Agency and Student Development in Higher Education : A Cross-Cultural and Cross-Disciplinary Exploration

Students experience development and growth during their higher education journey, but the exact mechanisms behind this process remain relatively unknown. This chapter seeks to shed light on how students develop, grow, and attain empowerment in higher education by focusing on the interactions between individuals and their surroundings (referred to as I-world interactions). Employing a multicultural and multidisciplinary approach, the chapter begins by examining various cultural and philosophical perspectives on I-world interactions, such as the German idealistic, Chinese Confucian, and Islamic Sunni philosophies. Subsequently, it delves into the implications of these interactions for individual development and growth in higher education, drawing from research in psychology, sociology, and education. The chapter argues that three fundamental elements underlie I-world interactions in all three philosophical approaches: the acknowledgement of agency, exercise of agency and enhancement of agency. Higher education allows students to exhibit agency, as supported by sociological theories and psychological evidence of human functioning. Students actively exercise their agency, especially when engaging with environmental factors both within and outside the university setting. If universities effectively structure and implement this process, they can contribute to the enhancement of students’ agency. The three shared elements among the examined cultural philosophies and the empirical evidence in educational, psychological, and sociological studies together form foundations for understanding how students become empowered in higher education and for positioning the enhancement of students’ agency at the centre of higher education across contexts.