Sociology in Two-Year Institutions

Bibliographic Data

ID11064451
AuthorsEdward L Kain (Edward L. Kain is Professor of Sociology and University Scholar in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. His research focuses upon social change and families and the scholarship of teaching and learning. He is the recipient of the 2007 American Sociological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching., corresponding author), Alexandra Hendley (0000-0002-0614-1459, Division of Undergraduate Education), Alexandra O Hendley (Alexandra O. Hendley is a sociology graduate student at the University of California in Santa Barbara. She completed her undergraduate studies at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Her research interests include gender and sexuality, media, sport, and language. She was the recipient of the 2006 Alpha Kappa Delta Undergraduate Student Paper Award and participated in the 2005 and 2006 ASA Honor's Program.), Lauren R Contreras (Lauren R. Contreras is a recent graduate with a Bachelor's of Arts in Sociology from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. She was an American Sociological Association Honors Program Scholar in 2006 and a member of Alpha Kappa Delta. Currently, she is an Americorps member at College Forward in Austin, TX, where she serves as their College Retention Coordinator.), Krystal K Wyatt-Baxter (Krystal Wyatt-Baxter is a graduate of Southwestern University with majors in sociology and communication studies. She was a participant in the 2005 ASA Honor's Program. She is currently a graduate student in the PhD program in sociology at the University of Texas at Austin.), Krystal Wyatt-Baxter (0000-0003-0544-4965, The University of Texas at Austin)
Year2007
Volume35
Issue4
Pages350-359
Publication date2007-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTeaching Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0092-055X • E-ISSN: 1939-862X
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0092055x0703500404
OpenAlexW2084010834
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited14

In the second half of the twentieth cen tury, both the number of two-year institu tions and the proportion of all college stu dents enrolled in community colleges ex panded rapidly (Kerr 1991). From 1950 through 1975, student enrollment in com munity colleges rose from just over a mil lion students to nearly four million. By the mid-1990s, community colleges employed over a third of this country's faculty (Lucas 1996). The number of four-year institutions has increased in a relatively linear fashion since 1920. In contrast, the number of two year institutions grew from 1920 through 1940, stayed relatively constant through 1960, and then increased rapidly thereafter, particularly in the decade of the 1960s. In 1920, less than five percent of institutions were two-year colleges. By 1960, this pro portion was up to 26 percent, jumping to nearly 35 percent by 1970, and surpassing 40 percent by the 1990s. Student enrollment increased accordingly. In 1950, the enroll ment in four-year institutions was nearly ten times that in two-year institutions. By 1990, nearly 40 percent of all college and univer Lauren R. Contreras

Higher education · Political science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Demography · Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences · Law · Survey Methodology and Nonresponse