Opportunity in Decline for Decades Regarding Access

Barton, P. E. (2002). The closing of the education frontier? Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Retrieved June 1, 2006, from http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICFRONTIER.pdf Many publications today describe the current or near future decline of opportunity for access to postsecondary education. Barton, on the other hand, argues that the decline has occurred for decades.
The author makes an implicit analogy with a theory that early America was defined by the opportunity presented by Frederick Jackson Turner's thesis of the 'opening of the American west'. The Turner thesis was, "Up to our own day American history has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the Great West. The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development". Accordingly, America changed when the West was closed and opportunity ended in 1893. Using this concept as a counterpoint, Barton questions whether the frontier of educational opportunity has already closed, and thereby changing American culture. He argues that there is empirical evidence that postsecondary educational opportunity has closed, and therefore changing the nature of American society. Barton's data challenges the conventional wisdom that educational attainment has continued to increase during the last quarter century. He paints a picture of an educational system that is not producing more high school graduates, that continues to display great social inequality, and that is not able to support greater proportions of students through to degree in four-year college programs.

Access policies from national survey of FYE programs

Barefoot, B. O. (2003). Findings from the Second National Survey of First-Year Academic Practices, 2002. Brevard, NC: Policy Center for the First Year of College. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from: http://www.brevard.edu/fyc/survey2002/findings.htm
These findings are based on a survey results received from 1,000 colleges concerning first-year programs for students. Several of the questions were related to developmental education. While developmental education courses are offered at nearly all two-year institutions, the percentage drops dramatically with public four-year institutions: 80%, baccalaureate general colleges; 40%, baccalaureate liberal arts colleges; 70%, master's I & II; 70%, research intensive; 60%, research extensive. In the past five years the percentage of students taking developmental courses has increased most at public two-year institutions. In general, enrollment has remained even at four-year institutions though there are differences by type. About a third of baccalaureate-general colleges reported increases while an equal percentage reported decreases at research extensive institutions.

Comprehensive theory of developmental education

Wambach, C., Brothen, T., & Dikel, T. N. (2000). Toward a developmental theory for developmental educators. Journal of Developmental Education, 24(1), 2-4, 6, 8, 10, 29.
The authors propose a comprehensive theory of developmental education which is based on developmental psychology. There are three basic concepts in the theory: demandingness, responsiveness, and self-regulation. Rather than operating with a "deficit model," this theory is rooted in developmental psychology which focuses on building the strengths of all students. A number of recommendations are provided for practical implementation of this theory in the classroom.

Stigma impact on students involved with developmental education

Pedelty, M. (2001). Stigma. In J. L. Higbee, D. B. Lundell, & I. M. Duranczyk (Eds.), 2001: A developmental odyssey. Warrensburg, MO: National Association for Developmental Education.
Thirty-eight students conducted ethnographic research among their peers at a developmental program within a large public university. The students found that many of their peers feel stigmatized. The author argues that stigmatization is an inevitable outcome of academic ranking and a result of the ideological narratives driving U.S. education. He proposes a "justice model" to deal with issues of academic stigma among students and faculty in developmental education programs.

Monograph on theories for developmental education

Lundell, D. B., & Higbee, J. L. Eds (2001). Theoretical perspectives for developmental education. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Research on Developmental Education, General College, University of Minnesota. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from: http://www.gen.umn.edu/ research/crdeul/publications.htm
This monograph provides nearly 20 articles in four sections: new and revised theories for developmental education; culture and constructivism; literacy and composition; and theories for math and science.

Critique of theories related to developmental education

Lundell, D. B., & Collins, T. (1999). Toward a theory of developmental education: The centrality of "discourse". In J. L. Higbee, & P. L. Dwinell (Eds.), The expanding role of developmental education (pp. 3-20). Morrow, GA: National Association for Developmental Education. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from: http://nade.net/documents/ mono99/mono99.1.pdf
After a review of various theories that have been used to define developmental education, the authors critique them regarding them. They found that most were theoretically underdeveloped. The authors recommend the idea of "Discourse" as articulated by James Paul Gee as a theory to guide developmental education.

Applying developmental theory to a math program

Kinney, D. P. (2001). Developmental theory: Application in a developmental mathematics program. Journal of Developmental Education, 25(2), 10-12, 14, 16, 18, 34.
The developmental theory concepts of self-regulation, demandingness, and responsiveness (Wambach, Brothen, and Dikel, 2000) are applied to a developmental mathematics program at the General College of the University of Minnesota.