While postsecondary education appears to promote civic mindedness and engagement, relatively little is known about the association between civic outcomes and types of postsecondary education, as well as across different academic programs. Using a convenience sample from two postsecondary education institutions in the Mid-Atlantic U.S., this…

Immigrant students, including Dreamers, face significant barriers in accessing a postsecondary education and have faced increased hardship as a result of the pandemic with little access to additional supports. As part of the ongoing negotiations of the Build Back Better Act, the America's College Promise program, which would have guaranteed two…

The BC Student Outcomes Survey Project collects information from approximately 30,000 former post-secondary students annually. In 2012, four surveys were conducted with students who completed the following studies: (1) diploma, associate degree, and certificate programs; (2) baccalaureate programs; (3) apprenticeship technical training; and (4)…

In "Democracy and Education," Dewey (1916) proposed that a primary role of higher education should be to renew and strengthen students' commitment to active civic life. More recently Campus Compact, a consortium of college and university presidents committed to community service, challenged higher education to "re-examine its…

In the twenty-first century, learning and the definition of education is changing. New digital, online, and social tools have the ability to transform the classroom and engage learners like never before. In the midst of this technological revolution, it is crucial for educators and administrators to be able to gauge the impact of digital tools on…

Prior research has indicated that there are differences among the diverse Latino/a ethnic groups in their K-12 educational experiences, but little is known about variations in their postsecondary experiences. Drawing on a conceptual framework informed by the theory of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this research examined Mexican American and…

This article describes the creation of an intercultural welcoming panel that the authors developed with English as a second language (ESL) students and communication studies (CS) students at a community college. The creation of the welcoming panel is based on their collaborative work with both sets of students over several academic quarters. The…

In the aftermath of any disaster, natural or otherwise, stories of men and women reaching out to help one another abound. Whether it's the courage and training of first responders--police officers and firefighters--that leads to the rescue of a marooned family, the expert work of doctors and nurses that saves a life on the operating table, or the…

Community colleges educate students from both oppressed and marginalized groups, yet there is almost no literature on community colleges and issues of social justice. Student participation in service learning has been tentatively linked to development of a social justice lens. In this study, I analyze community college students' post-course civic…

As a founder of the University Leadership Initiative, an advocacy group for undocumented students in Texas, Julieta Garibay sorts through the numerous e-mails her organization receives daily. Before the economic downturn, most of the e-mails were from students in the state. Now, because Texas is a rare exception in allowing undocumented college…

Service learning integrates academic learning and relevant community service with classroom instruction, focusing on critical, reflective thinking and personal civic responsibility. Through a grant, community college students were provided with grocery store vouchers to purchase unfamiliar, healthy foods. Students were taken on an educational…

The issue of civility has become a major topic of discussion on college campuses throughout the country, attracting media attention nationwide. In this illuminating book, civility scholar Judy Rookstool tackles the issue for the community college audience, bringing both her research and classroom experience to bear. She offers a definition of…

Outside work can complement what goes on in the classroom in ways that benefit both the community and students. Of course, AQ readers may have heard of tendentious programs and faculty ideologues, who channel student enthusiasm into partisan activism. Still, statistical survey analysis presented here by Mary Prentice suggests that participation in…

Educating for civic competence is an important societal mission of the community college. This chapter describes obstacles to and opportunities for the success of this mission.

The purpose of the current study is to explore the effects of community service work and community involvement on perceptions of self-entitlement--expectations of others to do things for oneself--among undergraduate students. Over the course of a 16-week semester, 26 randomly selected subjects (20 community college psychology students and six…