Running head: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Case Study Analysis

Allison Schipma
Loyola University Chicago

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

My initial thoughts and reactions to this case study were that I immediately agreed with
the students who felt uncomfortable around the swastika tattoos that Jason was displaying.
When I tried to dig a little bit deeper into why my initial reaction was this, I discovered that it
connected directly to the learning styles that we had identified in class a few weeks ago. I had
found myself within the accommodator learning spectrum. I think that this connects to my initial
reaction because we who identify as accommodators are processors who take into account life
experiences. In my life experiences, I have identified the swastika as a negative symbol, which
helped form my initial reaction. While this can be helpful because I may be able to identify with
a student who has similar life experiences as this and help them process through, this can also be
dangerous.
After reading the paper that Jason had submitted, I was able to widen my perspective. I
believe again that his connects to my learning style in that I am able to understand complex
situations and relationships. In life, I believe that every situation is essentially a learning
experience and I think that by identifying the different aspects of my learning style, this will also
help frame how I will form a plan of actions for the students involved in this case.
Chickering and Reissers Seven Vectors
There are seven main vectors in which college students develop throughout their time at a
university. These seven vectors are: developing competence, managing emotions, moving
through autonomy toward independence, developing mature interpersonal relationships,
establishing identity, developing purpose, and developing integrity. (Chickering Reisser 1993)
Chickering and Reisser believe that within a students time at the university they will move
throughout these seven vectors as a result of multiple life experiences that occur. This

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

development does not happen within a day, week, or a month- but rather over the course of many
years. Each of these vectors contributes to how a student further develops their identity. Within
this case study, you can identify where each student may currently reside developmentally. By
identifying which vector a student is in, you can help see where the natural progression goes next
and identify specific strategies to help develop them holistically.
Exploring Alexs development through Chickering and Reisser
When looking at the seven vectors and assessing Alexs development, I believe that he
falls within two vectors at the same time. I believe that through this experience, Alex truly is
developing competence while also just beginning to learn how to manage his emotions. I do not
believe that movement through the vectors needs to be linear, so I think that Alex is experiencing
things from two of the vectors. One of the key aspects of moving through any development
process, although not always necessary, is having a corrective emotional experience.
One of the pieces of the developing competence vector that I believe Alex relates to is
the competition and creation bring emotions to the surface (Chickering Reisser, 1993, p.45)
For Alex, his Jewish identity is an identity that he strongly connects to. Alex is very upset be the
tattoo because it represents such a negative part of the culture and identity that he holds. As
President and founder of the Interfaith Council, I can see that Alex cares deeply about his
religion and this part of his identity so he had a strong emotional reaction to the tattoos that Jason
has.
I also believe that Alex is slowly beginning to learn how to manage emotions. I believe
this because while he did have a very emotional response, he was able to come and talk to me
about it in order to find a solution as opposed to going to Jason and threatening him directly.

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While he has not fully developed in either stage, I believe that he is moving towards being able
to manage his emotions effectively- which is something I will keep in mind when deciding what
to do with this situation.
Exploring Maysoons development through Chickering and Reisser
When looking at the seven vectors and how they relate to Maysoon, I believe that
Maysoon is in a different phase of her development than Alex. While Maysoon is feeling these
emotions, she is working through ways in which to help herself and her friends process through
them. I believe that Maysoon is exhibiting behavior from the moving through autonomy
towards interdependence vector. (Chickering Reisser, 1993, p.47) Within this phase you are
slowly becoming more autonomous and working through the various aspects of being
independent as well.
There are two aspects of this particular vector that I believe apply to Maysoon and her
development. Chickering and Reisser speak about these aspects as emotional and instrumental
independence. These aspects refer to how a person goes through processing and developing their
emotions, and who they seek out as a resource to do so. Throughout this case study, I believe that
Maysoon has achieved a sort of instrumental independence, but still needs to develop emotional
independence.
An aspect of instrumental independence as written by Chickering and Reisser is that it
has two major components: the ability to organize activities and to solve problems in a selfdirected way, and the ability to be mobile. (Chickering Reisser, 1993, p. 47) I believe that
Maysoon demonstrates this because she is willing to put together some sort of discussion with
her peers in order to process through their emotions and handle the situation effectively.

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However, she has requested my presence there, which shows me that she may not be emotionally
independent yet. A key aspect of being emotionally independent is it culminates in diminishing
need for such support (parent, adult) and increased willingness to risk loss of friends
(Chickering Reisser, 1993, p. 47) While she does want to make things better, Maysoon still
counts on me to be there to help support rather than her leading the discussion herself.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Applying Chickering and Reissers Theory
While the theory and vectors developed by Chickering and Reisser definitely have value
in how to relate to a student and how they are developing, I do believe that there are certain
aspects of the theory that may not be the most useful. One of the specific strengths of the theory
is that it gives a very basic foundation to understanding different developmental phases that a
student may pass through during their time at a university. However, this theory can also be seen
as restrictive. While students may pass through these phases, it is important to remember and be
cognizant of the fact that it is not necessary to move through each of these vectors to be
developed.
Another aspect of these vectors that can be criticized is the acknowledgement of the lack
of diversity when forming these. I believe that a lot of the development that takes place for a
student within their time at a university is the context in which the development happens. These
theories lack the understanding that each student will move through these vectors, if not
additional ones. I believe that these theories can help give us a framework as to how students
develop, but it is important for us to not get stuck within this mindset. This can become
dangerous when we are attempting to help students develop, because we may get in the mindset
that they need to be going through specific phases in order to develop holistically.

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Perrys theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development

Perrys theory breaks down how students think into four separate frameworks. These four
frameworks are: dualism, multiplicity, relativism, and commitment in relativism. (Perry, 1981,
p.79) When looking at the four separate aspects each have different characteristics. The dualism
piece refers to how students can be trapped into looking at situations and possible outcomes as
having only one or two options. Multiplicity is the acknowledgment that there are other opinions
and that they can have value within the context, and it demonstrates complexity in thinking. The
relativism piece is knowing that knowledge is constructed and that students create their own
truth. Finally, commitment in relativism is when one accepts responsibility of the pluralistic
world and acts through commitment to establish his or her identity. (Perry, 1981, p.80 )
Exploring Alexs development through Perrys framework
Throughout this case study Alex has demonstrated that he can be very dualistic within his
framework and thinking. Dualism is defined by Perry as, the division of meaning into two
realms- Good versus Bad, Right versus Wrong, We versus They (Perry, 1981, p.79) Alex
demonstrates this thinking by saying that if they do not remove Jason from the situation then he
will be transferring schools. Alex has even gone as far as to schedule appointments to make these
decisions final. On top of these things Alex seems to put all of the responsibility on me as an
authority figure to make the right decision. It appears that Alex is unable to see that there may be
more than just those options. When looking at the Scheme of Cognitive and Ethical Development
that Perry had created, I would say that Alex is developing between position one and position
two.

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There are certain aspects of each position that I think that Alex identifies with. Part of the
position one description is that Authorities know Whole thing (Perry, 1981, 79), and it was
evident that he resonated with that aspect of position one when he mentioned that if you really
care about issues of diversity and social justice youll fix this! This showed me that he was
counting on me as the authority figure to resolve the situation as opposed to taking steps himself
to remedy the problems that he saw. He also identifies with aspects of position two. A piece that
is described within position two is that Others must be Different (Perry, 1981, 79). To me, Alex
was unable to accept Jason and his differences because he could not see that Jason had the
capability to also hear and respect Alexs thoughts and opinions. It is important to identify which
type of thinker and processor Alex is in order to help identify steps and processes to use in my
final plan of action to help him transition into multiplicity thinking.
Exploring Maysoons development through Perrys framework
When reflecting on how Maysoon thinks and processes through problems, I concluded
that she is a multiplistic thinker. I believe this because to me, Maysoon demonstrates a very deep
and complex way of thinking. Multiplistic thinking can be defined as, Diversity of opinion and
values is recognized as legitimate in areas where right answers are not yet known. (Perry, 1983,
p. 79) I think that the fact that Maysoon even wants to hold the meeting so that her peers are able
to effectively and appropriately process through what they are feeling and thinking about the
difficult situation. I also see this as Maysoon understanding that there are a variety of opinions
and thoughts about the situation, and she will respect those. I also feel as though she
demonstrates multiplicity in her thinking by showing concern for the student that all of the other
students feel uncomfortable around. To me, she is recognizing that his opinion is valued and she
wants to respect that.

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Much like Alex, I believe that she demonstrates connections to different aspects of
positions three. I think that she connects with position three because demonstrates in her thinking
that then some uncertainties and different opinions are real and legitimate temporarily, even for
authorities. Theyre working on them to get the Truth. (Perry, 1981, p.79) While she knows and
respects that there are other opinions and a variety of feelings about the situation, it seems as
though she believes that a simple conversation, which I will moderate, will help solve the
problem. I think that the face that she asked me to even be there shows that she respects their
opinions and feelings, but that I would be the one to decide ultimately what is right and wrong or
who can have their opinion validated. I also believe that Maysoon is close to transitioning all the
way through position three, but she needs to build more autonomy before that does happen.
Strengths and weaknesses of Applying Perrys Theory
While Perrys theory can be seen as a great tool to use when helping to identify the
progress of a students development, I do believe that there are some troubling aspects as well. A
strength that Perrys theory has is that it paints great framework for how students think and
process through information. While it may seem very broad, it is easier to translate it and apply it
to a variety of students. This can be useful when you are looking at students as a whole within
their developmental process but this can also be harmful. With generalizing students into one
large framework, you are not taking into account separate identities and contexts in which
students frame their identities and how they think. Similar to my criticisms about Chickering and
Reissers theory of development, I dont think that there was enough context or respect for
cultural identities added when developing this theory.

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Conclusion
When deciding how to move forward with the situation and looking out for the best
interest of the students, I would say that both a collective and individual approach would be
necessary. I believe that meeting with the students each individually to decipher their feelings
and thoughts would be the most productive. I would ask them each to read what Jason had
written, so they have the opportunity to reflect and process a different take on a very personal
situation. For each student, I would already have specific questions set to help get their
discussion going, and then from those conversations I would ask specific follow up questions to
help me gauge whether or not a large group discussion would be beneficial. My questions would
be the following:
Alex: Why do you feel as though I should be the one to do something about this? Have
you thought about the idea that maybe approaching Jason yourself to have a conversation
might be beneficial?
Maysoon: How do you think Jasons tattoos affect your ability as a student athlete? Do
you think that removing Jasons gym privileges is the right idea? Why or why not?
Shannon: Why do you feel that swastikas diminish the impact of the Safe Zone stickers?
What about Jasons tattoos makes you feel uncomfortable specifically?
Within these meetings I would bring up the idea of hosting some sort of group discussion.
My hope for this discussion would be to have an open forum where Jason would be able to speak
for himself and help educate the campus community on the different meanings of the swastika.
Through this event, he can feel supported by getting a chance to reflect on his experience. This
would also be an opportunity for students who have the same mindset as Alex to display their

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concerns and have an open an honest discussion. I would also reach out to the community to see
what resources there are. If there are none that I can easily identify within the community, I
would reach out for support from other universities or programs that may have resources to
connect with via Skype. I think that this is an opportunity that can really benefit the entire
campus community. As far as environmental influences, my main concern is Jason and his safety.
I know that Maysoon worried that some of her friends may get together to take matters into their
own hands- so I would work with her to identify those students who are upset and see if we can
get them involved in the campus wide discussion.
I believe that each of these students, by taking a stand and trying to determine what they
believe show a great sense of autonomy and personal development already. I view my role as an
educator as a catalyst. I am not here to push them from one vector to another. I am not here to
help make sure that they are out of position four by the end of their junior year. I am here to help
them take responsibilities for how they want to develop and give them resources to do so. While
this situation is definitely not ideal, it is a great opportunity to learn more about those who are
different from you. The skills learned from this situation will translate to all areas of their life. It
is my job to help pull these skills that they already have and help them connect to what they are
going through.

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References

Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity (2nd ed.) San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.
Perry, W. G. (1981). Cognitive and ethical growth: The making of meaning. In A. W.
Chickering, & Associates (Eds.), The modern American college (pp. 76-116). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.