November 2020

Why Should College Educators Intrude Into the Private Domain (Peer Culture) of Students’ Lives? Critical Conversations #23

Kristen A. Renn, Michigan State University

In "The Influence of Peer Culture on Identity Development in College Students" (Journal of College & Character, vol. 21, no. 4, November 2020), this quarter's JCC Focus Author Kristen A. Renn from Michigan State University examines peer culture as an enduring influence on college student values, beliefs, and behaviors. She argues that while educators may not be able to change peer culture and its influences, they can understand how to engage with formal and informal peer cultures to facilitate positive outcomes while minimizing negative ones. Read more.

Five Questions Relating to Moral Development: JCC, Nov. 2020

Pamela C. Crosby, Co-Editor, Journal of College and Character

Here are some important questions that relate to moral developnment that are explored in articles in the November 2020 issue (vol. 21, no. 4) of the Journal of College and Character. Read more.

New Spaces & Roles for Student Affairs Educators

Student Affairs Educators Supporting Student Activists

Lisa Kaler, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

Michael J. Stebleton, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

Much has been written about student activism, which has played a central role in social justice movements in the U.S. since the Civil Rights Movement. Students will likely continue to engage in activism, and as the political climate in the U.S. grows more hostile, student affairs educators must continue supporting students and themselves advocating for social justice. These dynamics continue to be complicated by the pandemic, where social distancing requirements prohibit large gatherings and many of the in-person interactions that previously facilitated relationships between practitioners and student activists. Read more.

Engaging Civic Religious Pluralism

R-e-s-p-e-c-t for Religious and Non-Religious Identity

Becca Hartman-Pickerill, Interfaith Youth Core

Is it necessary to state that respect for other’s worldview identities is foundational to building civic religious pluralism on campus and beyond? Public discourse and contemporary culture would answer, "Yes!" One might guess that given the diversity of the U.S. and the fact that religious freedom is written into the Constitution, Americans must be expert at this first part of pluralism, but opinion polls, social science research, and the nightly news reveal the gaps in this fundamental area of American life.  Read more.

Critical Religious Studies in Higher Education

Detailing Critical Religious Pluralism Theory

Jenny L. Small, Convergence

Critical Religious Pluralism Theory was designed with a twofold purpose: “acknowledging the central roles of religious privilege, oppression, hegemony, and marginalization in maintaining inequality between Christians and non-Christians in the United States” and “developing a plan of action for utilizing the theory to combat the very inequalities it exposes” (Small, 2020, p. 61). Read more

Fostering Moral Development

A Change Is Going to Come: Managing Challenging Transitions

Alan Acosta, Clark University

 If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught higher education professionals anything, it has certainly provided lots of lessons about managing various forms of transition. In the Spring 2020 academic term, most institutions had to pivot from the traditional in-person educational experience to a 100% remote learning model. In the academic terms to follow, continuing to the time of this writing, most institutions are navigating the numerous unexpected challenges the pandemic has presented.  Read more.