In 1947, the Truman Commission recommended that American colleges and universities recommit themselves to civic education. Community colleges accepted this responsibility and today they offer a wide range of programs and activities designed to educate students and prepare them for the life of an engaged citizen. Still, overall, the data show that…

This study develops a critical understanding of how democracy and neoliberalism shape community college (CC) internationalization. CCs are sites of ideological struggle as they navigate and balance their democratic values of access with societal pressures to economically rationalize their existence. Within the growing movement of CC…

Two year colleges are often characterized as America's "democracy colleges" implying a difficult to implement dual mission of democratizing education for all, and advancing the democratic purpose of civic engagement. Although such goals may be explicit in a college's mission statement, how faculty or their deans receive that mission is…

Community colleges play a significant role in the higher education landscape. Open access missions and diverse student bodies are often used to indicate that community colleges are democratizing higher education. This study begins broad questions about what it means to do the work of democracy at a community college. De Anza College in Cupertino,…

Community colleges traditionally have provided a combination of liberal arts education and/or career training, depending on a student's goals and outlook. But increasingly, two-year colleges are adding a third leg to their stools aimed at building more socially aware citizens through civic engagement programs that combine elements of community…

This chapter examines how the work of community colleges relates to the democratic work that citizens must do and makes the case for better alignment between the two.

Little empirical research has systematically focused on, or interrogated, the labor expectations set forth for community college faculty. Thus, in this paper, we present a theoretical argument, which we formed by (re) reading several community college focused studies through various theoretical lenses. Ultimately, we merged two…

This chapter describes the uncomfortable marriage between political science and civic education and calls for a reformulation of how we engage students in the wicked problems of democracy.

Andrew Delbanco is a professor of American Studies at Columbia University, author of several books. In this Q&A, "New England Journal of Higher Education" ("NEJHE") Executive Editor John O. Harney asks Delbanco about the state of higher education and intellectual life today.

While community colleges promote American ideals of democracy, opportunity, and social mobility; provide a vital accessible and affordable education for nearly 12 million first-generation, economically-disadvantaged, and minoritized students; are engines of local workforce and economic development; and enroll nearly half of all students who go on…

This paper explores the extent to which latest developments in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training System in South Africa respond to key principles espoused for a developmental, democratic and inclusionary ideal. The White Paper for post school education and training approved by Cabinet in November, 2013 is referred to by the…

This paper explores the extent to which latest developments in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training System in South Africa respond to key principles espoused for a developmental, democratic and inclusionary ideal. The White Paper for post school education and training (DHET, 2013) approved by Cabinet in November, 2013 is referred to…

Following is a study that explores learning in community in a fully-integrated, team taught course at a community college in New England. These classes, Learning Communities (LCs) represent rich opportunities for exploring and practicing democratic education. From a theoretical grounding in social learning theories and an exploration into learning…

Objective: Ideally, community colleges both democratize opportunity and develop in students the civic skills necessary to meaningfully participate in a democratic society. This national pilot study examines the individual and institutional factors associated with greater civic agency, capacity, behavior, and knowledge among students after at least…

Recent federal and state education policy has targeted community colleges as an affordable venue to increase postsecondary attainment. We examined a state program aimed at increasing community college enrollment, the Missouri A+ Schools Program, which provided eligible graduates from participating high schools the opportunity to earn a scholarship…