College for All: New Institutional Conflicts in the Transition to Adulthood

This chapter examines how community colleges shape the life course of individuals transitioning into adulthood, and whether alternative institutional structures and better informed students might reduce some of the unintended conflicts between education and other life domains. We focus on several conflicts. We examine simultaneous role conflicts between life domains, simultaneous time conflicts between educational and life timetables, and sequential conflicts that occur during transitions. Mortimer and Krüger (Pathways from school to work in Germany and the United States. In: Hallinan MT (ed) Handbook of the sociology of education Springer, New York, pp 475–497, 2000) contend that clear school-work connections may help shape youths’ career plans and outcomes so they can anticipate and prepare for future demands. We examine how educational institutions shape these connections and how the lives of low-income and disadvantaged students may be particularly affected. We conclude by suggesting that improved transition structures may reduce conflicts and avoid the problems imposed by extended educational timetables.