James P. Barber
College of William and Mary, School of Education, Faculty Member
This chapter examines leadership and social class in the context of fraternities and sororities. With no extensive research in this area, recommendations provided may help educators create a plan to address the intersection of social... more
This chapter examines leadership and social class in the context of fraternities and sororities. With no extensive research in this area, recommendations provided may help educators create a plan to address the intersection of social class, leadership education, and membership in a fraternity or sorority.
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Research Interests:
This directed content analysis examined the relationships between 2 student learning outcomes in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education: intercultural effectiveness and integration of learning. We reexamined data from King,... more
This directed content analysis examined the relationships between 2 student learning outcomes in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education: intercultural effectiveness and integration of learning. We reexamined data from King, Perez, and Shim’s (2013) study of intercultural effectiveness and Barber’s (2012, 2014) studies of integration of learning to determine whether there was a relationship between these 2 outcomes among undergraduate students’ experiences, and the characteristics of those experiences that represented both outcomes. Within our analytic sample, experiences that reflected both outcomes tended to occur within formally structured educational environments (e.g., classes, study abroad) rather than in informal settings. Further examination of the analytical sample revealed that students generally displayed similar levels of complexity among their approaches to intercultural effectiveness and integration of learning within a particular experience. This study also revealed that students tended to reflect upon their marginalized social identities rather than their privileged ones as they integrated their learning. The findings of this research can be used to create more strategic opportunities for learning that promote the achievement of both outcomes, advancing the overarching outcome of fostering wise citizenship.
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43 I n a recent issue of Change (March/April, 2013), Patti McGill Peterson and Robin Matross Helms described the disheartening status of internationalization on American college campuses. Despite internationalization’s being touted as a... more
43 I n a recent issue of Change (March/April, 2013), Patti McGill Peterson and Robin Matross Helms described the disheartening status of internationalization on American college campuses. Despite internationalization’s being touted as a strategic goal in higher education, over the past 15 years little has changed at most colleges. Student learning goals generally lack an international component, faculty members receive little support to work abroad, and several highly publicized global partnerships have failed. Against this backdrop, we describe the internationalization efforts of the College of William and Mary (“the College”), a mid-sized public university in Virginia. At the time of our study, two years ago, we found that while the College was doing better than the national norm, internationalization had yet to be fully realized at either the individual or institutional levels. The American Council on Education (ACE) defines comprehensive internationalization as “a strategic, coordinated process that seeks to align and integrate international policies, programs, and initiatives, and positions colleges and universities as more globally oriented and internationally connected” (2012, p. 3). ACE’s model includes six areas: articulated institutional commitment; administrative structure and staffing; curriculum, co-curriculum, and learning outcomes; faculty policies and practices; student mobility; and collaboration and partnerships (ACE, 2012, p. 4). This framework serves as a rubric to measure institutional progress and success in internationalization. As the second oldest college in the United States, the College of William and Mary has had remarkable staying power, due in large part to its having addressed societal
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To implement an effective approach to design thinking in higher education, it is crucial to move from ideation to prototyping. In the context of the co-curriculum, there is a push toward enhancing how programs and services contribute to... more
To implement an effective approach to design thinking in higher education, it is crucial to move from ideation to prototyping. In the context of the co-curriculum, there is a push toward enhancing how programs and services contribute to student learning. Many educators are working toward strengthening the culture so that learning becomes central to the work of staff. However, the right conditions must exist to anchor the changes so that student learning is not merely a byproduct, but rather is the primary outcome of student engagement in the co-curriculum. In this chapter, the authors address the conditions that help enhance the effective delivery of learning-focused, co-curricular experiences. Through examining eight different institutions, they arrived at six conditions that helped in developing sustainable learning-centered co-curricular programs and services in higher education.
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s International database. Barber, J. P. (2012). Integration of learning: A grounded theory analysis of college students’ learning. American Educational Research Journal, 49(3), 590–617. doi: 10.3102/0002831212437854 Barber, J. P. (2014).... more
s International database. Barber, J. P. (2012). Integration of learning: A grounded theory analysis of college students’ learning. American Educational Research Journal, 49(3), 590–617. doi: 10.3102/0002831212437854 Barber, J. P. (2014). Integration of learning model: How college students integrate learning [Special Section]. New Directions for Higher Education, 2014(165), 1–7. doi: 10.1002/he.20079 Leading Assessment for Student Success : Ten Tenets That Change Culture and Practice in Student Affairs, edited by Rosie Phillips Bingham, et al., Stylus Publishing, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vcu/detail.action?docID=4410188. Created from vcu on 2018-07-30 11:13:23. C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 0 6 . S t y l u s P u b l i s h i n g . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . 36 PHILOSOPHICAL COMMITMENTS Barber, J. P., & Bureau, D. (2012). Coming into focus: Positioning student learning from The Student Personnel Point of View to today. In K. M. Boyle, J. W. L...
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In this article, we describe the internationalization efforts of the College of William and Mary (“the College”), a mid-sized public university in Virginia. At the time of our study, 2014, we found that while the College was doing better... more
In this article, we describe the internationalization efforts of the College of William and Mary (“the College”), a mid-sized public university in Virginia. At the time of our study, 2014, we found that while the College was doing better than the national norm, internationalization had yet to be fully realized at either the individual or institutional levels. As the second oldest college in the United States, the College of William and Mary has had remarkable staying power, due in large part to its having addressed societal changes over time. Recently, it has responded to the demand for colleges to achieve comprehensive internationalization. [Barber, 2nd author]
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Alcohol is a pervasive part of the culture at many colleges and universities. Students often seek to create community by using alcohol, sometimes placing them at risk. Collectively, student affairs practitioners have a strong interest in... more
Alcohol is a pervasive part of the culture at many colleges and universities. Students often seek to create community by using alcohol, sometimes placing them at risk. Collectively, student affairs practitioners have a strong interest in counteracting alcohol culture on college and university campuses.
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Due to the exclusive and traditionally secretive nature of their organizations, fraternity members have long been some of the most scrutinized students on college campuses. In The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities,... more
Due to the exclusive and traditionally secretive nature of their organizations, fraternity members have long been some of the most scrutinized students on college campuses. In The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities, Nicholas Syrett explores the evolution of fraternal organizations and their members from 1825 to present. He employs the concept of masculinity to examine how fraternity men have changed and remained the same over nearly two centuries. As the definition of masculinity has evolved over the past two centuries, so has the way fraternity men see themselves and wish to be seen by others. Syrett is explicitly exclusive in the focus of his book; this is a history of a select subgroup of American Greek-letter organizations: traditionally White, Christian fraternities.
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With over 60 collective years of serving the fraternal movement as fraternity/sorority members, chapter advisors, fraternity/sorority life advisors, and (inter)national fraternal leaders, we approached writing about the experiences of... more
With over 60 collective years of serving the fraternal movement as fraternity/sorority members, chapter advisors, fraternity/sorority life advisors, and (inter)national fraternal leaders, we approached writing about the experiences of college students who participate in fraternities and sororities from an affirming and positive perspective. We believe these distinctive and intergenerational organizations can provide a forum for college students to create meaningful, well-rounded, and learning-oriented experiences. Deep and long-standing challenges continue to exist, but the juxtaposition of the best and worst actions of today's college students make fraternities and sororities among the most complex organizations on college campuses. In addition, there is a high level of interaction between and among students, the campus community, administrators, faculty, alumni, and external stakeholders such as parents and (inter)national fraternity/sorority headquarters. Such dynamic experiences can create shared and distinctive realities for students that are integral to student development. This chapter provides insight into the historical and modern-day complexities that affect students' experiences in fraternities and sororities and offers a framework for working with this population across contexts.
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Research-Driven Practice in Student Affairs: Implications from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education. This chapter explores the concept of research-driven practice in student affairs and provides an overview of the Wabash... more
Research-Driven Practice in Student Affairs: Implications from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education. This chapter explores the concept of research-driven practice in student affairs and provides an overview of the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education.
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Research-Driven Practice in Student Affairs: Implications from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education. This chapter uses findings on integration of learning from the qualitative portion of the Wabash National Study to... more
Research-Driven Practice in Student Affairs: Implications from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education. This chapter uses findings on integration of learning from the qualitative portion of the Wabash National Study to discuss how students make connections between skills, ideas, and knowledge across contexts.
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Students integrate their learning experiences across contexts through a process of connecting, applying, and synthesizing information, knowledge, and skills.
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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... more
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.
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The higher education landscape was quite different in 1924 when the National Association of Appointment Secretaries, a job placement organization that would later become ACPA – College Student Educators International, was founded. A... more
The higher education landscape was quite different in 1924 when the National Association of Appointment Secretaries, a job placement organization that would later become ACPA – College Student Educators International, was founded. A trajectory becomes clear in reflecting on 90 years of ACPA’s history. Student affairs practitioners (formerly, student personnel workers) demonstrate an increasing interest in student learning, and learning is gradually repositioned as the core purpose of the Association. In this essay, I explore the ways in which ACPA – College Student Educators International has affected college student learning over nearly a century.
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Free link to full-text below. This article presents a grounded theory of ‘‘integration of learning’’ among traditional aged college students, which is characterized by the demonstrated ability to link various skills and knowledge learned... more
Free link to full-text below. This article presents a grounded theory of ‘‘integration of learning’’ among traditional aged college students, which is characterized by the demonstrated ability to link various skills and knowledge learned in a variety of contexts. The author analyzed 194 interviews with students at liberal arts colleges to investigate empirically the ways undergraduates bring knowledge and experiences together so that educators might be able to more intentionally promote the integration of learning. Three distinct types of integration of learning emerged during analysis: (a) connection, the discovery of a similarity between ideas that themselves remain distinctive; (b) application, the use of knowledge from one context in another; and (c) synthesis, the creation of new knowledge by combining insights.
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This article explores college hazing as a part of student culture in the 1870s using historical documents from Cornell University and the University of Michigan. These sources illustrate the conflict between students and the institutional... more
This article explores college hazing as a part of student culture in the 1870s using historical documents from Cornell University and the University of Michigan. These sources illustrate the conflict between students and the institutional administration over student autonomy and the role of faculty in student life, and characterize hazing as an event to test new students’ loyalties to their peers over the faculty. However, as the student body grew larger, and diversified in terms of gender and ethnicity, hazing shifted to smaller exclusive organizations, rather than a demonstration of class solidarity and rebellion against faculty. This article explores the administrative responses at Cornell and Michigan in the late 19th century by documenting reaction to a student hazing death at Cornell in 1873, and detailing an 1874 hazing incident at Michigan, after which 87 men were suspended from the institution following a confrontation involving the freshman and sophomore classes. Connections are drawn to administrative responses to hazing in the early 21st century.
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Book review of: Fried, J., & Associates. (2012). Transformative learning through engagement: Student affairs practice as experiential pedagogy. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing. 200 pp. ISBN 978-1-57922-759-3. ($29.95). For decades,... more
Book review of: Fried, J., & Associates. (2012). Transformative learning through engagement: Student affairs practice as
experiential pedagogy. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing. 200 pp. ISBN 978-1-57922-759-3. ($29.95).
For decades, student affairs professionals have discussed the chasm between academic affairs and student affairs on university campuses. In this book, Jane Fried and her colleagues explored the underlying paradigms that continue to fuel this division today and challenged the reliance on empiricism that has shaped U.S. higher education. The central thesis of Fried’s book was that learning is an integrated process, rooted in individual meaning making and students’ lived experiences, not a discrete task occurring in a single context.
experiential pedagogy. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing. 200 pp. ISBN 978-1-57922-759-3. ($29.95).
For decades, student affairs professionals have discussed the chasm between academic affairs and student affairs on university campuses. In this book, Jane Fried and her colleagues explored the underlying paradigms that continue to fuel this division today and challenged the reliance on empiricism that has shaped U.S. higher education. The central thesis of Fried’s book was that learning is an integrated process, rooted in individual meaning making and students’ lived experiences, not a discrete task occurring in a single context.
Research Interests:
To honor the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Student Personnel Point of View of 1937, the Commission for Professional Preparation invited scholars to reflect on this foundational document for the student affairs field. The... more
To honor the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Student Personnel Point of View of 1937, the Commission for Professional Preparation invited scholars to reflect on this foundational document for the student affairs field. The monograph contains a reproduction of the original The Student Personnel Point of View as it appeared when it was published in 1937 along with a collection of essays wherein the authors reflect on the significance and enduring value of the document. The goals of this monograph are to “re-open” this important document and to stimulate thinking and dialogue among scholars, practitioners, and graduate students regarding The Student Personnel Point of View of 1937 and our continued role as student affairs and higher education professionals to develop the whole student.
[Barber third author] This chapter describes how the research methodology and methods in Baxter Magolda’s twenty-five-year longitudinal study and the four-year longitudinal Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education (WNS) culminated... more
[Barber third author] This chapter describes how the research methodology and methods in Baxter Magolda’s twenty-five-year longitudinal study and the four-year longitudinal Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education (WNS) culminated in the identification of a detailed model of self-authorship development reflected in Figure 1. Using an inductive approach consistent with the constructive-developmental paradigm in both longitudinal studies yielded rich data sets from diverse participants from which to identify nuances in self-evolution in general and self-authorship in particular. Over one thousand interviews from Baxter Magolda’s study and over nine hundred WNS interviews enable us to describe a detailed portrait of the evolution of meaning making during and after college. In this and subsequent chapters, we show how young adults’ capacities become more complex and adaptive over time and describe the strategies we have developed to assess and document these changes. In this chapter, we describe our analytical processes, how they evolved over the course of the projects, and the training processes we used with the research team to conduct and analyze WNS interviews.
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Many national studies have identified types of experiences that are associated with enhancing college students’ learning. This study contributes to the small but growing body of research on transformative educational experiences that... more
Many national studies have identified types of experiences that are associated with enhancing college students’ learning. This study contributes to the small but growing body of research on transformative educational experiences that assist and enable college students to develop ways of understanding and being in the world that help them adapt and respond to life's complexities and prepare for future civic, occupational, and family roles. The focus of this exploratory study is on those experiences that had a positive impact on college students’ development toward self-authorship (Baxter Magolda, 2001; Kegan, 1994). Using interview data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, we analyzed 300 selected experiences from 174 students. We found that students’ approaches to interpreting and understanding their experiences was the major student characteristic that affected their learning (the effect of the experience). We then mapped these findings onto a sequenced developmental curriculum designed to promote self-authorship.
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Students’ ability to integrate learning across contexts is a critical outcome for higher education. Often the most powerful learning experiences that students report from their college years are those that prompt integration of learning,... more
Students’ ability to integrate learning across contexts is a critical outcome for higher education. Often the most powerful learning experiences that students report from their college years are those that prompt integration of learning, yet it remains an outcome that few educators explicitly work towards or specify as a course objective.
Given that students will be more successful in college (and in life) if they can integrate their learning, Barber offers a guide for college educators on how to promote students’ integration of learning, and help them connect knowledge and insights across contexts, whether in-class or out-of-class, in co-curricular activities, or across courses and disciplinary boundaries.
Given that students will be more successful in college (and in life) if they can integrate their learning, Barber offers a guide for college educators on how to promote students’ integration of learning, and help them connect knowledge and insights across contexts, whether in-class or out-of-class, in co-curricular activities, or across courses and disciplinary boundaries.