RUNNING HEAD: PHILOSOPHY OF STUDENT DEVELOPMENT THEORY

SALTER 1

Philosophy of Student Development Theory

Shannon Salter

Seattle University

SDAD 5400

Dr. Wilson

March 17, 2020

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Introduction

As I begin my career in student development administration as a working practitioner, I

aim to articulate the purpose of education, notably higher education, for students and the greater

community and then apply it to student development theory. Within this process, I will name my

beliefs as to why higher education holds merit within society. These beliefs are rooted in my

values as an educator and student development theories.

Importance of Education and Higher Education

Education is a powerful tool for individuals to understand social and cultural wealth

while mastering skills within a major. Education provides spaces for students to gain practical

knowledge that can be directly applied to their current or future careers. Within these

environments, students are provided with opportunities to obtain the necessary skills through

courses, clinical, and labs to gain practical knowledge before entering the workforce.

Beyond gaining the necessary skills and knowledge to feel component in their fields, education

provides students opportunities to engage in personal and social development. In particular,

students may enter educational settings lacking an intimate understanding of their identities,

privileges, or independence. Within the scope of college education, I believe it is the job of an

institution to challenge individuals to work better to understand many social and personal

development, but particularly in these three categories. In particular, college environments,

especially if they are filled with diverse identities and perspectives, allow individuals to interact

with individuals holding differing experiences.

Not only are colleges and universities places for students of privilege to develop their

awareness, but colleges can be a place for students holding marginalized identities and

backgrounds to gain capital wealth and reclaim their spaces within higher education. Students
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with marginalized identities must be given space to process their experiences, both current and

past, to best equip them with materials and support to succeed in their educational and post-

graduation journey. However, institutions should not assume students' limitations using deficit

thinking; instead, schools should empower "potential of the cultures of the Communities of

Color" (Yosso, p. 76). Therefore, schools and institutions should recognize the skills and talents

that individuals bring onto campus and find techniques and methods to best support these

students. Student affairs professionals and the overall institution must work to project and

welcome the students.

Through my analysis of the purpose of education, there are many parallels to student

affairs' purpose and role in higher education. In particular, I believe that student affairs

practitioners are employed at an institution to advocate, care, and challenge students to fulfill

their highest potential. Specially, multiple offices within student development work alongside

each other to communicate students' needs and care reports when they see students of concern.

They must collaborate to assist the situation. An individual alone cannot care for the well-being

of a student or the entire student body. Instead, individuals from various departments work

alongside each other to best support and ensure the students' safety, welfare, and care. Alongside

caring for a student's well-being, student affairs are called to cultivate change and advocate for

students living on or within the margins. Without student affairs practitioners, students may lack

support systems and advocates that demand accommodations and protections for the student both

in and out of the classroom. Lastly, student affairs promote the growth of the whole-being of

students. Student affairs practitioners' presence at admissions and new student orientation

supports students, through conduct and care cases, and walks with students as they prepare for

their journey as alumni.

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Values as an Educator

The four values I hold near my heart as an educator within student affairs are empathy,

community builder, challenger, and advocate for social justice. These values play an integral role

in my approach to student affairs and my interactions with my students.

Empathy allows me to connect and sit with the students where they are; I am not looking

to change or fix their "problems" first. Instead, I sit with them and listen to hear where I can best

support and care for them. Through this role of empathy, I can better connect the student with the

proper tools and resources if I am not equipping to help resolve concerns. Empathy directly leads

to a community builder and my relational leader style. Through relationships that student affairs

professionals can help create, students and community partners will work together to create

longer support and change mutually. Challenger relates to relationships with students, peers, and

higher administration. As a challenger, I want my students and administration to look at

situations and problems in a new light to gain a fresh perspective or understanding.

Furthermore, as a challenger, a student affairs practitioner can challenge students to

continue to work and push them to new limits. Without someone to challenge or push a student,

they may not reach their full potential. Lastly, as an advocate for social justice, student affairs

practitioners cannot stay quiet about campus injustices or biases. They must speak up when they

see students, peers, or other community members have forgotten or oppressed.

How Theory Helps Student Affairs Educators

Student development theory is an essential aspect and tool that student affairs

practitioners can utilize to best understand students’ identities and backgrounds. As an

undergraduate student, I had little to no understanding of the practices or theories that student
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affairs practitioners I worked with possessed to best support my identities and the identities and

experiences of my peers.

Throughout my time at St. Norbert College, I encountered student development staff that

utilized multiple theories to best support their students. As I have entered into my graduate

assistantship at Seattle University, I have further seen the importance of understanding various

theoretical perspectives to meet students' current needs. Through these experiences, I have

recognized the importance to continuously expand our knowledge, research, and implementation

of student development theories.

Since entering into the Student Development Administration Program and my role as the

Graduate Coordinator for Integrity Formation, I have seen firsthand the limitations I have due to

my lack of understanding of theory and best practices within my role. Therefore, I have

attempted to expand my toolbox of theories to prepare myself to encounter and support students

that I encounter within student conduct hearings and our restorative and alternative practices we

offer to students. Lori Patton et al. explain that “knowledge of student development theory

enables higher education and student affairs professionals to identify and address student needs,

design programs, develop policies, and create healthy college environments that encourage

positive growth in students” (Patton et al., p. 8). Consequently, this knowledge leads to student

affairs practitioners fully understanding the complex challenges, identities, and experiences that

students bring with them into educational and experimental spaces on college campuses.

Beyond understanding the students' needs and experiences we will serve and work

alongside, student development theory proves to be beneficial in seeking support and financial

assistance from both the division, institution, and outside donors. Particularly, Rodgers explores

how the "philosophy that has guided student affairs practice and serves as the rationale for
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specific programs and services" (Patton et al., p. 7). Specifically, within times of budget cuts or

proposing of new and innovative programs, directors, departments, institutions, and potentially

donors seek full rationales of how these programs benefit students’ campus experiences, growth,

or overall well-being. Therefore, having a well versed understanding of these theories can allow

for a more developed and comprehensive proposal and benchmarking of programs, which in the

long-term may contribute to the overall success and survival of on-campus programs.

The Best Way to Translate Theory into Practice

Throughout my experience as a Student Conduct Administrator, I have recognized the

need to understand the students I encounter and how to best support these students within their

journey that lead them to my office. Within my role, I meet students one-on-one to hold hearings

with students referred to the Integrity Formation Office for an alleged violation of Seattle

University’s Student Code of Conduct. If I met with students in this setting without holding an

understanding for best practices or student development theory, I could create a harmful

environment for the student. In particular, from the various theories that I have learned thus far, I

have seen the importance of building rapport with the student at the beginning of the hearing to

understanding what may have led the student to the Integrity Formation Office. Furthermore, an

important aspect of this rapport building allows me to acknowledge the salient identities that the

student brings with them into the meeting. Through this acknowledgment, I bring this knowledge

into my approach of developing sanctions that will allow the student to engage in an educational

experience that will support and challenge the student to change and adapt their behavior that led

them to conduct hearing. Without this understanding of the importance of supporting and

understanding the needs of the student, I could create a hostile environment that would cause the
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student to resent the process instead of creating an educational and transformational experience

for them.

Beyond my work within conduct hearings, the Redhawk Mentors Program is a program I

oversee that offers students a restorative and alternative resolution to the conduct process for

students referred to the Integrity Formation Office. This program is developed through student

development theory of transformative theory and allowing students to engage in critical self-

reflection. Through this critical self-reflection, we hope students will create a sustainable change

of actions and create a support system within their peers who have also engaged in the Integrity

Formation Process.

Ways Theory can be Problematic

Although student development theory can be useful in understanding the student

population, needs, identities, and past experiences, these theories and the research behind them

can be seen as problematic. In particular, thus far in our study of the student development

theories, I have seen a lack of diverse representation of students, institution type, and location of

the universities utilized in the research. Furthermore, the research has left out students that hold

marginalized salient identities; therefore, making it difficult to directly applying the theories to a

large and universal population.

Along with recognizing which students are included and lacking representation within the

research and theories held as essential within the student development communities, it is

important to recognize the biases that may be continued to be expressed and perpetuated

throughout these theories. Some biases that I have recognized that have been reflected within the

theories that we have studied thus far are language surrounding gender, gender identities,
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abilities of students with varying abilities and assuming similar experiences between students

within similar salient identities.

As I grow as a student affairs practitioner and educator, it is important to both recognize

these drawbacks but then create a plan to confront these problematic tendencies. One approach

that I have attempted to utilize in my day-to-day practices and reading of theories is to

understand the limitations and then recognize the where disconnects occur. When encountering

students that may not fit the typical mold of the student development theory, research, and

practice can be manipulated and transformed to fit the needs and experiences of the students we

interact and serve. The students and campuses that are utilized for the research performed to

develop the theories we have studied and covered within our program thus far may seem

exclusive and limiting of the students we have and will encounter within our roles. Furthermore,

I must remain critical of what I read and examine what I feel fits the students I serve and what I

can omit from my practices.

Theories Related to My Values

Community Builder: Astin’s Involvement Theory

Astin’s Involvement Theory engages with the thought that the more students are engaged

and involved in campus activities and opportunities, the more engaged and successful the

students are in their college career. Astin found a direct correlation between the time spent in

involvement and the “student learning and personal development associated with any educational

program” (Patton, L., Renn, K., Guido, F., & Quaye, S., p. 35). Through this theory, researchers

found that involvement can be either at a micro- and/or macro-level within the student's

experience; the importance is that the student is involved and invested in an activity.
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Specifically, Astin defines involvement as an “investment of physical and psychological energy

in various objects (Astin, 519).

This theory found that students that engagement in the college community and campus

events are "prerequisite for student learning and growth” (Patton et al., p. 35). As a student

affairs practitioner, understanding this theory can allow for a direct understanding of what

opportunities to offer and how to engage students in a meaningful and effective manner. Within

the four values I hold tightly in my professional work, the value of community builder directly

applies to Astin’s Involvement Theory. As a community builder, I seek to establish safe spaces

that challenge students to leave their comfort zone and pushes them safely to explore new

environments, thoughts, and experiences. Furthermore, this theory allows designing involvement

where students can continuously learn and grow their personal, educational, and professional

journals.

Currently, the Astin’s Involvement Theory can be applied to my graduate assistant in

Integrity Formation and the alternative resolution process of Redhawk Mentors. Through the

Redhawk Mentors, I help design a mentorship environment for student leaders to become

mentors for students referred to the Integrity Formation Office. Instead of going through a

hearing, students are giving the chance to be involved in an experience that builds community

and a relationship with a fellow student. Students are given an opportunity to learn and connect

within a community setting to restore their relationship with themselves and the greater campus.

Challenger: Baxter Magolda’s Self-Authorship Theory

Baxter Magolda’s self-authorship Theory recognizes the development of a student's

journey towards self-authorship of their journey. Within this theory, the student encounters four

phases of self-authorship, including: following formulas, crossroads, becoming the author of

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one's life, and internal foundations (Patton et al., pp. 366-368). Throughout this journey, the

students move from following the directions that are laid out for them to discovering the need to

create their own plan. From this point the student faces the external forces that laid out their

pathway to choose which path they face. Lastly, the student is “grounded…in their self-

determined belief system, in their sense of who they are, and in the mutuality of their

relationships” (Patton et al., p. 368). Through this journey of self-authorship, students journey

from following other’s path to understand which path and views they connect with through

determination and reflection.

The value of challenger aligns with Baxter Magolda’s Self Authorship Theory through

the opportunity of challenging students to reflect and understand which values and pathways

belong to their family or community values to reflect their own voices and path ultimately. As a

conduct administrator, I challenge students to reflect on their actions to understand the

dissonance between the actions and their values. Do they hold merit to these values? Who taught

them this value? Do they agree with it? If not, I challenge students to recognize what values

where taught to them and how to create a path towards their own voice. Rather than just

accepting their paths as written by others, I hope to continue to challenge students throughout my

career in student development to create their own voice and path in their life.

Social Justice Advocate: Rowe, Bennett, and Atkinson’s White Racial Consciousness Model

The White Racial Consciousness Model examines “’one’s awareness of being White and

what that implies in relation to those who do not share White group membership’ (Rowe et al.,

1994, pp. 133-134)” (Patton et al., p. 103). Within this model there are two “types” of attitudes

that White individuals hold, including “unachieved White racial consciousness and achieved

White racial consciousness” (Patton et al., p. 104). These two kinds of attitudes are fluid and
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individuals may transition to different attitudes due to a variety of experiences. Rowe et al. state

that the transition between the two types of attitudes are formed from an experience of

dissonance. Within the unachieved White racial consciousness, individuals can hold three

attitudes: avoidant, dependent, and dissonant, while individuals within achieved White racial

consciousness hold attitudes including: dominative, conflictive, reactive, and integrative (Patton

et al., p. 104). The aspect that I believe to most valuable and important within the achieved

White racial consciousness, is the integrative racial attitudes. Through this attitude, individuals

recognize the harm and consequences of living in a society that has realized on racialized.

Many values I hold align with the White Racial Consciousness Model. As a white, cis-

gender educator, I feel that it is essential to my values and mission to be aware of the privileges

that I hold within a campus community. Furthermore, it would be a disservice to the students I

work alongside if I did not acknowledge the space that white co-workers and students take up in

the educational field. The value that most closely aligns with this theory is my value of social

justice advocate. If I truly claim to yearn for a community that strives for equity and social

justice, I must recognize how my privileges are intersected with my Whiteness and establish a

consciousness around this awareness. Rather than just recognizing my Whiteness, this model and

my value of social justice advocate calls for me to work towards understand the “complexities

associate with race,” “come to terms with being white,” while working and “commitment to

social change” (Patton et al., p. 105).

Empathy: Yosso Community Cultural Wealth Model

Within the Seattle University Student Development Administration program, there is a

large emphasis on Yosso’s Cultural Community Wealth Model. This model emphasizes the need

for student affairs professionals and faculty to recognize the cultural community wealth that
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students bring with them onto campus. Not only does it recognize numerous areas of wealth

students bring onto campus, but it also calls practitioner to practice awareness with students that

do not arrive to campus with the privilege of cultural wealth that universities typically expect to

be developed within students. Yosso’s “acknowledges class-based notions of inequality, but also

recognizes the intersecting nature of classism and racism in society” (Patton et al., p. 253).

Within this model, Yosso utilizes the critical race theory to not only recognize the areas where

students lack cultural community wealth, but to rather resist the society that “ignores the values

and culture that working-class and low-income students take along as they enter college” (Patton

et al., p. 253).

The cultural community wealth model reflects a significant number of my values;

however, the value of empathy most closely aligns with this approach to understanding and

creating welcoming environments for students within the higher education system. The

statement within the theory that aligns closely with empathy is the notion that students may enter

campus communities with the cultural wealthy of resistant capital wealth. This form of capital

wealth states that many students enter campus or endure resilience within their journey of higher

education with paths filled with resilience. This recognizes the disruption of “the dominant and

debilitating narratives that threaten communities of color” (Patton et al., p. 255). This narrative

calls for leaders to listen to the narratives of students with empathy and grace to help empower

students and help them navigate their experiences. With the value of empathy, I am able to

understand the knowledge and experiences students bring with them to campus, but also assist

students by connecting them to the necessary resources to endure their college experience.

Conclusion
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Throughout this course, I have been able to gain a greater perspective on the research and

theories that direct student development practitioners. Instead of leading by only my values, I

have gained the language and knowledge to reflect and align these tenets of my practice to direct

theories. Through my journey of becoming an educator, my values and beliefs will continue to

grow and develop. However, I hope to stay grounded in these social justice and student focused

values and theories.

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References

Astin, A. (1999). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of

College Student Development, 40(5), 518-529.

Patton, L., Renn, K., Guido, F., & Quaye, S. (2016). Student Development inCollege: Theory

rd
Research, and Practice (3 edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Salter, S. (2020). Philosophy paper phase 1: Perspectives on the purpose of education.

Unpublished paper, Seattle University.

Yosso, T.J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? As critical race discussion of community cultural

wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1).