Over the past 30 years, research on how college impacts student development has continually pointed to the peer group as perhaps the dominant change agent during the college years. A college student's peers act as a reference group, or an environmental source of sociocultural norms in the midst of which a student grows and develops (Clark & Trow,…

This study examined the intellectual development of black college students and investigated the relationship among students' intellectual development, their academic and social integration, and the noncognitive factors specified by Tracey and Sedlacek (1984). Subjects were 344 black undergraduate students at a large midwestern state university who…

The Perry scheme of student development, as determined by William G. Perry, Jr. and his associates at the Bureau of Study Counsel of Harvard University, is discussed. His nine levels of development include dualism, multiplicity, and commitment. A study by Mary F. Belenky showed that Perry's students were almost exclusively male, and she noted that…

Perry's theory of intellectual and ethical development of college students is briefly reviewed. This theory was based on work with Harvard University students, and addresses dualism, multiplicity, and relativism. In the first stage, a student sees the world in right-wrong, black-white terms, with no room in the thinking process for conditional or…

Urges that college educators strive to provide college students with both pragmatic experiences and training in abstract, intellectual thinking. (MLH)

A commonly held assumption is that students should enter college with values and attitudes shared by their parents and, following 4 years of preparation, leave as adults with identical values and attitudes. It is becoming evident that today's students have chosen to depart from these expectations, since growing numbers of them are entering college…

"The residential college concept is a symbol--a vital symbol--of a much larger concern, the humanization of student life and of American life in general." This conference was held to consider the residential college concept as a means of furthering the emotional and intellectual development of students. Nevitt Sanford, Dana L.…

Seldom are college students introduced to theories that describe how they and other students change intellectually during their college years. Two epistemological perspectives on cognitive development in college students and how they can be presented to students are examined in this paper. The first perspective is William Perry's forms of…

This article presents results of several studies examining differing perceptions of influential factors on gifted children's development. Parents, teachers, and gifted children were asked what factors, behaviors, and attitudes they saw as contributing to "giftedness." Implications for instruction and assessment are explored. (Author/PB)

College honors programs provide an especially promising context in which to promote reflective judgment by challenging and expanding students' intellectual horizons. However, faculty must carefully assess the different levels of cognitive development among their students, cultivate the skills of reflective judgment accordingly, and understand that…

Discusses beliefs about autonomy, curriculum, and reading that inform the teaching model of critical thinking. It suggests that teaching critical thinking in college as it has evolved into teaching of informal logic is not sufficient for actualizing the ideal of education for autonomy. (SM)

Highlights epistemological development of young adults, including the nature of problems commonly confronted by college students, by reporting on an investigation into the epistemic orientation of general education faculty, focusing on their assumptions about typical undergraduates' approaches to reasoning; and discusses implications for…

Addresses the importance of integrating the intellectual and moral education of gifted students. A framework synthesized from the works of Dewey and Guilford explicates basic structural components of the intellectual and moral dimensions of development. Suggestions for facilitating complex learning through complex teaching and the complex…

Issues concerning student intellectual development during college are considered in a symposium paper and in two reactions by faculty members. The symposium was sponsored by Bowling Green State University as part of the Academic Outcomes Project, which explores the effect of college on student growth and development. The reflective judgment model…

A secondary school curriculum which includes a significant focus on individual developmental goals is proposed. Emphasis is placed on students' intellectual development, self-management, and interpersonal and small group involvement. The basic content of the developmental curriculum is summarized to include acquisition of the knowledge to: (1)…