Issue
26(1)
How
College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research (Volume 2).
(2005). Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 848 pp. Price $52.00. ISBN 0-7879-1044-9.
Review
by: Karen G.
Spangler
Academic
Advising
Ball State University,
Muncie, Indiana
Do not read this book - if you are looking
for some light, leisure, reading entertainment!
Do have a copy of this edition on your
shelf if you are involved with assisting any and all students
in their often daunting pursuit of higher education! Use Pascarella
and Terenzini's newest edition of, "How College Affects Students:
A Third Decade of Research (Volume 2)" as a reference, an encyclopedia,
and a catalogue when you are shopping for detailed information
related to, dare I say, any measurable variable that
can be associated with student behaviors, attitudes, and changes
experienced throughout active and post-college affiliations.
Pascarella and Terenzini revisit their
previous edition of this text in order to "rewrite [the]
ground rules" (1) on which earlier research and conclusions were
based in order to reflect the changing dynamics of the college/university
student body. In addition, not only have the dynamics of the student
body changed, but changes are also continually taking place in
trends that influence academic support systems - one of the main
motivators for issuing a revised volume.
One reason to update from Volume 1 to
Volume 2, for owners of Pascarella and Terenzini's first volume,
is that the authors were able to expand on research findings presented
in their first volume. Some of the differences from their earlier
literature reflect the results of having access to "nationally
representative databases," (p. 626) changes in pedagogy, changes
in "public policy issues, especially affirmative action," which
have broadened the scope of research, and improvements in the
quality of research methodology.
For those building or adding to book
collections, one reason to invest in Volume 2 of "How College
Affects Students," is to have a source of information that can
satisfy immediate needs for answers to questions and serve as
a resource that can provide direction for more in-depth, detailed
research. For example, in under five minutes (yes, I timed
myself) I was able to locate a specific topic, "the first
generation college student," in the subject index, read entries
from the authors in six separate locations throughout the volume,
and identify at least eleven references to research data and projects
in the reference index that can now guide me to other research
sources.
Pascarella and Terenzini's second volume
of "How College Affects Students" provides a satisfying research
experience. To use the book otherwise, as in attempting to read
it cover to cover, one would quickly realize that the task could
become quite a tedious exercise as the chapters are generally
organized in a predictable, prescriptive manner loaded with research
data and "cautious conclusions" (p. 503) based on findings.
It is, however,
exactly this prescriptive organization of the chapters - topic
and introduction, changes during college, net effects, etc., -
and the detailed content which make the text easy and worthwhile
to reference. In this respect, Pascarella and Terenzini provide
us with a usable tool to include in our book collections.
