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William G. Tierney, Zoe B. Corwin, and Julia E. Colyar (Eds.). Preparing for College: Nine Elements of Effective Outreach. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2005. 264 pp. Paper: $24.95. ISBN: 0-7914-6276-5.
Tierney, Corwin, and Colyar have assembled a cadre of leading scholars to synthesize the literature on college outreach and preparation programs. Although college preparation and access is a phenomenon that has been studied extensively by scholars from many disciplines in the last 50 years, this edited volume demonstrates how much further scholars, administrators, and counselors need to push themselves to more fully understand what makes for an effective college outreach program.
The authors, each with extensive work in the area of college access, have set out to summarize what is known and not known about college outroach and preparation programs and attempt to move the field forward in terms of what still needs to be understood to make preparation for and access to college a reality for all students.
The book begins well with an introduction to the literature surrounding various components of outreach programs. The editors then summarize nine propositions that dominate the literature regarding college programs and offer a succinct sentence about the influence each proposition may or may not have in assisting students in their college process plans. These nine propositions and their attendant effects are:
1. It is helpful but not critical to emphasize the culture of the student.
2. Family engagement is critical.
3. Peer groups are helpful but not critical.
4. Programs need to begin no...