Page 87 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 87 of 154 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large (1000x1000 max)
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
|
79
research reveals that sorority member students have higher academic achievement
and cognitive outcomes than other college student populations (Pascarella et. al,
2001; Pike & Askew, 1990).
College Experiences Sorority Member Students Perceive to Have Influenced Their
Identity
Whereas the results provided general support for the experience of being in a
sorority, they also were congruent with existing literature on psychosocial
development theory and research. Specifically, it is possible to organize these 14
obtained themes into the following key factors in student development that emerged
in my literature review. Powerful examples of Student Involvement, Relationships,
Crisis and Autonomy were found in participant incident reports. Table 3 lists these
over-arching categories and the themes they are associated with.
This section will begin with a brief representation of the themes as they relate
to these over-arching categories. Next, the 14 themes that emerged will be discussed
as they relate to student development research and theory.
Student Involvement
Student Involvement, as an overarching theme comes as no surprise. In
keeping with Astin’s (1985) theory of involvement and research on Greek affiliation,
the findings of this study overwhelmingly support the role of involvement in sorority
members’ development of identity. Thirty-four incidents and 4 of the 14 themes
concerned an experience related to involvement. These themes were named:
participating in rush and/or joining a sorority; being elected or serving in a sorority
Object Description
| Title | Student perspectives on identity development: describing the experiences sorority members perceive influenced their identity |
| Author | Sarkissian, Vergene |
| Author email | vergenes@usc.edu; sarkv@hotmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-05-13 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Restricted until 2 Oct. 2009. |
| Date published | 2009-10-02 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Goodyear, Rodney K. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Malloy, Courtney Espalin, Charles A. |
| Abstract | This qualitative study examined the college related sources of impact that sorority member students perceived affected their identity development. A variant of Flanagan's (1954) Critical Incident Technique was used to ask sorority members (n=70) to describe one or two critical incidents that they believed had affected their sense of self, and then to rate the immediate positivity of the incident, as well its eventual effect on their sense of self. Three doctoral students reviewed the 100 obtained incident reports, from which they developed 14 themes: Participating in rush an/or joining a sorority; Being elected or serving in a sorority leadership position; Dealing with crisis; Receiving the support of sisters with in the sorority network; Being elected or serving in a leadership position in a campus related organization; Learning about myself as a result of a romantic relationship; Making an important, independent decision for myself; Making a commitment to community service and outreach; Sorority affiliated judgment or rejection; Having an experience of failure; Making the transition from home to college; Studying abroad; Receiving personal or career guidance from others; Engaging in a selfless act of compassion. The findings of this study provide valuable insight and knowledge to the potential benefits of sorority affiliation in regards to college women's identity development. The findings also support previous research on women's identity development and suggest gender specific developmental pathways. In congruence with student development research and theory, experiences related to student involvement, relationship, autonomy and crisis were prevalent in the participant responses. The limitations of the study, recommendations for future research and implications for higher education practice are also presented. |
| Keyword | identity development; women's identity development; sorority membership; sorority network; student inolvement; leadership; relationships; mentorship; social capital; crisis; autonomy; study abroad |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Digitized by the University of Southern California |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1619 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Sarkissian, Vergene |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Sarkissian-2435 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume14/etd-Sarkissian-2435.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 87 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 79 research reveals that sorority member students have higher academic achievement and cognitive outcomes than other college student populations (Pascarella et. al, 2001; Pike & Askew, 1990). College Experiences Sorority Member Students Perceive to Have Influenced Their Identity Whereas the results provided general support for the experience of being in a sorority, they also were congruent with existing literature on psychosocial development theory and research. Specifically, it is possible to organize these 14 obtained themes into the following key factors in student development that emerged in my literature review. Powerful examples of Student Involvement, Relationships, Crisis and Autonomy were found in participant incident reports. Table 3 lists these over-arching categories and the themes they are associated with. This section will begin with a brief representation of the themes as they relate to these over-arching categories. Next, the 14 themes that emerged will be discussed as they relate to student development research and theory. Student Involvement Student Involvement, as an overarching theme comes as no surprise. In keeping with Astin’s (1985) theory of involvement and research on Greek affiliation, the findings of this study overwhelmingly support the role of involvement in sorority members’ development of identity. Thirty-four incidents and 4 of the 14 themes concerned an experience related to involvement. These themes were named: participating in rush and/or joining a sorority; being elected or serving in a sorority |
