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While collegiate missions of non-profit institutions have been extensively studied, missions of for-profit colleges in the United States have received less attention. This study examines the mission statements of 98 degree-granting for-profit colleges to articulate how these colleges describe the educational opportunities available to students. Our conventional content analysis found that these institutions emphasize career training, student learning experiences, student outcomes, and post-graduation opportunities. These findings suggest that FPCU missions may reflect isomorphic practices that allow FPCUs to compete with non-profit institutions in the higher education market. Furthermore, we propose that the unique career focus in FPCU missions may reflect credentialing theory, which suggests that the credential students earn, rather than the knowledge they attain, is what will enable success in the job market—a claim that is at odds with prior research indicating that FPCU graduates earn less, receive fewer interviews, and carry more debt than graduates of non-profit colleges. We argue that the language of FPCU missions highlights these institutions’ contradictory aims of seeking profit while promoting access and success for students. We advance a deeper understanding of these institutions’ self-ascribed purposes so that policymakers can ensure adequate student protections at for-profit colleges.

Universities are increasingly prioritizing engagement and collaboration with their local communities. While such partnerships can be mutually beneficial, they can often perpetuate and exacerbate power differentials, particularly when the community partners belong to racially minoritized groups. This qualitative paper examines the founding of a community–university partnership between a Black, low-income community and a predominantly White university. Through the theoretical framework of aspirational capital, we find that valuing the experiences and aspirations of the community helped establish a more equitable partnership forged to support a community-led, culturally relevant after-school program. Centering the aspirations of Black community members and the epistemologies of the Black women on the program staff also served to acknowledge and address power imbalances at the founding stages of the partnership. Recognizing and valuing the aspirational capital of community members also positively impacted the university-based staff’s ability to function as boundary spanners between the university and community who could adequately articulate the desires and needs of program staff. We argue that by recognizing and valuing the aspirational capital already present in low-income Black communities, universities can create more equitable partnerships for positive social change.

Urban-serving research universities (USRUs) address issues of access, community engagement, and development within urban areas, but internal and external forces complicate their place-based missions. By embracing contradictions within stakeholder viewpoints, strategic planning can foster fruitful, institutionalized engagement. This mixed-methods study analyzed responses to a core values survey that was disseminated to stakeholders at a USRU to explore the question "What do the ratings of and comments about the "community-minded" value reveal about possible tensions and opportunities in how stakeholders describe a USRU's fulfillment of its "community-minded" value?" Through stakeholder and paradox theory, we examined how stakeholder perspectives uncover tensions and opportunities related to the "community-minded" value. Whereas stakeholder theory emphasized the importance of valuing the interests of all stakeholders, paradox theory illustrated how coexisting-but-divergent perspectives on defining, approaching, and engaging community could help to advance community engagement goals.

Lesson study (LS), a teacher-oriented, student-focused professional development (PD) approach that originated in Japan, has spread globally. However, existing literature on the implementation of LS and its effectiveness provides inconsistent results, suggesting a need to review current research on LS. With a focus on LS in mathematics education, we examined 75 recent LS studies using Lewis's (ZDM Mathematics Education 48:571-580, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-016-0792-x) framework to understand how LS is implemented and the pathways by which LS can impact teaching practice and student learning. We found that new developments have taken place in LS implementation, although challenges persist throughout its process. Regarding the implementation of LS, even though the examined LS studies generally contained four phases (study, plan, teach, and reflect), we found many LS lacked a research question, and the study of teaching materials was sometimes invisible. Across phases, studies shared a consensus that it is most critical to focus on students' thinking and learning, yet reported challenges in maintaining this focus. In addition, the role of knowledgeable others (KOs) was recognized but inconsistently understood. Collaboration was also widely reported as a challenge. Finally, there were large variations in LS duration, with some LS implementing overly brief cycles. Regarding LS impact, the literature has more frequently reported changes in teachers' knowledge and beliefs and less frequently in curriculum, learning community/professional norms, teaching practice, and student learning outcomes. The above challenges reflect a need for culturally relevant systemic support for developing sustainable and large-scale LS. We suggest future directions for continued research and practice improvement.