A survey of economics education at US community colleges

Connecting community college economics faculty with the American Economic Association and the Federal Reserve System

“…Community college economics faculty also express dissatisfaction with the current curriculum. Maier and Thornton (2020a) report that 68% of their 50 survey respondents registered some discontent with the current curriculum and cited income inequality and race as issues not well covered. Recent efforts to address the call for change include "CORE econ" an "open-access platform for anyone who wants to understand the economics of innovation, inequality, environmental sustainability, and more" (CORE Econ, 2020).…”

“…Just as economics education has been a secondary interest for the AEA, community colleges, with their focus on teaching lower‐division classes, have generally been viewed as incidental to the Association's mission of encouraging research (Maier & Thorton, 2020a, 2020b). The relationship between the AEA and community colleges has been latent for decades.…”

“…There also is often little to no interaction between economics faculty at community colleges and economics faculty at any nearby four‐year schools. Respondents of a 2019 survey of two‐year college economics educators reported the “need for greater respect, recognition, understanding and support of community‐college academics by those working in four‐year colleges” (Maier & Thornton, 2020a). This scenario is similar to other disciplines (see chapters in this volume).…”

“…Maier and Thornton (2020a, 2020b) make the point that community college faculty are seeking recognition and respect from four‐year college and university colleagues. The growing emphasis on pathways approaches to student advising and support open up opportunities for more frequent and meaningful discussions between community colleges and universities (Bailey et al., 2015).…”