Maureen E. Wilson

The Sociology of the Classroom and Its Influence on Student Learning

learning on college campuses. Recognizing that learning hinges on student experiences both within and outside the classroom, educators need to commit to build a campus community that maximizes student learning (Boyer, 1987; Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Gabelnick, MacGregor, Matthews, & Smith, 1990; Study Group on the Conditions of Excellence in American Higher Education, 1984; Watson & Stage, 1999). By considering the classroom environment itself as a community setting, this article provides a view of the classroom through a sociological lens. We focus on what social factors either advance or inhibit student learning. Considering how social factors affect the teaching and learning exchange between faculty and students and among peers in a classroom enables educators to address structural inequities and promote learning for students of varying backgrounds.

Development of Professional Identity Through Socialization in Graduate School

Abstract Professional identity is one outcome of successful socialization. The purpose of this study was to understand how socialization in graduate programs contributes to the development of professional identity for new professionals in student affairs. Via survey, we found significant relationships between program qualities, standards, activities, and experiences and measures of professional identity. Out-of-class experiences were perceived to have a stronger influence than in-class experiences. Implications for graduate preparation programs and supervisors are discussed.

Learning Partnerships: Theory and Models of Practice to Educate for Self-Authorship (review)

JULY/AUGUST 2005 ◆ VOL 46 NO 4 453 (p. 9). In other words, good arguing produces good citizens. These messages should resonate for student affairs administrators. And although Clueless in Academe is targeted primarily for a faculty audience, Graff ’s philosophy for improving student learning creates space for student affairs to join in the conversation too. For example, his suggestion of tapping students’ hidden intellectualism in order to facilitate learning opens the academic world of analysis and discourse to the possibility of including experiences and conflicts that exist in the student affairs world as well. This could have implications both inside and outside the classroom. Faculty could encourage students to focus specifically upon a conflict relevant to student affairs and/or students’ out-ofclassroom lives within course assignments designed to develop skills in academic discourse. In turn, student affairs administrators could challenge students to approach conflicts and differences in their out-of-classroom lives using the same skills and rigor of analysis and discourse that they practice in their academic lives. Such experiences could help to blur the distinctions between students’ in-class and outof-class worlds, creating a more seamless learning environment. Clueless in Academe certainly is not a panacea for the challenges surrounding student learning, but the ideas presented in this book are provocative. At a time when we are searching for ways to bring coherence to the academic experience, organizing student learning around a central theme, such as academic discourse, may offer one powerful starting point for integrating learning contexts, efforts and outcomes.

Socialization to Student Affairs: Early Career Experiences Associated With Professional Identity Development

In this study, the authors propose and test a model of professional identity development among early career student affairs professionals. Using survey data from 173 new professionals (0–5 years of experience), factor analysis revealed 3 dimensions of professional identity: commitment, values congruence, and intellectual investment. Multivariate analyses found significant associations of age, master’s program characteristics, and influential people and experiences (e.g., interactions with professional colleagues and associations) with the dimensions of professional identity. Findings indicated key socialization experiences during and after graduate school were associated with the development of professional identity. The authors conclude with recommendations for practice and research.

The Contributions of Student Affairs to a Liberal Education: Three Imperative Questions

What is the purpose of undergraduate education? What should be taught or learned in college? Who should teach? Reflections on these three questions lead to recommendations for student affairs practitioners as they consider their roles in contributing to the education of students. The goals of a liberal education are congruent with the goals of student affairs. Student learning and engagement can be enriched when student affairs professionals collaborate with faculty to facilitate challenging encounters that empower students, liberate them, and cultivate their sense of social responsibility.

Restorative Justice on the College Campus: Promoting Student Growth and Responsibility, and Reawakening the Spirit of Campus Community

MAY/JUNE 2006 ◆ VOL 47 NO 3 355 seamless environment of in and out of classroom learning. This consistency in learning objectives across in-class and out-ofclass environments well may be the type of “meaningful, reciprocal, and responsive partnership” described by Magolda (2005) elsewhere in that same issue of About Campus. The assessment movement grew out of a need to provide evidence of student learning and development to students, legislators, parents, family members and other interested stakeholders. Some circumstances require that evidence to be scores from psychometrically rigorous instruments, sometimes developed by national vendors. Other circumstances may be well-served by locally-constructed measures of student achievement, particularly those that provide students themselves with indicators of the manner and degree to which they are mastering intended learning outcomes. Rubrics provide an excellent type of locallyconstructed measure that can capture the nuances of a given institution and its learning and development objectives for students. That said, rubrics demand an “up front,” informed articulation of learning and development objectives, whether that measure is used in or out of the classroom. Attention to learning objectives – and to student achievement of those objectives – is precisely the impetus for much of assessment. Rubrics offer a solid approach to assessment that can be tailored for local circumstances, preserving rigor and accountability, but allowing and supporting the uniqueness of each campus and the learning and development intended by its student affairs division. In short, rubrics offer student affairs professionals an opportunity to capture the nuances of student learning and development. Keeling (2004) noted, “We have come to understand that learning is far more rich and complicated than some of our predecessors realized when they distinguished and separated learning from student life” (p. 5). Rubrics provide us with a way to evaluate and provide feedback on that rich and complicated learning.

Professional identity, career commitment, and career entrenchment of midlevel student affairs professionals

The purposes of this study were to identify factors of midlevel student affairs administrators’ professional identity and to examine the association of those factors to career commitment, career entrenchment, and demographic characteristics. Principal axis factor analysis derived 3 dimensions of professional identity: career contentment, community connection, and values congruence with the profession. Regression analyses conducted on 377 survey responses revealed that 3 of 4 demographic characteristics, all 3 career commitment subscales, and all 3 career entrenchment subscales were significantly associated with at least 1 of the professional identity subscales. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Identifying Inviolable Behavioral Norms of Campus Housing and Residence Life Professionals

Housing and residence life (HRL) administrators who lack knowledge about accepted professional behaviors risk violating normative boundaries, likely jeopardizing themselves or their clients (e.g., students, parents, colleagues). The purpose of this survey study was to understand if a normative structure exists for the administrative role performance of HRL professionals. Findings revealed six inviolable norms, some of which differ by personal and professional characteristics of HRL professionals. The authors offer recommendations to guide practice and research.