impact of college residence on the development of critical thinking skills in college freshmen, The

Journal of College Student Development, Nov/Dec 1998 by Inman, Patricia, Pascarella, Ernest

Building on the foundation of research on how critical thinking develops during college and the extensive research on differences in the resident and commuter student experiences, researchers explored aspects of the college experience that might be associated with cognitive development. Data from 6 institutions representing 326 resident and 316 commuter students are analyzed.

A substantial body of research on the impact of college on students (particularly the role of residence in student development) has provided an empirical foundation for the focus on residence as a factor in education in recent decades. This research documents the influential role of student residence on a range of outcomes. These outcomes include: aesthetics; cultural and intellectual values; sociopolitical liberalism; secularism; self-esteem; autonomy, independence, and internal locus of control; persistence in college and degree attainment; and use of principled reasoning in judging moral issues (Anderson,1981; Astin,1972, 1973,1975,1982; Baird,1969; Chickering,1974; Chickering & Kuper,1971; Chickering, McDowell, & Campagna, 1969; Herndon, 1984; Matteson, 1974; Pace, 1984; Pascarella & Chapman, 1983; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Rest & Deemer, 1986; Rich & Jolicoeur,1978; Scott,1975; Sullivan & Sullivan,1980; Welty,1976; Wilson, Anderson, & Fleming, 1987). Differences between residents and commuters on these outcomes persist even when controlling for gender, race, socioeconomic status, secondary school achievement, academic ability, and precollege levels of the outcome in question. These findings suggest that residence may be a factor that transcends the influence of various background variables on the subject outcomes.

However, the general body of research on the impact of residence is limited in providing an understanding of the influence of residence on cognitive outcomes. In a single institution study, Pascarella, Bohr, Nora, Zusman, Inman and Desler (1993) found significant differences between residents and commuters in freshman-year gains in critical thinking, even when precollege critical thinking, academic motivation, age, credit hours taken, and work responsibilities were statistically equated. These findings suggested the need for further investigation of the cognitive impact of residence.

The research on the development of critical thinking skills during the college years generally has suggested that: (a) college attendance positively impacts the development of critical thinking skills; (b) special programs, courses or instructional styles can target improvement in critical thinking skills; and (c) there is little independent variation in critical thinking development attributable to different curricular interests or experiences such as physical sciences in comparison with social sciences.

Collectively, the research has supported the notion that the totality of the college experience is more important than particular attributes of a program of study. This notion suggests that aspects of the general college experience, rather than particular disciplinary differences, influence cognitive development during college. The problem is then to define the out-of-class experiences that constitute a "commonality" of experience for undergraduate college students and to delineate variations in this experience. Given existing theory and evidence, increased levels of involvement in the educational and interpersonal systems of an institution that are linked with living on campus are likely to foster relatively greater levels of cognitive growth in residents than would occur in their commuter counterparts.

Understanding preenrollment differences is important when examining the differential impacts of college on commuter and resident students. Chickering and Kuper (1971) examined the experiences of college students from data collected by the American Council on Education and the Project on Student Development in Small Colleges directed by Chickering from 1965 to 1970. The study revealed differences between residential and commuter students that the authors broadly referred to as the "differences between the haves and the have-nots" (p. 257). In this statement, they summarized the general findings that the parents of resident students had higher incomes and more education. In addition, these students achieved better grades in high school and scored higher on aptitude tests.

Marked precollege differences between students who reside on campus and those who commute to college have been well documented since Chickering and Kuper's (1971) account. National survey data, including data collected by the American Council on Education, the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, and National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, reveal that initial differences between the two groups cover a broad range of characteristics. Students who choose to reside on campus come from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, have higher degree aspirations, higher initial commitment to the institution that they attend, and anticipate a higher level of social involvement in college than their commuter counterparts. In addition, residential students received higher grades during high school and came to college with higher academic aptitude as measured by preadmission tests (Chickering,1974; Chickering & Kuper,1971; Levin & Clowes, 1982; Pascarella, 1984; Welty, 1976).