The Normative Vision for 21st-Century American Community Colleges

• In Event: Roundtable Session 56
  In Roundtable Session: Is There Promise in Precedent? Learning From Our Curricular Paths

Abstract

This paper reports on a thematic analysis of the arguments made by community college advocates and critics concerning the appropriate normative vision for the American community college. The paper begins by reviewing the normative vision advanced by Cohen and Brawer (2008), the leading advocates for the institution. I then examine four critiques reviewed by Cohen and Brawer. After describing the purpose, method, data, and interpretation of each critique, I identify and explain the dominant themes in each critique. I then offer a typology that lets us systematically assess the critiques and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. This typology demonstrates the need for focusing more explicitly on the current debate concerning the appropriate normative vision for community colleges.

Author

• Clifford P. Harbour, University of Wyoming