Neoliberalism Across Borders: A Comparative Case Study of Community Colleges’ Capacity to Serve Student-Parents

ABSTRACT

Community colleges in the United States and Canada operate within postsecondary environments that are being reshaped by neoliberal policymaking. As community colleges in both countries respond to the pressures of neoliberalism, their capacity to serve students already marginalized by their “nontraditional” status may be affected in contradictory ways that benefit some students while further disadvantaging others. This article drew on data from a comparative case study of two urban community colleges, one in the United States and one in Canada, to explore how the increasing marketization of postsecondary education in both countries is affecting each college’s position within its particular postsecondary environment and, in turn, is shaping its capacity at the organizational level to support its student population. As a means of highlighting the consequences of neoliberal processes on marginalized students, we focused our attention at the organizational level on resources and supports targeted at students with dependent children, a group of students who are often rendered invisible—both by neoliberal discourses and traditional postsecondary policies and practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Community colleges
• neoliberalism
• nontraditional college students
• student-parents