Positive turning points touch upon the essence of education. They epitomize its power and reflect its core agenda: maximizing human capital. Paradoxically, previous studies have not looked into this important phenomenon. The current exploratory study fills this lacuna by building on extensive empirical research of key educational experiences to…

Research on historical cognition has capitalized on developing the thought processes of expert historians in students. Biofunctional theory points to several limitations to this approach: (a) developing from novice to expert is probably not a direct process; (b) developing expertise requires more time than the historical thinking approach…

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of university housing construction type on psychosocial development of first-year students. Data were collected at a large, four-year, public, research university in the Southeast using the Student Development Task and Lifestyle Assessment. The population considered for this study consisted of…

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) promotes standards to enhance opportunities for student learning and development from higher education programs and services. Responding to the increased shift in attention being paid by educators and their stakeholders from higher education inputs (i.e., standards and…

Ever since eighth grade the author was deeply interested in his own education at a self-conscious level, wondering how he could find out educationally what human life was all about and how he should live his life. In this article, the author provides a self-portrait of his intellectual life. He contends that philosophy of education, as educational…

Contributors to this special issue have been asked to provide self-portraits of their intellectual lives and to consider the development of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) as an organisation. The author approaches this task by keeping the autobiographical details to a minimum and focusing more on the prospects for…

In this article, the author provides a self-portrait of his intellectual life. He states that overall his approach to teaching and researching is about "making sense" where inadequate or incongruous conceptions fall into place or are transformed so they are congruous and adequate. In his teaching the author applies the methods of…

This monograph seeks to inform faculty, staff, administrators, and students about the nature of and structure in doctoral programs that lead to doctoral student development. It is accomplished through succeeding chapters, focusing first on an overview of existing student development theory and then on the structure of doctoral education and its…

The middle level years are a crucial time for student development, a time when the path for school success is set for many students. Educators who focus on character and leadership development realize that training in these areas can play a significant role in developing students who will become effective leaders and active citizens in middle…

Some implications of research presented are: (1) need for clear division of counselor functions, (2) responsibility of training programs to prepare counselors to function at high level of facilitation conditions as well as to specify their ability to do so. (CJ)

This paper discusses the background and key findings of a two-year Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded mixed-method research project (2006-2008) which was designed, within the context of university internationalisation, to provide an investigation of the experiences of first-year international students during their undergraduate…

The Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) and the field of philosophy of education seemed like a natural junction in this author's life. They provided a means by which he could begin to think about the relations between education and his own experiences as a student and teacher, and philosophy. Peters has been editor of…

The results of this study on evaluation of coed residence halls, indicate that a coed hall can lead to an entirely different environment, one that is a contributing factor in positive student development. This paper was presented at the APGA Convention, Chicago, Illinois, 1972. (JC)

The student life studies described proved to have a positive impact, particularly in moving towards the goal of developing a climate of awareness on the campus so that students, faculty and administration may together understand more clearly the variables in the university learning environment. (Author)

Suggests that the notion of ego development provides the educator with a conceptual framework for viewing the affective and cognitive domains as they exist in the wholeness of the real world. Compares theories of Loevinger, Piaget, and Kohlberg. Concludes that it is impossible to speak objectively about "truth." (Author/BRR)