The State of Developmental Education is the first book to provide a thorough, comparative picture of how developmental education is carried out at higher education institutions and investigate how different state-level policies and priorities change the availability, types, and quality of developmental education available.

Developmental Education: Readings on Its Past, Present, and Future offers twenty-two selections on historical efforts to serve underprepared students, on the state of developmental education today, and on innovative practices and possible directions for the future. Compiled by Hunter R. Boylan, Director of the National Center for Developmental Education (NCDE) and a professor of Higher Education at Appalachian State University, and Barbara S. Bonham, a professor in the Department of Leadership and Educational Studies at Appalachian State University, each chapter also includes introductions and questions for discussion and reflection.

Developmental Education is an approach to education in school that aims at promoting children’s cultural development and their abilities to participate autonomously and well-informed in the cultural practices of their community. From the point of view of Cultural-historical Activity theory (CHAT), a play-based curriculum has been developed over the past decades for primary school, which presents activity contexts for pupils in the classroom that create learning and teaching opportunities for helping pupils with appropriating cultural knowledge, skills, and moral understandings in meaningful ways. The approach is implemented in numerous Dutch primary schools classrooms with the explicit intention to support the learning of both pupils and teachers. The book focuses especially on education of young children (4 – 8 years old) in primary school and presents the underpinning concepts of this approach, and chapters on examples of good practices in a variety of subject matter areas, such as literacy (vocabulary acquisition, reading, writing), mathematics, and arts. Successful implementation of Developmental Education in the classroom strongly depends on dynamic assessment and continuous observations of young pupils’ development. Strategies for implementation of both the teaching practices and assessment strategies are discussed in detail in the book.

Presents an overview of developmental education at the college level: what the concept means and how most developmental education programs work.

The 16 chapters of this volume describe a wide variety of developmental programs intended to promote skill development and enhance academic performance for high-risk students at all levels of higher education. Following an introductory chapter by the editors, the chapters are: (1) "The Origin, Scope, and Outcomes of Developmental Education in the 20th Century" (Hunter R. Boylan and D. Patrick Saxon); (2) "Who Belongs in College: A Second Look" (Carlette J. Hardin); (3) "Transitions in Developmental Education: Interviews with Hunter Boylan and David Arendale" (Cheryl B. Stratton); (4) "Remedial/Developmental Education: Past, Present, and Future" (Milton G. Spann, Jr. and Suella McCrimmon); (5) "Provisionally Admitted College Students: Do They Belong in a Research University?" (Don T. Garnett and M.V. Hood III); (6) "Transitions in Developmental Education at the University of Georgia" (Jeanne L. Higbee and Patricia L. Dwinell); (7) "Developmental Education at a Public Research University" (Catherine Wambach and Robert delMas); (8) "A Charge to Developmental Educators: Ignite the Spark" (Rita Klein et al.); (9) "The Impact of a Course in Strategic Learning on the Long-Term Retention of College Students" (Claire E. Weinstein et al.); (10) "Integrating Critical Thinking into the Developmental Curriculum" (Linda Best); (11) "Metacognition: Facilitating Academic Success" (Cynthia M. Craig); (12) "Student Beliefs, Learning Theories, and Developmental Mathematics: New Challenges in Preparing Successful College Students" (Irene Mary Duranczyk and Joanne Caniglia); (13)"Mainstreaming Basic Writers: Chronicling the Debate" (Mary P. Deming); (14) "A Commentary on the Current State of Developmental Reading Programs" (Martha Maxwell); (15) "Establishing Personal Management Training in Developmental Education and First-Year Curricula" (Robert Nelson); and (16) "Increasing Efficiency and Effectiveness of Learning for Freshman College Students through Supplemental Instruction" (David Arendale). A concluding chapter is by the editors. (Individual chapters contain references.) (DB)

Developmental education is a core mission of the community college, and approximately 40 percent of entering community college students enroll in one ore more developmental math, English, or reading courses. The existing literature recommends several instructional and organization practices for developmental educators to follow in addressing the needs of those students. Despite the availability of these models, however, community colleges--each facing its own unique combination of students needs and available resources--continue to struggle in their efforts to effectively educate underprepared students and help them move onto and succeed in college-level courses. This volume of New Directions for Community Colleges offers a realistic assessment of the difficulties community colleges face in attempting to assist students who share the common characteristic of being underprepared for college-level work, but whose backgrounds, academic preparation, motivational levels, and goals are extraordinarily varied. The authors discuss the dangers of isolating developmental students, faculty, and curriculum from the broader academic structure of the college. They provide examples of successful programs, and offer a range of recommendations that college administrators can adapt to their campuses and student populations. They also call for additional research on developmental education, especially systematic assessments of existing programs and qualitative research that captures the perceptions of the students for whom these programs are designed.