Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice by Lori D. Patton et al. (review)

Student Development in Collegeprovides a comprehensive overview of student development theory for graduate students and professionals. Each iteration of the text has guided the trajectory of the field, and the release of its 3rd edition is no exception. Patton, Renn, Guido, and Quaye’s edition is a major reworking with substantial additions and revisions. While some departures from established conventions of student development theory may be jarring, as is forewarned by Evans in her preface, this fully reconsidered edition aligns with the contemporary practice of faculty and administrators and serves to advance thought, practice, and inquiry of student affairs.

As with previous editions, readers are provided with a review of student development theory designed for students, faculty, and practitioners. The edition remains a strong introductory text and improves upon the utility of previous iterations of Student Development in Collegeas a reference tool beyond the graduate school classroom. Among the most notable changes from previous editions, readers will find a reorganization in the presentation of student development theories. Departing from the chronological tradition, this edition instead arranges theories according to conceptual and scholarly relevance. Most apparent is the expanded and prioritized attention paid to social identity theory, introduced through critical epistemologies and frameworks. Patton et al. challenge the reader beyond general comprehension of theory, and implores engagement with paradigmatic assumptions and a metacognitive practice of thinking with and about theory.

Divided into four parts, part 1 presents strategies for using and translating student development theory. Chapter 1 prioritizes the development of the reader’s vocabulary, provides historical context, and introduces relevant applications of theory. Chapter 2, a notable expansion in the 3rd edition, engages the significance of world view in student development theory, and surveys a number of epistemological frameworks. Consistent with the edition’s investment in concepts of power, privilege, and oppression, the epistemological survey includes discussion of Critical Race Theory, Black Feminism, Postcolonialism, Poststructuralism, and Queer Theory. Prior to delving into the content of specific theories, in chapter 3 the authors explore applications of student development theory and assert the limitations of and necessity to evaluate theory.

Part 2 is a robust review of social identity development through a comprehensive, complex, and diligent discussion of these theories. Chapter 4 focuses on core concepts of social identity, introducing accessible frameworks for power, privilege, oppression and the assemblage of such factors in Jones and Abes’s revised model of multiple dimensions of identity. Theories of social identity are described as dynamic and interdependent before individually discussing the nuances of specific social identity frameworks in subsequent chapters. Chapter 5 overviews racial identity development, including multiracial identity development. Transitioning to ethnic identity development and acculturation, chapter 6 presents through an array of models the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and societal dynamics of identity and acculturation in a US context. Chapter 7, which concerns sexual identity development, is notably revised in the 3rd edition. While maintaining a specific focus on LGBT exploration and identity, the chapter presents a universal approach to sexual identity development essentially disrupting the bifurcation of queer and heterosexual experiences.

Gender identity development, chapter 8, is reviewed in a manner that problematizes cis-normative relationships of physical sex, gender identity, and gender expression and includes development discussions inclusive of trans* college students. Chapter 9 overviews established faith identity development frameworks including Fowler and Parks with notable inclusions of Astin, Astin, and Lindholm’s scholarship in college student religiosity and emergent theories of Muslim and atheist identity development. Chapter 10 introduces a new emphasis on disability identity development and reviews various historical frameworks through which differently abled people have been conceptualized, concluding with a contemporary and relevant social justice perspective. Chapter 11 also invests new emphasis on social class identity development, providing language and frameworks to articulate and describe diverse class experiences. Consistent with the authors’ commitment to intersectionality...