The Conference on College Composition and Communication: a historical study of its continuing education and professionalization activities, 1949-1975

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of the Conference on College Composition and Communication from 1949 through 1975 as a vehicle for the continuing professional education of its members and for the professionalization of the field of college composition teaching. A number of research questions were formulated to guide the investigation. These questions concerned (1) the circumstances under which the organization was founded, (2) its responses to educational movements and social forces, (3) its developing conception of its continuing education function, (4) its conception of and efforts toward professionalization, and (5) its relationship with its parent, the National Council of Teachers of English.

The chief sources of information for this study included College Composition and Communication, the official journal of the organization; the programs for the annual conferences; correspondence, minutes, and reports housed in the headquarters of the National Council of Teachers of English in Urbana, Illinois; and a series of interviews with former officers of CCCC conducted in person, by telephone, and through the mail. In addition, some former officers lent materials from their personal files.

Using the historical method, the study identified four distinct periods in the history of the organization: 1949-1954, during which the members came together to seek a new professional identity and to found a new organization; 1955-1958, which was characterized primarily by phenomenal growth in membership and expansion of activities; 1959-1967, during which CCCC conducted an inward search for new directions and emerged as a more mature and confident organization; and 1968-1975, a period in which CCCC's activities were marked particularly by a greatly increased concern for social justice.

The researcher concluded that CCCC had become the major national forum for the continuing education of college composition teachers. It played a vital role in this process, primarily through its annual conferences and its quarterly journal. The format of the earliest conferences emphasized the workshop/discussion method. However, as the size of the meetings and the body of knowledge about the discipline of writing grew, conference topics evolved from general discussions of problems to the dissemination of more specialized research and theory depending on the leadership of a few persons. The journal evolved from little more than a pamphlet, printing reports of the conference sessions and a few articles on what specific colleges were doing in their freshman writing programs, to a widely recognized professional journal which has provided the major outlet for important research and theory development of many of the outstanding language scholars in the country.

In addition, the organization also did much to further the professionalization of college composition teaching, particularly in the areas of developing a knowledge base for the profession, developing skills in applying that knowledge, and strengthening the control of composition teachers over the practice of their own profession. It was also observed, however, that the professionalization process might be speeded if CCCC could encourage more research in the teaching of composition, exert more control over access to the profession, and establish a code of ethics for the practice of the profession. It was further suggested that some of the actions resulting from the organization's overwhelming concern for social justice during the late 1960's and early 1970's might have weakened the effects of its other efforts to professionalize the field of college composition teaching.