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The concept of new vocationalism reached its height in the 1990s and 2000s as views evolved regarding how community colleges should provide relevant vocational education for students. The concept of new vocationalism is here brought into the present moment by mapping theoretical lineages and emphasizing the current and future practical implications at the nexus of the community college sector and a post-COVID-19 economy. Reforms centered around the principles of new vocationalism have led to more inclusive opportunities for learners from varied diverse and marginalized backgrounds, though the influence within career development and community colleges often goes unrecognized. Implications for educational leaders are discussed, including refocusing outcomes on the needs of diverse learners and bridging the gap between students' academic and vocational educations. Specific considerations are also provided to further solidify new vocationalism principles in workforce and professional development programs within community college and career development contexts. Consideration first needs to be given to building programming that develops students' professional identity with a willingness (from both student and educator) to push back against exclusionary ideas of "professional," "professionalism," and industry practices that are not focused on employee inclusion. Further, equity and access should remain foundational to all programs if these structures are to remain relevant. Specific recommendations are given for incorporating the equity-mindedness approach when developing workforce and professional development programs and curriculum, with increased consideration being given regarding the reality of how well workforce and professional development programs are currently preparing students for life-long career success, growth, and adaptability.

The purpose of this study is to re-examine and reimagine the role of power in participatory visual methodologies (PVM) research. From our four unique standpoints as higher education faculty (two of us identify as queer white women and two of us identify as Black women; all of us as ciswomen), we engage a collective autoethnographic approach to reflect on power and its influence in our work as visual methods researchers. We (re)present the findings from this study in the format of a scholarly discussion about power discussing the affordances and constraints we experience and our resistance to either/or thinking as we navigate tensions and contradictions that emerge while carrying out research using PVM. We end with recommendations for liberating research practices through PVM.

This article focuses on how adjunct faculty at a large Midwestern community college enact pedagogies of care, which is a teaching philosophy and practice grounded in a deep and holistic care for students.

Participatory action research, photovoice, diversity, and immersive learning comprised the most important aspects of the Community Colleges and Diversity graduate course taught during the 2014 spring semester. This project involved eight graduate students, five community college students, three community college administrators, and one university assistant professor. Through a description of the course-based photovoice project, articulation of the findings, and a discussion about the project's larger impact as it related to students' educational experiences and community collaborations, this work provides evidence of the power of photovoice--employed as student-led participatory action research--as a research approach, pedagogical tool, and partnership-building device.

Flow theory has not been previously applied to faculty experiences in higher education. Upon carrying out this autoethnographic self-study, I discovered that my experiences as a community college instructor were riddled with periods of being in flow. During the spring academic semester of 2010, I created weekly journals of my teaching life. Then, I coded and analyzed the journals and three themes were generated: preparation rituals, feedback, and solidarity. This self-study provided me with a wealth of knowledge about my own teaching and could assist others in understanding their own teaching experiences. It also highlighted the importance of affect in the college classroom. This study adds to the existing literature on flow theory, college teaching, and autoethnography.

Incorporating visual methods and representations into research opens possibilities for deeper understandings of how individuals experience institutions of higher education. Written and spoken words and numerical data are necessary in research but may be insufficient in developing new understandings of the social world. Participant-generated visual methods (PGVMs) can increase our repertoire of methods, thus, expanding what is and can be known. We argue that PGVMs enhance, expand, and provide new understandings in higher education research. We provide an overview of literature, share examples from our own work, discuss logistical and ethical challenges, and conclude with implications for higher education researchers.

Community college student affairs and services units are foundation to students' academic goals and success. As such, these professionals are often central to the critical initiatives and trends developing throughout 2-year institutions to support the overarching goals of student success. For the most part, these initiatives originated during Barack Obama's presidency with increased attention paid to community colleges led by Dr. Jill Biden. The future of community colleges and their initiatives is questionable in the era of the Trump presidency. This article explores how Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, and the broader Trump administration may influence how 2-year institutions and their student affairs professionals will need to operate in response to their policies and philosophy of education.

Community colleges, as open access institutions, shoulder most of the responsibility in serving marginalized individuals accessing higher education. Therefore, community colleges play a critical role. But what are new and incoming community colleges students' needs, in their own words? In this project, we explored an innovative component of a first-year seminar course wherein we asked students to document their unique needs using photographs and words. After situating our study within the extant literature, we present four findings and concomitant implications from a photovoice project in which we were involved during the spring of 2016.

To support the success of community college students, the role of student affairs professionals is critical. Therefore, adequate preparation of student affairs professionals who work in community college settings is paramount. However, literature focused on the intersection between the community college, student affairs, and graduate preparation is sparse, suggesting that too little is known about the preparation of student affairs professionals exiting graduate education and entering a community college setting. We frame this dearth of literature as an issue of social justice. The lack of focus on community colleges within student affairs preparation programs further reinforces a systemic cycle of oppression related to the perception that community colleges are not an integral part of the higher education landscape. We point to potential entry points for the exploration of this topic through systematic inquiry. The goals of this work are to bring awareness to the paucity of literature on this topic, ask scholars to join us in adding to what is known about this topic, and encourage readers to think critically about this topic.

Our paper considers a critical juncture in community college leadership as many community college leaders approach retirement. These transitions are inescapable. How will institutional memory (Parker, 2011) be preserved with the passing of the leadership mantel to a new generation? These transitions also impact ways in which leaders influence student success, institutional mission, and the overall health of the institution (Boggs, 2011). We view these leadership transitions through the lens of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). We ask: How might AI be utilized to successfully navigate community college leadership transitions? Examining two cases where AI was applied within higher education environments, we discuss the potential for such a model to effectively address pending leadership changes within the community college environment. These cases illustrate ways in which AI has been applied in different institutions, yet each provides insight into the ways AI may ameliorate knowledge transfer through narrative and storytelling. We suggest that AI has the potential to address multiple facets of leadership transition and facilitate the development of contextual competency.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the early educational experiences of medical students through their creation of chronological educational maps. Twelve first-year medical students participated in this study. Each participant was asked to map the most memorable aspects of their childhood education in chronological order. These maps were created by hand, and typically consisted of 15 to 25 specific memories, which participants recalled as particularly important within their scholastic journey. Following the creation of these maps, a semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant to further explore these experiences. This map and interview data indicated similarities in relation to personal attributes, family background, and interests. Specific themes including curiosity, creativity, and a disinterest in social politics emerged. In addition, participants mapped and spoke about comparable experiences with pivotal events such as being exposed to health-care professionals. Also, regarding their academic achievements, many were identified in elementary school as gifted. The data extracted from the study demonstrated the usefulness of this biographical method to better understand the educational journeys of future physicians and offered insight into the areas in which these high-achieving students were advantaged or found difficulty.

Because it has been noted that a more educated workforce is necessary to meet the demands of the future workplace, community colleges have experienced significant pressures to generate more graduates. High instances of attrition and low rates of credential obtainment among students, however, have historically been tenuous issues for community colleges. The purpose of this article is to put forward, in the form of a constructivist grounded theory, a model of community college student persistence based on the findings from a photovoice project aimed at understanding the educational lives of community college students. The Emergent Model of Community College Student Persistence has the potential to assist community college faculty, administrators, policy makers, and other stakeholders understand student persistence decisions.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide information regarding the ways in which the authors' College's faculty use paper within their pedagogical practice. A related purpose was to ascertain faculty interest in professional development initiatives related to reducing paper usage through technological affordances. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was developed and administered to the faculty within the university's Teachers College. The survey was built to assess faculty pedagogical use of paper. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected via the survey. Findings: The results suggested that digital resources are widely used by faculty, and students are encouraged to conserve paper. However, many faculty are uncomfortable with the complete elimination of paper. Originality/value: Modeling and promoting environmentally sustainable pedagogical practice is imperative within institutions charged with preparing the next generation of educators.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand if and how community college faculty construct work-life balance, as our review of the literature pointed toward a lack of research on this topic. Twenty-eight community college faculty members were interviewed, and six major findings were generated through the data analysis. Metaphors related to water were developed to articulate the findings, which were: (1) tides of life, (2) flow of the academic year, (3) the flood, (4) the maelstrom, (5) refraction, and (6) swimming and/or treading water. Each of these findings and concomitant practical implications are fully explained.

The purpose of this study was to examine factors related to the persistence of university seniors pursuing a baccalaureate degree and preparing for medical school admission. This topic is important as a vast majority of students who begin their undergraduate studies identifying as "pre-med" change this objective early in their academic development. The study was conducted at a mid-sized public institution in the Midwestern United States and included ten semi-structured interviews to gain a better understanding of factors contributing to students' decision to pursue a degree in preparation for medical school and their persistence throughout the undergraduate progression. Results indicated several elements contributed to students' goal orientation and perseverance, such as an interest and aptitude for science, a dedicated and enthusiastic work ethic, a willingness to sacrifice, a desire to work in a helping profession, and a positive interaction with a health professional.

Too little research exists that provides windows into the day-to-day lives of community college students. The purpose of this paper is to explicate one finding and concomitant grounded theory derived from a photovoice project aimed at understanding the educational lives of community college students. Participants saw the community college as a means to obtain a freer life, in the broadest sense. An integration of Bourdieusian thought and scholarship on role theory led to the creation of a constructivist grounded theory termed habitus dissonance spark theory, which suggests that community college enrollment is prompted by habitus dissonance, or discomfort with perceived levels of social agency, or freedom, in life. This paper outlines the finding and resultant grounded theory and its implications. (Contains 1 table and 17 figures.)

One finding and concomitant new conceptualization of the photovoice methodology derived from a research study conducted with community college students are put forward in this paper. One of the aims of the photovoice methodology is to develop a more critical consciousness within participants. I, however, did not note an increase of critical consciousness among the participants of this study. The new conceptualization of the photovoice methodology described in this paper suggests that the methodology be bifurcated: one branch focused on critical consciousness building among participants and one branch focused on reflective consciousness building.

Within disciplines, certain theoretical, ontological, and heuristic frameworks evolve toward axiomatic status over time. This evolution can limit disciplinary growth. Interdisciplinary theorizing can introduce trouble into such frameworks and add the tension necessary for the creation of new knowledge. This theoretical essay provides educators with new ways of thinking about teaching disadvantaged gifted youth. Differentiation, an educational philosophy, is reconceptualized as a form of critical pedagogy termed "critical differentiation." The concept of the "twice oppressed" is presented. This concept suggests that it is possible for children to be oppressed based on social category as well as gifted classification. As in the case of the twice exceptional child who may struggle in classrooms with both dyslexia and giftedness, the twice oppressed child may struggle with both poverty and giftedness. Critical differentiation, or a merger of critical pedagogy and differentiation, may become a step toward resolving this conundrum. The concept of critical differentiation is explicated in this essay, along with sample lesson ideas and suggestions for framing research endeavors.

As traditional pull-out programs for students who are identified as gifted and talented (GT) decrease in number, classroom differentiation is becoming more essential for general education teachers at the elementary level. Despite the importance of differentiation, teachers are still not implementing it on a regular basis. One strategy that may help teachers become more adept at differentiating content is mentoring or peer coaching. The literature is replete with studies examining both classroom differentiation and collegial peer coaching; however, few studies have examined how peer coaching may facilitate teachers' abilities to effectively differentiate instruction. The present study sought to understand how a peer coach for teachers may influence teachers' understandings and abilities to facilitate differentiated lessons for high-ability students. (Contains 2 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to better understand the undergraduate college experiences of medical students. This topic is important as physicians are in demand nation-wide, yet the vast majority of college students identifying an early interest in preparing for medical school do not persist with this objective. Twelve first-year medical students (e.g., those demonstrating success in the pre-med preparation process) participated in a semi-structured interview focusing on their experiences as an undergraduate student. The results established some commonalities such as comparable personal characteristics including curiosity, a willingness to reach out to a mentor, and persistent and sometimes powerful feelings of self-doubt. Other similarities were related to pivotal events, such as the impact of an international experience or an experience being exposed to a healthcare provider in college. Last, parallels arose surrounding the medical school preparation and application process itself, including a resolve to stand out, a desire to demonstrate well-roundedness, and difficulty, frustration, and anxiety surrounding the process of submitting final applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]