Objectives of this course Unit

This unit is designed to ensure that students are able to:

 Discover who they are, and to have deeper self-knowledge which leads to self-profiling, which in-turn
is expected to bolster self-esteem, selfconfidence, self-efficacy and personal effectiveness,

 Grow beyond information capitulation and over-dependence on other people’s views, thoughts,
opinions, cultures and tradition (i.e., engender critical thinking skills, objectivity, independent thinking,
autonomy and integrity),

 Understand themselves in the context of the interests, choices and needs of others; and be able to
master interpersonal skills, problem-solving and conflict management skills which promote personal
growth, peace and progress in society, and

 Understand the role of individuality in group settings and the importance of team work in society

Learning Outcomes

Having travelled the path of the vectors students should develop:

 a consciousness of their role as agents of social transformation and drivers of social justice and
positive social traditions,

 integrity, objectivity, independent thought, critical thinking skills and leadership competences,

 a deep appreciation and tolerance of cultural diversity, inclusivity and pluralism, and

 the ability to work in teams

Theoretical Framework

In 1969, Arthur W. Chickering published ‘Education and Identity’, which detailed his psychosocial theory
of student identity development and explained his views on how the college experience influenced this
development. The development of the theory was influenced by his experience as a psychology
professor, administrator, and researcher in higher education. The theory explains seven vectors that
influence identity development. Much of his research focused on the impact of higher education on
students. In 1993, Chickering and a colleague, Linda Reisser, revised the sequencing of the vectors and
updated them based on significant contributions of research since the original publication.

The revised theory of student identity development, which was applicable to college students, identified
the seven vectors, some renamed and sequenced in the following order: developing competence,
managing emotions, moving through autonomy toward interdependence, developing mature
interpersonal relationships, establishing identity, developing purpose, and developing integrity
(Chickering & Reisser, 1993). The vectors are a path to individuation, the unique self, to relationships
with groups and individuals. The college experience is more likely to influence the first four vectors
which ultimately contribute to identity.
Schwitzer (2001), Schreiber (2014) and Astin (1993) also concur with Chickering and Reiser that
educational environments influence student identity development significantly. Chickering & Reisser
(1993) highlight factors with such impact as, institutional objectives, institutional size, student-faculty
relationships, curriculum, teaching, friendships and student communities, and student development
programs and services. At least four of these factors are related to online learning and can help promote
a sense of community: faculty-learner relationships, curriculum, teaching, and friendships and student
communities.

Chickering posits that students progress through the first four vectors simultaneously during their first
and second years and (generally) through the fourth vector during second and third years (given a
standard four-year program). During the third and fourth years, they progress simultaneously through
the last two vectors.

Students move through these vectors at different rates and may even move back and forth through
them, depending on levels of challenge, support and maturity. The model focuses on developmental
tasks or issues that confront students 43 during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. These
developmental tasks tend to be sources of preoccupation and worry for students. Development is not
simply an internal maturation process but one that requires appropriate challenges and support from
the environment. It takes place through an interaction between an individual’s internal state and the
societal and institutional demands of parents, faculty, university, peers and cultur

Application of Themes to Students Development and Life Skills

Vector 1: Achieving Competence

This Vector entails one’s confidence in their ability to cope with what comes and to achieve successfully
what one sets out to do. This vector includes three spheres: intellectual, physical and social
(interpersonal) competence. Increased skills or competences lead to a sense of confidence in one’s
ability to handle such tasks as acquiring knowledge, critical thinking, physical and manual skills, and
developing communication skills for a variety of social situations. Developing intellectual competence is
directly tied to academic programmes. Physical and manual competence is developed through athletic
and recreational activities and through hands–on contact with art materials or construction materials.
Interpersonal competence is developed through communication with individuals or groups as found in
class teamwork or co – curricular organisations.

Checkering identifies the following as some of the tasks students need to undertake while developing
competence:

 Sport and recreational activities,

 Wellness activities,

 Social gatherings,

 Trips and excursions,

 Sororities and fraternities, and

 Cross cultural activities.

Vector 2: Managing Emotions.

This Vector entails students’ ability to manage intense emotions such as fear, anger, happiness,
sadness, aggression, sex, depression and anxiety as an important aspect of their total development.

Common concerns are peer conflicts, sexual impulses, academic anxiety and aggression. Resolution
involves integration of being able to recognize and label feelings, trust one’s feelings, and the ability to
define what will be expressed to whom.

Controls inculcated by parents and society are examined, understood and eventually replaced by
internally adopted behavioural standards and controls

Vector 3: Developing Autonomy

. Checkering describes autonomy as the independence of maturity which requires both emotional and
instrumental independence. As competence develops, the individual disengages from parents and
simultaneously the student recognizes the importance of others.

Recognition of interdependence follows from independence as the student finds a middle ground
between being one’s own person and slavish conformity.

Vector 4, Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships

This vector involves increased tolerance and acceptance of differences between individuals and an
increase in the capacity for mature and intimate relationships. Tolerance aids students in gaining a
clearer understanding of customs, values, stereotyping, and discrimination. Skills and attitudes to be
developed include the ability to listen, understand and empathize with others without the need to
dominate or pass judgment.

References

Anderson, D. S., 2016. Wellness Issues for Higher Education: A Guide for Student Affairs and Higher
Education Professionals, Routledge, New York.

Astin, A. W., 1993. An empirical typology of college students. Journal of College Student Development,
Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 36–46.

Chickering. A.W., 1969. Education and Identity, Jossey Bass, SanFrancisco Chickering, A. W. and

Reisser, L. 1993. Education and identity, (2nd edn.), Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Hettler, B., 1976. The Six
Dimensions of Wellness, viewed 28 September 2020. http://www.hettler.com/sixdimen.htm Schreiber,
B., 2014. Key challenges facing student affairs: An international perspective.

M. Speckman and M. Mandew (eds.), Perspectives on student affairs in South Africa. Somerset West,
South Africa, African Minds, pp. 9–26. Schwitzer, R., 2001. Who Succeeds at University? Factors
predicting academic performance in first year Australian university students, viewed 28 September
2020,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249015062_Who_Succeeds_at_University_Fa
ctors_predicting_academic_performance_in_first_year_Australian_university_students. Winston, R. B.,
1990. The Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Inventory: An approach to measuring students’
psychosocial development. Journal of College Student Development, 31(2), 108–120.