African higher education has been the site of repeated contestations over identity. Higher education institutions, as spaces made up of individuals claiming a diversity of identities, are susceptible to conflict when identities are influenced by politicians and paramilitary groups seeking to advance their political agendas on campus through the…

The aim of this paper is to explore the identity of the teacher as a dialectical being that is in permanent construction, to identify some obstacles teachers might find in this process while operating in an institutional framework, and the effects these could have upon the teacher and the goals she pursues with her students. By ruling out the idea…

Although the study of college student development has progressed during the last decades to address various aspects of identity development across a wide range of diverse populations, there is a noticeable gap in the literature about Muslim-American college students and how the university experience impacts their development as young adults. The…

Positive turning points touch upon the essence of education. They epitomize its power and reflect its core agenda: maximizing human capital. Paradoxically, previous studies have not looked into this important phenomenon. The current exploratory study fills this lacuna by building on extensive empirical research of key educational experiences to…

"Educational Theories, Cultures and Learning" focuses on how education is understood in different cultures, the theories and related assumptions we make about learners and students and how we think about them, and how we can understand the principle actors in education--learners and teachers. Within this volume, internationally renowned…

Presents a conceptual model of multiple dimensions of identity, which depicts a core sense of self or one's personal identity. Intersecting circles surrounding the core identity represent significant identity dimensions and contextual influences. The model evolved from a grounded theory study of a group of 10 women college students ranging in age…

Study explores how institutional context affects the development of self-concept in a sample of 273 African American college students. Findings suggest that students attending church affiliated historically Black colleges develop significantly higher self-ratings in three domains of self-concept-psychosocial wellness, academic, and achievement…

Growth during the last 2 years of high school was examined in public and Catholic high schools using data from the High School and Beyond database--a large, nationally representative study. Earlier research was extended by considering: (1) affective variables (e.g., self-concept, locus of control), academic choices (e.g., course selection), and…