Student Engagement in Higher Education ─ Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations

Student Engagement in Higher Education fills a longstanding void in higher education and student affairs literature. The editors and chapter authors show how diverse populations of students experience college differently and encounter group-specific barriers to success. Informed by relevant theories, each chapter focuses on a different population for whom research confirms that engagement and connectivity to the college experience are problematic, including: low-income students, racial/ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, LGBT students, and religious minority students. The second edition has been fully revised and updated to include new material on Muslim students, online and distance learning environments, and for-profit educational institutions.

The forward-thinking, practical ideas offered throughout the book are based work experience in various capacities at two-year and four-year institutions of higher education. Current and future faculty, administrators, and student affairs staff will undoubtedly find this book complete with fresh strategies to reverse problematic engagement trends among a wide range of college student populations.

Shaun R. Harper is an Assistant Professor in the Higher Education Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania. He maintains an active research agenda that examines race and gender in higher education; African American male college achievement; racial/ethnic minority student retention; the effects of college environments on student behaviors and outcomes; student affairs at historically Black colleges and universities; and gains associated with educationally purposeful student engagement, both inside and outside of the classroom. His dissertation study on high-achieving African American men at predominantly White universities received the 2004 National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Melvene D. Hardee Dissertation of the Year Award. In addition, Dr. Harper is recipient of the 2005 Emerging Scholar Award and the 2006 Annuit Coeptis Award for early career achievement, both given by the American College Personnel Association. He has presented over 100 research papers, symposia, and workshops at national higher education and student affairs professional conferences since 2000. He is the editor of three forthcoming books and author of 34 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and other scholarly publications. Additionally, Dr. Harper currently serves as Director of Research on the NASPA International Board of Directors; an editorial board member for the Journal of College Student Development and NASPA Journal; and a member of the Advisory Committee for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education.

Stephen John Quaye will soon begin a tenure-track Assistant Professorship in the College Student Personnel Program at the University of Maryland, College Park. He currently serves as a Research Assistant in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at The Pennsylvania State University. His research concentrates on the influence of race relations on college and university campuses, specifically the gains and outcomes associated with inclusive racial climates, cross-racial interactions, and color-conscious pedagogical approaches. Over the past three years, he has presented 17 sessions at national higher education and student affairs conferences. Stephen is lead editor (with Peter Magolda) of the forthcoming book, Educational Awakenings: Meaningful Rites of Passage of Graduate Students, and author of nearly a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and other scholarly publications. He currently serves as a Department Editor for About Campus, Associate Editor of Higher Education in Review (a national student-run, peer-reviewed journal at Penn State), and an editorial board member for the Journal of the Professoriate.