EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN STUDENTS AND THE PATH TO SELF-AUTHORSHIP

This narrative study adopts the lens and language of Baxter Magolda's self-authorship framework to explore the faith development of four evangelical Christian students from their first year of college through their third year. The findings suggest several common elements in the students' narratives earnest questions about "what is true?", the significant roles of family members and peers in the construction of perspectives on truth, and the centrality of various religious communities in propelling or encumbering self-authored faith development along with some important distinctions. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed.