Sociological case study reveals how junior colleges manage student failure through gradual disengagement and substitute achievement, suggesting institutions actively buffer structural strain.
The wide gap found in many democratic institutions between culturally encouraged aspiration and institutionally provided means of achievement leads to the failure of many participants. Such a situation exists in American higher education. Certain social units ameliorate the consequent stress by redefining failure and providing for a "soft" denial; they perform a "coolign-out" function. The junior college especially plays this role. The cooling-out process observed in one college includes features likely to be found in other settings: substitute achievement, gradual disengagement, denial, consolation, and avoidance of standards.
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Burton R. Clark (1960) studied this question.
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