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{Author Withdrawal]Square Pegs and Round Holes: Alternative Approaches to College Student Development Theory
Keywords
Diverse Populations, Student Development Theory
Session Abstract
This presentation will explore the uses and misuses of traditional college student development theory when applied to diverse college student populations. In addition, alternative theories and theoretical frameworks will be explored to provide new and contemporary ways of addressing developmental issues from a culturally relevant perspective.
Session Description
What student development theory has been able to provide—its virtual aim—is a clearer sense of not only how college students learn, develop, and grow but also how they make choices and establish identity within the structures of these tripartite aims. From a focus on various psychosocial and identity development issues, to a concentration on cognition and environmental factors, student development theory has served as a way to better understand the holistic needs of college students in an effort to frame more proactive strategies to address those needs (Patton, Renn, Guido, Quaye, Evans, Forney, 2016). However, what these models have done well in many instances have in turn failed in other instances, and perhaps the greatest failings have been witnessed when they have been used to capture and explain the experiences of diverse college student populations. This presentation will explore the uses and misuses of traditional student development theory when applied to diverse college student populations. In addition, alternative theories and theoretical frameworks will be explored to provide new and contemporary ways of addressing developmental issues from a culturally relevant perspective.