American Community College Research Articles

Equity in Action in Community College Leadership

Equity in action starts with a leader’s critical consciousness in relation to their identities, ideologies, and positionalities. In this essay, the following factors: ideologies, identities, and positionalities are explained and emphasized as they are essential factors that impact equity work. Leaders who center equity must explore their own critical consciousness through an equity lens so that they prioritize equity at the forefront while leading, collaborating, and making decisions in their leadership positions. The positionality of leaders is also critical on how they use their power to influence their community and amplify the voices of the underrepresented. One subset of the findings, Equity in Action, from my dissertation, Asian American Community College Presidents: The Power of Identities, Ideologies, and Positionalities is included in this essay. To set the foundation of the dissertation, the SEL framework, also known as the shared equity leadership framework (Kezar et al., 2021) is used to analyze how leaders build their own capacity in equity work. In addition, my positionality and development as an equity leader are reflected in this essay.

Adapting ‘Ethics Bowl’ Strategies for Teaching Introductory Ethics Course – A Case Study of an American Community College

ABSTRACT Teaching introductory ethics course or courses with strong ethics content to first- and second-year undergraduate students presents numerous challenges. Most students register for these courses to meet a general education requirement or believe they do not need education in ethics because they have received cultural, social, and religious instructions. Furthermore, many college and university administrators, employers, and policymakers confuse ethics with compliance and misunderstand their connection. In this context, this paper argues that undergraduate students can learn ethics subject content (e.g., metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics, etc.), attain course objectives, and apply their learning in professional and personal situations. Strategies used to prepare students for the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (IEB) competition have proven effective means of introducing and reinforcing ethics course content outside of the classroom setting. The qualitative data obtained from the respondents suggests that the methodology and strategies adopted to prepare students for ethics bowl competitions reinforced the ethical theory participants learned in courses where ethics content was prominent and led them to make rational and ethical decisions. These findings also suggest that strategies to prepare ethics bowl teams for the IEB competition can similarly impact non-ethics bowl team members in a traditional classroom setting.

A Systematic Review Examining Multi-Level Policy and Practice Recommendations, and Calls for Research, on Food Insecurity at American Community Colleges

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic literature review is to examine policy and practice recommendations, along with calls for future research, aimed at addressing food insecurity for community colleges across the U.S. Argument/Proposed Model: This article will provide a detailed methodology for the systematic literature review, as well as the findings gathered from a range of peer-reviewed articles on this topic. The authors analyzed six significant themes that surfaced from the current literature related to policy and practice at the federal, state, local, and institutional levels. Conclusions/Contributions: Six chief themes are discussed in-depth, including but not limited to: important tools and approaches for marketing and communications, data-driven decision-making, and the augmentation of food support with other public benefits and institutional resources. These thematic findings address the issue of food insecurity on community college campuses, and also offer a range of techniques and areas for consideration. This systematic literature review offers a compilation of policy and practice recommendations steeped in actionable strategies for researchers, policymakers, campus leaders, and practitioners alike. The strategies can be implemented and/or tailored to meet the needs and nuances of any community college population.

Feature: “Be careful of what you’re holding with students’ hearts”: Native American Community College Students’ Perceptions of Self-Disclosure in Writing Assignments

This critical phenomenological study sought Native American student perspectives on intention and desired faculty response following self-disclosure of personal challenges in college writing assignments and discusses implications for faculty and for implementing trauma-informed writing pedagogy with students who are historically marginalized.

“I’m here, I can help”: Supporting Southeast Asian American Community College Students

“I’m here, I can help”: Supporting Southeast Asian American Community College Students

Teaching Homelessness: How American Community College Faculty Approach Housing Insecurity as a Curricular Topic

Community college students are more likely than their peers in four-year colleges to experience homelessness or housing instability. At the same time, homelessness is a curricular topic, particularly in social science courses. Given the prevalence of homelessness and housing instability in the community college student population, likely worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent and ongoing economic crisis, this project sought to discover how community college faculty approach homelessness and housing instability as a curricular topic, including their theoretical and praxis perspectives, and the integration of students’ lived experience into their instruction. Fourteen faculty from a variety of disciplines participated in interviews, revealing that homelessness is most often used a way for students to explore foundational theories in sociology. Participants problematized their teaching around homelessness, particularly their service-learning activities, and described the importance of care and safety when discussing housing with students they recognized could have lived experience with homelessness. Future research should explore students’ experiences in classes where homelessness is a curricular topic, and how more critical theoretical approaches may be beneficial.

Uniquely called: African American community college presidents promoting equitable student success

AbstractBlack community college presidents are not exempt from racialized experiences as they promote equitable student success. This study explores the unique experiences of Black leaders who advocate for policies, practices, and procedures that promote equity and social justice at their institutions and in their communities. Together, applied critical leadership (ACL) and the principles of critical race theory (CRT) underpin the research study presented in this chapter and helped inform the interview protocol and identify strategies the presidents use to promote equitable change. In this chapter, five African American presidents share how they conceptualize equity‐driven leadership and how their racialized identities inform their approaches to improving equitable outcomes for all students, particularly students of color. Presidents shared strategies that any community college leader can use to demonstrate their commitment to social justice and advance the practice broadly.

Vocational Education from a Cross-national Perspective: Comparative Analysis of China, Germany, and the United States, with a Case Study of Zhaixing Academy

This study delves into the current state and challenges of vocational education through a comparative study of cross-national vocational education and an analysis of the Zhaixing Academy case. The research reveals that vocational education reform can draw on the experiences of the German dual system, American community colleges, and Chinese vocational education reforms, with a focus on informal education pathways, practice-oriented teaching, and flexible training methods. The Zhaixing Academy case demonstrates the application of practice-oriented teaching approaches in the field of vocational education, emphasizing individual student development needs and the advantages of education outside formal institutions, offering new insights and references for the current Chinese education system. The study proposes that governments and education departments should increase investment in vocational education, encourage collaboration between enterprises and vocational education institutions, and support innovative practice-oriented education. In the future, Zhaixing Academy can continue to focus on education reform, expand the realm of practice-oriented education, promote its educational philosophy and methods, and contribute to the diversification and sustainable development of education.

Challenges in virtual team communication in the context of virtual exchange experience

Abstract As technology has enabled people across the world to collaborate and create virtual communities, the ability to interact in computer-mediated, cross-cultural environments in a meaningful way has become a necessity. This is particularly true for younger adults who operate in virtual teams during their studies, for instance in virtual exchange projects, and later in their professional life. In this qualitative study, we examined the features and functionality of cross-cultural communication in virtual exchange teams. By analysing three datasets produced by Finnish university and American community college students (n=38) who participated in a virtual exchange, we examined what kinds of challenges emerge in the communication of virtual teams and how students use theories of computer-mediated communication when trying to make sense of those challenges. The results of the reflexive thematic analysis indicated that the challenges in communication of virtual teams stem from cultural and motivational differences. These challenges could be alleviated by increasing the shared work time allocated for social information sharing and for constructing appropriate, team-specific ways to express online social presence and propinquity. The findings highlight the meaningfulness and relationality of virtual team communication and provide insight into motivational factors and the sense of belonging when communication challenges arise.

Using the mechanical waves concept survey in a non-majors acoustics class

The Mechanical Waves Concept Survey (MWCS) is a concept inventory designed to identify common misconceptions specifically related to Waves and Optics. It is a 22 question multiple choice assessment designed to be given pre and post instruction. The development of this inventory involved many revisions and administering the test to hundreds of students ranging from high school to university students in several different countries including Mexico, Thailand, and Australia. The use and effectiveness of the MWCS in other settings such as America, community colleges and non-majors courses have not been thoroughly examined. This presentation will outline results for an American community college specifically for students who are not intending to be STEM majors. Several semesters of assessment data will be presented. Due to the change in instruction modality during COVID, a comparison between delivery methods, in person and online was examined. Future work regarding improvements to the concept inventory will be discussed.

Understanding Success: South Korean Student Transitions to the American Community College

Understanding Success: South Korean Student Transitions to the American Community College

“They Are Coming to Get Something”: A Qualitative Study of African American Male Community College Students’ Education Abroad Experience in Senegal, West Africa

This paper is a critical qualitative study of African American male community college students’ education abroad experience in Senegal, West Africa. Currently, there is a lack of research that focuses directly on Black men who are studying abroad. Using African American male theory as the framework, four major themes emerged: men to boys, challenging the notion of counternarratives, identity, and not-so-distant cousins. These themes point collectively to a transformative experience for the participants. Notably, the educational experience transformed the participants’ cultural, social, and racial identities, as the trip fostered a combination of vulnerability and safety that created the conditions for Black men to grow and transform.

A Comparative Perspective on the Community College Baccalaureate Focusing on the Scale of the Degree

ABSTRACT With nearly half the states having authorized community colleges to award baccalaureate degrees, the community college baccalaureate (CCB) has become an increasingly common feature of the landscape of American higher education. While there has been an expansion of research on the CCB in recent years, the research to date consists mainly of studies at the state or institutional level with few attempts at comparison even between states let alone between the United States and other countries. This article compares the baccalaureate-granting of American community colleges with the comparable activity of counterpart institutions of five other countries. It provides comparative data on the scale of the CCB; examines some of the key factors that contribute to differences in the scale of the CCB in different countries; and discusses the implications of the differences in scale for some of the key issues that have been raised in the literature on the CCB in the United States: the stature and legitimacy of the degree, its effectiveness in widening access to the baccalaureate, and maintenance of the traditional mission of the community college. The article concludes that international comparative research on the CCB can be valuable because it allows for greater variation in the scale of the CCB, the conditions that give rise to it, and in the institutional arrangements for the CCB than do single country studies.

Review: Democracy, Social Justice, and the American Community College: A Student-Centered Perspective

Preview this article: Review: Democracy, Social Justice, and the American Community College: A Student-Centered Perspective, Page 1 of 1 < Previous page | Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/tetyc/49/4/teachingenglishinthetwoyearcollege31900-1.gif

Building a Curriculum to Foster Global Competence and Promote the Public Interest: Social Entrepreneurship and Digital Skills for American Community College Students

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a new approach for combining top-down and bottom-up approaches intended to lead to a curriculum for action in the public interest that builds on social entrepreneurship and digital skills for students at community colleges. This integrated approach requires a collaborative, participatory approach and aims to provide relevant content for students with different cultures and backgrounds, personal values, and sense of identity. The objective is for all participants to engage in the learning process, become more confident, and develop contemporary skills that inspire and enable them to take initiatives to tackle global challenges and to thrive in a multicultural world. A relevant curriculum must enable students to understand the global and local situations in different geographies and, with the increasing demand for digital skills, to access and share information over networks, to develop possible solutions, and to make them happen. This paper proposes ideas for stimulating students to think about what they can do for the public good, starting with local issues, and to generate outcomes valued by the community. The ideas proposed for specific local communities in Maryland can be generalized for understanding and addressing problems for different communities in the United States as well.

The AANAPISI-funded STEM Program: An Institutional Response to the Needs of Asian American Community College Students

ABSTRACT This study examined the unique needs of Asian American students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors and the extent to which institutional agents responded to their needs. This qualitative study focused on Asian American STEM students enrolled at Shasta Fair Community College (SFCC), a federally designated and grant-funded Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). Results demonstrate that both students and institutional agents reported that the AANAPISI-funded STEM program, which provides a one-stop service for counseling, tutoring, and various other support services, allowed institutional agents to support the unique needs of Asian American community college students in STEM majors.

Impact of a Student-Led Food Insecurity Intervention on Diverse Community College Students

ABSTRACT As many as two-thirds of American community college students may experience food insecurity. Their struggles are linked to health and academic difficulties and relate to several socioeconomic factors, including stigma regarding food programs. To support students’ understanding of and activism regarding food insecurity, student leaders co-created the Playing with Our Food intervention, which reviewed research and played games with students about stigmatized food-related topics. A survey utilizing writing prompts revealed that attendees learned new information, were more likely to use campus programs, and became interested in activism. Other campuses may stage similar interventions to develop students’ awareness of food insecurity.

Different Views? The Experiences of International Students Studying HE in Three Non-university Settings

The purpose of the research was to discover the views of three groups of International students who were undertaking their Higher Education (HE) in a publicly-funded college, rather than a university setting. A comparative survey was undertaken by International students attending an American Community College, an Australian Technical and Further Education Institute and a group of English colleges which offer Higher Education. All three groups were satisfied with their provision. The college setting was perceived to offer higher levels of support than would have been available at a university, plus enhanced employability prospects and lower fees than those charged by a university. The status of an Australian, English or American HE qualification was important, as was the reputation of their particular college. The market for International students is highly competitive and largely driven by universities. The English experience suggests that colleges should focus on the marketing of specialist courses. In all cases, the fact that teaching staff were primarily teachers, rather than researchers was highly valued by respondents, as was their currency in their subject. However, there were strong feelings about value for money and the ability to engage with Home students and wider Australian, British or American culture. International students choose to study abroad because they want to broaden their own horizons and learn more about other cultures: many respondents found these opportunities to be limited. In order to help address this, an International student recruitment Checklist for senior college staff is presented as part of the research findings. Keywords: Higher Education, International students, colleges, value-for-money.

Research and Enlightenment of American Community College Curriculum System

The relatively perfect curriculum system of American community colleges has laid a solid foundation for the technical talents and the smooth connection of general vocational integration. It has also trained a large number of highly skilled technical personnel for various communities in the United States. In order to promote the construction of an integrated curriculum system of vocational education in China, based on the analysis of the logic structure of the curriculum system of American community colleges, this paper summarizes the three characteristics of the system, which are "unity of freedom and flexibility, compatibility of academic and professional, and combination of cohesion and development". Analyze the dilemma of "loose architecture," "out of focus" and "low relevance of vocational and technical courses". Based on this, from the perspective of innovation and development, this paper explores the three trends of American community college curriculum system “adjust and update the course content; enhancing the effectiveness of developmental education programs; establish a unified certificate system and curriculum system” and some enlightenment of “pay attention to the effective connection of the curriculum system; strengthen the development of education and training courses; pay attention to the evaluation of course teaching quality;” for the construction of vocational education curriculum system in China.

The Viability of Tuition-Free Community College

Free higher education has become a major policy discussion of the past few years, one that is often debated or supported along partisan lines. Those supporting this policy initiative often point to the rising cost of a college education and the barrier it creates for underrepresented populations hoping to access higher education. Others point to a broken financial aid system that leaves more individuals financing their education through student loans, adding to a massive national loan debt now exceeding a trillion dollars. Various arguments for and against a free-tuition program within the American higher education system are addressed. While an argument can be made that all public American higher education should be tuition-free, limiting a large-scale federal program to the American community college has economic and political implications that could make the policy more feasible for a larger percentage of the American public.