Community colleges evolved in Canada during the "golden
years" of educational innovation between 1960 and 1975. A
diversity of factors - historical, socio-economic, political and
educational - contributed to the development of college systems with
distinctive goals and structures. This book is the first up-to-date and
comprehensive study of a potent national educational and social
phenomenon, largely unknown and largely unappreciated.

The authors describe provincial and territorial college systems as
they have evolved to 1985, discussing problems particular to each
system and evaluating the extent to which often idealistic early goals
have been realized. They identify key issues which are critical to the
future of these systems and which, if ignored, will undermine community
college education across Canada. These include accessibility, identity,
relations with governments, management and leadership, and evaluation
and accountability. In each case the authors draw upon their own
expertise and experience to describe directions for resolution of these
issues.

The book contains a comprehensive and topical bibliography of both
published and unpublished material related to many aspects of Canadian
community college development. It also includes a French language
bibliography.

Unique in many aspects, this book is designed to interest both
graduate and undergraduate students in adult and higher education and
administration as well as those directly involved in community
colleges, government education ministries and a broad lay public.