This qualitative case study conducted at a community college examined links between student learning and faculty instruction within developmental education. The analysis of interviews, observations, student inventories, and institutional data identified faculty perceptions and responses to the challenges associated with teaching academically and…

Where students are in their development shapes how they behave and whether they succeed. An awareness of how students develop identity and motivation can help educators guide students as they set goals for the future. Bouffard and Savitz-Romer share strategies for helping students see themselves as college graduates. They also explain how the…

Since 1998, the Iowa Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation (division) has compiled and published "The Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges," commonly known as the "Condition Report." The intent of this report is to provide clear, objective data about Iowa's community…

Community colleges benefit from a diverse population with various reasons for attending. For example, 23% of Latina/o students that earned a PhD between 1990 and 2000 began their education in a community college (Rivas, Pérez, Alvarez, & Solórzano, 2007). However, there are a number who often do not persist toward their goals. To begin with,…

The researcher for this evaluative study investigated the efficacy and impact of the iStartSmart college success course by examining the first-term retention, fall-to-fall persistence, and three-year completion rates of community college students who enrolled in the one- or three-credit course at a community college in Arizona and the rates of…

Community colleges play an important role in providing first and second generation immigrants access to higher education and the opportunity to earn a postsecondary credential. However, immigrant students may face obstacles in pursuit of a postsecondary degree, particularly second language challenges that can inhibit their success in college-level…

The expectations of first-year students are becoming more widely researched and understood. How to realign perceptions and prepare students for the transition from secondary school to tertiary education is less well considered. This paper presents an account of a pre-university preparation programme embedded in the senior years of secondary…

Under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), transition needs and services are to be discussed as part of the Individual Education Program (IEP) planning process, and decisions based on students' future goals are to be documented in the IEP. These transition requirements were included in IDEA in order to plan with the student,…

In spite of open access to community college education, specifically human service associate degree programs, students with criminal justice histories do not necessarily have an unobstructed pathway to obtaining the degree and admission to the baccalaureate programs in human services and social work that are almost always selective. The first…

Race plays a major role in the lived experiences of African Americans. Consequently, race significantly impacts the identities and educational experiences of African American college students--many of whom require developmental reading courses. These courses, which are gateway courses in higher education, should address race along with reading…

A striking convergence of research, documentation, commentary, and policy in the past five years strongly suggests that an almost exclusive focus on academic knowledge and skills is an incomplete solution. Additional behaviors, skills, and mindsets--sometimes called metacognitive skills or 21st-century skills--are just as necessary for academic…

This commentary is based on two of the lessons the author learned as the professor in residence at ASU Preparatory Academy-Phoenix (ASU Prep), a Title I school operated in partnership with the Phoenix Elementary School District. Her role as a university professor on special assignment as a literacy coach, staff developer, and co-researcher. The…

This interpretive study examined the curriculum implemented in a developmental reading course at a community college. Approaching curriculum as a three layered construct, (Cohen, 1990; Hartell, 2012; Mendez, 2010; Page, 1991; Page, 1999), I described classroom lessons to understand how the formal curriculum was translated by students and teachers.…

This is a qualitative research study conducted in an attempt to gather information concerning the motivational factors of students as it is linked to the choice of reading materials in the Developmental Reading classroom. Information concerning the motivation levels of students in one Summer term course was collected. The students were given the…

Community colleges have multiple missions and one of them is to provide open access services to those seeking to further their education. Community colleges provide remedial courses in math, reading, and writing because many of their students do not meet entrance requirements in these core subjects. However, the usual developmental education track…