| Summary: | CEGEPs (Colleges d'enseignement general et professionnel) were designed with the aim of developing intellectual abilities in young adults. The purpose of this study was to describe the cognitive and affective abilities of CEGEP students at the beginning and end of CEGEP and to measure the change in these abilities. Comparing student cognitive and affective abilities at the beginning of, during and at the end of CEGEP, according to known measures of student development, would establish what changes occur during the college years, and would thereby promote a more thorough understanding of the students which CEGEPs serve. The cognitive development of CEGEP students was assessed by examining the three broad areas of development most focused on at the college level: reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Affective development was studied by examining the moral reasoning and ego development of CEGEP students and students' attitudes toward knowledge and learning. === The research design for the study was an interrupted time series on male and female students in three college programs: Science, Social Science, and Commerce. The experimental sample consisted of 334 students who entered CEGEP in 1985 in these programs. The students were selected at random and administered a series of cognitive and affective measures upon entry to college as part of the college's assessment procedure. The students were retested at the end of the first year of CEGEP and at the end of the second year of CEGEP. Samples were also selected in May 1986 and May 1987 to control for history, selection, maturation, and testing effects. === The findings suggest that students' cognitive and affective abilities increase while attending CEGEP, but that most students do not begin college with the complex intellectual abilities required for academic success. Students in all programs made significant gains in vocabulary, comprehension, writing, critical thinking, moral reasoning, and ego development. Changes also occurred in certain attitudes toward knowledge and learning. Male and female students differed in critical thinking and ego development, but did not differ in vocabulary, comprehension, writing, or moral reasoning. Differences among programs were found in vocabulary, comprehension, critical thinking, and moral reasoning, but were not found in writing or ego development.
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