Student development theories

Student Development Theory refers to the body of educational psychology that theorizes how students gain knowledge in post-secondary educational environments.

History

The earliest manifestation of student development theory — or tradition — in Europe was in loco parentis.[1] Loosely translated, this concept refers to the manner in which children's schools acted on behalf of and in partnership with parents for the moral and ethical development and improvement of students' character development. Ostensibly this instruction emphasized traditional Christian values through strict rules, enforced by rigid discipline.[1] As such, the primary objective of in loco parentis[1] was on the conditioning of social and individual behavior, rather than intellectual cultivation.[1]

The second distinct shift toward a unified student development theory emerged in the late nineteenth century, through the first quarter of the twentieth century, marked by the growth of colleges and universities throughout Europe and the United States, simultaneous with the development of social science disciplines like psychology.[1] By mid-twentieth century, behavioral psychologists such as B.F. Skinner and Carl Rogers influenced educational theory and policy, and a new paradigm emerged known as the Student Services paradigm. As the name indicates, the "Student Services" perspective articulated that students ought to be provided with the services that benefit knowledge acquisition.[1]

By the mid-twentieth century, the service paradigm started to be replaced with the student development paradigm.[1] This paradigm was influenced by the growing body of psychological and sociological theories, reflecting the idea that students learn both in-class and out-of-class, and are influenced both by their genetics and social environment (see nature and nurture).[1]

Basic assumptions guiding the student development movement:[1]

  1. Each student is a different individual with unique needs.
  2. The entire environment of the student should be taken into account and used for education.
  3. Student has a personal responsibility for getting educated.

Theories

Student development theories generally can be divided into five categories:[1]

  1. Psychosocial. Psychosocial theories focus on long-term issues that tend to occur in sequence and are correlated with chronological age, concentrating on individuals progress through various 'life stages' by accomplishing certain deeds.
  2. Cognitive-Structural. Cognitive-structural theories address how students perceive and rationalize their experiences.
  3. Person-Environment. Person-environment theories address interaction between conceptualizations of the college student and the college environment, looking at behavior as a social function of the person and the environment. Those theories are particularly common in career planning.
  4. Humanistic Existential. Humanistic existential theories concentrate on certain philosophical concepts about human nature: freedom, responsibility, self-actualization and that education and personal growth are encouraged by self-disclosure, self-acceptance and self-awareness. These theories are used extensively in counseling.
  5. Student Development Process Models. Student development process models can be divided into abstract and practical.

There are dozens of theories falling into these five families. Among the most known are:[1]

Schlossberg’s Transition Theory

Schlossberg’s Transition Theory has been worked on over time and has changed some of it original context. This theory is mostly based on the individual and what they consider to be a transition in their life.[2] This theory is used as a guideline from what steps should be taken during the transition to help the young adult to continue to work on and transition into what they need. We use different questionnaires to determine and assess the ability of a certain person to cope with the transition. Here is a quick review of the steps and ideas behind Schlossberg’s Theory:

Transitions
The Transition Process
Coping with Transitions

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Using ideas of Piaget and cognitive development Kohlberg looks into the judgments of people and what they consider justifiable to determine about their ideas of Morality come into play.[2] Using only these ideas, not culture, we see how people develop their own moral code and how it changes or stays the same over time.

Stage’s of Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory

Kolb’s Theory of Experiential Learning

Looking at how you learn as an individual is a huge part in your development of self according to Kolb and his model.[2] By knowing what you need to do to learn it makes it easier for you as an individual to grow as a person. Using the different personality types and ways to learn, we become more self-aware and willing to learn from new ways.

Kolb’s Cycle of Learning
Kolb’s Learning Style Model

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Student Development Theory, University of Texas, Dallas, last accessed on 30 June 2006
  2. 1 2 3 Evans, Nancy J., Deanna S. Forney, and Florence DiBrito. Student development in college: theory, research, and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998. Print.

Further reading

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