On The Origins Of Junior Colleges In The United States(Late 19th Century-Early 20th Century)

Junior colleges,formerly known as community colleges,are an important component of the modern higher education system in the United States.It is widely believed in academia that junior colleges emerged as a new type of educational institution at the beginning of the 20 th century,with Joliet Junior College,founded in1901,being recognized as the first junior college in the United States.In reality,the development of junior colleges in the United States went through a relatively long process,with the conceptualization and exploratory experimentation of the idea of junior colleges appearing in the late 19 th century.The emergence process of junior colleges from the late 19 th century to the early 20 th century deserves meticulous investigation.This study endeavors to employ research methods including historical analysis,literature review,and case study to scrutinize the developmental process of junior colleges in the United States during this time period,aiming to enhance our comprehension of the history of junior college development in the United States.The idea of junior colleges emerged in the late 19 th century,after the Civil War in the United States.With the rapid growth of industrialization and urbanization,as well as the population increase,the United States experienced new demands for higher education.Following the German university model,American universities were also transitioning to become modern universities at the same time.The emergence of new social and educational demands led to a reassessment of the direction of reform in American higher education.Influenced by German universities,a group of scholars,including Tappan,Folwell,and Harper,proposed the idea of developing junior colleges in their proposals for reforming American education.Meanwhile,Folwell and Harper also carried out experimental explorations on the establishment of junior colleges at the University of Minnesota and the University of Chicago,respectively.The concept of junior colleges and their experimental explorations in the late 19 th century laid the foundation for the formal emergence of junior colleges in the American educational landscape.The official appearance of junior colleges on the American educational landscape was marked by the establishment of Joliet Junior College in 1901.At its inception,the Joliet Junior College was not an independent educational institution,but rather a subsidiary of Joliet High School,serving as the fifth and sixth grades of the school.After its establishment,the college actively explored its educational functions,in addition to the originally envisioned transfer education,it also launched terminal education,vocational education,and teacher education activities,achieving good educational results and gaining recognition from all sectors of society.Ultimately,in the 1920 s,it obtained independent college status.By studying the evolution from the conception of junior colleges to their practical implementation in the United States,we learn that the initial idea of junior colleges offered theoretical support and public preparation for their eventual appearance,signifying their direction of development.At the same time,Joliet Junior College inherited the early concept of junior colleges and adapted it to suit practical needs during its establishment and initial development.The founding and educational exploration of Joliet Junior College provided valuable practical references for the establishment and development of other junior colleges.From this point onwards,this novel form of higher education institution has steadily expanded and developed,significantly fostering diversification within the American higher education system.The value of examining the development process of junior colleges in the United States from a historical perspective lies in this.