DIGITAL STUDENT

DEVELOPMENT
PHILOSOPHY

Payton Albrecht
„ B.A. in Middle Childhood-Early Adolescent Urban Education
„ Reject a deficit based model of education
„ Privilege impacts how we navigate through our lives
„ As a Higher Education Educator
„ Empowerment
„ Equity
„ Lifelong Learning
„ Devotion to Global and Diverse Learning

WHAT ARE MY CORE VALUES AS AN

EDUCATOR?
„ Engage with the complex lives of students
„ Keep institutions accountable
„ Provides lens with which to examine needs of increasingly diverse
student populations

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF

STUDENT DEVELOPMENT THEORY?
„ Constructivist perspectives with students
„ Constructivism: “Constructivism is the belief that multiple realities
exist and that knowledge is co-constructed between individuals.
Constructivism allows for the examination of how context shapes
student development” (Abes, 2016, p. 11).
„ Criticalist perspectives of institutions
„ Criticalist Perspective: “The underlying assumption of critical
perspectives is that power and systems of oppression shape reality.
Critical theory calls for a ‘radical restructuring of society toward the
ends of reclaiming historic cultural legacies, social justice, and
redistribution of power and the achievement of truly democratic
societies’” (Abes, 2016, p. 12).

HOW HAS STUDENT DEVELOPMENT THEORY

INFLUENCED HOW YOU THINK ABOUT
YOUR ROLE AS A STUDENT AFFAIRS
EDUCATOR?
„ Validation Theory:
„ “…students feel welcome in these new social and cultural contexts…”
(Locks et al., 2008, p. 259).
„ “affirmation of their (their being first generation students) experiences
may be most vital in the continued success of first-generation students”
(Inkelas et al., 2007, p.426).
„ Self Authorship:
„ “As young adults begin to compose their own realities and recenter into
adult contexts, they renegotiate the relationship of their internal voices
and external influences” (Baxter Magolda, 2009, p. 625).
„ “internal voice becomes the coordinator of external influence” (Baxter
Magolda, 2009, p. 626).

WHAT STUDENT DEVELOPMENT THEORIES

HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY
MEANINGFUL/INFLUENTIAL TO YOU? WHY?
„ How?
„ Past accomplishments
„ Future plans

HOW DO I PLAN TO USE MY STUDENT

DEVELOPMENT THEORY PHILOSOPHY TO
ENHANCE MY WORK AS A STUDENT
AFFAIRS EDUCATOR?
„ Abes, E.S. (2016). Situating paradigms in student development theory. In E.S. Abes (Ed.), Critical
perspectives on student development theory (pp. 9-16). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

„ Baxter Magolda, M.B. (2009). The activity of meaning making: a holistic perspective on college
student development. Journal of college student development, 50(6), 621-639.

„ Inkelas, K.K., Daver, Z.E., Vogt, K.E., Leonard, J.B. (2007). Living-learning programs and first-
generation
college students’ academic and social transition to college*. Research in higher education,
48(4), 403-434.

„ Locks, A.M., Hurtado, S., Bowman, A.N., Osegura, L. (2008). Extending notions of campus
climate and diversity to students’ transition to college. The review of higher education, 31(3),
257-285.

REFERENCES