Building College Readiness: Theories and Practices

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to 1) explore theories and practices in building college readiness; 2) examine the Ethiopian college readiness policy and the Ethiopian preparatory for higher education curriculum through the lens of the theories and practices around the world.Materials and methods. To achieve these objectives, extant literature reviews were conducted. The international research databases such as Scimago Journal and Country Rank, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were used for the collection of the resources. Some local government reports and research findings were accessed in hard copy. The resources reviewed in this study consist of quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods empirical research reports, and systematic reviews. This systematic review mainly focused on 1) searching for interventionist approaches, theories, and practices of building college readiness across k-12 education beyond the traditional school-based teaching and learning arena; 2) how the trends in building college readiness focused on narrowing the gap between theory and practices through student supports from early years of schooling as well as how the practices focused on managing and monitoring student learning outcomes effectively.Results. The review analysis shows that the current practice of building college readiness has spread its roots in societal and ecological grounds than ever before. For this reason, the traditional school-based college readiness building tends to be more supplemented by the advanced, research-oriented, and community-based, or ecologically grounded early support and monitoring of student progress. The Ethiopian college readiness curriculum, admission processes, and practices in teaching-learning are highly school-based and traditional compared to the contemporary practices of building college readiness around the world. The early warning and support systems are highly dependent on the teachers’ classroom tests and national assessments that are administered at some grade levels only.Conclusion. Building college readiness is a significant factor in promoting college success and higher education student learning outcomes. The contemporary college readiness and transition to higher education is highly affected by multiple personal and ecological factors, in addition to the traditional school, curriculum, and teachinglearning factors. Multiple community-based and research-oriented early interventions and support systems need to supplement the role of schooling in building college readiness. The curriculum and teaching-learning processes need to be rich enough in narrowing the gap between theories and practices. The teachers play a great role in building college readiness.