Robert A. Rhoads – författare

Portrays the experiences and development of students as they commit themselves to community service during their college years.In Community Service and Higher Learning, Robert A. Rhoads examines the experiences of students as they commit themselves to community service during their college years. The author explores how a student's sense of self may be challenged through involvement in the lives of others within the context of community service relationships. Central to his "explorations of the self" is the role "caring" plays as a source of self understanding and identity development.Drawing upon classic symbolic interactionists such as George Herbert Mead as well as contemporary feminists such as Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings, Rhoads suggests ways in which the self might be reconsidered with an ethic-of-care philosophy at its core. He argues that higher education ought to play a key role in fostering more relational and caring individuals and that community service offers a pedagogical opportunity for encouraging the development of more caring selves. He maintains that as society becomes increasingly complex, diverse, and potentially fragmented, caring becomes a more important facet of one's sense of self than perhaps ever before. It is only through an increasing concern for the other (the essence of caring) that one is able to bridge the relational barriers posed by the postmodern condition.

From the Mills College strike of 1990 to the Chicano Studies movement at UCLA, from African-American student unrest at Rutgers University in 1995 to student protest in California against the passage of propositions 187 and 209, issues of cultural diversity have rocked college campuses for much of this decade. Indeed, Robert Rhoads locates the key to understanding renewed student activism in the 1990s within the struggle over multiculturalism. In Freedom's Web: Student Activism in an Age of Cultural Diversity, he focuses on how students have utilized what many scholars describe, both affectionately and pejoratively, as "identity politics" to advance various concerns tied to diversity issues. While the 1970s and much of the 1980s were relatively quiet decades in comparison to the 1960s, the divestment movement of the mid-1980s served as a catalyst for multicultural reform of the American college campus. Thus, in the 1990s, students once again began to turn to campus demonstration as a means to advance social change.Through illustrative case studies, Rhoads reveals the significant connections between contemporary student activism and the efforts of a previous generation of student activists to advance participatory democracy and civil rights. The author refutes claims such as those made by Arthur Schlesinger and Dinesh D'Souza that the politics of identity and the celebration of cultural diversity have contributed to the balkanization of the academy. Instead, Rhoads builds a convincing argument that identity politics is a response to cultural hegemony reinforced through longstanding monocultural norms of the academy. Balkanization, he concludes, is more the byproduct of traditional academic structures that promote exclusion over inclusion, authoritarianism over democracy, and xenophobia over a concern for others.

This volume explores the complex relationships among universities, states, and markets throughout the Americas in light of the growing influence of globalization. It offers a biting critique of neoliberal globalization and its anti-democratic elements. In seeking to challenge the hegemony of neoliberal globalization, the authors highlight the ways in which corporate capitalism, academic capitalism, and increased militarization—both in the form of terrorism and in the international war against terrorism—are directing societies and institutions. Throughout this volume, the contributors—led by Noam Chomsky, Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Raymond Morrow, Sheila Slaughter, and Atilio Boron—argue that neoliberal globalization has changed the context for academic work, research and development, science, and social responsibility at universities. They examine issues of access and social mobility, and argue that the recent push toward privatization limits the democratic and emancipatory possibilities of universities. Finally, the book explores various forms of resistance and discusses globalization in terms of social movements and global human rights.Contributors:Estela Mara BensimonAtilio Alberto BoronAndrea BrewsterNoam ChomskyAna Loureiro JuremaKen KempnerMarcela MollisRaymond MorrowImanol OrdorikaGary RhoadesRobert A. Rhoads Boaventura de Sousa SantosDaniel SchugurenskySheila SlaughterCarlos Alberto Torres

This volume explores the complex relationships among universities, states, and markets throughout the Americas in light of the growing influence of globalization. It offers a biting critique of neoliberal globalization and its anti-democratic elements. In seeking to challenge the hegemony of neoliberal globalization, the authors highlight the ways in which corporate capitalism, academic capitalism, and increased militarization—both in the form of terrorism and in the international war against terrorism—are directing societies and institutions. Throughout this volume, the contributors—led by Noam Chomsky, Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Raymond Morrow, Sheila Slaughter, and Atilio Boron—argue that neoliberal globalization has changed the context for academic work, research and development, science, and social responsibility at universities. They examine issues of access and social mobility, and argue that the recent push toward privatization limits the democratic and emancipatory possibilities of universities. Finally, the book explores various forms of resistance and discusses globalization in terms of social movements and global human rights.Contributors:Estela Mara BensimonAtilio Alberto BoronAndrea BrewsterNoam ChomskyAna Loureiro JuremaKen KempnerMarcela MollisRaymond MorrowImanol OrdorikaGary RhoadesRobert A. Rhoads Boaventura de Sousa SantosDaniel SchugurenskySheila SlaughterCarlos Alberto Torres

Based on five organizational case studies, this book argues that community colleges face an identity crisis and must find ways of balancing the three traditional roles typically assumed by them: transfer, vocational, and community education.To emphasize one at the expense of another is to fail to meet the diverse needs of students who look to the community college as a source of opportunity and social mobility. In addition, community colleges must create an organizational context in which opportunities exist for culturally diverse students to participate as full members in the educational process. The study uses democratic educational strategies first suggested by John Dewey as a foundation for developing a critical multicultural view of community college education. The authors argue that critical multiculturalism moves beyond liberal views of cultural diversity and challenge academic institutions to take advantage of the varied experiences and perspectives that students from other cultures bring to education. The book includes a reference section following the final chapter and a name and subject index.

In MOOCs, High Technology, and Higher Learning, Robert A Rhoads places the OpenCourseWare (OCW) movement into the larger context of a revolution in educational technology. In doing so, he seeks to bring greater balance to increasingly polarized discussions of massively open online courses (MOOCs) and show their ongoing relevance to reforming higher education and higher learning. Rhoads offers a provocative analysis of a particular moment in history when cultural, political, and economic forces came together with evolving teaching and learning technologies to bring about the MOOC. He argues persuasively that the OCW and MOOC movements have had a significant impact on the digitalization of knowledge and that they have helped expand the ways students and teachers interact and develop ideas collaboratively. He also critically analyzes the extensive media coverage of MOOCs while examining empirical studies of MOOC content delivery, the organizational system supporting the OCW/MOOC movement, and faculty labor concerns. Too often, technology advocates champion the MOOC movement as a solution to higher education's challenges without recognizing the pedagogical, social, and economic costs.MOOCs, High Technology, and Higher Learning challenges many of the democratic claims made by MOOC advocates, pointing to vast inequities in the ways MOOCs are presented as an alternative to brick-and-mortar access for low-income populations. This book offers a clear-eyed perspective on the potential and peril of this new form of education.

Questions whether, and how, community colleges confront the challenges of diversity and provide real opportunities for upward mobility.Community colleges are positioned to play a critical role in the process of upward mobility in American society. Yet despite the "open door" accessibility of these institutions, the question remains as to whether or not community colleges enhance the social mobility of working class and minority students.The contradictory and often paradoxical nature of research on community colleges suggests that making generalizations about the sector as a whole is perhaps misguided. This book takes an important step toward developing a more nuanced understanding of the rich and varied cultures inherent in community colleges. The contributors approach this task by examining community colleges as "cultural texts," using critical qualitative frameworks to address the question of whether, and how, community colleges confront the challenges of diversity and provide real opportunities for upward mobility.[Contributors include Marilyn Amey, Eusebio Diaz, Stanford T. Goto, Berta Vigil Laden, Dennis McGrath, Laura I. Rendón, Robert A. Rhoads, Kathleen M. Shaw, Armando Trujillo, James R. Valadez, and Bill Van Buskirk.]

Questions whether, and how, community colleges confront the challenges of diversity and provide real opportunities for upward mobility.Community colleges are positioned to play a critical role in the process of upward mobility in American society. Yet despite the "open door" accessibility of these institutions, the question remains as to whether or not community colleges enhance the social mobility of working class and minority students.The contradictory and often paradoxical nature of research on community colleges suggests that making generalizations about the sector as a whole is perhaps misguided. This book takes an important step toward developing a more nuanced understanding of the rich and varied cultures inherent in community colleges. The contributors approach this task by examining community colleges as "cultural texts," using critical qualitative frameworks to address the question of whether, and how, community colleges confront the challenges of diversity and provide real opportunities for upward mobility.[Contributors include Marilyn Amey, Eusebio Diaz, Stanford T. Goto, Berta Vigil Laden, Dennis McGrath, Laura I. Rendón, Robert A. Rhoads, Kathleen M. Shaw, Armando Trujillo, James R. Valadez, and Bill Van Buskirk.]

Based on five organizational case studies, this book argues that community colleges face an identity crisis and must find ways of balancing the three traditional roles typically assumed by them: transfer, vocational, and community education.To emphasize one at the expense of another is to fail to meet the diverse needs of students who look to the community college as a source of opportunity and social mobility. In addition, community colleges must create an organizational context in which opportunities exist for culturally diverse students to participate as full members in the educational process. The study uses democratic educational strategies first suggested by John Dewey as a foundation for developing a critical multicultural view of community college education. The authors argue that critical multiculturalism moves beyond liberal views of cultural diversity and challenge academic institutions to take advantage of the varied experiences and perspectives that students from other cultures bring to education. The book includes a reference section following the final chapter and a name and subject index.