Classrooms, both by design and by accident, have been used to teach and reinforce certain ethics and ideologies. Examining the actual structures of a classroom one can recognize forces often hidden or considered background revealing how students and instructors together are culturally bound by educational spaces. Considerable research exists that…

This qualitative study explored the external and internal reasons involved in students' decisions to return to college after an extended absence. Specifically, it sought to explore the role of students' concepts of who they might be (or want to avoid becoming) in the college and career domains of their lives, their possible selves. Analysis of…

This qualitative study illustrates how complex perceptions of identity influence the community college experience for student veterans who have been in combat, creating barriers to their overall persistence. The collective experiences of student combat veterans at two community colleges in northwestern Massachusetts are presented, and a Combat…

The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of former ELL students on aspects of their learning community experiences in a New York City community college to better understand how participating in the learning community's one-semester developmental English program contributed to their increased academic achievement and persistence.…

This qualitative study explored the perceived psychological impact of repeated failures on a high school exit examination (HSEE). We interviewed eight self-identified English language learners (ELLs), whose ages ranged from 20 to 29. All participants were attending tutoring HSEE programs at urban community colleges in New England. Using a modified…

The role of a community college president's spouse can be an important one in the life of the college and in the success of the presidency, yet the role itself is often vaguely defined. This can cause frustration for a college president's spouse because he or she experiences ambiguity by not knowing the expectations college stakeholders hold of…

The second generation community college employee had not been a target population of any previous research in the field of higher education. This study added to a broader understanding of employees, their various characteristics, and the implications of those characteristics. The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory defining the…

Adopting a qualitative case study methodology, the present study illuminates how two multilingual students enrolled in a U.S. community college ESL class negotiated the sociocultural norms valued in their multiple communities to make investment in learning English in college. Drawing on Gee's theory of Discourse and identity (1996) and Norton's…

The unique experiences of community college transfer students have not been explored at public, four-year universities. Most of the research on the experiences of community college students is based on quantitative research methods, which fail to provide a comprehensive understanding of the nature of students' lived experiences. This qualitative…

This article provides qualitative insights into the ways that faculty can impact retention rates of online students. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted at random with 16 faculty who teach online courses at a community college in the Northeast. Faculty were asked to describe behaviors of online students that made them feel…

The purpose of this study was to explore faculty members' perceptions of community college Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs); whose main purpose is to promote, facilitate, and honor excellence in teaching and learning through the support of full-time and adjunct faculty, at all career stages. A generic qualitative study with a grounded…

This qualitative study explored the quality of technology associated with interactive video (ITV) classes in distance education programs and the resulting satisfaction of the instructors teaching this format. The participants were full time instructors of a rural community college that used the ITV format. Community college ITV instructors are…

This article provides qualitative insights into addressing the issue of student retention in online classes in higher education. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted at random with 16 faculty who teach online courses at a large community college in the Northeast about how to improve online student retention. Qualitative analysis…

Latino students represent the fastest-growing population in the state of California, the United States, and the California Community College (CCC) system. Unfortunately, compared to other ethnic groups, Latino community college students continue to lag academically. Given the importance of counseling services and the scarce research related to…

Drawing on a case study of 60 low-income single mothers in California, I present a grounded account of the barriers and supports single mothers encounter in their pursuit of postsecondary education (PSE) and detail what the women themselves attributed to their success. I highlight the role both significant others (peers, family, friends) and…