Reconceptualizing student development theory through university-school partnerships
Description
TitleReconceptualizing student development theory through university-school partnerships
Date Created2019
Other Date2019-10 (degree)
Extent1 online resource (ix, 102 pages)
DescriptionCollege student development theories are often limiting in that they often do not consider the totality or context of an individual or the intersection of a student’s multiple experiences and identities. While the years a student spends in higher education are developmentally significant, college student development theories ought to consider development as part of a larger continuum or pipeline. The educational pipeline in the United States largely operates as disparate self-contained silos between primary, secondary, and higher education. However, in order to support transitional and developmental processes, universities and local school districts can develop collaborative partnerships in order to create a more continuous educational and developmental pipeline from high school through vocation, and to ensure students can dedicate greater energies to learning than to aspiration, transition, and persistence. This reconceptualization can enable college aspiration, allow for higher education access for underserved students, ease college transition, and augment persistence and completion.
In reconceptualizing Student Development Theory, and in understanding the efficacy of university-school partnerships, this study examined how students experienced the Rutgers Future Scholars program, and what aspects of the program best helped them prepare for the college experience (from the application and transition processes, through persistence), and how they perceived their likelihood of achieving success in college. Structured interviews were conducted with 21 participants at Rutgers University who completed the Rutgers Future Scholars program and are currently in their first or final years of college. The data showed that the students perceived benefits from the pipeline model that provided, among other things, academic preparation, skills development, mentoring, financial assistance, admissions counseling, and transition assistance.
NoteEd.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses, ETD doctoral
LanguageEnglish
CollectionGraduate School of Education Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.