Despite the importance of developmental education, there are differing claims as to its effectiveness. It is not clear how these programs should be organized within colleges, and there are many accounts of innovations being tried in individual developmental education classrooms as instructors struggle to identify effective teaching methods.
Issues of effectiveness, organization, and instruction suggest that optimal models of developmental education remain to be identified. The community college population continues to diversify, with increasing numbers of students of racial, ethnic, and linguistic minorities and low socioeconomic status; more students who are the first in their families to attend college; and more who are considerably older than traditional college age. In response to the changing demographics, nontraditional approaches to education are increasingly needed.
In this climate, community colleges are seeking ways to improve their developmental education programs. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of current organizational and instructional approaches to developmental education and recommend a process by which community colleges can make institutionally appropriate decisions to improve developmental education outcomes.
This article was published in New Directions in Community Colleges, vol. 129.
