Family, Community, and Higher Education

This volume explores the critical role of family and community in the life and experiences of college students, showing how the the family experience may deepen higher education practice and analyzing the ways in which family and community are included, valued, or devalued in higher education.

This book explores social topics and experiences that illustrate the various ways in which the family unit influences and impacts college students. In the text, the authors not only explore family memories, but also challenge the traditional lack of inclusion and appreciation for “family” as knowledge producers and educational allies. This book spotlights the family unit as a critical factor within the educational experience—one that prepares, supports, and sustains educational achievement through both everyday simple lessons and critical and difficult family challenges. Through these experiences, families teach the lessons of survival that often help students to persist in college.