Looking for Signs of Community College Arts and Sciences Faculty Professionalization in Searches: An Alternative Approach to a Vexing Question

To explore professionalization of community college faculty, this study uses data from case studies of searches for full-time arts and sciences community college faculty. The author concludes that there is little evidence of a unique profession and that on a continuum of professionalization community college faculty are more professionalized than K-12 teachers but less so than research university faculty. Further, the author argues that understanding what it means to be a professional in the context of a community college is more important than whether community college teaching is or should become a profession unique from its K-12 or university counterparts.