Community Colleges as Cultural Texts

Community Colleges as Cultural Texts
Author: Kathleen M. Shaw
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 1999-09-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780791442890

Questions whether, and how, community colleges confront the challenges of diversity and provide real opportunities for upward mobility.

Community Colleges as Cultural Texts

Community Colleges as Cultural Texts
Author: Kathleen M. Shaw
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 230
Release: 1999-09-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780791442906

Questions whether, and how, community colleges confront the challenges of diversity and provide real opportunities for upward mobility.

The Academic Crisis of the Community College

The Academic Crisis of the Community College
Author: Dennis McGrath
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 200
Release: 1991-01-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780791405628

"What I like most about this book is that the authors do not see community colleges as being separate from other parts of post-secondary education. The usual view of two-year colleges is reductionist -- perceiving them exclusively in functional ways -- vocational, collegiate, remedial, etc. McGrath and Spear see community colleges as part of the full historical unfolding of educational institutions in the United States and, thus, critique them as academic institutions. This is an important work -- more intellectually challenging and wide ranging than virtually all books on the subject." -- L. Steven Zwerling New York University School of Continuing Education "This is a book which will stand out. It takes a genuinely fresh, integrated approach to a difficult and vexing problem. The authors develop a synoptic picture of education in the community college by tracing the ways in which that institution has been shaped. The authors present a convincing framework within which they can discuss the past failures of efforts at reform and put forward their own proposals." -- William M. Sullivan, LaSalle University; co-author Habits of the Heart "The concept of 'remedialization' of the community college is an important contribution to the understanding of community colleges. This work is appealing because it draws from and is influenced by a diversity of works in philosophy, education theory, organization theory, and literary analysis. I especially appreciate the fact that this book does not proselytize the community college credo nor politicize its function." -- Estela M. Bensimon, The Pennsylvania State University

Redesigning America’s Community Colleges

Redesigning America’s Community Colleges
Author: Thomas R. Bailey
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2015-04-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0674368282

In the United States, 1,200 community colleges enroll over ten million students each year—nearly half of the nation’s undergraduates. Yet fewer than 40 percent of entrants complete an undergraduate degree within six years. This fact has put pressure on community colleges to improve academic outcomes for their students. Redesigning America’s Community Colleges is a concise, evidence-based guide for educational leaders whose institutions typically receive short shrift in academic and policy discussions. It makes a compelling case that two-year colleges can substantially increase their rates of student success, if they are willing to rethink the ways in which they organize programs of study, support services, and instruction. Community colleges were originally designed to expand college enrollments at low cost, not to maximize completion of high-quality programs of study. The result was a cafeteria-style model in which students pick courses from a bewildering array of choices, with little guidance. The authors urge administrators and faculty to reject this traditional model in favor of “guided pathways”—clearer, more educationally coherent programs of study that simplify students’ choices without limiting their options and that enable them to complete credentials and advance to further education and the labor market more quickly and at less cost. Distilling a wealth of data amassed from the Community College Research Center (Teachers College, Columbia University), Redesigning America’s Community Colleges offers a fundamental redesign of the way two-year colleges operate, stressing the integration of services and instruction into more clearly structured programs of study that support every student’s goals.

Community College Faculty

Community College Faculty
Author: J. Levin
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2006-01-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1403984646

John S. Levin, Susan T. Kater, and Richard L. Wagoner collectively argue that as community colleges organize themselves to respond to economic needs and employer demands, and as they rely more heavily upon workplace efficiencies such as part-time labor, they turn themselves into businesses or corporations and threaten their social and educational mission.

Nontraditional Students and Community Colleges

Nontraditional Students and Community Colleges
Author: J. Levin
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2007-09-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0230607284

Focusing on non-traditional students in higher education institutions, this new book from renowned scholar John Levin examines the extent to which community college students receive justice both within their institution and as an outcome of their education.

Competing on Culture

Competing on Culture
Author: Randall VanWagoner
Publisher: Futures Series on Community Colleges
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre: Community colleges
ISBN: 9781475834017

This book provides fresh analysis of organizational culture in the community college context with a critical examination of the relationship between organizational culture and change.

John Dewey and the Future of Community College Education

John Dewey and the Future of Community College Education
Author: Clifford P. Harbour
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2015-01-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1441175067

'Honorable Mention' 2016 PROSE Award - Education Theory Today, community colleges enroll 40% of all undergraduates in the United States. In the years ahead, these institutions are expected to serve an even larger share of this student population. However, faced with increasing government pressure to significantly improve student completion rates, many community colleges will be forced to reconsider their traditional commitment to expand educational opportunity. Community colleges, therefore, are at a crossroads. Should they focus on improving student completion rates and divert resources from student recruitment programs? Should they improve completion rates by closing developmental studies programs and limiting enrollment to college-ready students? Or, can community colleges simultaneously expand educational opportunity and improve student completion? In John Dewey and the Future of Community College Education, Cliff Harbour argues that before these questions can be answered, community colleges must articulate the values and priorities that will guide them in the future. Harbour proposes that leaders across the institution come together and adopt a new democracy-based normative vision grounded in the writings of John Dewey, which would call upon colleges to do much more than improve completion rates and expand educational opportunity. It would look beyond the national economic measures that dominate higher education policy debates today and would prioritize individual student growth and the development of democratic communities. Harbour argues that this, in turn, would help community colleges contribute to the vital work of reconstructing American democracy. John Dewey and the Future of Community College Education is essential reading for all community college advocates interested in taking a more active role in developing the community college of the future.

International Students at US Community Colleges

International Students at US Community Colleges
Author: Gregory Malveaux
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2021-07-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000417174

This volume documents the experiences of international students and recent international initiatives at US community colleges to better understand how to support and nurture students’ potential. Offering a range of case studies, empirical and conceptual chapters, the collection showcases the unique curricula and diverse opportunities for career development that colleges can offer international students. International Students at US Community Colleges addresses issues of student access, enrolment barriers, college choice, and challenges relating to integration in academic and professional networks. Ultimately, the book unpacks institutional factors which inhibit or promote the success of international students at US community colleges to inform faculty, student affairs, administration, and institutional policy. With international students’ declining enrollment, this book considers the measures being taken by community college officials to bring continued access and equity to international students. Offering insights from a range of international scholars as well as on-the-ground case studies, this text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in multicultural education, international and comparative education, and higher education management. Those specifically interested in educational policy and the sociology of education will also benefit from this book.