While leader identity development (LID) and meaning making are interwoven and essential for student development, little research has explicitly explored their intersection. In this article, we briefly summarize the work of two research projects that explored the intersection of LID and meaning making, including a review of the findings that…

Student development theory has been an important guide in practice; however, few theories focus on both the individual and the influence of the environment. Spencer's (1997) Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) examines the individual, the environment, and the role of environmental feedback on self-perceptions, with a…

International students often face challenges while pursuing higher education in a foreign country. These challenges can negatively impact their sense of belonging and community, resulting in social disconnection. Examining the role of culturally competent peer mentoring programs for international students can foster a sense of belonging among…

The hidden curriculum (HC) consists of implicit knowledge rooted in curricula and found throughout students' experiences navigating higher education (e.g. understanding professional email etiquette, graduate school applications and funding opportunities, or often taken-for-granted programs like Title IX and disability accommodations). In this…

Following Jones and Stewart's (2016) organization of student development scholarship into three waves, researchers have advanced understandings of learning and development using critical and poststructural frameworks. Though many scholars understand what scholarship fits under this third wave, less guidance is available to shape studies of…

This paper traces the trajectories of multiracial college student development theories through the three waves conceptualized by Jones and Stewart (2016) to inform future directions in critical mixed race scholarship and praxis. Within each wave, the author examines the utility and limitations of each paradigmatic perspective to construct their…

Freedom of speech and civil discourse in higher education are crucial to the personal and academic development of students. This essay begins with a brief overview of the protected status of freedom of speech, and the connection to civil discourse in higher education. Then, the issue of growing divisiveness in American society is examined, and how…

This article explores higher education's role in supporting gifted students and how these institutions might collaborate with high schools. Multidimensional roles that universities can play include helping gifted students transition from high school through individual support from faculty such as mentorships to offering specialized opportunities…

Many students come to higher education with a history of trauma. College life may also expose students to traumatizing events. While the past decade has witnessed greater discussion of trauma-informed frameworks, it has not regularly been applied to the college environment. We advance the concept of a trauma-informed campus, where administrators,…

The South African Association of Senior Student Affairs Professionals (SAASSAP) hosted a three-day conference on "Ramping up engaged scholarship, gender equity, and enhancing leadership in student affairs practice" at Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), from 2 to 4 December 2021. The meeting, which was attended by…

Faced with the threat of declining enrollment and the closing of prominent Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) programs, university faculty, and personnel must re-examine the efforts and effectiveness of strategies used to recruit and retain high-quality students. While the mismatch between supply and demand in teaching and teaching of…

Post-truth messages have been present in our society for centuries, but their prevalence has become greatly exacerbated in recent decades due to the ease in which they can be disseminated throughout society. Neoliberal entities carefully craft these messages to accomplish economic goals and employ nefarious tactics when disseminating them. This…

Even though Black Male Initiative (BMI) programs have found ways to positively influence the academic and psychosocial outcomes of Black men attending Predominantly White Institutions (PWI), Black college men remain at high risk for psychological distress. Current research addressing the need for BMI programs to incorporate wellness and mental…

Growth mindset is an important psychological factor for effective instruction. This chapter discusses how mindset affects learning and achievement, offering a wealth of tools that can help students and instructors understand and utilize a growth mindset.

Though theories about retention and student development have been in the literature for decades, they have mainly existed in silos with little exploration of how they could or should be used together. This scholarly paper seeks to engage with the idea that there are synergistic connections between student development and retention theories that…