Nontraditional educational settings (NES) cater to diverse student populations, including those considered at-potential or at-risk. Research on interventions and the role of helping professionals in these settings is limited. This dissertation comprises two studies aimed at elucidating interventions and support mechanisms for at-potential students…

This paper explores fit as an important theoretical construct in the study of doctoral education and doctoral student development. We discuss how research based on three types of fit (person-environment fit, person-culture fit, person-vocation fit) may provide critical insights into the doctoral student experience, and offer a framework based on…

This article describes issues in measuring school contexts with an eye toward understanding students' experiences and outcomes. I begin with an overview of the conceptual underpinnings related to measuring contexts, briefly describe the initiatives at the National Center for Education Statistics to measure school contexts, and identify possible…

Although international attention to understanding college student development, learning, and experiences has increased, leading higher education journals do not seem to have kept pace. We examined 8 higher education and student affairs journals (5 from the US, 3 from Europe) from 1998 to 2011. We found overall that 5% of articles addressed…

In 2015, leaders within Achieve's Competency-Based Pathways State Partnership set out to more clearly understand the potential of learning progressions research to transform instructional practice and what is being done to translate that research into training and tools for educators. After a series of conversations with experts in the learning…

This article explores the current state of knowledge regarding the use of autonomous student experiences (ASE) in outdoor and adventure education (OAE) programs. ASE are defined as components (e.g., solo, final expedition) in which participants have a greater measure of choice and control over the planning, execution, and outcomes of their…

This study explores the association of students' self-perceived critical thinking ability with participation in Residential Honors living-learning programs versus Civic/Social Leadership living-learning programs and non-participation in living-learning programs. The study analyzes data from the 2004 National Study of Living-Learning Programs…

This monograph seeks to inform faculty, staff, administrators, and students about the nature of and structure in doctoral programs that lead to doctoral student development. It is accomplished through succeeding chapters, focusing first on an overview of existing student development theory and then on the structure of doctoral education and its…

This paper is an attempt to respond to the need for workable procedures for assessing the effectiveness of programs and institutions in complex postsecondary education systems. Effectiveness is taken to mean the capacity of the institution to advance student development-academic, vocational, and affective. Four general strategies are outlined in…

Two student affairs researchers describe four questions that define the scope, breadth, and depth of student affairs research: "Who are today's college students?"; "How do students experience college?"; "What do students learn and who do they become?"; and How does college make a difference?" Discusses how student affairs researchers or staff can…

This paper discusses the college freshman year experience from the student perspective, focusing not on what college will do for them, but on what it will do to them. Faced with the staggering array of course offerings and experiences presented by the modern college, freshmen need more help in making choices and decisions. The paper reviews the…

A study with 210 college freshmen investigated the effect of 3 aspects of the college experience (curricular exposure, formal classroom and instructional experiences, and out-of-class experiences). Results suggest that both classroom/instructional and out-of-class experiences make positive, statistically significant, unique contributions to gains…

This study assesses the extent to which student services within California's community colleges assist students in maneuvering through challenge, and to see whether student services programs nurture students' personal and emotional development. Using Chickering and Reisser's theory of student development, this study asked students to rate the…

A study evaluated the feasibility of using students' self-reports of academic development and college experiences as substitutes for standardized test scores (proxies) or policy indicators. Results suggested self-reports should be used with care as proxies for a national test but may be used as policy indicators for improvement of undergraduate…

Children mature into adults through their own activities and the influence of their social environment. One such social influence, education, is purposeful, planned, and institutionalized. Educational psychology investigates the psychological foundations of this process, particularly in the development of humankind. The publication focuses on such…