Contradictory College

Kevin J. Dougherty is Associate Professor of Sociology at Manhattan College.

"In this comprehensive and brilliantly lucid book, Kevin Dougherty considers competing ideas about the community colleges—ideas offered by functionalist advocates, instrumentalist Marxist critics, and institutionalist critics. In offering his own perspective, he sheds new light on the issues. He analyzes how various outcomes occur, identifies an important additional set of players, namely government officials, and specifies how business constrains actions by those officials. The book is essential reading for educational administrators and policy-makers, sociologists of education, political sociologists, and everyone concerned with equal educational opportunity." — Caroline Hodges Persell, New York University"Dougherty's The Contradictory College is one of the most important books in the sociology of higher education to appear in the past decade. His distinctive theoretical perspective, applied in careful case studies of the important states of California, Washington, Illinois and New York, sheds critical new light on the development of the community college over the past century. This is a sophisticated and challenging work that should be of interest not only to students of education, but also to those who are interested in the politics of organizational choice." — Jerome Karabel, University of California at Berkeley"With the publication of The Contradictory College Kevin Dougherty solidifies his membership in the ranks of the most thoughtful and important scholars of the American community college. This book is a major scholarly achievement that will stand the test of time to be considered one of the significant works on the topic. It should be read by everyone concerned about the welfare and future of the community college." — Ernest Pascarella, The University of Illinois at Chicago"Kevin Dougherty has written an important book that brings new data and new insights on the development and functions of the community college. He demonstrates that debates over state theory have profound relevance for analyzing educational policy. This book makes a provocative contribution to our understanding of how power works in this society." — Fred Block, University of California at Davis"Whenever Kevin Dougherty writes about the community college, it behooves us to pay close attention. Professor Dougherty is among the most thoughtful, careful, and challenging thinkers examining the educational, economic, and social role of the community college." — Judith S. Eaton, Council for Aid to Education

• Acknowledgments Section I: Introduction 1: The Community College's Importance and Controversiality The Debate over the Community CollegeThe Aims of This BookThe Content of the Chapters 2: The Debate Deepened The Debate over the Effects of the Community CollegeThe Debate over Why Community Colleges Were EstablishedThe Debate over Why Community Colleges Were VocationalizedSummary and Conclusions Section II: Outcomes 3: The Community College's Impact on Students, the Economy, and the Universities The Impact on Business and the EconomyThe Impact on the Elite State UniversitiesThe Effects on Students Access to Higher EducationEducational AttainmentEconomic Attainment Summary and Conclusions 4: How Does the Community College Hinder Baccalaureate Attainment? Attrition in the Freshman and Sophomore YearsFailure to Transfer to Four-Year CollegesAttrition after TransferSummary and Conclusions Section III: The Origins and Expansion of the Community College 5: The Founding of Community Colleges:Introduction The Stages of Community College GrowthStudying the Founding of Community CollegesExplaining Community College Expansion 6: Local-Level Institution Building: The Centrality of Local Educators Private Interest Group Pressure Was Not the Main CauseThe Key Role of Local School Officials and Other Educators 7: State-Level Advocates: The Interests of Governors and State University Officials How Involved Were Nongovernmental Actors?Government Agencies and Officials Weigh In 8: National-Level Reinforcement of Local and State Initiatives The Limited Impact of Private Interest Group PressureGovernmental Initiative 9: The Politics of Community College Founding: Summary and Conclusions Convergences and Divergences with the Institutional PerspectiveFrom Diverse Origins to Contradictory EffectsExplaining the Homogeneity of Community College Expansion Section IV: The Origins of Occupational Education 10: The Vocationalization of the Community College: Introduction The Timing of Occupational-Education DevelopmentStudying the Process of VocationalizationExplaining the Expansion of Occupational Education 11: Local-Level Vocationalization: Community College Heads as Vocational Entrepreneurs Business and Student Demand Are an Insufficient ExplanationCommunity College Officials Take the Lead 12: State Governors and Legislators Discover Occupational Education Business and Student Pressure Are Not the ExplanationThe Interests of Government Officials 13: National-Level Support for Vocationalization Governmental InitiativeThe Limited Impact of Private Pressure 14: The Politics of Vocationalization: Summary and Conclusions Convergences and Divergences with the Institutional Perspective Section V: Implications of the Research 15: From Research to Practice: The Policy Implications of the Community College's Impact on Students The Noncollegiate Program The Reforms Detailed Evaluation: These Reforms Would Exacerbate the ProblemHindering Baccalaureate AspirantsGutting General Education The Collegiate Program The Collegiate Reforms Detailed Reducing Attrition in the Lower DivisionIncreasing the Transfer RateReducing Post-Transfer Attrition Evaluation: These Reforms Are Necessary but Insufficient Structural Reform Transforming Community Colleges into Four-Year CollegesConverting Community Colleges into State University Branches Summary and Conclusions 16: From Research to Theory: Implications for Educational History and Politics and Political Sociology Educational ChangePolitics of Education Political SociologyConclusion Notes References Index