Student development theory has been an important guide in practice; however, few theories focus on both the individual and the influence of the environment. Spencer's (1997) Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) examines the individual, the environment, and the role of environmental feedback on self-perceptions, with a…

From over a decade of collecting data, we know that students who are peer educators experience significant gains as a result of their role as peer educators. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the student learning outcomes student peer educators derive from being involved in these applied learning experiences.

This chapter explores the ways faculty and staff work with students to support their activism as well as the way students tap faculty and staff to support their movements.

This chapter applies the concept of narrative identity to college student development. The authors describe a narrative interview method that can be used to promote the development of a purposeful life story in the college years.

This chapter explains the meaning of meaning-making for the quarterlife generation. It describes what is called the meaning-quest--consisting of nine core meaning-making questions--and offers two examples of the pedagogy that the authors use in working with students.

This chapter provides guidelines and suggestions for assessing student development using autoethnography, a qualitative research method. Autoethnography guides students in examining the nexus between personal and professional identities, including skills, challenges, values, histories, and hopes for the future.

Over the past twenty years, economic conditions, deteriorating public support, governmental and societal demands for accountability, and greater numbers of students from historically underrepresented groups have increased pressures on colleges and universities to provide a meaningful education to students while meeting ever increasing expectations…

The powerful influence of peers in human development has been widely documented, particularly within education. Throughout the history of higher education, peer interactions have been a component of scholarly explorations of student types, campus cultures, and even the cycle of student "generations." In addition, most student development theories…

High school students with disabilities are attending colleges and universities in growing numbers, with their rate of college participation doubling in the past twenty years. Students with disabilities in the secondary educational system are protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004, which requires…

Changing enrollment profiles have introduced differences in demographics, ability, and interest among the learners in higher education classrooms. As a result, faculty must now accomplish their jobs in a fluid environment with new teaching strategies. Their partners in this work are student affairs staff, who usually educate students in a far less…

All colleges teach ethics across their undergraduate curricula, yet relatively few institutions do so deliberately. That is, few colleges make explicit attempts to coordinate or integrate the various ethical lessons their students might be learning. This does not mean that most colleges are bad for students' ethical development; research shows…

Discusses curricular learning communities as one way of involving commuter students in learning and fostering intellectual and social connections with faculty and peers. Describes three approaches to learning communities (such as clustered courses), pedagogical strategies for involving commuter students (e.g., collaborative learning), and…

This article details the challenges that UC Merced faced in building up the critical areas of student and residence life. The new institution held great promise for achieving the ideal of a student-centered university, but certain bedrock problems proved difficult to overcome. One was that at the beginning, both administration and faculty saw…

This field report from a Catholic liberal arts college for women suggests that, in any environment, a holistic approach to moral development is possible by challenging students to integrate their knowledge with their actions and to deal with inherent values issues both in and out of the curriculum. (Author)

The increased economic ends of the community college have eroded its traditional focus on student access, student development, and a comprehensive curriculum. (Contains 2 tables.)