Perceptions of innovativeness and communication about innovations: A study of three types of service organizations

It was hypothesized that the three types of service organizations identified by Mills and Margulies (1980) would exhibit differences with respect to perceived “innovation communication” (communication about innovations that may precede and/or accompany diffusion‐adoption processes) as well as differences in perceived individual innovativeness and perceived organizational innovativeness. Three questionnaire instruments were completed by 131 employees from nine organizations: one bank, six advertising firms and three schools. These organizations represented the Mills‐Margulies types of maintenance‐interactive, task‐interactive and personal‐interactive, respectively. While most directional hypotheses received partial or no support, differences emerged across organization types for both perceived innovation communication activity and perceived organizational innovativeness.     

高校创新社区的构建:生态系统的视角

以高校为核心、由高校驱动的创新活动的组织载体或发生域被称之为基于高校的创新社区,即高校创新社区。高校创新社区既可以是一个基于产业链、创新链、服务链、资金链联合的虚拟网络,也可以是一个创新主体、创新资源聚集的地理空间。高校创新社区的构建可能遇到创新主体异质性障碍、主体交互过程障碍以及外部环境障碍等。各创新主体应根据自身的组织优势,准确定位在创新生态系统中的生态位,即各自在系统中的位置、角色、功能和作用,明确在整个创新活动过程中不同阶段、不同环节的责任,并依据“通过异质协同而自我增值”“由互补性而可持续地发展”“在组织惯性中的持续性学习”等创新生态原理,推进高校创新社区建设的理性实践。     

Measuring Culture of Innovation: A Validation Study of the Innovation Quotient Instrument (Part 2)

Interest in culture of innovation has grown over the past few decades as evidence of its presence has been shown to predict organizational innovativeness or market differentiation in multiple industries. While instruments have been developed to measure organizational culture of innovation, few of these instruments have validated beyond their proposed use. In a follow‐up to a two‐part investigation by Danks, Rao, and Allen (2017), exploratory methods were used to propose a more plausible factor structure of the Innovation Quotient instrument, and to assess the extent to which the proposed model was reliable across organizational groups. It was identified that a global, five‐factor model best fit the data and increased reliability across groups, but the lack of discrimination across factors illustrated the need for additional research about the predictors of innovativeness and showed the importance of common‐method variance testing with self‐report measures.     

MAINTAINING EFFECTIVENESS AMID DOWNSIZING AND DECLINE IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The amount of cutback, downsizing, and decline in U.S. higher education is at unprecedented levels and equals the prevalence of downsizing in the corporate sector. Because the consequence of downsizing in the private sector is often negative, the question arises: Does financial decline and downsizing in higher education also lead to organizational ineffectiveness? This study of 334 colleges and universities found that institutions with declining resources are as effective as institutions with abundant resources. Institutions that develop attributes labeled "the dirty dozen," however, perform less effectively. Implications for managing under conditions of fiscal stress are discussed.

     

财经类高校实施创新教育的切入点分析

高等院校实施创新教育必须转变传统的教育观念，树立新的创新教育观。以改革教学内容为切入点，建立创新课程体系，深化教学方法改革，营造良好的创新氛围。     

Globalization and higher education in Southern California: views from the professoriate

In this study, faculty at institutions of higher education in Southern California were surveyed to determine the ways they interpret the effects of globalization dynamics upon their various teaching and research activities. Faculty in the state’s three higher education tiers spoke positively about the intellectual benefits to be gained by exposure to different worldviews made possible by an increasingly diverse faculty and student body. Divisions were noted among the different tiers, however, with respect to their disparate levels of engagement with the private sector. The private sector was seen as having a negative impact upon the public sector’s research agenda while simultaneously being embraced by faculty at the community colleges. Faculty at the research institutions were typically critical of the overarching neoliberal paradigm and spoke in political terms about the ways this largely economic‐efficiency model was reorienting their teaching and research roles.     

THE EFFECT OF ACADEMIC FACTORS ON TRANSFER STUDENT PERSISTENCE AND GRADUATION: A COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE CASE STUDY

Critics contend that enrollment in a community college lessens the likelihood that a student will complete a bachelor's degree (S. Brint & J. Karabel, 1989). A number of studies have examined personal, demographic, and environmental characteristics that influence the academic performance of community college transfer students. This research has included characteristics that are not readily available to admissions representatives at four‐year institutions, and studies have not considered the private, liberal arts college as the senior institution.

The purpose of this study was to identify easily ascertainable characteristics that occur prior to transfer and to assess the relationship of these characteristics to persistence and baccalaureate attainment at a private, liberal arts college. Two academic factors related to persistence and graduation were included in the methodology: completion of the associate (AA) degree and community college grade point average (GPA) The subjects for the study were 200 students who completed the AA degree and transferred from one of three community colleges to a private, liberal arts college over a 5‐year period.

Results indicated that whereas completion of the AA degree resulted in a higher persistence/graduation rate, completion of the AA degree with a community college GPA of 3.0 or higher increased the persistence/graduation rate to a level equal to that of native students.     

GOAL CLARIFICATION THROUGH AIM UNDERSTANDING OF WORK VALUES

Abstract

A survey of 400 senior colleges and universities in the United States revealed that community college relations committees are not the primary organizational structures through which interinstitutional relations are maintained between 2-year and 4-year schools. Of the 304 responding institutions, only 48 reported having a community college relations committee. This number was surprisingly small considering that community college transfers account for an average of 24% of their total enrollments. Such committees were found more frequently in public than in private 4-year institutions. The lack of adequate funding inhibited the success of most of the committees surveyed. Only 27% reported that they were highly successful in achieving their stated purposes. In most instances in which a high degree of committee effectiveness was perceived, well-developed programs were in operation, and adequate funds for sustaining their activities were available. The articulation of transfer policies and the promotion of informational exchanges between senior and 2-year institutions were the most common committee purposes reported. Although most committees were not highly research oriented, several provided examples of innovative and constructive projects.     

Tennessee Promise: A Response to Organizational Change

Community colleges in Tennessee, either directly or indirectly, experienced unprecedented change as a result of Tennessee Promise. The present study explored how student support service administrators at three community colleges responded to organizational change as a result of the Tennessee Promise legislation. Investigators selected community colleges for the multi-site case study because the legislative impact would be actualized by the preparations made to serve incoming Promise recipients. The delivery of orientation services framed organizational change because the service staff facilitate connections and provide information to incoming students. Challenges like a shifting population, ill-equipped infrastructure, inadequate remediation support, heightened interest for social engagement opportunities, misinformation, and unmet fiscal needs left administrators seeking coherence through the change process. Investigators found community college administrators react to change similarly. Administrators acknowledged change as continuous, created a culture of innovation among stakeholders, and were not afraid to fail as responses to the organizational change phenomenon.     

开放式创新对高等技术院校组织创新的启示

开放式创新即同时结合内外部的创意导入组织的结构与系统之中。本文即试图将开放式创新导入技职学校创新的经营中,希望能藉此开放式创新的思维与作法,对当前日益竞争的教育环境注入一股新的泉源活水。结论指出,高等技术院校可透过五点来进行组织创新：（1）善用因特网征求创意构想;（2）建立开放式创新平台网站有效运用卸任主管或其它人才的智慧;（3）运用企业界或研究机构的资源;（4）举办或赞助学校创新经营竞赛活动;（5）与他校策略联盟等方式实践开放式创新,有效达成组织创新。     

CORRECTIONAL POST‐SECONDARY EDUCATION: THE EXPANDING ROLE OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES

More than 75 percent of post‐secondary institutions offering education programs in prisons are community and vocational/ technical colleges. The predominance of community colleges among correctional education providers is a major change from the early 1970's when two‐thirds of such programs were provided by four‐year institutions.

Over 260 community colleges provide programs and services to the 26,000 inmates participating in higher education. Results of a survey on correctional post‐secondary education indicate that these programs are in many ways different from those educational institutions provide on their own campuses. For example, they generally, have different admission standards, are administered by part‐time staff, and rely upon part‐time and adjunct faculty.

Community and junior college administrators are urged to closely examine the operation and quality of their correctional programs and the need for evaluative research on the long‐term effects of these programs is also stressed.     

School innovation in district context: Comparing traditional public schools and charter schools

Market reforms in education are part of the educational policy landscape in many countries. Central to arguments for market reforms is the idea that competition and choice will spur changes in schools to be more innovative, which in turn will lead to better student outcomes. We define innovation in terms of a practice's relative prevalence in a local district context. A charter school is innovative in its use of a practice if the traditional public schools in its local school district are not using that practice. We explore factors based on arguments for charter schools that may affect a charter schools’ propensity toward innovation to explain variation in levels of innovation across charter schools. We find that, on the whole, charter schools do not fulfill their promise of innovation. Teacher tenure is the most notable exception. Parental involvement is the only characteristic of charter schools that significantly predicts variation in levels of organizational innovativeness.     

TURNOVER INTENT IN AN URBAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: STRATEGIES FOR FACULTY RETENTION

High rates of faculty turnover can be costly to the reputation of an institution and to the quality of instruction. Community colleges may expect high rates of faculty turnover as an aging workforce retires. Other sources of attrition, however, can be attributed to organizational characteristics and the structural properties of faculty work. This study examined non-retirement turnover intent in an urban community college. Specifically, the study utilized an expectancy theory framework to explore the relationship between turnover intent and faculty perceptions of autonomy, organizational support for innovation, and collegial communication. The study population included all full-time faculty members employed by an urban community college in the southeastern U.S. Survey responses from 66% (N = 149) of the invited population revealed that organizational support for innovation had the strongest effect on turnover intent. Faculty who reported higher levels of support for innovation were less likely to indicate intentions to leave. Findings suggest that community colleges can target innovation and organizational change as vehicles for enhancing faculty retention rates. Change initiatives related to curriculum, governance, and faculty development can be designed in ways that facilitate faculty commitment to the institution.     

Further Education Opportunities in Scotland for Young People with Special Needs

Abstract

In order to achieve rapid growth in student numbers, a number of Higher Education Institutions have borrowed some of the concepts of franchising from the private service sector. A franchise involves one party — the franchisor — developing a service and monitoring standards, whilst a second party — the franchisee, delivers the service in return for a share of the reward.

This article draws comparisons between private sector and higher education franchising and analyses the franchise strategies open to the HE sector. It concludes that if managed correctly, franchising will bring benefits to the higher education sector, colleges of further education and students alike. The uncertain start to higher education franchising mirrors the early days of private sector franchising, but like the latter, it has potential subsequently to achieve rapid mutually beneficial growth.     

INTEGRATING RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL PLANNING

Fundraising has long been a central activity in four‐year institutions, whereas community colleges have only recently begun to see the necessity for such efforts. Resource development and private fundraising as a community college function have only been marginally understood and often are only instigated in times of financial crises. In today's educational arena, development needs to become a long‐term core function in order to maximize the funding base of community colleges. This article gives a brief look at the historical background of fundraising in community colleges, contrasts such efforts with the four‐year institutions, and discusses the matter of integrating resource development with institutional planning processes. Several examples of successful community college development efforts are given, along with a discussion of several planning models that might be used as guides for integrating resource development efforts with institutional planning.     

万里模式:一种可资借鉴的现代大学制度

浙江万里学院通过投资体制、办学体制及内部管理制度等方面的一系列创新,形成了一种既不同于公办院校,又不同于一般民办院校的独特现代大学制度体系——万里模式。通过对万里模式的创新特点和形成机制的研究,可以得到如下启示:建设中国特色的现代大学制度,必须重构现代大学理念;必须为大学创造宽松的政策环境,理顺政府、大学、市场的关系,给大学真正的办学自主权;大学应调整内部组织结构,协调内部权力分配。     

The Cognitive Value of Two‐Year Colleges for Whites and Blacks

Although community college educators believe their programs benefit their students through cognitive development, until now no good evidence was available. The fourth follow‐up of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 allows the controlled assessment of the value of two‐year institutions. The results indicate that while whites benefit cognitively from two‐year post‐secondary programs, blacks do not.

In 1947, the President's Commission on Higher Education (1947, p. 9) concluded that, “The first goal in education for democracy is the full, rounded and continuing development of the person. ... To liberate and perfect the intrinsic powers of every citizen is the central purpose of democracy, and its furtherance of individual self‐realization is its greatest glory.” From these principles the specific goals of higher education are derived (Bowen, 1977). The formal academic program and extra‐curricular life of an academic community are intended to help students develop in three respects: cognitive learning, affective development, and practical competence (Bowen, 1977). It is assumed that as these goals are realized so are the powers of the individual.

Whenever there are goals to be reached in any endeavor, it is natural to ask whether they are in fact being realized. Bowen (1977) compares education to an industry that is responsible for disclosing both its costs and outcomes. Assessing the outcomes of higher education is necessarily a complex task; nevertheless attempts have been made to pull together information from a variety of studies and draw conclusions from them (e.g., Feldman and Newcomb, 1969; Bowen, 1977; Pace, 1979). In general the effects of college attendance have been found to be positive. Attending college raises the level of knowledge and cognitive

powers of students, increases psycholgocial well‐being, understanding, tolerance and self‐reliance, and helps students develop skills and traits that make them more adaptable to a variety of social and work situations (Bowen, 1977).

Comprehensive evaluations of higher education have been limited to four‐year colleges. For example, Kar‐weit and McPartland (1981) studied the cognitive gains produced by postsecondary schooling, and found that college attendance enhanced vocabulary skills, but only maintained mathematic skills. In contrast, little has been done to evaluate outcomes of community college attendance, although educators within community college systems stress the importance of accountability in establishing the much maligned credibility of community colleges (Roueche and La Forge, 1974; Miller, 1979).

The absence of research on community colleges is in part due to the variety of functions that community colleges have assumed. Community colleges were originally intended to open the doors of education to all high school graduates, especially the economically disadvantaged (Monroe, 1972). Emphasis was placed on providing two years of additional general education beyond high school, and on low‐cost preparation for students who wished to transfer to four‐year colleges in the third year. In 1947 the President's Com‐mision on Higher Education (1947) suggested that the emphasis of two‐year colleges should be shifted to preparation for semiprofessional white collar and vocational occupations. This preparation was not to be at the expense of general education, but in addition to it, for those who desired to learn specific occupational skills. As the popularity of community colleges grew, it also became apparent that many economically disadvantaged students were also academically disadvantaged, and community colleges found themselves in the business of providing remedial courses for many students who were not ready to enter regular academic programs.

Although research indicates that community colleges in general place greater emphasis on occupational education than when originally conceived, they remain, at least in philosophy, committed to providing an education that contributes to the intellectual development of their students, whether they are in academic or vocational programs (Monroe, 1972; Cross, 1974). This commitment is in recognition of the fact that cognitive skills such as verbal ability and basic mathematics competence, and affective development in the areas of self‐awareness and interpersonal relations, are necessary to practical competence in most work and social situations.

Community college curricula, in general, reflect a commitment to intellectual and affective development. The general education requirement in community colleges varies greatly, but usually consists of a specified number of elective courses to be chosen from the humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, and the social sciences (Monroe, 1972). Remedial programs are primarily for academic deficiencies in reading, language, and mathematics (Monroe, 1972).

Although community college programs seem designed to further cognitive and affective development, critics (Scigliano, 1976; Hudson and Smith, 1976) question the ability of community colleges to provide a good general education. Nevertheless, there is little evidence on this point one way or the other. Existing studies are lacking in several ways. For example, Rou‐eche and Kirk (1973) and Lavin et al.(1979) determined the success of programs for academically and economically disadvantaged students in community college programs by looking at grade point averages and completion rates; however, neither of these measures establish gains in cognitive or affective development. Rossmann et al.(1975) measured cognitive development by gain scores on reading and mathematics tests, but they were unable to compare gains against a control group of noncollege attenders.     

ARTICULATION AND TRANSFER ISSUES IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE ART PROGRAMS IN ILLINOIS

This study documents trends and issues pertaining to articulation and transferabil‐ity of students in art programs at community colleges in Illinois to 4‐year institutions. There has been a discernible lack of consensus and data regarding the current state of articulation in art, both institution‐specific and statewide. Many problems arise when art students attempt to transfer from community colleges to 4‐year institutions. A survey was conducted among selected art faculty at Illinois community colleges to seek relevant information. The findings of this study may direct collaboration between community colleges and 4‐year institutions for purposes such as facilitating transfer and articulation in art.     

Domains and Levels of Pedagogical Innovation in Schools Using ICT: Ten Innovative Schools in Israel

The study reported here is based on the results of two international studies: IEA's Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES) Module 2, focusing on innovative pedagogical practices at the classroom level, and OECD/CERI Case Studies of ICT and Organizational Innovation, focusing on ICT related innovations at the school system level. In the paper we analyze the data collected in ten innovative schools in Israel which have incorporated ICT in unique ways and have succeeded in devising innovative classroom pedagogies and school system changes. The major research questions addressed are: (a) What levels of innovation were observed in the participant schools, and in which domains? (b) How does the level of innovation in the various domains vary among and within schools? (c) What correlation patterns among levels of innovation in the various domains can be identified? The results of ten comprehensive case studies of exemplary schools in Israel were analyzed by mean of the innovation analysis schema developed by us for characterizing ICT-based educational innovations.     

Markets,schools and the convertibility of economic capital: the complex dynamics of class choice

While economic capital is not synonymous with cultural, social or symbolic capital in either its constitutional or organizational form, it nevertheless remains the more flexible and convertible form of capital. The convertibility of economic capital has particular resonance within ‘Celtic Tiger’ Ireland. The state’s reluctance to fully endorse an internal market between schools has resulted in middle‐class parents using their private wealth to create an educational market in the private sector to help secure the class futures of their children. Using data from recent studies of second‐level education in Ireland, and data compiled on the newly emerging ‘grind’ schools (private tuition centres), we outline how the availability of economic capital allows middle‐class parents to choose fee‐paying schooling or to opt out of the formal school sector entirely to employ market solutions to their class ambitions. The data also show that schools actively collude in the class project to their own survival advantage.