Access and Social Capital: A Profile of Community College and Global Counterparts

Abstract

Alternatives to the traditional four-year public and private university include a sector of higher education that offers a more advanced curriculum than secondary school and serves as a local and often lower-cost pathway that gives options for university overflow for adult learners, displaced workers, lifelong learners, workforce learners, developmental learners, and non-traditional learners (Raby and Valeau 2009). These institutional types are known by several names including College of Further Education, Community College, Polytechnic, Technical College, and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and are found on all continents. Based on a literature review of 1,083 academic publications these institutions share a mission that views educational access as necessary for growing the economic and social capital that is needed to help students improve lives. Central to this mission is the belief that any amount of post-secondary education is life-enhancing, regardless of length of study or level of completion. This article examines application of this mission at community colleges and global counterparts throughout the world. AbstrakAlternatif dari kuliah empat tahun di universitas negeri atau swasta adalah unit perguruan tinggi dengan kurikulum lanjutan dari sekolah menengah, berfungsi sebagai jalur lokal dengan biaya terjangkau, dan menyediakan opsi pendidikan setara universitas bagi mahasiswa usia dewasa, karyawan yang direlokasi, mahasiswa segala usia (lifelong learners), mahasiswa pekerja, mahasiswa tingkat lanjut, dan mahasiswa non-tradisional (Raby and Valeau 2009). Beberapa institutisi sejenis ini meliputi College of Further Education, Community College, Polytechnic, Technical College, dan Technical and Further Education (TAFE) dan berada di seluruh benua. Berdasarkan kajian literature dari 1.083 publikasi akademik, institusi-institusi tersebut mempunyai misi sama yang memandang pentingnya akses pendidikan bagi pertumbuhan ekonomi dan kapital sosial untuk peningkatan taraf hidup. Prinsip utama dari misi mereka adalah bahwa pendidikan tinggi merupakan upaya peningkatan hidup, apapun jenjangnya dan berapapun lamanya. Artikel ini menganalisa implementasi misi sejumlah perguruan tinggi lokal dan internasional di seluruh dunia.

The Impact of Professional Development Grounded in Social Learning on Community College Faculty Efficacy

“…Community colleges are an alternative to traditional four-year public and private universities in higher education. Community colleges offer a more advanced curriculum than secondary school, and serve as a local and often lower-cost pathway to the university for adult learners, displaced workers, lifelong learners, workforce learners, developmental learners, and non-traditional learners (Baker, Hope, & Karandjeff, 2009;Raby & Valeau, 2014).…”

“…Established in every metropolitan area, they [community colleges] were available to all comers, attracting the "new students": minorities, women, people who had done poorly in high school, those who would have otherwise never have considered or been able to afford further education. (Cohen et al, 2014) Also known as Colleges of Further Education, City Colleges, County Colleges, Polytechnics, Technical Colleges, Junior Colleges, and Technical and Further Education (Cohen & Brawer, 1996;Cohen et al, 2014;Raby & Valeau, 2014), these institutions "share a mission that views educational access as necessary for growing the economic and social capital that is needed to help students improve [their] lives" (Raby & Valeau, 2014, p. 6). Cohen et al (2014) further define the community college as "any not-for-profit institution regionally accredited to award the associate of arts or the associate of science at its highest degree" (p. 5).…”