MACMILLAN Community Colleges and Their Students: Co-construction and Organizational Identity

This book employs a socio-cultural approach to study the organizational dynamics and experiences of self-formation that shape community college life. The authors use case studies to analyze both the symbolic dimension and practices that enable the production of educational experiences in seven community colleges across the U.S. Levin and Montero-Hernandez explain the construction of organizational identity and student development as a result of the connection between institutional forces and individual agency. This work emphasizes the forms and conditions of interaction among college personnel, students, and external groups that were enacted to respond to the demands and opportunities in both participants' local and larger contexts. The authors acknowledge both the collective and individual efforts of community college personnel to create caring community colleges that support nontraditional students. Review "A carefully designed empirical study and a valuable addition to the field...The base of evidence is extensive, consisting of site observations and detailed interviews with students, faculty members, and administrators. One distinctive feature of the book is the generous sprinkling of direct quotations, both short and long. Deans, counselors, instructors, and students all have their say." - Christina Stern, Academe "Community colleges are unique institutions of higher education with distinctive conceptual theories and stories to be told. We see the concept of co-construction as critical for practitioners, policymakers, and scholars in understanding community colleges as institutions that are impacted by the influences of students, just as the students are influenced by the college, faculty, administrators, staff, and other students. We recommend this book as an excellent resource for understanding the experiences of today's students." - Rufus Glasper, CPA, Chancellor, Maricopa Community Colleges and Susan T. Kater, Director, Institutional Planning, Research & Effectiveness, GateWay Community College "This book's innovative application of organizational theory to detailed case studies will change the way scholars and practitioners think about contemporary community colleges and will open new avenues to increased student and institutional success. The voices of the students portrayed in Community Colleges and Their Students should cause all of those who care about the role of community colleges in American society to rethink our intentions for those vital institutions and our obligations to those they serve." - Brian Pusser, Associate Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia About the Author John S Levin is Professor of Education, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Riverside. Virginia Montero-Hernandez is a Graduate Student, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Riverside.