The present historical moment may seem a particularly inopportune time to review Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam's latest exploration of civic decline in America. After all, the outpouring of volunteerism, solidarity, patriotism, and self-sacrifice displayed by Americans in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks appears to fly in the face of Putnam's central argument: that \"social capital\" -defined as \"social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them\" (p. 19)'has declined to dangerously low levels in America over the last three decades. However, Putnam is not fazed in the least by the recent effusion of solidarity. Quite the contrary, he sees in it the potential to \"reverse what has been a 30to 40-year steady decline in most measures of connectedness or community.\"' As an example of how the current \"war on terrorism\" could generate a durable civic renewal, Putnam points to the burst in civic practices that occurred during and after World War II, which he says \"permanently marked\" the generation that lived through it and had a \"terrific effect on American public life over the last half-century.\" 3 If Americans can follow this example and channel their current civic

Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community

This chapter explores the ecology of human development, those forces in the person's environment that affect and influence development. Urie Bronfenbrenner's model of the human ecosystem guides the discussion, making connections between children in families and in communities and the larger society that surrounds them. The human ecosystem model is much like the study of the natural ecology, focusing on the interactions between subjects at various levels of the environment as they affect each other. The interaction between individual and environment forms the basis of an ecological approach to human development. This view sees the process of development as the expansion of the child's conception of the world and the child's ability to act on that world. Risks to development can come from both direct threats and the absence of opportunities for development. Sociocultural risk refers to the impoverishment in the child's world of essential experiences and relationships.

The Ecology of Human Development

Going to College tells the powerful story of how high school students make choices about postsecondary education. Drawing on their unprecedented nine-year study of high school students, the authors explore how students and their parents negotiate these important decisions. Family background, finances, education, information-all influence students' plans after high school and the career paths they pursue, as do the more subtle messages delivered by parents and counselors which shape adolescents' self-expectations. For high school guidance counselors, college admissions counselors, parents and teachers, and public policy makers, this book is a valuable resource that explains the decision-making process and helps adults to help students make appropriate choices. The authors identify predisposition, search, and choice as the three stages in the student decision-making process. Predisposition refers to the plans students develop for education or work after they graduate from high school. The search stage involves students discovering and evaluating a variety of colleges and universities. In the choice stage, students choose a school to attend from among a list of institutions that are being seriously considered. Understanding exactly how students move through the predisposition, search, and choice stages of the college decision-making process can help students and parents prepare themselves for this process and consider a wider array of options. For education professionals, understanding this process can lead to new initiatives to guide students and families effectively-by providing better incentives for college savings, for example, or devising more effective early information programs about postsecondary education. Going to Collegeis the first book to seriously study over an extended period the decisions that have a pervasive and lasting impact on individual careers, livelihoods, and lifestyles. The authors conclude with important recommendations for improving academic support, exploring various financial options, providing early encouragement-in other words, for recognizing the factors that influence students' decisions, and knowing when to pay attention to them.

Going to College: How Social, Economic, and Educational Factors Influence the Decisions Students Make

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Piecing together the student success puzzle: research, propositions, and recommendations

identities that are important for working with diverse student populations. As with the first edition, it is written in a manner similar to a literature review with realistic case studies framing each chapter, and often critiques, applications, and suggestions for research. Given the varied approaches to thinking about student development and relationships among student development theories, the authors were wisely transparent in discussing how they structured this book, especially what to include and what to omit from the first edition. Although impossible to discuss all of the theories in detail, the decisions the authors made regarding structure result in a text that, through its breadth, grounds student development theory in its roots and highlights contemporary conceptualizations, research, and applications. Setting the context, part 1 defines stu­ dent development theory, provides a historical overview of student development within student affairs, and offers some considerations regarding the application of student development theory. Part 2 reviews what the authors describe as “foundational theories,” including psychosocial, cognitive­structural, and learning style. Through the use of the term foundational rather than something along the lines of historical, the authors show welcome respect for the enduring contributions of these theories to the profession. The foundational theories described in these five chapters, including Erikson, Marcia, Josselson, Chickering and Reisser, Perry, Kohlberg, Rest, Gilligan, Belenky and colleagues, Baxter Magolda, King and Kitchener, and Kolb, comprised much of the first edition. Offering a preview of topics discussed in more depth in later chapters, they Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice (Second Edition) Nancy J. Evans, Deanna S. Forney, Florence M. Guido, Lori D. Patton, Kristen A. Renn San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009, 480 pages, $60.00 (hardcover)

Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice (review)

This study investigates differences in academic engagement and retention between first-generation and non-first-generation undergraduate students. Utilizing the Student Experience in the Research University survey of 1864 first-year students at a large, public research university located in the United States, this study finds that first-generation students have lower academic engagement (as measured by the frequency with which students interacted with faculty, contributed to class discussions, brought up ideas from different courses during class discussions, and asked insightful questions in class) and lower retention as compared to non-first-generation students. Recommendations that higher education faculty can follow to promote the academic engagement and retention of first-generation students are addressed.

First-generation students' academic engagement and retention

For most college students, the journey toward degree attainment is typically filled with a combination of challenges and successes; however, the educational pathway to a college degree can be more arduous for some students, including first-generation students. Our study explored the experiences of first-generation college students who attend large public research universities. More specifically, how do first-generation students experience a sense of belonging and satisfaction in regard to their educational experience? What might be the relationship between first-generation students' sense of belonging on campus and their mental health? And what is the role of college counselors in helping first-generation students to persist toward graduation? The number of first-generation students on college campuses continues to increase (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Jehangir, 2010a). According to Pryor et al. (2010), approximately 20.6% of entering 1st-year students currently self-identify as first-generation students, totaling more than 4.5 million first-generation students enrolled in higher education institutions. Demographics seem to indicate that first-generation students and other historically underserved student populations (e.g., immigrant groups, low-income students, students of color) will look to higher education opportunities to improve their financial situation (Conway, 2010). College success, especially attainment of the baccalaureate degree, serves as the primary means for first-generation and underserved populations to improve their socioeconomic status (Suarez-Orozco, Suarez-Orozco, & Todorova, 2008). A postsecondary education is increasingly necessary in today's society; the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as described by Rothkopf (2009), predicted that 63% of the 18.9 million new jobs that will be created by 2014 will require some postsecondary education. It is important to define and describe first-generation students because there are multiple definitions in the higher education literature. For the purpose of this article, first-generation status is defined as neither parent having earned a bachelor's degree; this is also the definition used by the federal TRiO grant programs. In our study, college students were considered first-generation even if their parents had some postsecondary education and/or an associate's degree. On the basis of data from the U.S. Department of Education and National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (2003-2004; National Center for Education Statistics, 2007), there are certain characteristics that compose a profile of first-generation students. First-generation students are more likely than their non-first-generation counterparts to have additional characteristics that may disadvantage them as they pursue their college education. For example, first-generation students are more likely to be older, come from minority backgrounds, and have a disability (Bui, 2002). Additionally, first-generation students are more likely to be nonnative English speakers, immigrants (i.e., have been born outside of the United States), single parents, and financially independent from their parents (Bui, 2002). Additionally, as described by Engle and Tinto (2008), first-generation students tend to hold low-income status, which is defined as having a combined household income under $25,000 per year. First-generation students are also more likely than non-first-generation students to have delayed entry into postsecondary education after high school, live off campus, attend college closer to home, attend part time (i.e., not taking a full load of credits), and work full time during enrollment in college. Often, first-generation students are nontraditional, female adult students (over the age of 24) who are returning to college to start or finish a degree program. Although institutions of higher education have generally done a better job of promoting college access to first-generation students, college success as measured by persistence and graduation rates (i. …

First-Generation Students' Sense of Belonging, Mental Health, and Use of Counseling Services at Public Research Universities

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived academic obstacles of first-generation students in comparison to non-firstgeneration students. Using the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) completed by approximately 58,000 students from six research universities, the researchers used nonparametric bootstrapping to analyze differences between first-generation and non-first-generation students’ obstacles to academic success. The results suggest that first-generation students more frequently encounter obstacles that compromise their academic success as compared to non-first-generation students, such as job responsibilities, family responsibilities, perceived weak English and math skills, inadequate study skills, and feelings of depression. Implications for learning assistance professionals are outlined.

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Breaking down Barriers: Academic Obstacles of First-Generation Students at Research Universities.

This study attempts to discover whether the different study abroad activities in which students participate yield different outcomes for the development of students’ global and intercultural competencies. The five travel and study abroad measures analyzed include experiences in a university study abroad program; study abroad program affiliated with another college or university; travel abroad for cross-cultural experiences or informal education; travel abroad for a service-learning, volunteer, or work experience; and travel abroad for recreation.  This study explores the research question at a single institution so as to isolate students’ experiences as they may occur within a single institutional context.

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The high impact of education abroad : College students ' engagement in international experiences and the development of intercultural competencies

The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to explore the career development needs and issues that are unique to Black sub-Saharan African immigrants, with an emphasis on college students, and (b) to discuss how career development professionals can implement strategies to better serve these students. The number of Black immigrants from sub-Saharan African countries has increased recently. Many immigrants are confronted with complex life decisions. Career counselors are in a unique position to assist. Theoretical approaches, with a focus on contextual factors, are discussed. Six strategies for career counseling practice, suggestions for their application, and implications for practice are highlighted.

Michael J. Stebleton

Papers

First-generation students' academic engagement and retention

First-Generation Students' Sense of Belonging, Mental Health, and Use of Counseling Services at Public Research Universities

Breaking down Barriers: Academic Obstacles of First-Generation Students at Research Universities.

The high impact of education abroad : College students ' engagement in international experiences and the development of intercultural competencies

Career Counseling with African Immigrant College Students: Theoretical Approaches and Implications for Practice.