College Guide

November 18, 2009 09:55 AM

Accounting for the College Fear Factor

by Jesse Singal

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Inside Higher Ed highlights what looks to be an important new book:

Despite best intentions, today’s first-generation college students and their professors “misunderstand and ultimately fail one another” in the classroom, according to a new scholarly work on community college pedagogy.

The College Fear Factor, published last month by Harvard University Press, is based upon five years of observations of community college courses and interviews with students and professors by Rebecca Cox, professor of education at Seton Hall University. In her work, she tries to show how “traditional college culture” is a barrier to student success, particularly for disadvantaged students.

Lots of good stuff here, so give the article a read.

Jesse Singal is web editor of the Washington Monthly. He previously worked as an associate editor at Campus Progress, and his writing and reporting have appeared in The Boston Globe, The American Prospect Online, and Politico.