Community Identity Development and Interpersonal Development in Tertiary Education in Trinidad and Tobago

Authors

Elizabeth Niehaus, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Letitia Williams, University of the District of ColumbiaFollow
Adam Fullerton, University of Nebraska– Lincoln

Date of this Version

7-2020

Citation

Published in Journal of College Student Development 61:4 (July-August 2020), pp. 492-509.

DOI: 10.1353/csd.2020.0053

Comments

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press. Used by permission.

Abstract

Given the rapid increase in tertiary enrollments in Trinidad and Tobago over the past 2 decades, there is a critical need for locally based research to guide practice in student support services. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the work of student support services—in particular, students’ interactions with student support services staff, interactions with their peers, and cocurricular engagement—and student development in Trinidad and Tobago. Findings regarding the importance of student support services in contributing to student development have important implications for practice in Trinidad and Tobago and also for the ways in which we might understand student engagement and student development in a collectivist cultural context.