ABSTRACT

This study analyzes the internal and external forces that led to the creation and revisions of a community college’s mission statement over the course of its 53-year history. We used discourse-historical analysis to examine published college mission statements, transcripts of interviews with the founding dean of the college, and the college’s archives (including meeting minutes, accreditation reports, and other internal correspondence). Emerging findings were further contextualized through additional primary sources. We found that the college’s founders were influenced by the humanistic education movement and crafted a mission statement that reflected humanistic ideals of self-actualization and positive growth for the betterment of humanity. This original mission statement was nearly unaltered for the first 15 years of the college’s existence. However, external forces, including the rise of neoliberalism within education, led to a complete rewrite of the mission statement. The revised statement, reflecting a neoliberal understanding of the purpose of community college education, remains in place. This study demonstrates the influence of external forces, including those contrary to the college’s founding principles, on its mission. Given the fact that community colleges serve a vast majority of disadvantaged students, the impact of neoliberal policy is particularly concerning.

摘要

这项研究分析了导致社区大学在其53年历史上的使命宣言的创建和修改的内在和外在力量。我们使用话语历史分析法检查了已发表的大学使命陈述，与大学创始院长的访谈记录和大学档案（包括会议记录，鉴定报告和其他内部信函）。新兴的发现通过其他主要来源得到了进一步的描述。我们发现，该大学的创始人受到人文教育运动的影响，并编写了一份使命宣言，反映了自我实现的人文理想以及为改善人类而积极成长的理想。该学院成立后的最初15年，最初的使命宣言几乎没有改变。但是，外部力量，包括教育中新自由主义的兴起，导致对使命宣言的完全改写。修订后的声明仍然有效，反映了对社区大学教育目的的新自由主义理解。这项研究证明了外在力量对其使命的影响，包括那些与大学成立原则相反的力量。考虑到社区大学为绝大多数弱势学生提供服务的事实，新自由主义政策的影响尤其令人担忧。包括违反学院成立原则的内容。考虑到社区大学为绝大多数弱势学生提供服务的事实，新自由主义政策的影响尤其令人担忧。包括违反学院成立原则的内容。考虑到社区大学为绝大多数弱势学生提供服务的事实，新自由主义政策的影响尤其令人担忧。