Student Development Theory

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• Student Development Theory
• in Higher Education

Dr. G. Duncan Harris February 8. 2008 Manchester
Community College
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Todays Session

• The Student Development Discipline
• Why student development?
• Defining Student Development
• Student Development Foundations
• Application of Theory Exercise - Environmental
  Factors Influencing Student Development at MCC

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The Student Development Discipline
Central Connecticut State Universitys Student
Development in Higher Education Program (M.S.)

• Core Courses
• CNSL 500 The Dynamics of Group Behavior
• CNSL 501 Theories and Techniques in Counseling
• CNSL 503 Supervised Counseling Practicum
• Directed Electives
• CNSL 521 Career Counseling and Development
• CNSL 525 Multi-Cultural Counseling
• CNSL 530 Student Development in Higher Education
• CNSL 531 Student Services in Higher Education
• CNSL 532 Program Design in Student Services
• CNSL 533 Legal, Financial, and Policy Issues in
  Student Affairs
• CNSL 592 Supervised Internship in Higher
  Education (1 year)
• ED 598 Research in Education

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Why Student Development?

• Student development theory provides the basis
  for the practice of student development.
  Knowledge of student development theory enables
  student affairs professionals to proactively
  identify and address student needs, design
  programs, develop policies, and create healthy
  college environments that encourage positive
  growth in students. Because student development
  theories focus on intellectual growth as well as
  affective and behavioral changes during the
  college years, they also encourage the
  collaborative efforts of student services
  professionals and faculty in enhancing student
  learning and maximizing positive student outcomes
  in higher education.
• Nancy Evans, author of, Student Development in
  College Theory, Research, and Practice

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Defining Student Development

• The organization of increasingly complex
  positive growth process in which the individual
  becomes increasingly able to integrate and act on
  many different experiences and influences,
  different than simple change which may be
  positive or negative Sanford (1967)
• The ways that a student grows, progresses, or
  increases his or her developmental capabilities
  as a result of enrollment in an institution of
  higher education. Rogers (1965)
• Student development should respond to four
  questions
• What interpersonal and intrapersonal changes
  occur while the student is in college?
• What factors lead to this development?
• What aspects of the college environment encourage
  or retard growth?
• What developmental outcomes should we strive to
  achieve in college? Knefelkamp, Widick, Parker
  (1978)

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Student Development Foundations

• Psychosocial Theory
• Examines individuals personal and interpersonal
  lives. Sequence of developmental tasks or stages
  confronted by adults when their biology and
  psychology converge and qualitatively change
  their thinking, feeling, behaving, valuing, and
  relating to others and oneself Human development
  continues throughout the life span and a basic
  underlying psychosocial structure guides this
  development.
• Student development theorists from this school -
  Chickering, Reisner, Josselson, Cross, Marcia

Erik Erikson
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Student Development Foundations (cont)

• Cognitive Structural Theory Changes in the way
  people think but not what they think, sets of
  assumptions people use to adapt to and organize
  their environments
• Student development theorists from this school -
  Perry, Kohlberg, King Kitchener, Baxter-Magolda

Jean Piaget
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Student Development Foundations (cont)

• Typology Theory
• Human behavior does not vary by chance, but
  rather is caused in innate differences in the
  mental functioning. These differences appear in
  many aspects of life how people take in and
  process information, how they learn best, the
  types of activities that interest them, and how
  they spend their time.
• Student development theorists from this school -
  Myers-Briggs, Holland, Kolb

Carl Jung
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Application Exercise Environmental Factors
Influencing Development

• Challenge and Support
• Involvement
• Marginality and Mattering
• Validation

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Challenge and Support

• Dissonance refers to inconsistency between
  beliefs.
• Range of optimal dissonance for any individual
  varies depending on the quality of the challenge
  and support that the environment provides as well
  as the characteristics of the individual.
• If the environment presents too much challenge -
  individuals tend to regress to earlier, less
  adaptive modes of behavior polarize and solidify
  current modes of behavior escape the challenge
  if possible or ignore the challenge if escape is
  impossible.
• If there is too little challenge - individuals
  may feel safe and satisfied but they do not
  develop.
• The amount of challenge a person can tolerate is
  a function of the amount of support available.

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Involvement

• Astin (1984) - stressed student involvement in
  development, the amount of physical and
  psychological energy that the student devotes to
  the academic experience. Refers to behavior,
  what they actually do, not feelings or thoughts.
  
• Five postulates
• 1. Involvement refers to the investment of
  physical and psychological energy in various
  objects
• 2. Regardless of the object, involvement
  occurs along a continuum.
• 3. Involvement has both quantitative and
  qualitative features.
• 4. The amount of student learning and personal
  development associated with any educational
  program is directly proportional to the quality
  and quantity of student involvement in that
  program.
• 5. The effectiveness of any educational policy
  or practice is directly related to the capacity
  of that policy or practice to increase student
  involvement.
• These factors all relate to situations that
  foster development, not the development itself.
  Austin suggests college professionals need to
  focuson creating opportunities for involvement
  to occur.

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Marginality and Mattering

• Schlossberg, Chickering, Lynch (1989) -
  individuals often feel marginalized when they
  take on new roles especially when they are not
  sure what the role entails.
• Marginality is often defined as a sense of not
  fitting in and can lead to self consciousness,
  irritability, and depression.
• Five Aspects of Mattering
• 1. Attention feeling noticed
• 2. Importance - the belief one is cared about
• 3. Ego extension - feeling that someone will be
  proud of what one does or will sympathize with
  ones failure
• 4. Dependence - the feeling of being needed
• 5. Appreciation - the feeling that ones efforts
  are appreciated by others.
• It is crucial that our students feel as though
  they matter. When they feel as though they
  matter, they are more likely to be involved in
  activities and academic programs that promote
  development and learning.

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Validation

• Rendon(1996) Validation is an enabling,
  confirming and supportive process initiated by in
  and out of class agents that foster academic and
  interpersonal development.
• Students who are validated develop confidence in
  their ability to learn, experience enhanced
  feelings of self-worth, and believe that they
  have something to offer the academic community.
• Validation is most powerful when offered during
  the early stages of the students experience.
• Where traditional students may feel comfortable
  expressing themselves, non-traditional students
  may not feel as comfortable and have doubts about
  their academic ability. Active intervention in
  the form of validation is often needed to
  encourage these students to become involved in
  campus life and spur self-esteem.

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References

• Austin, Alexander (1984) What matters in college
  four critical years revisited, Jossey-Bass.
• Knefelkamp, Lee, Widick, Carole Parker, Clyde
  (1978) Applying new developmental findings,
  Jossey-Bass.
• Rendon, Laura (1996) Educating a new majority
  Jossey-Bass.
• Rogers, Carl (1965)  Client-Centered therapy,
  its current practice, implications, and theory.
  Houghton Mifflin.
• Sanford, Nevitt (1967) Where colleges fail a
  study of the student as a person. Jossey-Bass.
• Schlossberg, Nancy, Lynch, Ann, Chickering,
  Arthur (1989) Improving higher education
  environments for adults responsive programs and
  services from entry to departure. Jossey-Bass.