New Books and Pamphlets Adult Education in Rural Communities, by Yang Hsin-Pao. Developing Adult Education Programmes, by Homer Kempfer. Paris, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1950. 27 p. (Occasional Papers in Education) Processed. America's Stake in Human Rights. By Ryland W. Crary and John T. Robinson. Washington, D. C., The National Council for the Social Studies, 1949. 51 p. Illus. (The National Council for the Social Studies, Bulletin No. 24) 25 cents. Curriculum Revision for More Effective Living. Prepared under the Direction of the Social Science Department of Western Illinois State College. Macomb, Ill., West ern Illinois State College, 1950. 69 p. Illus. (The Western Illinois State College Bulletin, vol. 29, No. 3). Group Thinking and Conference Leadership: Techniques of Discussion. By William E. Utterback. New York, Rinehart & Co., Inc., 1950. 248 p. $2.50. Practical School Administration. By Albert J. Huggett. Champaign, Ill., The Garrard Press, 1950. 284 p. $3. Radio and Television Acting: Criticism, Theory and Practice. By Edwin Duerr. New York, Rinehart and Co., Inc., 1950. 417 417 p. $6.50. Student Teaching in the Elementary School. By James B. Burr, Lowry W. Harding, and Leland B. Jacobs. New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1950. 440 p. Illus. $3.75. Surveys, Polls, and Samples: Practical New Procedures. By Mildred Parten. York, Harper & Brothers, 1950. 624 p. (Harper's Social Science Series) $5. The Teen-Age Driver: From the Program of the Driver Education and Training Section, School and College Division, National Safety Council, Held During the 1949 National Safety Congress and Exposition. Chicago, National Safety Council, 1950. 31 p. Illus. 15 cents. The Theory and Practice of Teaching. By Ernest E. Bayles. New York, Harper & Brothers, 1950. 362 p., (Education for Living Series) $3. -Compiled by Susan O. Futterer, Associate Librarian, Federal Security Agency Library. Selected Theses in Education THE THESES in this list are selected from many on file in the Education collection of the Federal Security Agency Library and are available for interlibrary loan upon request. An Analysis of the Work Being Done by Existing Agencies in Marion and Vigo Counties in Indiana Toward the Educational and Physical Development of Crippled Children. By Martha C. Stanger. Master's, 1947. Indiana State Teachers College. 106 p. ms. Discusses the work being done by public and private organizations for the education and physical development of the 297 crippled children in Vigo County and for the 1,380 crippled children in Marion County. School Life Subscription Blank SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, Children's Interests in Moving Pictures, Radio Programs, and Voluntary Book Reading. By Florence E. Hickey. Mas ter's, 1948. Boston University. 139 p. ms. Surveys the interests of children in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades in these activities. Children's Voluntary Reading as an Expression of Individuality. By Mary H. B. Wollner. Doctor's, 1949. Teachers Col lege, Columbia University. 117 p. Analyzes data on the voluntary reading of eighthgrade pupils in the Horace Mann-Lincoln School of Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1944-45. Studies data on psychological and environmental factors, and their reading activity in terms of the number of books read and the amount of time devoted to reading. Developing a Reading Readiness Program in a First Grade in Waverly School. By Ruth L. Bynum. By Ruth L. Bynum. Master's, 1946. Hampton Institute. 110 p. ms. Discusses environmental factors influencing reading readiness in a Negro elementary school in Columbia, S. C. The Function of the University in Teacher Training. By Evan R. Collins. Doctor's, 1946. Harvard University. 235 p. ms. Traces briefly the history of the development of teacher training. Discusses concepts fundamental to the university training of teachers. A Study of the Factual Knowledge of Current Events Possessed by 1,000 HighSchool Seniors. By Vyron L. Jones. Master's, 1947. Indiana State Teachers College. 50 p. ms. Analyzes results of a specially constructed test which was administered to more than 1,000 highschool seniors in 19 schools of West Central Indiana, including rural and urban high schools of varying sizes. Recommends that a period each week be set aside for the study of current events. The Value of Dramatics as an Activity in the Fairfield Township School, Hamilton, Ohio. By Doris M. Lusk. Master's, 1948. University of Cincinnati. 82 p. ms. Concludes that dramatics is equal in value to music and athletics and should be given a place in the curriculum. -Compiled by Ruth G. Strawbridge, Federal Security Agency Library Bibliographer. Published each month of the school year, October through June. To order SCHOOL LIFE send your check, money order, or a dollar bill (no stamps) with your subscription request to the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. SCHOOL LIFE service comes to you at a school-year subscription price of $1.00. Yearly fee to countries in which the frank of the U. S. Government is not recognized is $1.50. A discount of 25 percent is allowed on orders for 100 copies or more sent to one address within the United States. Printing of SCHOOL LIFE has been approved by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget. OSCAR R. EWING......... Federal Security Administrator Address all SCHOOL LIFE inquiries to the Chief, Information and THE Office of Education was established in 1867 "for the purpose of collecting such statistics and facts as shall show the condition and progress of education in the sev eral States and Territories, and of dif fusing such information respecting the organization and management of schools and school systems and methods of teaching, as shall aid the people of the United States in the establishment and maintenance of efficient school systems, and otherwise promote the cause of education throughout the country." The Community CollegeA Challenging Concept for You "W HAT IS this community college idea?" The name is applied to several types of educational enterprises evolving under a variety of auspices. Now carrying the name "community college" are extension centers of universities, junior colleges, technical institutes, area vocational and agricultural schools, 4-year colleges, lower divisions of 4-year colleges and universities, church-related institutions, proprietary schools, general adult education. programs, YMCA and YWCA programs, and possibly other arrangements. There is a widespread eagerness to capitalize on the popularity of the name even when the functions inherent in the concept are not all fulfilled. No doubt each of the above organizations serves some of the functions of a community college, but in most instances they leave gaps in our educational pattern which a true community college should fill. The following definition seems to embody elements attributed to the community college by a reasonable proportion of those who use the term as well as by two Office of Education committees working in this and at closely related field.1 A community college is a composite of educational opportunities extended by the local public-school system free to all persons who, having passed the normal age by Homer Kempfer Specialist for General Adult and Post-High School Education and William R. Wood Specialist in Junior Colleges and Lower Divisions for completing the twelfth grade, need or want to continue their education. Through the community college they may continue their general education, prepare further for occupational life and homemaking, or prepare for the upper years of college and university programs. Note: 1. The community college is first of all an educational program-a "composite of educational opportunities." Parts of it may be formalized but other parts are not likely to be. 2. It is an extension of and an integral part of the local public school system. This concept is in harmony with our tradition of local responsibility and control. 3. The educational opportunities are free thereby being as financially accessible to all as are the other parts of the public school. 4. Its main center is located in the community geographically accessible to all youth and adults. 5. The community college is nonselective. Anyone in the community above high-school age, regardless of educational background, may participate in its activities. although completion of the twelfth grade may be a prerequisite for entrance to certain courses or curricula. 6. It exists to provide educational service to the whole community and to the individuals who comprise it; all other objec tives are secondary. 7. While these distinguishing characteristics may not all be true for all community colleges, they represent desirable directions in which to move. Groups To Be Served The community college when fully developed will serve a core group of youth who have completed the twelfth grade. Many of this group will be in full-time attendance during the thirteenth and fourteenth years. Two major types of curricula will be available for them. (1) For those planning to enter upper divisions of higher education institutions, approved credit-carrying curricula will be offered. For most young people, entrance upon this program will be based upon completion of 12 years of school, sometimes including a specified pattern of subjects. Other characteristics may include a controlled sequence of study and other requirements largely as determined by the institutions into which the community college feeds. Occasionally a high school dropout, after achieving sufficient maturity, may be permitted to enroll in this program as a special student to finish the equivalent of high school through college transfer courses although more often such students will take high school courses for adults to qualify for graduation directly or through regular day school. (2) For those who intend to spend only one or two more years in full-time school 129 ing, other appropriate curricula will be provided. Depending very heavily upon the needs of individuals and the community, these may include occupational preparation in such fields as agriculture, homemaking, business, trades and industrial occupations, nursing, and other occupations in which more preparation is needed and desired than is ordinarily given in high school. Included, too, will be curricula in general education, home and family living, and general civic competence for those who wish to improve their general culture before entering upon full-time employment or homemaking. The out-of-school youth and young adults who have not completed the twelfth grade constitute a second group. The high school and other appropriate community agencies will retain responsibility for those of secondary school age, but beyond this age the community college should come into the picture. Normally most of this group are employed full or part time although many are in dead-end jobs. The community college will maintain a rather continuous educational and guidance relationship with a great many of these until complete transition from full-time schooling to satisfactory occupational life has been achieved. Parttime classes will play an important part with this group as will many other types of activity discussed later. A Special Challenge The out-of-school and out-of-work group presents a special challenge. The size of this group (age 19-24) varies widely, ranging from near zero in times of high employment, such as during war, to 3 or 4 million or more in periods of economic difficulty. This is the group that gave rise to the NYA and CCC. A combination of activities can be required to maintain an educational connection with this group. The methods, approaches, and content of some of the more institutionalized parts of the community college can be adapted better to meet the needs of part of this group. For others work-and-study opportunities of various types, such as production training programs, part-time cooperative education in business, trade, and industrial education programs, and student camps combining conservation or seasonal harvest work with a program of studies can be designed. A good community college will provide an attractive and a balanced educational program- one suited to the life needs of all post-high-school youth and adults, whether they be students on a full- or a part-time basis. Certainly, all people, young adults especially but older ones as well, are faced continuously throughout life with the necessity of adapting, of making changes, of learning. Who can deny the importance of organized education in helping them make such changes satisfactorily? The program of the community college must be comprehensive. It cannot be technical only or vocational only or general only or preprofessional only. It should include opportunities for active participation in recreational, community service, and jobfor-pay experiences. Education is a part of living and not merely a brief, semirealistic experience confined to a classroom. Many community college students, especially those in the immediate post-highschool years, should be encouraged through an extensive and intensive system of student personnel services to explore several fields of interest, to broaden their entire scope of understanding, and not to concentrate on some specialization before their general educational background definitely has been strengthened. A balanced, full-rounded educational program is the bridge over which community college youth are able to pass surely and easily from teen age to adulthood. It is a means by which they can grow naturally into full adult responsibilities in their communities and realize their maximum productive potential. The community college will recognize that learning can go on in many forms and in many places. A part of the educational activities will be organized and conducted in the conventional classrooms, laboratories, and shops, yet these institutional phases will be only a part of the total "composite of educational opportunities." A campus center, usually the public high-school buildings, to which many groups served may come for educational activity, will also be a headquarters from which educational services and leadership go out into the community. In the interest of both economy and accessibility to the people served, a great deal of the educational services of the community college may be carried on in a variety of community locations-in the public library, in elementary schools, in the city hall, and in settlement houseswherever space can be made available for public use. Special features of the community college work will include: 1. Strong emphasis upon a functional system of student personnel services-testing, counseling, job-placement, and followup consultation-available from the time a student enrolls until he leaves the community; 2. Certain phases of the high school program for occupational education that will be moved upward on an expanded basis into the community college; 3. A flexible day, evening, weekly, and annual schedule best adapted to the work schedules of people employed full or part time; 4. The full-time core staff supplemented on a part-time basis by leaders from specialized activities and occupations in the community; 5. Close articulation with the high schools of the district to insure a gradual transition from full-time schooling to fulltime work; 6. Participation by students and citizens' advisory committees in local surveys, policy formulation, and in program management; 7. Techniques for gearing the community college program to employment and occupational conditions of the area served and to prevailing economic conditions. (The community college must be able to contract and expand its services readily to keep the number of unemployed out-of-school youth to a minimum.) Educational Approaches Much pioneering has yet to be done before the designers of any community college can formulate all the program facets necessary to make it worthy of the concept. Unless many educational approaches are developed, or at least adapted, the community college will be restricted to the services now provided a limited number of youth by the conventional junior college. Among the educational approaches needing further exploration and development are these which, while currently in limited use only, seem to offer considerable promise: 1. Work-and-study programs. This would seem to be an essential at all times as a significant part of the educational experience of all youth. 2. Camps with work-and-study programs. Many of the more successful features of CCC camps, with appropriate (Continued on page 140) |