Objective: Beyond understanding whether first-year student success interventions in community colleges are effective--for which there is mixed evidence in the literature--this study's purpose was to uncover how they work to realize observed outcomes, including at times unanticipated undesirable outcomes. Method: This qualitative multiple case…

Contextualization refers to "a diverse family of instructional strategies designed to more seamlessly link the learning of foundational skills and academic or occupational content by focusing teaching and learning squarely on concrete applications in a specific context that is of interest to the student" (Mazzeo, 2008, p. 3). In…

This study explored how faculty members implemented constructivist teaching methods after training. The student-centered teaching methods were interactions and collaborations, authentic learning and real-world experiences, linking material to previously learned information, and using technology in the classroom. Seven faculty members trained in…

This study analyses the perspectives of four stakeholder groups towards Applied Baccalaureate (AB) degrees in the United States. Perspectives towards AB degrees that are held by community college personnel, university personnel, employers and student participants are analysed using the Policy Narrative Framework. Findings show the stakeholder…

This case study examined the implementation of a baccalaureate degree at Skyline Community College--one of the 15 California community colleges authorized to offer baccalaureate degrees established as part of a pilot program enacted by the California Legislature via Senate Bill 850 (2014). The study explored the policies and procedures in place at…

As the frontline nurse leaders, associate degree nursing (ADN) faculty members represent the key players for a seamless RN-BSN academic progression at the fundamental level of nursing education, which requires a balanced academic-clinical practice teaching. However, the Institute of Medicine's recommendation on expanded scope of nursing practice…

Objective: To learn how interactions among the content, professor, and students shaped passing and failing developmental English at one urban-serving community college (USCC). Method: I observed three sections of developmental English at USCC throughout a semester and conducted semi-structured interviews with all three professors and a sample of…

Unprecedented expansion of the public higher education sector in Ethiopia has brought about masses of early career academics (ECAs) to take up teaching and research in the sector. In recognition of a multitude of responsibilities and challenges these ECAs would face, a higher diploma program (HDP) was introduced in 2004 both for ECAs and senior…

Distance learning students at a community college in the southeast United States were not completing their coursework as well as were students enrolled in traditional courses. This disparity was negatively affecting the institution's state performance measures, putting at risk the institution's state-based funding under the state's performance…

In response to strikingly low completion rates in public 2-year colleges, including for students who are well-prepared academically, most community colleges across the country offer student success courses as one approach to improving outcomes for students. Some colleges have begun to revise these courses in response to research indicating that…

This study strives to single out the barriers and obstacles in terms of academic, course curriculum system and socio-cultural issues that impact on students' learning English language adversely in the prep year level at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. This paper especially focuses on the factors affecting EFL ("English as a Foreign…

This theoretical paper is based on a larger study focused on understanding the experiences of Latina community college students. The purpose of this paper is to expand upon the Silence to Resilience Model, which involves four phases that Latinas encounter upon or throughout their transition to community college including: (1) Racism on campus, (2)…

Latina/os are one of the fastest growing populations nationwide. In California, Latino males make up 33% of the total male population. While Latino males in the state are opting to pursue a higher education, only 18% are enrolled in public four-year institutions. Most Latino males begin their academic trajectory in community colleges and aspire to…

Three community college faculty members used improvement science techniques to design, develop, and refine contextualized developmental mathematics lessons, where language and literacy pedagogy and related supports figured prominently in these instructional materials. This article reports on the role that their design experiences played in…

The employability of college students is one of postsecondary education's most pressing concerns in the United States and China, especially when it comes to the possible over-production of bachelor's trained students and "skills gaps" where jobs go unfilled due to inadequately prepared graduates. In response, policymakers are focusing on…