THE DEFICIT PORTRAYAL OF UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS ON COMMUNITY COLLEGE CAMPUSES: A CROSS CASE ANALYSIS

Abstract

Two major themes emerged after all six articles' themes were considered in this cross case analysis: deficit portrayal and dominant culture privilege. These underrepresented populations often are portrayed as the victim; blamed for their lack of success, persistence to degree, or lack of transfer to a four-year college or university; or depicted as "less-than-whole" and in need of cultural development and academic remediation. The dominant culture lens leaves many citizens on these "egalitarian" campuses pushed to the outside. Recommendations are that the Community College Journal of Research and Practice should encourage: (a) a range of methodological approaches; (b) the use of interdisciplinary, theoretical resources; (c) the integration of a vast literature; and (d) the application of critical frameworks. These initiatives can shift the discourse from merely additive or descriptive accounts of difference to transformative work that will move us toward social justice.