The American community colleges
A time of reappraisal
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4757092 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Leonard M Cantor (Loughborough University, corresponding author), Leonard Cantor |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 309-319 |
| Publication date | 1989-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03075078912331377693 |
| OpenAlex | W2049554826 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 6 |
The paper describes the current extent of the American community colleges and analyses their principal functions: the offering of credit ‘transfer ̊s programmes, including two-year courses leading to associate degrees, which enable students who successfully complete them to obtain baccalaureate degrees by two more years' study in four-year colleges and universities; the provision of job-specific courses in a wide variety of vocational fields; and the provision of community, lifelong and adult education, including language and citizen training for immigrants, basic education skills for adults, and cultural enrichment for their communities. It describes the most striking development in the role of the colleges during the past two decades, namely that they have moved away from being primarily concerned with ‘transfer ̊s courses to become predominantly vocational training institutions. The current criticisms of the community colleges are described and analysed, including concern about the declining proportion of transfer students, the problems they face in meeting the needs of students from minority and low income groups and the relative lack of esteem in which they are regarded by some of the communities which they serve. The recent trend towards growing state control of their finances, accompanied by less local autonomy, is also evaluated. These concerns, and the changes which are currently taking place in their administration, financing and provision, are illustrated by a description of recent developments in California which has the largest system of community colleges in the country. These changes in California, as elsewhere in the country, are designed to encourage the colleges to improve their rates of transfer, more effectively meet the needs of the local industrial and business communities and better serve their ethnic minority and disadvantaged populations
Autonomy · Economic growth · Economics · Higher education · Immigration · Lifelong learning · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Vocational education · Education Systems and Policy · Higher Education Research Studies · Law · Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.06 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1992 - 2000 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |