Black males continue to be underrepresented in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Some of the barriers to representation are due to lack of exposure, academic expectations, lack of belief in one's ability, and opportunity gaps. The purpose of this article is to discuss how homeplace (Black joy, authenticity, and…

Inspired by a Tolkien quote, "Not All Who Wander Are Lost," the authors introduce the concept of "career wandering" in the context of undergraduate student development. Proposing an alternative to traditional linear career trajectories, we conceptualize a dynamic approach that embraces nonlinear paths, indecision, and…

Recognizing the contributions that school sport can make to the wellbeing of students, this paper proposes a "re-imagined" school sport framework. School Sport for All (SS4A) places students at the center of building a program where development and wellbeing are prioritized. The SS4A framework fully integrates and promotes key aspects…

Flower Mound Elementary, a public school in the Lewisville Independent School District, believes it is a responsibility to educate the whole child. Their goal is to academically prepare young students and help them internalize moral values as well as build their character. To make this successful takes very different pedagogical strategies and…

Leaders who prioritize the development of their institutions over that of their students and personnel contribute to what Lawler (2016) describes as the "college bubble," wherein college costs incurred by students expand inversely with the quality of education, and students are progressively insulated from the "tough imperatives of…

American colleges and universities have been concerned with the student experience since their founding when in loco parentis was a de facto model of the student-institutional relationship. The nature of that relationship has changed over time but consistently demonstrated a concern and responsibility that colleges and universities had for the…

Many definitions and theories of leadership focus on the innate traits that leaders must possess from birth, others on the characteristics acquired throughout adult life and the processes the individual is exposed to. It is also widely believed that leadership is solely exercised at positions of higher authority in institutions and organizations.…

This report provides a set of six design principles, or stances toward learners and learning, that are essential for creating intellectually rigorous and equitable learning settings. These principles provide a holistic framework for designing goals, practices, and activities for summer learning and beyond. The Six Design Principles for Summer…

There is often little opportunity to think deeply about educational practice, and curriculum in particular in universities today, yet this is a much-needed conversation as graduates encounter an increasingly complex world. We propose ways of thinking and practising (WTP) as an idea to help frame these complex conversations. In this conceptual…

The Oral Roberts University Honors Program attracts a significant number of students each year, both as incoming freshmen and currently enrolled students, seeking a richer academic experience. While the honors program offers a higher-level academic challenge, its value lies beyond what is simply learned in the classroom. The program contributes to…

This article traces the evolution of holistic student development as the centerpiece of the college experience in the 1960s to its current all-too-often overlooked function in postsecondary education, and it explains why students, employers, and the democracy all benefit from educating the whole person. Holistic student development encompasses…

Liberal education has been, since the creation of the republic, America's "signature" higher learning curriculum. There have been three enduring purposes for a liberal education: (1) developing the powers of the mind; (2) cultivating an examined sense of responsibility to self and others; and (3) acquiring empowering knowledge--the kind…

This article describes the Make-A-Difference: Guard East New York program, a sports-based youth development program that utilizes the holistic teaching approach of teaching for personal and social responsibility.

Evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs, when implemented effectively, lead to measurable and potentially long-lasting improvements in many areas of children's lives. In the short term, SEL programs can enhance children's confidence in themselves; increase their engagement in school, along with their test scores and grades; and…

For much of the last two decades, the narrowed focus on raising test scores under No Child Left Behind left important aspects of education untended. Since 2016, when the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) enabled a more comprehensive look at accountability, state leaders have heard growing demands for a whole-child approach that emphasizes…