Student Development - Term Paper Example

Student development refers to the educational psychology body that deals with the theorization of how students gain knowledge in the post-secondary level educational institutional environments. In understanding student development well, there are some assumptions that must be put in place, and they include the fact that each student is a different individual and has different needs. Additionally, the environment of a student must be taken into account and used for learning purposes. Lastly, a student has a personal responsibility for getting a proper education. Such assumptions apply as well to the students of San Antonio College, who wish to obtain their degrees at the end of the various courses they partake. Students might picture life as easy or very challenging but the reality is that what they need is proper guidance and equipment with knowledge in order to understand the real meaning of life. This paper gives a comprehensive discussion on the positive development of students as a positive influence on the entire student body.
Body
In the institutions for higher education and middle-level colleges, students occasionally experience myriads of challenges in their school life. The challenges begin from the time of choosing a course to pursue and their stay in the institution. It, therefore, warrants for proper guidance of students not only in the academic life but their social life as well to harness proper dynamic development in the society at large. In understanding student development, there are some theories that were postulated to help in explaining factors that influence student behaviours (Strange 88). They include:
a) Psychosocial theory
b) Cognitive structural theory
c) Person’s environment theory
d) Humanistic theory
The psychosocial theory focuses on the issues that tend to happen in sequence and are usually congruent with the chronological age. The cognitive structural theory addresses how students rationalize and perceive their experiences. The person’s environment theory addresses the continued interaction between the conceptualization of the students and the college environment and pays keen attention to the social function and behaviour of the person and environment (George 43). The humanistic theory addresses certain philosophical concepts about human freedom, self-actualization and responsibility. For the purposes of this study, the paper focuses on the first-year college students pursuing a nursing course at the San Antonio College School of nursing in Texas.
There are a number of misconceptions nursing students have while pursuing their courses. These misconceptions include the notions that:
a) Nursing is a difficult course
b) Bright students need not study hard
c) College life comes with the freedom of doing whatever one wants to do
On most occasions, new students that register for the nursing course are faced with the challenges of coping with the school environment, as well as the academic challenges. Nursing course is perceived by the majority as one of the difficult courses and this phobia usually engulfs the young students who get selected to pursue the course. In the university, these students tend to avoid many social activities and rather become addicted to their books in fear of failing (Rich, and Elli 64). It is such phobia and anxiety that usually make some of these students suffer from depressive mood disorders; a major problem that can ultimately lead to suicidal ideation and paranoia.
In school, there are some students who perhaps think that they are bright enough and don’t need much reading and studying. They find themselves engaging in extreme social activities like drinking and other drug use. This either makes them fail in their academics or get suspended from school because of bad behaviours they engage in. Students ought to realize that being a college student comes with a lot of responsibilities including role-model playing. Therefore, their development process should not be marred with social ills like drug abuse.
There is freedom in college life, but some students abuse this freedom. In most secondary schools, there are strict rules that govern boy-girl relationships and it is occasionally prohibited. When students enter college where there is a lot of freedom, some of them tend to overstep their boundaries of freedom by not only involving themselves in unwarranted sex but also drug abuse and prostitution. It is important that such students are advised to make good use of their time in college instead of engaging in unscrupulous behaviours (Rich, and Elli 54).
In alleviating such problems, it is good for the institution to incorporate the study of the student development programmes. Such a programme is very essential in the sense that it helps in equipping the students with survival techniques in the challenging, new environment of college.
Conclusion
In conclusion, students might picture life as easy or very challenging but the reality remains that what they need is a proper guidance in order to understand the real meaning of life. The best way to do this is by introducing a student development programme at various levels in the institution. Such programmes make students become fully aware of the various challenges they might face thus leading to the personal enrichment of the student life. Read More