Ernest T. Pascarella
1985
Citations
0
Influential Citations
47
Citations
Journal
Journal name not available for this finding
Abstract
In Chickering's [17] now classic analysis of the influence of college on student development, he moves beyond a comprehensive literature review and proposes a general model of college impacts. He suggests that at least three major sources of variation in the socialization of college students need to be taken into account if one is to understand the effects of college: (1) the initial or pre-enrollment characteristics of students; (2) structural and organizational factors of the institution (e.g., enrollment, type of control, studentfaculty ratio, research emphasis); and (3) interactions between students and the primary agents of socialization on campus (i.e., faculty and students). Tinto [41], in developing an explanatory model of the college withdrawal process, adds what may be a fourth source of influence in his concept of academic integration. By academic integration, Tinto means the extent to which the individual student has successful or personally rewarding interactions with the institution's academic system (e.g., satisfactory academic performance, stimulating courses, intellectual development). Although there have been other recent models proposed for the study of college impacts [e.g., 32, 33], all appear to have as a core the four basic components outlined above: student pre-enrollment characteristics, institutional structural traits, interactions with faculty and peers, and interactions with the institution's academic system. Beginning with such benchmark investigations as Jacob [25], Eddy [21], Thistlethwaite [39, 40], and Astin [1, 2, 3], the impact of college