Transforming developmental education at community colleges through equity‐minded leadership

Abstract

The corequisite support model is a promising developmental education reform effort that is helping students transition into college-level coursework more quickly. The purpose of this chapter is to shed light on the critical leadership that has enhanced student success in corequisite courses and hold promise in enhancing equity within developmental education. The findings presented in this chapter are based on data from a multi-year, mixed-methods research project conducted at Urban Community College (UCC, a pseudonym) in Texas. We utilize equity-mindedness as a framework for understanding and operationalizing critical leadership at the community college. We focused not on students' academic abilities, but what faculty and administrative leaders are actively doing to support students in corequisite courses. We specifically draw attention to the exceptional leadership practices of faculty as instructors and administrators who are effective at facilitating success among racially minoritized students and students from low-income families who are placed in developmental education.