THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE MISSION: HISTORY AND THEORY, 1930-2000 Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Meier, Kenneth Mitchell Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 02/10/2021 03:49:52 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194041 THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE MISSION: HISTORY AND THEORY, 1930-2000 by Kenneth M. Meier _____________________ Copyright © Kenneth M. Meier 2008 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HIGHER EDUCATION In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2008 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Kenneth M. Meier entitled The Community College Mission: History and Theory, 1930-2000, and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ___________________________________________________________________________Date: November 12, 2008 Gary Rhoades, Ph.D. ___________________________________________________________________________ Date: November 12, 2008 John S. Levin, Ph.D. ___________________________________________________________________________Date: November 12, 2008 Jenny Lee, Ph.D. ___________________________________________________________________________ Date: November 12, 2008 Regina Deil-Amen, Ph.D. Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. __________________________________________________ Date: November 12, 2008 Dissertation Director: Gary Rhoades, Ph.D. __________________________________________________ Date: November 12, 2008 Dissertation Director: John S. Levin, Ph.D. 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. Signed: Kenneth M. Meier 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have accumulated a number of professional and personal debts over the course of this project. I give heartfelt thanks to those who made this possible: First to my daughters, Heather Bone and Kate Erickson, who were nearly abandoned when I first jumped into my doctoral studies. They accepted this situation with their usual tolerance and understanding of my deep commitment to the community college mission. Dr. John S. Levin who recruited me to the Center for the Study of Higher Education doctoral program and who taught me more than he realizes about professional commitment and intellectual rigor. His unwavering support and encouragement made this study possible. Our long discussions and research partnerships were sources of inspiration throughout this long journey. His sense of humor was priceless. Dr. Gary Rhoades, center chair and committee co-chair. He helped launch this project when I took his course in “Qualitative Research Methods.” His insistence on the importance of craftsmanship was a major influence on the final product. Dr. Larry Leslie, research design professor and higher education finance expert extraordinaire. He insisted that I pursue a worthy topic. Because of Larry I decided to employ my historian’s training to rethink the community college mission. His belief in my potential made all the difference. To Dr. Greg Goodwin, Dr. John Frye, and Dr. Robert Pedersen, consummate scholars and practitioners. They are the real trailblazers in junior college history. My work is merely footnote to their accomplishments. To Dr. Arthur Cohen who was a faithful, wise, and observant mentor throughout the project. His imprint on my thinking is obvious throughout the study. I would like to thank the American Association of Community Colleges for permission to reproduce the data from a 1985 article by Darrel Clowes and David Towles published in the American Association of Community and Junior College Journal. Finally, to the thousands of wonderful students I have taught throughout my career. They gave my professional life its real meaning. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ 8 ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 1: THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE MISSION: HISTORY AND THEORY................................................................................................................. 11 The Community College Mission Problem ............................................................. 11 Research Questions.................................................................................................. 17 Justification for the Study ........................................................................................ 18 Organization of the Study ........................................................................................ 19 Chapter 1. The Community College Mission: History and Theory................ 19 Chapter 2. Social and Educational Origins of the Community College Movement: 1930-1945........................................................................ 20 Chapter 3. The Consensus Social Movement: 1945-1960.............................. 20 Chapter 4. Institutionalizing the Comprehensive Mission, 1960-1985 .......... 21 Chapter 5. The Postindustrial College at the Millennium............................... 22 Chapter 6. The Community College Mission: Theory and History................ 22 Definitions................................................................................................................ 22 Mission Versus Outcomes ....................................................................................... 24 Historical Context of the Mission Debate................................................................ 27 Theorizing the Community College Mission........................................................... 30 Historiographical Background of the Study ............................................................ 37 Historical Data ......................................................................................................... 50 Conceptual Frameworks .......................................................................................... 53 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 63 CHAPTER 2: SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL ORIGINS OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE MOVEMENT: 1930-1945................................................... 65 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 65 Social Context of Public Junior College Development ........................................... 66 Social Origins and Ideological Assumptions of Junior College Founders ............. 72 Secondary Education or Higher Education?............................................................ 74 The Quest for an Institutional Framework............................................................... 80 Social Origins of the Comprehensive Community College Concept ...................... 87 Theoretical Conflict in the AAJC ............................................................................ 95 Vocational Ironies and the Origins of the Comprehensive Mission..................... 100 Institutionalizing the California Comprehensive Mission ..................................... 104 The Challenge of Institutional Legitimation Within Higher Education ............... 109 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS—continued Page World War II and Mission Expansion ................................................................... 114 The People’s College at War ................................................................................. 117 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 123 CHAPTER 3: THE CONSENSUS SOCIAL MOVEMENT: 1945-1960 ...................... 125 Introduction............................................................................................................ 125 Community College Ideology and Mission Expansion ......................................... 127 AAJC Leadership Succession................................................................................ 130 Mission Evangelism............................................................................................... 132 Theorizing the Educational Movement.................................................................. 137 Consensus Movement Mobilization .....................................................................