ABSTRACT
The complex history and relationship between cognitive-structural development models with epistemological and intellectual development models is emblematic of the shift in the ways student affairs professionals think about structures of knowing. For many learning about epistemological and intellectual development, there will be obvious connections with self-authorship and other structures of making meaning. Earlier theories noted the relationship between intellectual growth with interpersonal and affective development, yet segmented these interrelated concepts to gain a better and more isolated understanding. In synthesizing foundational and critical theories of cognitive development, K. B. Taylor recognized the necessity of understanding ways of knowing through lenses of power, privilege, and oppression. Less commonly discussed in student affairs, but essential in understanding how students make meaning, are non-dominant frameworks like indigenous epistemologies, Black feminist epistemology, and trans epistemology, among many others.
