Student Development Theory And Literature Review

Baxter Magolda, M.B. (2002). Helping students make their way to adulthood. About Campus, 2-9.

In this article, the author uses her experience of a bicycle trek in Hawaii as an analogy to the whole premise of the article, which is self-authorship.  According to the Kegan as cited by the author, self-authorship is defined as the capacity to author, or invent, one's own beliefs, values, sense of self, and relationship with others.  This is every similar to many of the other articles regarding spirituality, spiritual development, and searching for purpose in life.  It is vital to have good company, people who create conditions to promote self-authorship.  The author lists three assumptions and three principles for being good company.  There is a mutual partnership between the educator and learner, where both parties are constructing knowledge together.

Bryant, A.N., Choi, J.Y., Yasuno, M. (2003). Understanding the religious and spiritual dimensions of students' lives in the first-year of college. Journal of College Student Development, 44, 723-745.

This study focused on how the first-year experience impacts students' religion and spirituality.  The sample was made up of 3, 680 first-year students from 50 colleges and universities.  The article focuses on historical trends in higher education in which spiritual growth may or may not be encouraged in students.  The distinction between religiousness and spirituality was defined, along with which activities correlate with which aspect.  Findings showed that during the first-year of college, religious activity decreases but commitment to spirituality increases.  Programs that support students' spiritual exploration may assist students to integrate that part of their selves with their personal and academic aspects.

Fowler, J. (1981). Stages of faith: The psychology of human development and the quest for meaning. San Francisco: Harper and Row.

Fowler was among the first to discuss spiritual development in relation to personal development.  This work is comprehensive and covers both the research and the theories that resulted from the research.  Fowler identifies six stages that span across a lifetime plus a "pre-stage" covering infancy.  His Mythic-Literal, Synthetic-Conventional, and Individuative-Reflective stages are the ones most identified with by college students.

Jablonski, M.A. (2001).  The implications of student spirituality for student affairs practice. New directions for student services, no. 95. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

This anthology of essays covers a wide range of topics regarding spirituality, higher education, and student affairs administration.  These topics include the role of spirituality in career exploration, spirituality development theories, and how the law relates to spirituality in higher education.  The editor argues that student affairs professionals must recognize the importance of spiritual development and its place in a holistic education.

Love, P.G. (2002). Comparing spiritual development and cognitive development. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 357-373.

This article compares 3 major theories of spiritual development (Parks, Fowler, and Helminiak) with cognitive development theories (Magolda, Belenky et. al., King and Kitchner, and Perry).  The work of the spiritual development theorists support the cognitive development theories, including the role of the environment, and the importance of meaning-making.  Because faith development is related to cognitive development, environments and programs that enhance one will most likely support development of the other.  The importance of recognizing spiritual dimensions in everybody, even those who may not identify as religious, is stressed as well.

Love, P., & Talbot, D. (1999). Defining spiritual development: A missing consideration for student affairs. NASPA Journal, 37, 361-375.

In this article, the authors give several explanations as to why there has been little to no work done on spirituality and spiritual development.  Spirituality is often associated with organized religion, which is not the case.  There is a reluctance to discuss religion in public institutions of higher education.  The is reinforced by the idea of the "separation of church and state." (p. 362).  The authors go on to define why spirituality and spiritual development is important.  The field of student affairs is based on the development of the holistic student.  This idea in itself has some spiritual connotation.  Also, the idea of spirituality is being addressed in other profession and fields.  The author proposes five propositions in hopes of defining spiritual development.  Spiritual development has also been incorporated in other student development theories such as Maslow's Hierachy of Needs and Chickering and Reisser's Developing Integrity Vector.  The authors suggest that there needs to be more exploration in this area of study.  They also list four implications student affairs practitioners should be aware of regarding spiritual development.

Moran, C.D. (2001). Purpose in life, student development, and well-being: Recommendations for student affairs practitioners. NASPA Journal, 38, 269-279.

This article focused on the ideas of the purpose of life and searching for the purpose of life.  This is essential to the holistic development of the student.  The author discusses Chickering and Reisser's sixth vector of developing purpose and Frankl's theory on purpose in life, which is directly and indirectly related to spiritual development.  A correlation is made between the search for purpose in life and college students.  The author lists four plans that have been developed to guide discussion on the purpose of life and college students.  Based on these four plans, there are four recommendations made for implication into the work of student affairs practitioners.  In conclusion, the author suggested further work on this topic of developing purpose in life and how this affects the development of students.

Rodgers, J.L., & Dantley, M.E. (2001). Invoking the spiritual in campus life and leadership. Journal of College Student Development, 42, 589-603.

In this article, the authors go on to define the meaning of soul, spirituality, and spiritual intelligence.  A review of the current literature in spirituality and the workplace revealed that there is a significant focus on relationships.  The importance of wholeness and relationship in the workplace is compared to that of higher education organizations.  Two examples of how higher education incorporate wholeness and connection in our lives in the university is through building communities and an inward journey of self-reflection.  They use the term soul leader to describe the role of spirituality in student affairs leadership in an individual.  They list nine characteristics of a soul leader.  Through engaging in and encouraging dialogue with everyone on campus, which is different from discussion and debate, soul leaders are able to create democratic, caring community where difference are accepted.

Stewart, D.L. (2002). The role of faith in the development of an integrated identity: A qualitative study of Black students at a White college. Journal of College Student Development, 43(4), 579-596.

This article focuses on the integration of multiple identities, namely race and spirituality.  Stewart interviewed 5 Black students at a predominantly White liberal arts college about their identities, backgrounds, and college experiences.  Several findings resulted from this study, including that individuals must have some spiritual maturity to truly integrate multiple identities.  The results also imply that students need space in which all facets of their identities are supported and nurtured.