Like most educational institutions, community and technical colleges across the United States were forced to make big changes during the height of the Covid pandemic. A new book by a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education digs deep into that tumultuous time, unearthing inspiring innovations and changes that could have lasting impact.
The book, “Delivering Promise: Equity-Driven Educational Change and Innovation in Community and Technical Colleges,” is the latest effort from higher education and community college scholar Xueli Wang. She is a professor of educational leadership and president-elect of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges, which is an affiliate council of the American Association of Community Colleges.
“Delivering Promise” is the product of Wang’s interviews with 126 community and technical college educators in seven states between 2021 and early 2023. The interviews with administrators, faculty and staff, along with extensive document reviews and site visits, allowed Wang to shed light on how campuses adapted to the pressing needs of students during the height of the pandemic.
Wang says the book is animated and inspired by those educators’ resilience.
“A few months into the pandemic, I had been deeply inspired by the change, commitment and compassion demonstrated by practitioner colleagues at community and technical colleges,” she says. “There was a lot of talking about how bad it was going to be, but I saw all of these educators, not just leaders but instructors and advisors as well, who were really rising to the occasion with remarkably innovative ideas and efforts.”
Innovation and equity are key
“Delivering Promise” focuses in particular on how principles of equity were central to many of the pandemic-inspired changes. Those changes ranged from altered classroom practices to new approaches to student support, institutional research, external partnerships and leadership.
Wang says the central argument of the book is that innovation and equity are the two key ingredients of a just community and technical college education — and that one won’t work without the other.
“Historically when we talk about innovation, equity tends to be an afterthought rather than being a centering anchor,” she says. “This work shows that innovation cannot be true innovation without centering equity, and equity-based solutions must be innovative.”
In its exploration of both successes and struggles in pursuit of change, “Delivering Promise” offers insight to community and technical college leadership and practice on a number of the sector’s most challenging priorities, including removing barriers to access for students, increasing enrollment and better serving minoritized students.
Kudos from the field
Karen Stout, president and CEO of education nonprofit Achieving the Dream, calls the book “an essential read for every community and technical college practitioner.”
“Wang offers a unique, compelling and inside look at what equity-inspired and equity-centered innovation looks like in our classrooms, student support functions, data-informed support systems, community-based partnerships and institutional cultures,” Stout says.
John Fink, senior research associate and program lead at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, offered similarly high praise for the work.
Wang “guides readers into a heartening journey of individual and institutional transformation, synthesizing findings into concluding imperatives that outline a path forward,” he says.
Support for students and educators
Wang points out that the book also illuminates how human-centered practices, structures and policies serve students, faculty and staff.
“Figuring out how to ground humanity when supporting the educators is so important,” Wang says. “Education is both ‘students first’ and ‘educators first’ — education thrives when everyone’s humanity is centered.”
Overall, Wang sees “Delivering Promise” as a satisfying, if unexpected, follow-up to her first book, “On My Own: The Challenge and Promise of Building Equitable STEM Transfer Pathways.” While her first book focused on flawed institutional practices and structural barriers for students transferring from two-year colleges to four-year institutions, “Delivering Promise” turns toward equity-driven solutions and the people behind them.
“Delivering Promise” will be released by Harvard Education Press on April 16. Harvard Education Press is also hosting a meet and greet with Wang at the American Educational Research Association’s 2024 Annual Meeting.
