Understanding Community Colleges provides a comprehensive review of the community college landscape―management and governance, finance, student demographics and development, teaching and learning, policy, faculty, and workforce development―and bridges the gap between research and practice. This contributed volume brings together highly respected scholars in the field who rely upon substantial theoretical perspectives―critical theory, social theory, institutional theory, and organizational theory―for a rich and expansive analysis of community colleges. The latest text to publish in the Core Concepts in Higher Education series, this exciting new text fills a gap in the higher education literature available for students enrolled in Higher Education and Community College graduate programs.

This text provides students with:

• A review of salient research related to the community college field.

• Critical theoretical perspectives underlying current policies.

• An understanding of how theory links to practice, including focused end-of-chapter discussion questions.

• A fresh examination of emerging issues and insight into contemporary community college practices and policy.