UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE
ASSIGNMENT COVER
Department of Economics and Development
Program: BSc (Hons) in Economics and Development (HECD)
FULL NAME OF STUDENT: MUSIRIMI SIMBARASHE
REGISTRATION NUMBER: R2420962
LEVEL: 1.1
EMAIL: musirimisimbarashe910@[Link]
CELL NUMBER: 0777070072
NAME OF MODULE: Student Development & Life Skills
MODULE CODE: SDLSBE101
ASSIGNMENT NO: 1 DUE DATE: 30/09/24
ASSIGNMENT QUESTION: 1 Using Austin’s Theory of Involvement, discuss how
student involvement in different institutional activities would impact them in their physical,
social, intellectual and spiritual development.
MARK:
MARKER’S COMMENTS:
Astin defined student involvement as being characterized chiefly by two concepts: the amount of
physical energy students exert and the amount of psychological energy they put into their college
experience (Astin, 1984).
Further research has explored the links between student involvement and different kinds of
student development (Astin, 1996). Because various definitions of involvement and student
development are used in the field, studies vary in their language and reach different, though not
necessarily conflicting, conclusions (Hernandez, Hogan, Hathaway, & Lovell, 1999). Astin noted
that involvement includes both physical and psychological energy. Although motivation is a
necessary aspect of involvement, Astin asserted that the behavioral aspects of involvement, such
as what an individual does and how she or he behaves, are also essential; this facet of
involvement comprises the first point of Astin’s involvement theory. The theory has four other
basic ideas: (a) involvement occurs along a continuum; different students exhibit different levels
of involvement in different activities at different times; (b) involvement has both quantitative
aspects, how much time a student spends doing something, and qualitative aspects, how focused
the student’s time is; (c) the amount of personal development and learning that can occur is
directly proportional to the quality and quantity of student involvement; and (d) the effectiveness
of educational polices, practices, or programs is directly related to the policy, practice, or
program’s commitment to increasing student involvement (Astin, 1984, p. 298).
In his landmark book, What Matters in College? Four Critical Years Revisited, Astin (1993)
addressed the impact that involvement in clubs and organizations has on students. He reported
that elected student offices, public speaking ability, leadership abilities, and interpersonal skills
have statistically significant correlations with hours per week spent participating in student clubs
and organizations. Later, Astin (1996) found that the three most powerful forms of involvement
are academic involvement, involvement with faculty, and involvement with student peer groups.
Astin stated that the strongest single source of influence on cognitive and affective development
is a student’s peer group; the greater the interaction with peers, the more favorable the outcome
(p. 126). He proposed that the power of the peer group can be found in the capacity of peers to
involve each other more intensely in experiences (p. 126). Interaction with peers has also been
shown to contribute to seniors’ growth in interpersonal competence, cognitive complexity, and
humanitarianism (Kuh, 1995; Terenzini et al., 1996).
Involvement in clubs and organizations has been shown to correlate positively with several areas
of psychosocial development. Specifically, college juniors who are members of student
organizations score higher than nonmembers on such factors as educational involvement, career
planning, lifestyle planning, cultural participation, and academic autonomy (Cooper et al., 1994).
Studies have also explored the effect of participation in clubs and organizations on students’
development of mature interpersonal relationships. Researchers have hypothesized that
participation in extracurricular activities would be positively related to the development of
competence and mature interpersonal relationships (Hood, 1984; Martin, 2000). Tests of this
hypothesis, however, have yielded conflicting results. Some studies have concluded that
students’ participation extends their capacity for mature interpersonal relationships by increasing
their tolerance of and acceptance for other people and by raising their self confidence
(Abrahamowicz, 1988; Hood, 1984). Conversely, a more recent study found no statistically
significant relationship between involvement in extracurricular activities and the development of
mature interpersonal relationships (Martin, 2000). The difference in these results may be
attributable to the sample population and study design in each case. Whereas the studies by
Abrahamowicz (1988) and Hood (1984) involved relatively large sample sizes at large
institutions, Martin (2000) studied 89 students, 90 percent of whom were Caucasian, attending a
small, religiously affiliated private liberal arts college. The findings of Martin’s study are
therefore limited in their generalizability. Martin further suggested in her discussion that perhaps
students filling out a questionnaire in a group meeting in the first week of their freshmen year
were more likely to give both superficial and socially acceptable responses than seniors, who
responded by mail (p. 302).
REFRENCES
1. Abrahamowicz, D. (1988). College involvement, perceptions, and satisfaction: A study of
membership in student Organizations.
2. Journal of College Student Development, 29, 233–238. Astin, A. W. (1977).
3. Four critical years. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Astin, A. W. (1984). Student involvement: A
development theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Personnel, 25, 297–308.
4. Astin, A. W. (1993). What matters in college? Four critical years revisited. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass. Astin, A. W. (1996). Involvement in learning revisited: Lessons we have learned.
Journal of College Student Development, 37, 123–134.
5. Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity (2nd ed.). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass. Cooper, D. L., Healy, M. A., & Simpson, J. (1994). Student development through
involvement: Specific changes over time. Journal of College Student Development, 35, 98–102.
