Minding the Dream
The Process and Practice of the American Community College
By (author) Gail O. Mellow, Cynthia M. Heelan
Publication date:
07 November 2014Length of book:
370 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersDimensions:
237x159mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9781475811025
Minding the Dream provides challenging, reflective, and practitioner-based information about community colleges that is data-based, clear and accessible for the general reader as well as the scholar.
New employees, current leaders, graduate students, legislators, and boards of trustees need a grounded sense of the magnitude of the community college sector. Minding the Dream evokes the laudatory goals of the early pioneers of the community college movement, while accurately framing key programs and political conundrums challenging community colleges. Minding the Dream celebrates community colleges’ successes and is scrupulously honest about their failings.
Community college leaders need honest information about what’s working and need to be challenged about the things that are not. State Legislatures and Congress need updated facts to assist them in making wise funding decisions regarding community colleges. Community college advocates need updated information to assist them in their advocacy work, and Higher Education programs need an updated book about community colleges to use as a basic text. These are the people who can benefit from reading Minding the Dream.
New employees, current leaders, graduate students, legislators, and boards of trustees need a grounded sense of the magnitude of the community college sector. Minding the Dream evokes the laudatory goals of the early pioneers of the community college movement, while accurately framing key programs and political conundrums challenging community colleges. Minding the Dream celebrates community colleges’ successes and is scrupulously honest about their failings.
Community college leaders need honest information about what’s working and need to be challenged about the things that are not. State Legislatures and Congress need updated facts to assist them in making wise funding decisions regarding community colleges. Community college advocates need updated information to assist them in their advocacy work, and Higher Education programs need an updated book about community colleges to use as a basic text. These are the people who can benefit from reading Minding the Dream.
This book reflects the potential of the community college as the institution to make a reality of the American Dream. The ambitious goal of the authors is to give an overview of what is happening, why it is happening, and what should be happening on the more than 1,167 campuses of community colleges throughout the US. Although the book does not represent an official view of the American Association of Community Colleges, the AACC was a partner in its publication and authors Mellow and Heelan are long-time insiders in the American community college movement. Mellow and Heelan make excellent use of their knowledge of and familiarity with relevant data and analyses to examine the very broad range of processes and programs in existence at community colleges. The processes include financing community college, measuring effectiveness, governing, developing leadership, and teaching/learning. The programs include developmental/basic skills studies, the transfer experience, economic and workforce development, and English as a second language. The inclusion of recommendations, challenges, and questions for discussion will be of value to teachers and students. The inclusion of a chapter titled 'Global Adaptations' adds value as a text for future community college professionals. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and practitioners.