Sanford's Theory of Challenge and Support

Sanford’s Theory of Challenge and Support

Adapted from the Sanford PowerPoint in Student Development Theory at Oklahoma State University.  Information also found in Student Development in College by Nancy Evan's, et al.

Key Terms and Definition

• Readiness – happens when your body, your mind, or something in the environment reaches a tipping point.
• Challenge – a stimulus that upsets a student’s equilibrium
• Support – the stabilizing response that makes a challenge manageable
• Optimal Dissonance/Mismatch – the amount of challenge a person can handle is related to the amount of support present
• Stagnation – too much support and not enough challenge
• Differentiation
• Integration
• Stimuli – internal or external
• Retreat – If challenge is too great, a student may retreat (or cease to develop)

Key Tenets of the Theory

• A person develops through being challenged
• For that challenge to occur, there must be either internal or external stimuli that upset the current equilibrium.
• Example
• Freshman students are more likely to need more support in response to the challenges that college brings, while Seniors are more likely to be able to handle increasing challenges with less support
• The amount of challenge that a person can handle is related to the amount of support present/available
• Both challenge and support are required for development to occur

The optimal mismatch for any particular student varies depending on the quality of the challenge and support provided by the environment, as well as a student’s characteristics

Additional Notes

• Often a catch-all theory that can apply to most situations and case studies
• Common misunderstanding is that Student Affairs professionals must supply the challenge.  This can be the case, but it is most often that life has provided the challenge and Student Affairs professionals provide the support needed to develop through the challenge.