Education Commons^™

Connecting And Developing Through Facebook: An Exploration Of Impact On College Women, Christine R. Sharry

Doctoral Dissertations

Social media continues to change global society, while providing the opportunity to access information, but also build and sustain relationships with others. These online tools have become a part of everyday life (Greenwood et al., 2016) and have an impact on the way people interact, connect, and learn from one another. College students today have been surrounded by social media since elementary school (Alquist, 2017). Therefore, college administrators and faculty need to understand the impact of these online tools on students’ learning and development to ensure their success. All foundational student development theories were created when digital environments were non-existent. …

Developing A Healthy Masculinities Program On A University Campus, David A. Scott, Freeman Woolnough, Tony W. Cawthon

New York Journal of Student Affairs

Amid increased concerns about mental health, sexual violence, and substance use among college students, college campuses are looking toward developing targeted programming to help counteract these concerning trends. This practitioner paper highlights the development and impacts of a program at a Canadian institution, which focuses on healthy masculinity and identity development. Although still in the early stages, the feedback and observations are indicative of the powerful potential of this type of programming to improve healthy masculinity on college campuses.

People Look At You A Little Bit Differently: Self-Authorship And The Homegoing Experiences Of First-Generation College Students Of Color, Michelle Boettcher, Stacy Dillard, Kimbell Dobbins, Keenan Jones, Nick Lang, Hailey Palmer, Esther Philip, Kierra Richmond, Dylan Wilkes, Wen Xi

New York Journal of Student Affairs

First-generation college (FGC) students represent 56% of college students in the United States (RTI International, 2019). Studies on the role FGC family in students’ campus experiences by Covarrubias et al. (2015) along with Orbe’s (2008) work on the role of culture in FGC identity development provide a foundation for understanding FGC experiences. The role of FGC self-authorship (Carpenter & Peña, 2017) on campus also helps support FGC student success. Unexamined are FGC students’ homegoing experiences in their communities of origin. This study helps fill a void in the literature about FGC students’ experiences in their home communities through the voices …

An Exploration Of The Identity And Career Development Of African American Women In Higher Education Leadership: Does Hair Style Make A Difference?, Yasmine Osir Farley

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

African American women, a group that endures the intersectionality of being both a woman and an African American, have many obstacles in their path as they advance in their career. Despite the strides that have been made in America to improve things for women and people of color, the interwoven societal standards of beauty do not include African American women. This standard of beauty affects women in that no matter how intelligent they are, looks play an important part in their professional life. For African American women, hair is a large part of who they are and how others perceive …

Making Meaning: Identity Development Of Black Undergraduate Women, Christa J. Porter, Laura A. Dean

Dr. Christa J Porter

Investing In Grindr: An Exploration Of How Gay College Men Utilize Gay-Oriented Social Networking Sites, Michael T. Dodge

Doctoral Dissertations

The use of social networking sites appears to be a dominant fixture in the lives of college students. Recent studies estimate that over 94% of traditionally aged college students utilize social networking sites (Matney, Borland, & Cope, 2006; Salaway, Katz, Caruso, Kvavik, & Nelson, 2007: Smith & Caruso, 2010). College students’ near universal adoption and use of social networking sites is having a significant impact on how they develop identity and interact with others (Lloyd, Dean, & Cooper, 2007; Martínez Alemán & Lynk Wartman, 2009; Torres, Jones, & Renn, 2009). Studies have explored the impact of gender differences on social …

Exploring The Multiple Dimensions Of Intelligence Identity In High-Achieving Students, Amy A. Holland

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the important elements reported by second-year undergraduates at Midwestern University (MU) as they renegotiated their intelligence identity of being the smart one. The five participants were members of the 2012-2013 first-year cohort of Jumpstart Business Community (JBC). Per inclusion in JBC, the students identified as high-achieving students and/or were classified as accelerated learners in high school. The reconceptualized model of multiple dimensions of identity from Abes, Jones, and McEwen (2007) informed this study in the examination of renegotiation of the intelligence identity.

The main research question of this study was what …

Conceptualizing Identity Development: Unmasking The Assumptions Within Inventories Measuring Identity Development, Christy D. Moran

Christy Moran Craft

The purpose of this qualitative research was to analyze the dimensions and manifestations of identity development embedded within commonly used instruments measuring student identity development. To this end, a content analysis of ten identity assessment tools was conducted to determine the assumptions about identity development contained therein. Findings suggest the importance of determining and assessing all dimensions and manifestations of identity development.

Nourishing And Thwarting Effects Of Contextual Influences Upon Multiple Dimensions Of Identity: Does Gender Matter?, Christy D. Moran

Christy Moran Craft

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate possible gender differences in the nature and role of the contextual influences (events, experiences, and relationships) that shape multiple dimensions of identity during college. Fifteen college alumni used lifelines to document their identity-shaping experiences during college; two interviews were conducted with each of these alumni. Findings suggest the existence of gender differences in the following areas: types of contextual influences that shape identity during college, reactions to those contextual influences, and attributions of salience to various identity dimensions.