Higher education and social inequality: The role of community colleges.
Item
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Title
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Higher education and social inequality: The role of community colleges.
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Identifier
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AAI3213265
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identifier
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3213265
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Creator
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Levey, Tania Gabrielle.
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Contributor
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Adviser: David E. Lavin
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Date
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2006
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, General | Education, Higher | Education, Community College
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Abstract
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There is a consensus among sociologists that educational attainment is one of the most important influences on individuals' life chances. Despite a flowering of research on community college effects since the 1970s, there is less agreement over the effects of community college attendance than there is for four-year college attendance. Using nationally representative longitudinal datasets, the NLSY79 and the NELS:88, new statistical methods, and a broad range of outcomes, this dissertation reexamines the lengthy debate about the influence of community colleges in perpetuating a cycle of diminished educational and occupational attainments. This study is also the first to ask whether community colleges produce payoffs across the generations.;This dissertation makes several novel contributions to research on community colleges. Because community college students take longer to complete degrees, I follow students for more years than previous studies. In addition to regression models, I use a statistical technique known as the Counterfactual Model of Causal Inference. This technique is considered superior to regression analysis in its treatment of selection bias. I will test whether some of the negative effects attributed to community colleges have been overestimated due to failure to control adequately for the characteristics of students. I compare community college students to both four-year college students and high school graduates. Finally, I include outcomes rarely or never before examined in relation to community colleges, outcomes that have important implications not only for individual opportunity but also for opportunity in the succeeding generation: household income, wealth, family formation, parenting practices, and the educational progress of children of attendees. I will pay particular attention to whether community college effects differ by gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.;Analyses suggest that the impact of community colleges is more complex than simplistic debates would lead us to believe, producing important benefits for enrollees as well as their children. Overall, I find that community colleges can be an inexpensive and flexible route to long-term upward mobility.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
