Definitions: Developmental Education

Here are some definitions of developmental education from various sources. You may want to search the web site of the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) to peruse its extensive collection of materials. In addition, there was an interesting exchange of views on LRNASST beginning in July, 1995 that can be accessed through its archives at  http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html

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Developmental programs at institutions of higher education encompass a variety of courses and services that are conducted to provide assistance to individuals who have been denied regular admission to the institution because of failure to meet specified admission and placement requirements or because of predicted risk in meeting the requirements of college-level courses. These services focus primarily on skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and study and test-taking strategies, as well as personal adjustment and other affective variables that are critical to success in the college curriculum. Tomlinson, Louise M.(1989). Postsecondary Developmental Programs. A Traditional Agenda with New Imperatives. ERIC Digest.

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"In this book [Improving Student Learning Skills], I will use 'learning assistance' in describing general academic skills programs that serve all students and are based on a developmental philosophy, but I will use 'developmental' to describe mandatory programs that are offered to the weakest students, referring occasionally to remedial programs when that is their official title. The term 'learning assistance programs,' I feel, includes both remedial, compensatory programs, developmental, learning resources and transitional programs but is not limited to them, and offers a variety of services to other student clients including advanced undergraduates as well as graduate students." Maxwell, M. (1997). Improving student learning skills: A new edition. Clearwater, FL: H & H Publishing Company, Inc. 10.

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"The more current term, 'developmental' originally came from the field of student personnel and was applied, beginning in the late seventies, to programs that took a more comprehensive view of the individual student and sought to promote growth in both academic and personal areas. It infers that a college or university should provide a comprehensive support system that meets students where they are and combines assistance in academic areas with personal counseling. Rather than focusing solely on weak skill areas, a developmental approach assumes that everyone has talents and is strong in some area. By acknowledging these strengths while building those areas that are underdeveloped, a more positive tone is established with the student." Casazza, M. (June 20, 1995 ). Evolution of Learning Assistance in Higher Education at http://nlu.nl.edu/ace/Resources/Documents/LearningAsst.html.

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"Both terms, remedial and compensatory, have contributed to the negative connotation associated with the programs and the students that they were meant to describe. They have tended to focus on weaknesses and highlight the differences between these students and those enrolled in the more advanced college curriculum. As learning assistance has become more acceptable and more integral to the well-being of higher education, a new term has come into use which reflects this shift in perspective.

"The more current term, "developmental" originally came from the field of student personnel and was applied, beginning in the late seventies, to programs that took a more comprehensive view of the individual student and sought to promote growth in both academic and personal areas. It infers that a college or university should provide a comprehensive support system that meets students where they are and combines assistance in academic areas with personal counseling. Rather than focusing solely on weak skill areas, a developmental approach assumes that everyone has talents and is strong in some area. By acknowledging these strengths while building those areas that are underdeveloped, a more positive tone is established with the student." Retrieved January 29, 2003 from Both terms, remedial and compensatory, have contributed to the negative connotation associated with the programs and the students that they were meant to describe. They have tended to focus on weaknesses and highlight the differences between these students and those enrolled in the more advanced college curriculum. As learning assistance has become more acceptable and more integral to the well-being of higher education, a new term has come into use which reflects this shift in perspective. " Retrieved January 29, 2003 from "Evolution of Learning Assistance in Higher Education" by Martha Casazza at http://nlu.nl.edu/ace/Resources/Documents/LearningAsst.html

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"Developmental Education is the on-ramp to the superhighway of higher education. If students aren't up to speed academically when they enter our doors, we provide them the means to gain speed and to successfully merge with the mainstream curriculum" Gene Beckett, in Awards Breakfast Acceptance Speech, NADE '95, Chicago, IL, Feb 25, 1995

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"Developmental education is a field of practice and research within higher education with a theoretical foundation in developmental psychology and learning theory. It promotes the cognitive and affective growth of all postsecondary learners, at all levels of the learning continuum. Developmental education is sensitive and responsive to the individual differences and special needs among learners. Developmental education programs and services commonly address academic preparedness, diagnostic assessment and placement, development of general and discipline-specific learning strategies, and affective barriers to learning." C. Stream. NADE. (1995). Definitions and goals statements at  http://www.nade.net/aboutDevEd/definition.html

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"Developmental programs at institutions of higher education encompass a variety of courses and services that are conducted to provide assistance to individuals who have been denied regular admission to the institution because of failure to meet specified admission and placement requirements or because of predicted risk in meeting the requirements of college-level courses. These services focus primarily on skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and study and test-taking strategies, as well as personal adjustment and other affective variables that are critical to success in the college curriculum." Louise M. Tomlinson (University of Georgia), "Postsecondary Developmental Programs: A Traditional Agenda With New Imperatives," Report #3, ASHE-ERIC HIGHER EDUCATION REPORTS, 1989, p. 2. (EDO-HE-89-3)

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"Developmental education might then be defined as a professional specialty concerned with promoting educational opportunity, academic skill development, and educational efficiency in postsecondary education. A developmental educator would then be anyone who has a primary professional commitment to this specialty as evidenced by his or her participation in research, training, or delivery of services in the field. And developmental programs would include any organizational entity on a college campus designed to accomplish the mission of the field." Boylan, H.R. (1983). Is developmental education working? An analysis of research. The National Association for Remedial and Developmental Studies in Post Secondary Education.

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"The developmental educator facilitates the improvement of skills of underprepared students so that they may realize their own potential and reach their educational goals" Dickens, M.E. (1980). Practitioners formulate competencies for developmental educators. JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL & REMEDIAL EDUCATION, 4, (1), 17.

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In a book on community college teaching, the authors combine the word, "remedial" and "developmental" when they define remedial developmental education as a class or activity intended to meet the needs of students who initially do not have the skills, experience, or orientation necessary to perform at a level that the institution or instructor recognizes as "regular or college-level instruction" Grubb, W. N.. (1999). Honored But Invisible. Routledge, 74

For a more detailed look at Developmental Education, read the following:

Casazza, M. and Silberman. (1996). Learning Asistance and Developmental Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Boylan, H. R.(1999). Developmental Education: Demographics, Outcomes, and Activities. Journal of Developmental Education, 23 (2). Reprinted at http://www.ncde.appstate.edu/reserve reading/V23-2boylan demographics.htm

Clowes, D. A. (1980). More than a definitional problem: Remedial, compensatory, and developmental education. Journal of Developmental Education, 4(l), 8-10.

Higbee, J. L. Defining Developmental Education: A Commentary

Reynolds, J. Unit 1: What's a Developmental Student? Part I and Part II in  Training Manual: Cooperative Learning and Classroom Management at http://www.polk.edu/instruct/ALSS/Jean_r/writingresources/HomePagetraining.html

Rubin, M. (1987). What's in a name: The need for resolution of terminology confusion in developmental education. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 20, 8-15.

Rubin, M. (1991). A glossary of developmental education terms compiled by the CRLA task force on professional language for college reading and learning. Journal of College Reading and Learning, (33: 2), 1-13.