Marcia B. Baxter Magolda

A Developmental Model of Intercultural Maturity

This article focuses on the development of intercultural maturity, which is frequently cited as a desired collegiate outcome. We position our work on intercultural maturity in the context of a holistic approach to human development using Kegans (1994) model as a foundation and relating this outcome to other collegiate learning outcomes. We introduce a multidimensional framework that describes the development of intercultural maturity. We first explicate the three dimensions of the framework, link these to existing theory and research on student development and intercultural competence, and then illustrate the developmental levels of the framework using examples from interviews with college students.

Three Elements of Self-Authorship

This article describes three distinct yet interrelated elements of self-authorship: trusting the internal voice, building an internal foundation, and securing internal commitments. These elements, which emerged from longitudinal interviews with adults in their 30s, offer insights into the complexity and cyclical nature of self-authorship as well as provide guidance for how educators can assist college students in developing their internal voices to meet the challenges of adult life.

Reconstructing Latino Identity: The Influence of Cognitive Development on the Ethnic Identity Process of Latino Students

The influence of cognitive development on ethnic identity development is investigated in the context of a qualitative longitudinal study of Latina/o college students. Findings indicate that when students reconstruct social knowledge their ethnic identity is positively influenced. Strategies and mechanisms for positively influencing identity development are discussed within a holistic development framework.

Identity and Learning: Student Affairs' Role in Transforming Higher Education

Learning is . . . like a starfish. You read something, and you are like, “I don’t know what that is.” So that sends you— you start in the center and suddenly you are going out in every different direction to try to really step back and take a look at the whole picture. When I was first learning [oncology], I sold a growth factor that is used in a variety of cancers with a variety of different [chemotherapies] so it’s the best thing to be selling when you are learning oncology because you really do have to get a great big overview. Now with my specialty, I know a lot about leukemia, specifically acute leukemia, and some other hematological issues. So I understand blood and how when things aren’t working in your marrow what happens. It’s just being responsible that when you read something and it mentions something and you don’t know what it is about, you have to do more research. So that you know you get the full gist of it. And it’s always changing. It’s been a great journey and it’s been very fulfilling work. —Gwen Gwen described the kind of learning college educators espouse—taking responsibility to explore what one does not understand, working to see the big picture, realizing that knowledge evolves, and viewing learning as an ongoing process. Gwen’s perspective on learning stemmed from her commitment to helping medical personnel treat cancer patients as effectively as possible—work she finds personally fulfilling. A participant in a 15-year longitudinal study of young adult learning and development (Baxter Magolda, 1992, 2001), Gwen expressed this perspective at age 32. Gwen’s ability to identify personally fulfilling work hinged on a shift that she, like most of her peers in the longitudinal project, experienced during her 20s. It was a shift from accepting knowledge from authorities to constructing knowledge herself, made possible by a shift from defining herself through others’ perceptions to defining herself based on internally constructed values (Baxter Magolda, 2001). Similarly, Sharon Parks asserted that between the ages of 17 and 30 a distinctive mode of making meaning emerges that “includes: (a) becoming critically aware of one’s own composing of reality, (b) self-consciously participating in an ongoing dialogue toward truth, and (c) cultivating a capacity to respond—to act—in ways that are satisfying and just” (2001, p. 6). Gwen became critically aware of her role in composing reality, was dedicated to participating in finding new cancer treatments, and wanted to act in ways

Helping Students Make Their Way to Adulthood: Good Company for the Journey.

By the time they graduate from college, most students still have not achieved the kind of self-authorship that would allow them to think independently, make choices, and pursue their dreams. What can we do to help them develop this capacity before they graduate so they can make the most of their college experience? One way, says the author, is to be better company.

Cognitive learning & personal development: A false dichotomy

If cognitive learning and personal development are indeed intertwined as experts suggest, then why does higher education persist in keeping them separate? Here are some ideas on how to bring them together.

Long Strides on the Journey Toward Self-Authorship: Substantial Developmental Shifts in College Students' Meaning Making

This article reports on a study that examined the subset of qualitative cases in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education where students experienced substantial self-authorship shifts over the first three college years (N = 30 students, 90 narratives). Engagement in experiences and roles demanding more sophisticated, internal meaning making promoted substantial developmental shifts.

Using Mixed Methods to Study First-Year College Impact on Liberal Arts Learning Outcomes.

This study details the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data from a national multi-institutional longitudinal mixed methods study of college impact and student development of liberal arts outcomes. The authors found three sets of practices in the quantitative data that corroborated with the themes that emerged from the qualitative data: academic challenge, diversity experiences, and supportive relationships aided the transition in the first year. The authors discuss these relationships and their mechanisms for fostering student learning in the first year of college.

Decreasing Authority Dependence During the First Year of College

Annual interviews with 228 students at 6 diverse campuses in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education reveal 123 students’ developmental growth away from authority dependence between the beginning of the first and second years of college. In the first year of college, 86% of participants relied solely on external authorities to define their beliefs, identity, and relationships. At the start of their second year, 57% relied solely on external authorities. We used students’ narratives about the effect of their academic, cocurricular, and personal learning experiences to map the nature of their journeys out of authority dependence and toward self-authorship.

Promoting Self-Authorship to Promote Liberal Education

Contemporary college learning outcomes such as critical thinking and intercultural maturity require transformative learning. Self-authorship–the capacity to internally generate one’s beliefs, values, identity, and relationships–is a necessary foundation for transformational learning. This essay describes the evolution of self-authorship and the conditions that promote it based on a 22-year study of adult learning and development. Learning partnerships model how to promote self-authorship and enable learners to take charge of their learning.Contemporary college learning outcomes such as critical thinking and intercultural maturity require transformative learning. Self-authorship–the capacity to internally generate one’s beliefs, values, identity, and relationships–is a necessary foundation for transformational learning. This essay describes the evolution of self-authorship and the conditions that promote it based on a 22-year study of adult learning and development. Learning partnerships model how to promote self-authorship and enable learners to take charge of their learning.