Community Leaders' Perceptions of the Small, Rural Community College Contributing to Quality of life in a Rural Community

Authors

  • Jared Reed Southeastern Community College
  • Janice Friedel Iowa State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2022.v12n1p65-82

Keywords:

community college, community leader, quality of life, rural life

Abstract

This phenomenological study investigated community leaders’ perceptions of the small, rural community college contributing to quality of life. Guided by the Community Capitals Framework (Flora & Flora, 2013), six focus group interviews were conducted across three communities in the Midwest that included 39 participants selected through key informant sampling. The study found that community leaders perceive the small rural community college contributing to quality of life through three major themes: a) providing access and opportunity, b) economic and workforce development, and c) partnerships. Findings suggest that small, rural community colleges contribute to quality of life by increasing human and social capital through the themes. Implications for practice include increasing student support services resources at community colleges, increasing service learning through partnerships, and developing a framework for self-assessment to further develop the small, rural community college understanding of its impact on developing human capital and social capitals.

 

Author Biographies

Jared Reed, Southeastern Community College

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Jared Reed, PhD, is a higher education administrator and instructor with over 10 years of experience working in community colleges, particularly in the areas of adult education/workforce development, academic affairs, and student affairs. Currently, he is the Director of Financial Aid at Southeastern Community College in Iowa. Reed has been an adjunct faculty member since June 2010 and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses. His scholarship includes a co-authored book chapter on rural community college economic development in New Directions in Community Colleges (2019). He is an expert in rural community colleges and has presented his research at the Council for the Study of Community Colleges as well as the Rural Community College Alliance. A native of Michigan, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Iowa State University, Master of Arts degree from Western Illinois University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Central Michigan University. He has research and teaching interests in rural education, the intersection of post-secondary education and community growth and development, student persistence and retention, student affairs leadership and practice, student engagement, and organizational development, particularly community college organizational development, with a particular focus on exploring these interests at rural community colleges.

Janice Friedel, Iowa State University

Janice Friedel, PhD, is a professor of education at Iowa State University where she joined the faculty in the Educational Policy and Leadership Studies Department within the College of Human Sciences in August 2011. She has more than 30 years of experience in community colleges in Iowa and Kentucky where she has served in a variety of executive level community college positions, including the community college presidency, and as the state administrator for a system of community colleges and the state director for career and technical (vocational) education for secondary and postsecondary education. Other community college administrative experience includes vice chancellor of academic affairs and planning for a multi-college community college district, director of curriculum development and program evaluation, and dean of community and continuing education. A native of Iowa, she earned her doctorate, master, and bachelor degrees at the University of Iowa. Friedel’s scholarship include over forty articles, books, and chapters on program evaluation, labor market assessments, environmental scanning, strategic planning, the community college mission, workforce development, the role of community colleges in high school reform, and the economic benefits of attending the community college. Her current research interests center on rural community colleges, higher education public policy, community college leadership development, the community college mission and governance, career and technical education, the economic benefits of community college attendance, and dual/concurrent enrollment

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Published

2022-06-21

How to Cite

Reed, J., & Friedel, J. (2022). Community Leaders’ Perceptions of the Small, Rural Community College Contributing to Quality of life in a Rural Community. Theory & Practice in Rural Education, 12(1), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2022.v12n1p65-82

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2022): Theory & Practice in Rural Education

Section

Research Forum

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Copyright (c) 2022 Jared Reed, Janice Friedel

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