Dissertation
Community college student government experience and student development: a qualitative study
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
08/2007
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005678
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of community college student government experience and the impact of this experience on personal development and subsequent life experiences of community college students. Consistent with the purpose, this study used qualitative, phenomenologically-oriented research design and methods. Open-ended, qualitative interviews were used to collect data. Questions that guided the study were: (a) What is the nature of community college student government experience? (b) What is the perceived impact of student government experience on personal development and subsequent life experiences of community college students? (c) How does this experience benefit the community college student, the community college, the community, and others? The overall experience of participating in community college student government was positive for the participants of this study. Community college student government provided an environment where participants developed through the relationships they experienced, their opportunities for travel, their connection to money and power, and the challenges they negotiated. The participants believed these experiences increased their self-confidence, and that the on-the-job learning that took place prepared them for later real-world work environments. In addition, these experiences helped participants to develop people skills through which they asserted their newfound "voices." Participants believed the skills gained through their student government experience were of life-long value because the skills positively influenced their personal relationships, their community and civic involvement, and their professional and political effectiveness. On the basis of these findings, it appears that community college student government engagement is beneficial to individual development and subsequent life experiences of students. The results of this study may be useful to higher education professionals in their efforts to be intentional when providing student development services
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Details
- Title
- Community college student government experience and student development
- Creators
- Amy H. Esterhuizen
- Contributors
- Gail C. Furman (Chair)Forrest Parkay (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Department of Educational Leadership, Sport Studies, and Educational/Counseling PsychologyDonald B. Reed (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- College of Education
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 104
- Identifiers
- 99901054534901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation