Jane Elizabeth Pizzolato

Moving Toward Self-Authorship: Investigating Outcomes of Learning Partnerships

This qualitative study investigates how the Learning Partnerships Model (LPM; Baxter Magolda, 2001, 2004a) could be operationalized in the context of an academic advising retention program. The findings focus on what epistemological outcomes emerge for students who entered the program as formula followers. Findings suggest that although students likely will not self-author in one semester, there are specific changes (e.g., beliefs, cognitive interdependence, and affect regulation) that emerge as precursors to subsequent self-authorship development.

Ethnic Identity, Epistemological Development, and Academic Achievement in Underrepresented Students

Through 2 related studies, we investigated the relation ethnic identity, epistemological development, and achievement among students of color. Findings suggest that the three variables are related, with ethnic identity and epistemological development together contributing to explaining variance in college GPA almost as well as a combination of SAT score and high school grade point average. Findings regarding the two developmental processes are summarized.

Parent Involvement: Investigating the Parent-Child Relationship in Millennial College Students

There is evidence of a surge in parent involvement in postsecondary education, and some scholarship suggests that this high level of parent involvement may inhibit epistemological development. Despite these claims, there is little empirical evidence on the level or impact of parent involvement during the college years. The aim of this research was to understand the level and type of college student initiated parent involvement. Results suggest that, although the majority of participants did not involve their parents in decision making, many participants did, but the type of parent involvement ranged from confrontation to thinking about parental expectations. Epistemological orientation was not related to level of parent involvement but did predict type of parent involvement. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Understanding the Epistemology of Ethnic Identity Development in Multiethnic College Students.

We examined the nuances of multiethnic identity in 22 self-identifying mixed ethnic college students ranging from 17 years of age to 27 years of age via semistructured interviews. Majority of the sample was predominantly female. The participants were recruited from two institutions in a metropolitan area of the Eastern United States. Results suggest an expansion of the definition of situational identity (Renn, 2000) and a triplaned understanding of ethnic identity development and assessment in relation to epistemology for this population.

Purpose Plus: Supporting Youth Purpose, Control, and Academic Achievement.

Research in the past decade suggests that a persistent achievement gap between students from low-income minority backgrounds and higher-income white backgrounds may be rooted in theories of student motivation and youth purpose. Yet limited research exists regarding the role of purpose on positive youth development as it pertains to academic achievement. Using a sample of 209 high school students, this study examines the effectiveness of an intervention designed to promote purpose development and internal control over academic success in high school students from a low-socioeconomic-status community. Findings reveal that a short-term intervention was effective in significantly increasing internal control over academic success and purpose in life for students participating in the intervention group. In addition, analysis of academic achievement for students who experienced positive gains in internal control and purpose demonstrates significant gains in academic achievement as measured by grade point average. Implications are made for further study of internal control and life purpose as a means of academic intervention in the effort to address the achievement gap.

Understanding Context: Cultural, Relational, & Psychological Interactions in Self-Authorship Development

Existing research points toward dissonance as the primary catalyst in self-authorship development. This study investigated the cultural relevance of current conceptions of dissonances role in self-authorship development. A total of 166 participants of color were recruited from three large public research universities from different regions in the United States. The results of our qualitative study suggest two kinds of dissonance lead to self-authorship development: Identity dissonance and relationship dissonance, and that type of dissonance experienced impacts developmental pathways. The implications of our results suggest that there is a need to further specify the current understandings of the catalysts and processes involved in self-authorship development.

Student Development, Student Learning: Examining the Relation Between Epistemologic Development and Learning

Within the college student development literature, epistemologic development has been studied in the context of academic learning and outside of this context. However, investigation into if and how epistemologic development relates to academic behaviors and outcomes rarely has been studied. This study uses quantitative measures to explore the relationship between epistemologic development and academic performance as well as epistemologic development and academic behaviors and beliefs of high-risk students. Results indicated that a positive correlation existed between epistemologic development and academic achievement (grade point average [GPA]), but that the more explanatory relationship was in the relation between epistemologic development and achievement behaviors.

Which Box(es) Do I Check? Investigating College Students' Meanings behind Racial Identification.

Abstract How students racially identify continues to be critical for tracking and monitoring disparities in a number of outcomes. Little is known, however, about the meanings of race students enact when encountering the ubiquitous “race questions” used to operationalize these groups. This mixedmethods study explored college students’ (N = 637) underlying meanings behind racial identification, finding six distinct patterns of racial meanings that provide insight into the fluidity of racial demographics and implications for practice.

Struggling with Self-Study

Through interviews with twenty-nine students who completed an educational psychology class that required self-study, the author investigates the relation between the amount of dissonance students experienced between their schemas for learning and the type of learning required by the course, as well as the type of knowledge the students constructed. Findings suggest that high levels of dissonance were associated with constructing knowledge about themselves as learners that students could transfer to new learning environments. Implications for practice in classes that push students to see learning as student centered are discussed.

Examining the Significance of "Race" in College Students' Identity Within a "Postracial" Era

This qualitative study examines the significance of “race” within the identities of a diverse sample of traditionally aged college students (N = 59) across 2 institutions. Our findings demonstrate that more than half of the participants felt race mattered to their sense of identity, since it was either descriptive of a sense of self provided order within differing contexts, or highlighted inequities. Why race did not seem to matter to the remaining students was explored with 3 resulting frameworks: race-salience and beliefs in a postracial society having the most explanatory value, while racial colorblindness the least. Methodological and theoretical innovations provide the foundation for implications toward complicating notions of race and identity within higher education research and practice.