of Black Student Services). These services are organized around conventional understandings of race that assume there are five, discrete racial categories, namely, Black/African American, Latino/a, White, Asian American,…

Guided by a social capital framework, this qualitative study examined the role of protective agents, namely parents and siblings, during the college choice process of 20 Chicana seniors attending a large urban high school in California. Despite previous research showing that Mexican parents hold a high value toward the importance of an education,…