Program
Education Doctorate
Number of Pages
178
Year Approved
2025
First Advisor
Jessica Daniels
Second Reader
Cameron Conn
Third Reader
Krista Soria
Abstract
Leaders of higher education institutions often articulate goals for undergraduate students’ academic and social development that correspond with the essential learning outcomes identified by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. The achievement of these objectives requires students to hone skills, abilities, and ways of thinking that align with the development of self-authorship. To assist students’ development, universities often provide an array of services and opportunities for engagement, including academic support services and on-campus work experiences. Until this research, the impact of the intersection of these elements remained unexamined. Astin’s input-environment-outcome model and Baxter Magolda’s theory of self-authorship served as the theoretical framework for this research. This cross-sectional quantitative study explored the associations between undergraduate students’ on-campus employment experiences relative to peer academic support and their levels of campus cultural fit, academic capital, and school-family integration, based on their length and type of employment. The College Social-Emotional Crossroads Inventory (C-SECI) was used to collect responses from a sample of 176 undergraduate students, and data were analyzed through a series of multiple linear regressions. The results suggest that engagement in on-campus work experiences may positively contribute to students’ levels of campus cultural fit and academic capital, although no significant associations for employment length or job type were identified for levels of school-family integration. The researcher discusses the varied benefits of each type of position and provides suggestions for higher education professionals to enhance students’ employment experiences. Keywords: undergraduate students, on-campus employment, self-authorship, campus cultural fit, academic capital, school-family integration
Degree Name
Education Doctorate
Document Type
Doctoral dissertation
Recommended Citation
Kofler, S. M. (2025). Navigating the Crossroads: Peer Academic Support, On-Campus Work Experiences, and the Journey Toward Self-Authorship [Doctoral dissertation, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/1194
Terms of Use and License Information
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