Table of Contents

Abstract

Executive Summary

Foreword

Acknowledgments

The Case for a Comprehensive Model of College Readiness

The Complexity of College Readiness

Quasi-Ecological Approaches to College Readiness

The Next Generation of College Readiness Research

Method and Organization

The Human Ecology Framework

Principles of Development in Ecological Systems

Environmental Contexts

Environmental Interactions: A Fully Ecological Model

Individual: The Attributes of College Readiness

Resource Characteristics

Force Characteristics

Demand Characteristics

The Individual in an Ecological Context

Microsystem: The Direct Experience of Students

Academic Preparation in Schools

Out-of-School Microsystems

Direct Experience in an Ecological Context

Mesosystem: A Network of Overlapping Relationships

Cultural Capital and the Mesosystem

Social Capital and Mesosystem Connectors

College and High School Integration

Overlapping Relationships in the Ecological Context

Exosystem: The Site of Systemic and Structural Changes

Precollege Intervention Programs

School Reform

Role of States

Role of Federal Government

Role of Foundations and Nonprofit Organizations

Systems and Structures in Ecological Context

Macrosystem: The Arena of Culture and Ideology

Foundational Beliefs

Language, Subculture, and Theory

Culture and Ideology in the Ecological Context

Chronosystem: The Role of Time in College Readiness

Cohort and Era

Sequence and Timing

Developmental Change

The Role of Time in Ecological Context

The Ecological View of College Readiness

The Ecology of College Readiness

Using an Ecological Approach in Research and Evaluation

Implications for Policy

Implications for Practice

Moving Toward an Ecological Approach to College Readiness

References

Name Index

Subject Index

About the Authors