Running Head: SELF-AUTHORSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Self-Authorship Development During the Collegiate Journey

Khyla Breland
Northern Illinois University
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Self-Authorship Development

Higher Education consists of three major foundational theory waves that explains the

development of college students. The first wave assumes that development is sequential for

students and that one must achieve one set of developmental patterns to get to the next. It

explains that all students have the same developmental growth experience throughout college,

leaving no room for individualized factors. It also puts emphasis on age by assuming that

students do not have the ability to develop in ways due to how young they are. The second

wave introduces the individualized factors that the first wave doesn’t include. It foregrounds

social identities such as race, sexuality, and gender to show how they play a part in student

development [ CITATION Abe16 \l 1033 ]. The second wave acknowledges that students have

different developmental experiences which shapes their identities. It also introduces the

importance of group memberships and how forming relationships aids development. The third

wave differs from self-authorship and first wave theories because it requires, “attention to

larger structures of inequality, and the necessity of meaningfully integrating theory and practice

through praxis to promote social justice” [ CITATION Jon19 \l 1033 ]. The third wave is more

advanced because it focuses on shifting normalized ideologies as it pertains to student

development.

Self-authorship is a second wave development theory created by Baxter Magolda that

discusses three major dimensions: cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal. The dimensions

answer the questions: Who am I, How do I know and How am I in relationships with others?

[ CITATION Piz \l 1033 ]. Self-authorship also includes four phases: following external formulas,

crossroads, becoming an author of one’s life, and internal foundation. This developmental
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theory belongs to the second wave because it emphasizes individual collegiate experiences that

forms identities. It differs from the first wave theories because it gives room for external

factors.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the second wave theory, self-authorship as it

relates it to my college development. I will discuss the four phases of self-authorship, the

dimensions related to it, and compare my personal student development experience. Then I

will discuss the applications of this theory and the limitations it has for students while they are

developing. I will conclude the paper by summarizing the analysis of my college experiences

and connect it to the second wave theory.

Phase 1: Following external formulas

Being knowledgeable of identities requires some self-seeking. Self-seeking typically

begins by looking through the lens of others and their views. Following external formulas

includes listening to voices that are not internal, taking others word as truth, and understanding

knowledge through outside sources. Students that follow external formulas also view

relationships as hierarchical, meaning they view authorities as knowers [ CITATION Piz \l 1033 ]. If

authorities are knowers, they can define students and plan the path they take throughout

college. Students in phase one have little self-awareness, as this phase is typically in the

beginning of students’ collegiate journey. This phase brings up two dimensions of self-

authorship: interpersonal and intrapersonal as it acknowledges the formation of identity

through relationships with others. My experience in phase one consisted of me allowing my

friends to define my identity at the beginning of college. At the beginning of college I didn’t
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know what I wanted to major in, or be involved with and who I wanted to be around. I allowed

others to guide me in different directions because I was unaware of my goals and aspirations. I

hung out with people who ended up not being my friends when I graduated. I allowed my peers

to make assumptions about my character which caused me to engage in excessive partying not

focusing on important aspects of college and be undedicated. I was listening to upper classmen

because I saw them as knowers since they experienced college longer than I have. I allowed

their perspective of college to teach me how to navigate college and was naïve in the sense that

I believed everything they said. This reflects self-authorship’s first phase because of my

experience of letting others take control of the path to my college experience. I was dependent

on others to educate me because I viewed their experiences as the overall truth.

Phase 2: Crossroads

For a student to fully understand their identity, they must overcome crossroads they

face in the process. Crossroads is when a student is becoming dissatisfied with what others

have planned for them. They are no longer trusting the knowledge of authorities or peers and

are beginning to have conflicts. Students are finding that following authorities are not helpful to

their development while navigating through college, but do not have the skills to act on this

intuition. I experienced going through crossroads when I was recommended to go on a week-

long leadership trip called Leader Shape that consisted of workshops geared to help students

develop leadership skills. Two facility leaders led the agenda and workshops that students

participated in and in many of the workshops, offensive language was used towards students’

identities. I came to a crossroad when students who attended the program began to share their

concerns with authorities and were shut down. Their voices were silenced and unappreciated
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when the facility leaders used many defense mechanisms to deflect from the issue. These

leaders did not put students and their feelings in the center and continued with the program as

if people were not harmed. This is when I began to question authorities, their motives and their

knowledge. I was no longer certain that information I have been given was truth but did not

know how to question it. I was not bold enough to challenge these authorities, as I thought

doing so would cause me to be penalized.

Phase 3: Becoming the Author of One’s Life

Becoming the author of one’s life allows students to advocate for themselves and their

beliefs. This is the phase of self-authorship where students are developing who they are by

understanding what they stand for. This phase consists of the cognitive dimension of the self-

authorship theory as students are beginning to know why they think the way they do. I became

an author of my own life when I ran for Illinois State University’s Student Government

Association and while I held the position as senator in the organization. History was made the

year I was elected due to six Black students being sworn in, which was the most Black students

Illinois State University has ever had on SGA. This caused a lot of backlash from others who did

not support this, and I became an author of my life when I began to embrace who I was as a

Black woman in predominately white spaces. I began to have a stronger sense of identity and

started to advocate for myself and others who looked like me. I realized that I no longer cared

about abiding by social rules or by being politically correct. While in my position on SGA I

challenged administrators of the university to think outside of the traditional institutionalized

norms that were placed in order to keep certain populations held back, which gave me more

control over my life as well as understanding my identity.

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Phase 4: Internal Foundation

By the time a student finishes the final phase of self-authorship, they must be

“grounded in their self-determined belief system, in their sense of who they are, and the

mutuality of their relationships” [ CITATION Sel11 \l 1033 ]. Students in this phase are trusting

their internal voice without doubt and know how they want to be in relationships with others. I

began this phase of internal foundation when I became grounded in my beliefs by protesting on

campus. There were many things happening at my institution that made students feel excluded

and devalued, which caused me to protest. I led a protest called Take A Knee in response to

Kaepernick’s situation with the NFL to bring awareness to the student body of instances when

Blacks are not allowed to vocalize views that were different than the white majority. I also

decided to put the Black Lives Matter flag in the center of the university’s quad after students

did hateful acts towards people of color after Trump was elected. Illinois State University does

not have a multicultural center and after voicing many concerns to administrators, I planned an

event that mocked what a multicultural center should look like on a campus. I incorporated

many cultures by having books, flags that belonged to certain marginalized populations, food

from many cultures, and had cultural performances. Doing these acts of protests was my way of

being grounded in the belief systems I hold and caused me to be knowledgeable on the way I

want to be in relationships with individuals that I call my allies.

Limitations and Applications

Magolda’s self-authorship theory assumes that students will develop these three

dimensions and phases during their collegiate journey. It also assumes that students develop at

different paces and show signs of self-authorship at different moments in their lives. To assume
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that students will reach the last phase of self-authorship by graduation is unrealistic, due to

students developing at different rates. Another challenge for achieving self-authorship is that

students are not fully prepared to showcase development. “Explaining why there is so little

movement toward self-authorship during college, suggested the college environment provided

easy access to formulas for success, and so students were not pushed to figure out who they

were, how they knew, or how to be in mutual relationships with others” [ CITATION Piz \l

1033 ].Students are not properly equipped with the tools for self-authorship as they are not

being put into situations for them to be forced into learning about themselves. This suggests

that students are typically given many resources to enable them rather than support, which

allows them to be developmentally delayed in this theory. Another limitation is that the theory

suggests that one phase can’t happen without the other and they must all be completed in

order to achieve self-authorship. This is identical to the first wave theories as Magolda believes

in sequential growth like many other first wave researchers. First wave theories imply that

development must happen during a certain period of a student’s life, which is what the self-

authorship represents. Although there are faults in this theory, I believe it is an essential

concept for students to consider. I will apply this theory in my future student affairs profession

by encouraging students to set goals for themselves and give them space to reflect on who they

are and who they want to be. This will give students a better perspective on what it means to

form identities and how it can help mold them into becoming self-aware.

Conclusion

Second wave theories are more inclusive to individual factors that makes students who

they are. Self-authorship theory illustrates this idea by showcasing a student’s environment in
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college that allows them to be knowledgeable of who they are. The aspects of these

environments could include social identities, class, gender and how they shape students’ overall

identities. During my collegiate journey, I was able to go through the phases of self-authorship

and answer the questions: Who am I? How do I know? How do I want to construct relationships

with others? I understand that many college students do not have the same experience

because they were not pushed to engage in goal setting and reflecting. I also recognize that the

development associated with this theory does not need to be completed upon graduation. In

my future profession in higher education, I will use this theory as a guideline to help students

successfully navigate through college.

References
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Abes, E. H. (2016). Critical and Post structural Perspectives on Self- Authorship. New Directions for
Student Servives , 97-108.

Pizzolato, J. &. (2016). Exploring the Relationship Between The Three Dimensions of Self-Authorship.
Journel of College Student Development, 411-427.

Self- Authorship and Transitions Development. (2011, April 10). Retrieved from Word Press:
https://studentdevelopmenttheory.wordpress.com/self-authorship-and-transitions/