Book Review: Community Colleges as Cultural Texts: Qualitative Explorations of Organizational and Student Culture

Community Colleges as Cultural Texts: Qualitative Explorations of Organizational and Student Culture edited by Kathleen M. Shaw, James R. Valadez, and Robert A. Rhoads. State University of New York Press, Albany, New York. 1999, 213 pages, $17.95, Paperback, ISBN 0-79144290-X. Reviewed by Clifford P. Harbour. Kathleen M. Shaw, James R. Valadez, and Robert A. Rhoads have edited a fine anthology of articles that reports on recent cultural studies of the American community college. The articles in Community Colleges as Cultural Texts: Qualitative Explorations of Organizational and Student Culture build on an important fact of twenty-first century community college culture. The student body at two-year colleges is becoming more diverse in terms of age, race, ethnicity, enrollment patterns, work schedules, personal income, and academic preparedness (p. 2, 153, 173). Using qualitative research techniques, the contributors have constructed rich interpretations that tell us how this expanding cultural diversity is being received at community colleges. In the opening chapter, the editors explain how two-year colleges may be viewed as complex cultural texts that support a variety of narratives. When these narratives are carefully examined it becomes evident, they claim, that monoculturalism is a dominant cultural perspective at community colleges. Many readers will note that this claim is consistent with the argument offered by Rhoads and Valadez in 1996 in Democracy, Multiculturalism, and the Community College: A Critical Perspective (Rhoads & Valadez, 1996). In both books, the researchers contend that monoculturalism undermines the democratic nature of community colleges and privileges members of the cultural majority. Members of the cultural majority are advantaged in a monocultural environment because the institutions that distribute educational, occupational, and social opportunities incorporate monocultural customs, practices, and values. Thus, for example, access to higher education or desirable careers is frequently conditioned by successful performance on standardized tests that implicitly presume membership in the cultural majority. Given these circumstances, monoculturalism systematically provides members of the cultural majority with a significant advantage as they attempt to secure a rewarding and stable life. But, monoculturalism involves more than systematically granting advantages to those in the cultural majority. According to the Shaw, Valadez, and Rhoads, monoculturalism also erects subtle cultural barriers to minority progress. Thus, a disproportionate number of cultural minorities enroll in community colleges where frequently, job training is emphasized over transfer, assimilation is emphasized over individualism, and passive learning is emphasized over active learning (p. 100, 200). Articles in this collection also indicate that the effects of monoculturalism are not limited to students. Faculty, staff, and administrators also suffer when monoculturalism is a dominant cultural perspective at a community college (p. 59). The editors argue that community colleges must strive to replace monoculturalism with multiculturalism. A community college that embraces multiculturalism reflects cultural identities in its faculty, staff, and administration; affirms cultural identities in its instructional programs; and acknowledges students as adults who have the right to be equal partners in the learning process (p. 200). The contributors present engaging interpretations that explicate the life experiences of the people studying and working at community colleges. Although these qualitative interpretations may not be easily generalized to other institutions, the descriptions of monocultural practices and attitudes are informative and interesting. For these reasons, Community Colleges as Cultural Texts, a 1999 publication of the State University of New York Press, will be a desirable addition to many professional libraries. …