Community college English teachers who teach writing to underprepared students: Curricula focus and instructional strategies

The purpose of this study was two-fold. The first was to describe the California Community College English Teachers' teaching methodologies (curricula foci and instructional strategies) when teaching basic writers. Second, the study tested the Linkage Model of Change offered by Havelock and Havelock (1973), in an effort to explain why some teachers may have changed or altered their teaching methodologies and others have not.

This study provided an historical awareness of objections to the traditional paradigm of teaching writing. Underdeveloped ideas existed in the early 1900's but were not implemented and given a chance to grow. The last 20 to 30 years have seen old and new ideas flourish and a number of those key ideas for curriculum focus and instructional strategies were presented.

An argument was made for why more change needs to occur, and the question was raised as to what degree alternate approaches to the teaching of writing have been implemented or not implemented at the community college level.

A regression analysis was performed to test Havelock and Havelock's (1973) Linkage Model of Change in an effort to explain what factors need to be in place in order for change to occur. A Pearson r correlation was performed to determine to what degree alternative approaches to curriculum focus correlated with alternative approaches to instructional strategies. T-tests were performed to determine the differences between part-time and full-time positions, teachers with and without public school teaching credentials, and those teachers who have or have not taught ESL classes.

Recommendations were offered based on the findings from the surveys returned by the 308 respondents (53% return rate). An adapted version of the Linkage Model of Change was found to be a viable education theory for predicting change in teaching methodologies of community college teachers of basic writers. The results also identified full-time teachers, teachers who have earned public teaching credentials, and those who have taught ESL classes as groups of teachers who have made significant changes in their teaching methodologies in the direction of alternative approaches. Teachers who use traditional curriculum in their classrooms are also the teachers using traditional teaching styles, and those teachers using alternative curriculum are using alternative teaching strategies.