Running head: APPLYING STUDENT DEVELOPMENT THEORY IN PRACTICE 1

Applying Student Development Theory in Practice

Shakira Moreta

Salem State University

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Applying Student Development Theory in Practice

West Point is the military academy of the United States, a four-year institution that

focuses on military training as well as academics. Their mission statement is to turn civilians into

military officers (Lipsky, 2004). When thinking of the military, rarely does one think of it as a

higher education institution. For the most part it is simply thought of as preparation for war if

ever necessary. Similar to how students in traditional colleges or universities must choose a

major by their junior year, the cadets at West Point must choose a branch of service and a post

during their senior year.

In Absolutely American, Lipsky observed a class of cadets at West Point for four years.

He witnessed the many struggles the cadets faced as well as their accomplishments, which

helped in the cadets overall development. After reading Absolutely American, I believe student

development theories used by student affairs professionals, can be applied for the overall

development of the cadets at West Point as well.

Student Affairs promotes holistic student development. Student development refers to the

growth a student demonstrates in a higher education setting (Patton, Renn, Guido & Quaye,

2016). There are various theories of student development in which student affairs professionals

refer to in order to identify student’s needs and apply those theories in the interest of assisting

their students.

A developmental issue that became evident in Absolutely American was identity

development. What influences one’s sense of identity is how the person perceives themselves,

their ability to develop relationships with others and what they would want to do with their lives

(Patton et al., 2016). The environment in which a person is in, as well the expectations others

have of the individual may also influence their identity development (Patton et al., 2016). One of
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the cadets who demonstrated issues with identity development was George Rash or Rash, as the

other cadets would call him.

Another developmental issue evident in Absolutely American is self-authorship.

Developing self-authorship means that one has ability to consciously accept their beliefs, identity

and social relationships internally (Patton et al., 2016). Although one might believe that they

have reached self-authorship because they are aware of what they may want in life, it is possible

to lose that sense of authorship once you change your mind. George was also an example of lack

of self-authorship.

George was in his first year at West Point when Lipsky had arrived. George came from a

Jewish military family; both of his parents were sergeants in the Army (Lipsky, 2016). His

reasoning for joining like many others was simply because attending guaranteed employment,

housing and medical benefits (Lipsky, 2004). Although Rash was very intelligent, it seemed as if

the military was not the right place for him. He struggled with meeting the military and physical

standards. Along with maintaining good grades, each year the cadets at West Point had to pass a

fitness test in order to stay at West Point. The physical test consisted of how many sit ups and

push ups a cadet could do certain amount of time with a set minimal amount and being able to

run two miles within a certain amount of time (Lipsky, 2004). Cadets who did not pass the

physical exam would have another opportunity thirty days after the first exam and if they did not

pass the second time, they were separated from the academy (Lipsky, 2004).

As a plebe (freshman), George did not pass his first physical exam because it took him

longer to run the two miles. Two upperclassmen were assigned the task to help George prepare

for the second opportunity to pass the test the next month. With the help and encouragement of

the upperclassmen, George was able to pass the physical exam, which allowed him to stay at
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West Point. Because he had already received help, George was expected to practice on his own

from then on for future exams. Each year at West Point, George had to retake the physical exam

because of the running portion.

During his second year, George realized he did not belong in the academy. He felt as if

he could not strongly connect with the other cadets and the military was not for him. He had

filled out the paper work in order to resign, however when he called his parents they told him he

had to stay because they would not be able to afford sending him to what they call a “civilian

college” (Lipsky, 2004). In his third year, George became a good leader. He decided he did not

want to be as strict as the rest of them, but he was capable of training his cadets. George wanted

to run Ordnance where he would be behind the scenes rather than actually having to participate

in a battle (Lipsky, 2016). By the end of his third year he had changed his mind and decided he

wanted to be in Infantry (Lipsky, 2016).

Marcia’s Ego Identity Statuses focused on Erikson’s fifth stage of identity development,

Identity versus Identity Diffusion (Patton et al., 2016). She created four stages, which show a

balance crisis and commitment (Patton et al., 2016). Marcia’s foreclosure stage best explains

George’s issue with identity development. In the foreclosure stage individuals will accept their

parents values and rarely experience crisis or exploration and commit to their parents values

(Patton et al., 2016).

As previously mentioned, George comes from a Jewish military family. At West Point

Christianity is the predominant religion. George commits to his parents values by continuing to

follow his Jewish beliefs while at West Point. George had his bar mitzvah ceremony while at

West Point as well. George also stayed at West Point because his parents had told him to. George
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was unhappy at West Point. He was tired of feeling as if it wasn’t where he belonged. Although

he felt this way, he listened to his parents.

Baxtor Magolda’s Path to Self-Authorship consists of four phases. I believe George is

still in phase one which is Following Formulas. In phase one individual’s follow plans already

made for them because it is what is expected of them (Patton et al., 2016). Year after year

George failed his first fitness exam knowing that he had to prepare for it. I believe his lack of

interest in the military is what never pushed him to attempt to improve until it got to the point

where he had to. George would always prepare for the second exam because he was expected to

stay at West Point.

Towards the end of Absolutely American George seemed to change his mind about the

branch he wanted to serve. Infantry is the branch most cadets who want to be the “best of the

best” hope to serve. George was an engineer major who wanted to fix things and that is why he

wanted to serve Ordnance to begin with (Lipsky, 2016). George wanted to give up and leave

West Point many times; therefore it is easy for me to believe that suddenly wanting to serve

Infantry was due to lack of self-authorship.

For cadets like George who felt they could not meet the standards of the academy, I’d

attempt to create a transfer program for the cadets at West Point. At West Point, cadets in their

first and second year who no longer wish to be a part of the program are allowed to leave and it

would not be held against them (Lipsky, 2016). For this reason, this program would only be

available to first and second year cadets. Students in their first year who feel they no longer want

to be a part of the program would be required to finish their first year. Not only would they year

give them time to think about whether it is the best decision for them, but they would meet with
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an advisor at least three times in the year in order to create an alternative plan if at the end of the

year they decide to quit the academy.

Cadets would discuss their career and educational goals with their advisor. Using those

goals, the cadet and his or her advisor would look at colleges or universities that offer their

program of interest and work on the applications for the schools together. Because many cadets

join the academy because of its financial benefits, advisors would look into possible scholarships

the cadets may qualify for and work with the academy in order to fund scholarships for those

cadets.

Although the mission statement of West Point is to turn civilians into officers, not all

civilians are meant to be officers. As a student affairs professional the goal is to help the students

in their overall development. Having cadets go through the academy and then serving for five

more years when they’re genuinely not interested in the field, will not help their identity of self.

They would be living lives others expect for them rather than exploring and understanding what

they want for themselves.

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References

Patton, L.D., Renn, K.A., Guido, F. M., & Quaye, S.J. (2016). Student development in college:

Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lipsky, David. (2004). Absolutely American: Four years at west point. Boston: Houghton

Mifflin.