scholarly journals Because they care : rural community college instructors' beliefs and practices

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Julie Birt
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
Rural Students ◽  
College Instructors ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Rural Community College ◽  
Community College Instructors ◽  
Assessment Beliefs

Community college instructors are influential in the lives of rural students, and they have key insights on the education of those students. Studies are needed to identify ways to support these rural students, who represent an important source of political and socioeconomic diversity for their communities and when transferring to universities. This multiple manuscript dissertation examines the instructional and assessment beliefs and practices of three experienced rural community college instructors. Using multiple case study methods and grounded in the curriculum development model, I found that the rural instructors tended to use more student-centered instructional methods. They considered students' future careers, acted as an explainer and promoted group work. The instructors held various beliefs about the focus and adaptability of assessment which manifested in their use of reflection to inform future assessments and instruction. The results of this empirical research informed the derivation of four CARE principles to help instructors support rural students in post-secondary biology classrooms. This dissertation concludes that instructors and researchers need to reconsider the common characterization of rural students as deficient and instead capitalize on their strengths.

scholarly journals When Management Defines Leadership: High Demand x High Support in a Rural Community College

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-65
Author(s):  
Paula K. Clarke ◽  
W. Ted Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
High Demand ◽  
Leadership Model ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Rural Community College ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Support

Drawing upon a diversity of data from efforts across almost four decades – the last two in the same rural community college – devoted to developing, implementing and studying the impact of a High Demand x High Support (HDxHS) teaching pedagogy, this paper addresses four topics: First, we briefly address the values and perspectives informing the HDxHS effort. Second, we sketch the HDxHS pedagogy and describe case exemplars, situating these in the context of a rural community college (CC). Third, we describe different leadership responses to HDxHS in terms of the use of strategic ignorance strategies (SIS), suggesting that these likely function more as a barrier than a conduit for understanding the challenges facing rural communities and CCs. Fourth, acknowledging that CCs are currently at a crossroads facing an uncertain future as legitimate public post-secondary institutions, we outline elements of a re-scripted more democratic CC leadership model. Part overview and part summary, the conclusion addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the HDxHS approach and the various bodies of knowledge to which it might contribute.

The Impact of Financial Aid on Associate Degree Attainment for Rural Community College Students: A Comparison of Rural, Urban, and Suburban Patterns

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-454
Author(s):  
Lijing Yang ◽  
Shannon Venezia
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community College Students ◽  
Financial Aid ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
Associate Degree ◽  
Degree Attainment ◽  
Rural Students ◽  
Rural Community Colleges ◽  
Rural Community College

Objective: Increasing rural community college degree attainment is very important to foster rural areas’ economic and social well-being. Rural community colleges differ greatly from their suburban and urban counterparts in financial aid patterns and student bodies. However, existing literature is vacant with respect to student financial aid and degree attainment in rural community colleges. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between financial aid and associate degree attainment for rural community college students and compare the financing patterns of the three locales. Method: Using data from Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09), we performed a series of logistic regression models that include financial aid variables and control variables from psychological, sociological, organizational, and internationalist perspectives. Results: We found rural community college students exceeded other locales in degree attainment. Logistic regression results reveal insignificant roles of Pell Grants and Federal Subsidized Loans, and negative role of Federal Unsubsidized Loans in associate degree attainment for rural community college students. Contributions: The results suggest that public subsidies, such as Pell Grants, were not sufficient to cover rural students’ unmet need for financing degree attainment, and that rural students are more cost-conscious in borrowing and spending than their suburban and urban counterparts.

The Rural Community College

1979 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin E. Vineyard
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
Rural Community College

A Framework for Supporting In-Service Teachers to Use Domain-Specific Technologies for Instruction

2017 ◽  
pp. 406-438
Author(s):  
Louise Yarnall ◽  
Judith Fusco
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
College Instructors ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Community College Instructors ◽  
Science Community

Domain-specific technologies, which are used for analysis, representation, and production in real-world contexts, differ from basic technologies, such as word processing software and Internet search tools. They cannot be used effectively without adequate command of fundamental domain-specific content knowledge. They can be used to deepen students' understanding of content, but these technologies bring distinct classroom-integration challenges. This chapter presents a framework for supporting in-service teachers to integrate these technologies. The research team derived this framework from data collected during an extended TPACK-style (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) workshop that engaged 13 life science community college instructors in integrating bioinformatics technologies into courses. This chapter presents a case study about the challenges community college teachers faced in implementing these tools—and the strategies they used to address them. Challenges included activity translation, problem definition, implementation, and assessment.

Succession Planning in Rural Community Colleges

2021 ◽  
pp. 285-295
Author(s):  
Ashley Aylett ◽  
Kit Kacirek ◽  
Kenda Grover
Keyword(s):  
Community Colleges ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
Rural Community Colleges ◽  
Senior Administrators ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Rural Community College ◽  
Community Stakeholders ◽  
Leadership Pipeline ◽  
Aging Infrastructure

Competent leadership is essential for institutions of any size to respond to the challenges facing post-secondary institutions. However, rural community colleges are especially vulnerable to the forces of change due to aging infrastructure, accelerated retirements, and geographic isolation that often limits competent and diverse applicant pools for future leaders. As senior administrators retire at rapid rates, geographic location and scarce resources can hamper leadership continuity. Few studies have explored how the leadership pipeline is established and maintained in rural community colleges and how institutional and community values shape that process. The study highlights the extent to which the co-dependent relationship between community stakeholders and the rural community college shapes its institutional culture and leadership development.

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