Examined environmental factors in college student development in college freshmen (N=148) who were administered the Student Development Task Inventory-2. Related performance on this instrument to several factors in the college environment: residential living arrangements, educational goals, type of financial aid, and social dating habits. Found…

Much of a group's development is part of the natural, interpersonal dynamics that exist when people are working together. Stages in the developmental cycle of groups are identified: polite, why we're here, bid for power, constructive, and esprit de corps. (MLW)

Used seven instruments to assess significant aspects of Chickering's theory of student development in college students (N=255). Found that a factor analysis of subscale scores provided only limited evidence to support Chickering's theory. (Author/ABL)

Tells how to conduct a meta-analysis study, and refers readers to information about refinements of the techniques. A simple meta-analysis is presented. Describes three fundamental stages to conducting a meta-analysis: (1) literature review; (2) calculation of effect sizes; and (3) analysis of data. (Author/NB)

Describes the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, a program developed in Europe to prepare secondary school students for continued growth and study in colleges and universities around the world. Discusses the history and administration of the program, characteristics of the program itself, assessment, placement of IB students, and…

Examined how age (age 22 and younger vs. age 28 and older) and enrollment status (part-time vs. full-time) contribute to learning and personal development of traditional and new-majority students at 6 metropolitan institutions. Administered College Student Experiences Questionnaire to 2,485 students. Found that relationship between age, enrollment…

Initial teacher preparation students (n=74) completed Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (EOM-EIS) and Identity Style. Factor analysis using all EOM-EIS subscales and four Identity Style subscales yielded five factors that explained 76% of variability in correlation matrix. Findings support theoretical speculation concerning process…

Two studies assessed perspective-taking training strategies for effectiveness in promoting ego-identity formation among older adolescents. Found advances in ideological achievement among experimental groups. Further significant findings were absent. Given limited findings of both studies, it was concluded that it may be very difficult to create…

Used qualitative research design to apply role exit theory to adult women students (n=221) undergoing life transition. Findings suggest that role of student for these women is transitional one. Student role appeared to be bridge to new role and women used it to complete role exit process or to bring closure and deal with respective life…

Describes Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule's research on cognitive development of women. This research represents a bridge and a connection between the formal research on cognitive development and the more anecdotal treatises on issues of teaching, learning, and the knowledge inherent in the role of mother and maternal thinking.…

King and Kitchener's model delineates seven consistent patterns that describe how people approach complex issues and defend what they believe. A wide variety of interactions with students can be used to foster reflective thinking in college students. Student affairs professionals' challenge is to stimulate students to ask more complex questions…

Reacts to Waldo and Bauman's Goals and Process (GAP) matrix for groups article in terms of its usefulness to student-development educators leading psychoeducational groups. Briefly describes the context within which student-development educators do psychoeducational group work. Provides a perspective on applying the proposed matrix and discusses…

Six 4-H agents working with traditional clients and six with nontraditional clients participated in a DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) analysis of job tasks. They performed similar duties but the nontraditional group spent more time assessing individual members; the traditional group focused more on program management. (SK)

Discusses previous research that found broad-based negative effects of Greek affiliation on standardized measures of cognitive development after one year of college. Following the same sample, the present study found that the negative effects of Greek affiliation were much less pronounced during the second or third years of college. (Contains 32…

Examines how leadership development can be improved by encouraging leaders to engage in critical reflection. Discusses how students can enhance their leadership ability through evaluating the significance of their experiences from a leadership perspective; using critical reflection, students studying leadership can explore, question, and describe…