Responding to mission creep: faculty members as cosmopolitan agents

Across the field of U.S. higher education, regional teaching and comprehensive universities are striving for national research status. This tendency has most often been explored at the organizational level, but in this paper, the views and actions of faculty members are the unit of analysis. Based on qualitative data, I put forward a three pronged frame-work that organizes overarching faculty responses to one university’s transition. I focus most specifically on one faculty response, which I call operationalizing in order to show how faculty members take agency in a moment of complex change that illuminates tensions between faculty, university leaders and the field of higher education, more generally. Contributing to the literature on faculty agency, mission creep/striving and change in higher education, I unpack specific ideas and practices that faculty used as they took agency over their careers.     

Quality of graduate department origin of faculty and its relationship to undergraduate course examination questions

Quality of graduate department origin for faculty and its relationship to the asking of undergraudate course examination questions requiring analysis or synthesis of course content was this study's focus. Findings indicated a tendency for faculty holding advanced degrees from higher quality graduate departments to ask more synthesis questions than their counterparts trained at lower quality departments. Implication for faculty selection are drawn from this study's findings.     

Turnover of senior faculty in departments of social and physical science and engineering

Given the projected surplus of PhDs over the next 20 years, faculty departures to jobs outside academe could be an important source of new academic jobs. This paper attempts to discern and explain hiring and departure patterns of senior faculty in departments in 12 fields. There was more net hiring in engineering departments than elsewhere and fewer departures from departments in public than in private institutions. The relationship between selectivity and thenet hiring rate of senior faculty was significantly negative and nonlinear. Despite predictions of declining enrollments, departments in the less selective institutions still evidence growth of senior faculty positions. Several explanations of this pattern are offered.     

The effect of gender composition of faculty on student retention

The gender composition of faculty is an important issue on many campuses. Substantial efforts are taken by colleges to hire a diverse faculty where women are equitably represented. Several papers suggest that female faculty can act as role models for female students. This issue is particularly emphasized in science and engineering programs. However, empirical research finds mixed support for this hypothesis. We provide a new test of this issue by examining whether female students have higher first-year retention rates when a greater percentage of their classes are taught by female faculty. There is a positive relationship between retention of female students and the percentage of their science and mathematics classes taught by female faculty. Also faculty gender has a greater impact on female students when their classes have few female students. Thus this study provides support for gender-based programs for hiring.     

Seven strategies for enabling faculty success in distance education

Many challenges associated with distance education and technology integration initiatives focus on faculty issues and concerns. This article analyzes these difficulties by identifying from the literature current trends affecting faculty, faculty motivators, and faculty challenges. Then, following this review and analysis, the article presents seven strategies for university administrators and faculty to consider as part of their own strategic plan to mitigate faculty concerns and ensure program success. The seven strategies discussed include the following: (1) enable colleges and departments to accept more responsibility for distance education activities; (2) provide faculty more information about distance education programs and activities; (3) encourage faculty to incorporate technology into their traditional classrooms; (4) provide strong incentives for faculty to participate in distance education; (5) improve training and instructional support for distance education faculty; (6) build a stronger distance education faculty community; and (7) encourage more distance education scholarship and research.     

Espoused teaching paradigms of college faculty

The purpose of this research was to ascertain the impact of an array of variables on the espoused teaching paradigms and instructional behaviors of college faculty. The study, which was exploratory and speculative, alternately analyzed espoused teaching paradigms as independent and dependent variables. Analyses were based on data collected from a large national sample of college faculty (N = 443) spread across 163 colleges and universities and compared across four academic disciplines (English, biology, mathematics, and psychology). The results of the inquiry demonstrated gender, academic discipline, and some contextual variables to be the most significant predictors of faculty teaching paradigms. Furthermore, manifestations of teaching paradigms were explicitly reflected in the frequencies of instructional behaviors reported by the faculty surveyed. It was concluded that contingency theories of leadership offer a framework that facilitates a multivariate analysis of teaching-learning.The author was a doctoral candidate at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University at the time this research was conducted.     

Institutional factors in time to the doctorate

The aim of this study was to delineate departmental differences in the length of time that doctoral students take to receive their degrees and the institutional characteristics linked with it. Variables describing graduate departments in three disciplines (chemistry, English, and psychology) and their parent universities were obtained from available records. In analyses of departments in each discipline, a relatively small set of institutional variables correlated with average time to the doctorate for the department, after controlling for characteristics of students in the department, and these relationships differed from discipline to discipline. The clearest and most extensive findings emerged for psychology: the institutional variables identified primarily concerned faculty accessibility (student/faculty ratio and department size)—a longer time to the doctorate for departments with many students per faculty member or many students.     

中国高校女教师队伍发展的现状分析

This paper examines the changing status of women faculty through an analysis of statistics on China’s universities from 1994 to 2004. This paper first presents the trend of a drastic increase in women faculty members in recent years. Further details on the academic ranks of women faculty, their age and highest degrees obtained are also presented. A comparison of female representation in faculty ranks is made between China and a few selected countries. Lastly, this paper attempts to account for the low percentage of female professors in higher education. Recommendations for the professional development for women faculty are made in the end.      

Rethinking faculty development

Faculty development is designed to forestall facultyobsolescence, but determining how to provide for thedevelopmental needs of a diverse faculty isproblematic. At the University of Cincinnati aFaculty Development Program was organized aroundcompetitive proposals and university institutes. The developmental grant proposals were for individualfaculty, groups of faculty, and departments and alsoprovided funds for institutes for collaborative groupsof faculty who had shared developmental needs andgoals. More than 800 faculty members (42% of thetotal faculty) applied for these funds over athree-year period. Nearly 400 faculty were funded. The question remaining, following this initial cycle,was ``Did this support for faculty development make asignificant difference in the way learning,scholarship, and research was conducted?'' To betterascertain the extent of the project's influence on theinstitution, a survey was distributed to all 1,925faculty at the university -- regardless of whether ornot they received support. The returns of the surveywere sufficient to allow for an analysis. The results held both anticipated results (e.g.,upgraded skills and increased use of technology) andunexpected results (e.g., cooperation among facultyfrom diverse disciplines and multiplier effects onscope and nature of the projects). The results of thesurvey, regarding the Faculty Development Program'simpact, clearly show that it has changed the wayinterdisciplinary faculty collaborate and it hassignificantly facilitated the ability of faculty toaddress specific developmental needs.     

Research productivity of foreign- and US-born faculty: differences by time on task

Similar to trends in postsecondary education across the world, today’s US universities are an increasing mix of native and foreign-born scholars. US institutions are experiencing a growing number of international faculty members, but there is limited literature examining foreign-born faculty who work in US institutions and how outputs from foreign-born faculty compare to US-born natives. Using data from the 2004 National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:04), this study examines difference in faculty members’ research productivity at doctoral-granting institutions by foreign/US-born status controlling for select individual and institutional characteristics. Findings show that foreign-born faculty members spend more time on research and less time on undergraduate instruction than US-born peers, and this may contribute to their higher levels of production. Implications are discussed that consider how to ensure diverse faculty communities that lead to strong research and knowledge production.     

Predicting faculty success in university graduate departments

This study tests a model of predicting faculty success in the different fields of chemistry, physics, sociology, and political science. The main hypotheses tested and confirmed are:

1. In a field with a low technological development, professional age is more important in predicting faculty success than in a field with a high technological development.
2. In a field with a high technological development, articles are more important in predicting faculty success than in a field with a low technological development.
3. In a field with a low technological development, books are more important in predicting faculty success than in a field with a high technological development.

These hypotheses are tested separately for the tenured and the nontenured faculty groups. The policy implications of this model in regard to the management of graduate departments have been discussed and explored.     

Obstacles to instructional innovation according to college science and mathematics faculty

Numerous studies have documented the infrequent use of learner‐centered instruction in college science and mathematics classrooms and its negative effects on undergraduate learning and motivation. The present research deepened understanding of why. Specifically, an Internet survey was constructed that explored obstacles, supports, and incentives for instructional innovation in the classroom and was sent out to college science and mathematics faculty of Louisiana. Results revealed that colleges generally were perceived to assign little or an indeterminate weight to instruction in personnel decision making. Faculty members generally have little training in pedagogy; but when they do, they are more likely to consult sources of instructional innovation and consider teaching an important part of their professional identities. Data concerning the most common sources of instructional innovation information are presented. Several suggestions are made for institutional reform that if enacted might contribute to systemic improvement in the quality of instruction undergraduates receive. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach     

Student–faculty Interactions: Dynamics and Determinants

This paper documents the results of a qualitative study of student–faculty interactions. The work explores the frequency and nature of interactions, sheds light on the determinants of interactions, and reveals the dynamic processes that underlie contact between faculty and students. Focus group results indicate that students have minimal contact with faculty outside the classroom, and do not appear to be aware of the importance of interacting with faculty. Results also illustrate key factors that deter and facilitate student–faculty interactions. The findings and their implications should be beneficial to faculty, student life professionals, and administrators alike.     

Mathematics readiness of first-year college students and missing necessary skills: perspectives of mathematics faculty

College readiness of students and the effectiveness of remedial mathematics courses have been under consideration for the last two decades. There is a considerable misalignment between the expectations of students regarding secondary education and those regarding higher education. Information about current expectations and perspectives of college mathematics faculty who have to deal with this gap is missing in the literature. This study explores college readiness of first-year students and topics that they need to have mastered before entering college. A survey was disseminated to college/university mathematics faculty throughout the US (48 states) whose email addresses were shown on their institutional webpages, and data were gathered from 737 faculty. The survey instrument includes scaled items reflecting the Common Core State Standards and free response items. The scaled items are divided into six subscales: Basics, Algebra, Functions, Geometry, Statistics and Probability, and Reasoning and Generalisation. Faculty responses are categorised and statistically analysed with respect to types of institution, position titles of the participants and types of course offered by those institutions. Findings indicate that faculty view first-year students as having poor mathematical ability in terms of what they consider to be important topics for college preparation. Faculty also agree that students need remediation, which, in its current state, is not sufficient. Implications of these results for further research and practice are discussed.     

Critical Conversations on Social Justice in Undergraduate Mathematics

Abstract

This article explores how critical conversations engage undergraduate mathematics faculty in a community of practice that enhances their knowledge about teaching and learning mathematics for social justice. More broadly, critical conversations are defined as a cooperative learning strategy that can be used to identify, explore, and respond to various interests and issues situated across differing values and beliefs. We present a case study of a critical conversation that took place at a 2016 Mathematics for Social Justice workshop organized by a group of junior faculty. Participant reflections situate perspectives that can help novice and experienced instructors design conversations about teaching mathematics for social justice. Specifically, individual and group reflections highlight the importance of: (i) framing and reflecting on the conversation; (ii) exploring implications and content connections; and (iii) identifying barriers. Implications for faculty members and mathematics departments are provided.     

What is the role of constructivist teachers within faculty communication networks?

Using the biology faculty of one high school (n = 9) and the mathematics faculty of another (n = 16), this study tested the hypothesis that constructivist teachers play an active role within teacher communication networks (the constructivist‐teacher hypothesis). This hypothesis contrasts with the view that constructivist teachers operate alone and largely severed from communications among colleagues. Two types of representations of communication patterns among faculty members (i.e., sociographs) were created and analyzed for each faculty. One type of sociograph plotted communications concerning content/pedagogical issues while the other type plotted social/informal communications. Trained raters assessed constructivist‐teaching practices using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP). Positive relationships were found between constructivist‐teaching practices and the frequency and significance of communications within both faculties—more so for content/pedagogical issues than for social/informal communications. Importantly, peers sought out constructivist teachers more often than they did traditional teachers, presumably seeking advice regarding teaching practice. Results support the constructivist‐teacher hypothesis and indicate that constructivist teachers are not isolated from their peers. Instead, they appear to play an active role, particularly when colleagues are discussing issues related to content and pedagogy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 490–505, 2007     

Teaching the process of science: faculty perceptions and an effective methodology

Most scientific endeavors require science process skills such as data interpretation, problem solving, experimental design, scientific writing, oral communication, collaborative work, and critical analysis of primary literature. These are the fundamental skills upon which the conceptual framework of scientific expertise is built. Unfortunately, most college science departments lack a formalized curriculum for teaching undergraduates science process skills. However, evidence strongly suggests that explicitly teaching undergraduates skills early in their education may enhance their understanding of science content. Our research reveals that faculty overwhelming support teaching undergraduates science process skills but typically do not spend enough time teaching skills due to the perceived need to cover content. To encourage faculty to address this issue, we provide our pedagogical philosophies, methods, and materials for teaching science process skills to freshman pursuing life science majors. We build upon previous work, showing student learning gains in both reading primary literature and scientific writing, and share student perspectives about a course where teaching the process of science, not content, was the focus. We recommend a wider implementation of courses that teach undergraduates science process skills early in their studies with the goals of improving student success and retention in the sciences and enhancing general science literacy.     

A data-based scheme for evaluating faculty performance

Both sound management practice and the law require that administrative decisions affecting faculty members reflect systematic, uniformly applied, fair, and valid evaluations of performance. To meet these requirements a performance evaluation scheme must involve two decision elements, both of which are addressed and illustrated in this paper:what will be evaluated, andhow the evaluation will be made.A data-based faculty performance evaluation program specifically oriented toward such administrative actions as tenure, promotion, and salary adjustment is described. This program rests upon task analysis to clarify the nature of the desired evaluative content and peer review as the primary evaluative mechanism.The scheme is illustrated using the experience of a department of psychology training to the doctorate. However, the approach to faculty performance evaluation herein described and illustrated is generalizable, with modification, to other departments and institutions. Several considerations pertinent to such modification are discussed.     

Effective faculty feedback: The road less traveled

Grading papers may be one of the most stressful, most time consuming, and least rewarding activities in which professors engage. Although effective grading techniques for papers have been widely researched, especially within the “Writing” or “English” scholarly arenas, has this information been put into practice? The goals of this paper are two-fold: (1) to replicate and extend Connor and Lunsford's [Connors, R. J., & Lunsford, A. A. (1993). Teachers’ rhetorical comments on student papers. College Composition and Communication, 44, 200–223] analysis of faculty comments, and (2) to review some of the tips for effective grading practices and see if the comments reflected these effective practice advice. A content analysis was conducted on faculty comments from 598 graded papers written for hundreds of courses from 30 different departments in the university. Results indicate that most comments were technical corrections that addressed spelling, grammar, word choice, and missing words. Macro- and mid-level comments that addressed paper organization and quality of the ideas contained in it were surprisingly absent. The lack of these larger idea and argument centered comments may prevent students from improving the quality of the larger issues in writing and refocus them on the smaller, albeit important, technical issues of writing.     

Workplace correlates and scholarly performance of clinical pharmacy faculty

The workplace, especially the academic department or division, provides an intriguing research site for study of correlates of scholarly performance. The objective of this study was to estimate a correlate model of three-year scholarly performance of clinical faculty in colleges of pharmacy. Two-hundred and ninety-six clinical faculty in pharmacy responded to an author-developed questionnaire. The scholarly performance items factored into three dimensions: “Refereed Research,”, “Grants/Books Research,” and “Nonresearch Scholarship.” A fourth single-item variable, “Contracts,” was also used as a dependent dimension. Eight correlates, including two related to the departmental workplace, emerged as factors significantly explaining the variation in scholarly performance. The two most significant were “Off-Campus Conversations” and “Department: Percent Time in Research.” These results as well as others were contrasted with prior correlate studies and suggestions were made for future additional study.