The perspectives undergirding student development theory have evolved over time, yet few scholars have examined how various paradigms influence a specific developmental theory. In this literature review, I explored how constructivism, social constructionism, critical paradigms, and critical constructivism have shaped the study of self-authorship.…

We used queer theory to encourage readers to think differently about previous theories about Black racial identity development. Queer theory facilitates new and deeper understandings of how Black people develop their racial identities, prompting more fluidity and nuance. Specifically, we present a queered model of Black racial identity development…

This study examined 110 intercultural experiences from 82 students attending six colleges and universities to explore how students' interpretations of their intercultural experiences reflected their developmental capacities for intercultural maturity. Our analysis of students' experiences confirmed as well as refined and expanded King and Baxter…

In a qualitative study we examined the constructs "race" and "ethnicity" and their relative importance in the multidimensional identities of 52 Asian American undergraduates across 2 universities. Findings suggest these constructs are useful for Asian American students' identity claims and that multiple contextual influences…

Using a national dataset containing responses from 14,527 college students at 136 institutions, this study empirically tested a theoretical model for fallibilist Christian spirituality. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated an acceptable fit between the specified model and the actual structure of the data, suggesting that a…

Consistent with predictions derived from the self-expansion model, this 3-year longitudinal study found that participation in more college groups during sophomore year predicted increases in inclusion of the college community in the self at the end of junior year, which further predicted increases in satisfaction with the college experience at the…

While leadership development is considered an important goal of education on many campuses, very little is known about how leadership skills develop in a diverse environment, which most colleges will be in the future. We compare causes for Socially Responsible Leadership (SRL) at the end of college students' first year in one diverse liberal arts…

Using Renn's (2000, 2004) ecology of college student development model as a theoretical framework, I report and discuss the findings of my study involving 6 female college students who identify as multiracial/biracial-bisexual/pansexual. I describe how these findings validate Renn's model, specifically discussing how the campus environment…

Extrapolating from current developmental theory and using practice-to-theory/theory-to-practice methods, the authors propose a framework for individual diversity development among faculty, staff, and students. The model offers individuals in-depth cognitive, affective and behavioral frameworks of development toward consciously valuing complex and…

Traditional models of student development have been criticized for discriminating against developmental characteristics of women. Developed Ways-of-Knowing Instrument (WOKI) to measure concepts from Belenky et al.'s model of intellectual development. Administered WOKI to 348 female undergraduates. Found encouraging empirical support for Belenky et…

An unfolding model was selected for the scores on the Scale of Intellectual Development to take into account that, for stage-based instruments, agreement with a statement first increases as the student approaches the stage represented by the statement, then decreases as the student progresses beyond that stage. (Contains 21 references.) (Author)

Presents common elements of student development theories as a framework for practice. Briefly discusses problems using student development theory in practice, common elements of student development theory and research, and a framework for practice and for research based on those common elements. Gaps between theory and practice are noted, and new…

This article describes a stage-based model of leadership identity development (LID) that resulted from a grounded theory study on developing a leadership identity (Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, & Osteen, 2005). The LID model expands on the leadership identity stages, integrates the categories of the grounded theory into the LID model, and…

Presents a multidimensional perspective of the student affairs profession within the context of institutional autonomy and diversity. Encourages continued discussion on the evolution of professional identity. Offers paradigm which challenges unitary and comparative approaches to the profession. (Author/NB)

Adapted existing management model of organizational growth to student affairs professional associations. Assessed adequacy of that model, the Maturation Model for Professional Associations (MMPA), by using expert panel. Experts believed the MMPA maturation variables seemed to be logical and accurate boundaries for measuring areas of organizational…