This article describes through the lens of self-authorship development the meaning-making processes of South African postgraduate psychology students who are expected to undergo significant growth as they journey towards becoming mental health professionals. Reflective writing tasks and individual interviews of 4 postgraduate students were…

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.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between interfaith engagement and self-authored worldview commitment among 13,776 students enrolled at one of 52 institutions. Results indicated an association between formal and informal interfaith engagement and that this relationship was conditioned upon self-identified worldview.…

Theories of college student and adult intellectual development have shown that learning to interpret, evaluate, and construct knowledge evolves in a developmentally predictable fashion, and have offered explanations for the difficulties some students face when asked to make their own decisions (Baxter Magolda, 1992; Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger,…

Informal (and sometimes formal) assessments in higher education often ask students how their skills or attitudes have changed as the result of engaging in a particular course or program; however, it is unclear to what extent these self-reports are accurate. Using a longitudinal sample of over 3,000 college students, we found that students were…

This article focuses on understanding how identity development is conceptualized in student affairs. The need to understand the person, context, and interactions between the two advances identity theories as relevant to student affairs practice. The more practitioners understand how students make meaning of their identities, the better they are…

Examined how age (age 22 and younger vs. age 28 and older) and enrollment status (part-time vs. full-time) contribute to learning and personal development of traditional and new-majority students at 6 metropolitan institutions. Administered College Student Experiences Questionnaire to 2,485 students. Found that relationship between age, enrollment…

This study sought to identify differences between 100 randomly selected Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) and nonACOAs attending a black university. The ACOAs reported significantly more drinking problems and less healthy family environments and social support than nonACOAs, but no difference in mastery of developmental tasks like autonomy,…

Examined the psychosocial development of undergraduate students (N=144) in relationship to their perceived competence, readiness, focus, and choices regarding participation in mentoring relationships. Results showed significant relationships between developmental status and students' self-perceptions of their competence as mentors and their…

Originally published in March/April 1996, advances an integrated perspective on learning and personal development by viewing the cognitive and affective dimensions of development as related parts of one process. Proposes that from this integrated perspective, a successful educational experience simultaneously increases cognitive understanding and…

Investigates whether autonomy and parental attachment in a diverse group of undergraduate women (N=325) varied by class year, as suggested by the Chickering model. Results revealed a pattern of autonomy development that differed from the model's. Although student autonomy increased with class year, students displayed no decreased attachment to…

Compared outcomes of college as perceived by African-American and white alumni in the affective or personal growth categories. An analysis of responses to an alumni survey revealed that, for affective growth variables, proportionally more African Americans than whites indicated that college had influenced their growth "very much." (Author/NB)

Examines differential patterns of college students' self-perceived growth within the framework of a theory of vocational choice/personality. Findings support the theory's premise that distinctive subenvironments encourage, reinforce, and reward distinctive attitudinal and behavioral patterns. Implications of the theory's potential to promote…

Examined psychosocial development of Asian international and American freshmen (n=69) using the Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Inventory. Differences occurred on the following issues: Establishing and Clarifying Purpose, Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships, and Intimacy. No gender differences were found. (JBJ)

The second edition of "Education and Identity" (Chickering & Reisser, 1993), updating Chickering's 1969 theory, describes institutional influences and broad changes in students as they move through higher education. The seven revised vectors are summarized in this article, and current issues related to the updated theory are…