Faculty at work: Focus on research,scholarship, and service

Within the framework of cognitive motivation theory, selected personal and environmental motivational variables for faculty in eight liberal arts and science departments from community colleges, liberal arts colleges, comprehensive colleges and universities, and research universities were regressed against faculty allocation of work effort given to research, scholarship, and service. The data came from a 1988 national survey of faculty.Gender, (sociodemographic), quality of graduate school attended, career age, andrank (career); self-competence andself-efficacy regarding research, scholarship, and service andpercent time prefer to give to research, scholarship, and service (self-valuations); andinstitutional preference, consensus andsupport, andcolleague commitment to research, scholarship, and service (perception of the environment) were entered into regressions.R ²s were generally strong (.64 for liberal arts-I institutions) and significant. For all institutional types,self-valuation (self-competence and-efficacy) motivators significantly accounted for the explained variance.Sociodemographic andcareer variables did not explain appreciable amounts of variance.     

RECENTLY PUBLISHED DISSERTATIONS ON COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES

To discover the organizational components that nurture good teaching at 2‐year colleges, the author undertook a comprehensive survey of faculty development programs at Ohio 2‐year colleges. A review of the literature uncovered several variables that need to be considered when assessing the state of faculty development in higher education institutions. The most important of these appears to be institutional support, that is, a climate that fosters and encourages faculty development. To assess these elements, a 65‐item, four‐part survey was constructed. Unfortunately, the results force the researcher to draw the conclusion that Ohio 2‐year colleges are not doing a better job of emphasizing or supporting teaching.     

Job Satisfaction and Withdrawal Cognition among Preservice Teachers

This study attempts to survey the different levels of job satisfaction among 350 preservice teachers who had experienced their first teaching practicum at the end of their first year of training. Four scales for job satisfaction (perception of the work environment, intrinsic reward, career prospects and career commitment) and a scale for withdrawal cognition were administered to the preservice teachers. A study of their attitude profiles revealed that a high proportion of the preservice teachers experienced negative feelings about various aspects of career prospects, particularly, salary and career advancement. In the area of career commitment, nearly 37% of the trainees felt that the teaching profession was not always their ambition. Despite the less‐than‐expected commitment level and perception of career prospects, trainees had positive feelings for the work environment and intrinsic reward for the profession in many aspects. A multiple‐regression model fitted to the data gave the result that perception of career prospects and career commitment were highly significant predictors of withdrawal cognition.     

Study of factors influencing research productivity of agriculture faculty members in Iran

The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between individual, institutional and demographic characteristics on one hand and the research productivity of agriculture faculty members on the other. The statistical population of the research comprises 280 academic staff in agricultural faculties all over Tehran Province. The data regarding research productivity and demographic characteristics were extracted from the faculty members’ profiles. Questionnaires were utilized to collect information concerning individual and institutional variables. The reliably of the questionnaire was calculated to be between 0.74 and 0.97 using the Cronbach’s Alpha. The regression analysis revealed that from among demographic characteristics two variables, namely, academic rank and age ( \textR_\textAD ² {\text{R}}_{\text{AD}}^{ 2}  = 0.265), among individual characteristics, three variables, namely, working habits, creativity as well as autonomy and commitment ( \textR_\textAD ² {\text{R}}_{\text{AD}}^{ 2}  = 0.097), and among institutional characteristics four variables namely, network of communication with colleagues, resources of facilities, corporate management and clear research objectives ( \textR_\textAD ² {\text{R}}_{\text{AD}}^{ 2}  = 0.151) were significant predictors for agricultural faculty members’ research productivity.     

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.     

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT IN PUBLICLY SUPPORTED 2-YEAR COLLEGES

A comprehensive study of faculty development in community colleges was undertaken to identify the organizational components that nurture good teaching. A review of the literature revealed several variables for assessing the state of faculty development. The most important of these appears to be an institutional climate that encourages faculty development. This article reports the results of a survey of 130 community colleges regarding faculty development efforts. It also profiles those accountable for faculty development and summarizes the extent to which each development activity is available to faculty members. One significant finding is that faculty development in American community colleges lacks leadership and is not well connected to the colleges missions.     

Teacher education,graduates’ teaching commitment and entrance into the teaching profession

This study aimed to gain insight into the relationship between teacher education and graduating teachers (not) starting in the teaching profession (n=209). Predictor variables referred to teacher education, integration into teaching, and teaching commitment. To examine interrelationships between these variables, factors were also interlinked to test a theoretical model of graduates’ teaching commitment. Results reveal that graduates’ teaching commitment is strongly related to their entrance into the teaching profession. Furthermore, the perception of mentor teachers’ evaluative support is directly related to teaching commitment and other variables (e.g. faculty support, type of teacher training) are indirectly related through the mediation with graduates’ teacher efficacy and professional orientation.     

The Impact of Human Capital and Selected Job Rewards on Community College Faculty Job Satisfaction

Community colleges accommodate nearly half of all United States college students. Increased reliance upon community colleges is driven by the current economic downturn, rising costs of higher education, and changing expectations for today's workforce requiring advanced skill sets. Community colleges offer more affordable options for broader spectrums of students including traditional and nontraditional college students and dual-enrolled high school students.

Community college faculty facilitate student learning and program completion. A shortage of community college faculty will likely emerge as numerous faculty retire. Community college administrators need strategies for retaining and recruiting faculty amid increasing retirements. One effective strategy is to offer a work environment that cultivates positive work-related attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction). This study examines the ability of select human capital investments, intrinsic rewards, extrinsic rewards, and sociodemographics to predict overall job satisfaction for full-time community college faculty. A cross-sectional predictive design was used with secondary analysis of the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:04) dataset.

Logistic Regression was utilized to determine predictive ability of the independent variables on overall job satisfaction. Results indicated that faculty were more likely to be satisfied with their work if they were satisfied with their salary, benefits and workload; were satisfied with the teaching support they received from their institutions; and if they perceived that females and minorities were treated fairly by the organization. Conversely, minority faculty were less likely to be satisfied, as were faculty who indicated they would again choose a career in academe if given the choice.     

Autobiographical Counternarratives from the Community College to the PhD

ABSTRACT

Historically, community colleges and those they serve have been relegated to the margins of academe. Community colleges’ critics argue that students starting at two-year institutions are less likely to earn bachelor’s degrees and have lower student outcomes. This CCJRP Exchange Article draws upon counternarratives in highlighting multiple truths of the community experience through use of scholarly personal narratives (SPN) of those that moved in, through and out the community college to the PhD. The faculty member and doctoral students reflect on how their community college experiences influenced their career trajectories. Further, implications for community college practice, policy, and research are shared as the authors make a case for applying SPN in an effort to see community colleges as sites of deep growth that have lasting effects on the personal and professional lives of their students.     

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT IN TEXAS TWO-YEAR COLLEGES

To discover the organizational components that nurture good teaching in Texas two-year colleges, I undertook the task of replicating a study of Ohio two-year colleges. A review of the literature uncovered several variables for assessing faculty development. The most important of these appears to be an institutional climate that encourages faculty development. To assess faculty development, a 65-item survey was sent to all Texas two-year colleges. Although the results of the Texas study are more encouraging than those of the Ohio study, Texas community colleges could be doing more to support faculty development.     

Attitudes toward research and teaching at some Nigerian Agricultural University institutions

Abstract

The attitudes of faculty members from four universities toward teaching, research and the associated reward system were studied through questionnaires. The survey generated 302 responses (i.e. 76.8% response rate) from two agricultural universities as well as two faculties of agriculture. Principal component analysis shows that attitudes toward teaching and research are multifaceted. Faculty members believe that teaching and research are mutually supportive, and represent the basic mission of the universities; the reward system influences teaching staff's participation in research, while both teaching and research offer satisfaction. Teaching and research are incompatible but have a positive affect on teaching. However, t-test analyses show that the faculty differ in the strength of their attitudes due to institutional affiliations and personal characteristics (such as gender, tenure, and rank).     

EFFECTS OF JOB-RELATED STRESS ON FACULTY INTENTION TO LEAVE ACADEMIA

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between job-related stress and faculty intent to leave academia. The stress variables studied were reward satisfaction, institutional/departmental reputation, time commitment, departmental/institutional influence, and student interaction. We hypothesized that the relationship between these variables and faculty intent to leave academia would be moderated by interest in one's discipline and sense of community — an institutional fit variable. We also investigated the effects of academic discipline, tenure status, and gender on these relationships. Based on data from a national faculty survey of 3,070 full-time tenure-track faculty, results indicated that of the variables studied, the two major correlates of intent to leave academia were time commitment and sense of community; however, time commitment did not moderate the stressor-intent relationship. Though showing significant zero-order correlations with intent, when gender and tenure status were added to the hierarchical regression analyses containing the stressors and moderators, neither variable contributed meaningfully to the prediction of intent. Academic discipline classification (Biglan, 1973) contributed only 2% to explained variance. A prediction model that contained all stressors, both moderators, and the background variables of gender and academic discipline accounted for 25% of the variance in intent to leave academia.     

高职院校青年教师的专业发展——美国高校师资培养的经验与启示

青年教师培养是高职院校师资队伍建设的关键。美国高校非常重视青年教师的培养和培训,在教师入职引导和业务培训、评价和工资调整、晋升和激励等方面有着较为完善的制度和很多成功的做法,其经验对推动我国高职院校青年教师专业发展有着诸多启示。     

Establishing a Framework for Successful Social Network Site Use in the Community College

ABSTRACT

Many colleges and universities have created college-sponsored communities on Facebook and Twitter as a means to interact, connect, and build community online (Center for Community College Student Engagement, 2009; Wankel & Wankel, 2011). However, the literature provides no clear picture of how community college students use social network sites (SNS) or whether the use of SNS is associated with student outcomes as social integration into the campus environment, institutional commitment, and persistence (Davis, Deil-Amen, Rios-Aguilar, & González Canché, 2012; Junco, 2012). The purpose of this quantitative research investigation was to examine the relationship between Social Networking Site use and social integration, institutional commitment, and persistence among students at a suburban community college. Findings revealed a significant relationship between SNS and social integration and institutional commitment; there was no significant relationship between SNS use and persistence. Recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are offered.     

Audio‐conferencing in graduate education: A case study

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a study that examined the relationship between distance teaching and the faculty reward system. Using a qualitative approach, the study sought to understand how distance teaching is valued, rewarded, and accommodated within the institutional reward structure. Based on interviews with faculty members, distance education program administrators, and the chief academic officers at four research universities, the study describes a reward culture that is not accommodating to and rewarding of faculty work in distance education. The study finds that: 1) distance education occupies a marginal status, 2) distance teaching is neither highly valued nor well‐rewarded as scholarly activity, 3) distance teaching is not highly related to promotion and tenure decisions, and 4) rewards for distance teaching are dependent on the academic unit's commitment to distance education.     

DEMOGRAPHIC AND JOB SATISFACTION CHARACTERISTICS OF FLORIDA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY

The demographic and job satisfaction characteristics of Florida community college faculty were studied in Florida's 28 community colleges. A total of 1,116 faculty responded in the fall of 1977 to an instrument developed to measure faculty characteristics and attitudes.

The results showed that the Florida faculty is a satisfied faculty with over 95% reporting that they were satisfied with community college work as a career and with 72% stating that they plan to stay in the community college field until they retire. Second, it was found that faculty participation in in‐service training programs had increased significantly since 1968. In 1977‐1978, 69% of the faculty reported participation in one or more in‐service programs while the 1968 percentage was 37%.

It is concluded that periodic surveys in other community colleges and states similar to this one should provide useful information for the further development and improvement of community colleges.     

COMMUNITY SERVICES: COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY PERCEPTIONS AND PARTICIPATION

This study determined full‐time faculty members’ perceptions of and involvement in community services at community colleges in Ohio. A total of 249 full‐time faculty responded to the survey instrument representing 83.0% of the total sample. Data were analyzed by either the t test or the one‐way analysis of variance and Scheffe's post hoc analysis.

Results showed that involvement in planning and teaching within community services seem to be a key factor relative to how full‐time faculty perceive community services activities. Moreover, certain personal and professional characteristics of full‐time faculty members seem to influence their attitudes toward and their involvement in community services.     

INSTITUTIONAL PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE PREPARATION OF COLLEGE ADMINISTRATORS

This article looks at the relative usefulness of 12 selected factors in the preparation of college administrators as seen by practicing administrators and faculty in comprehensive community colleges, four‐year liberal arts colleges, and universities.

Three hundred randomly selected faculty and administrators in the state of Iowa were sent survey questionnaires. The returned surveys and research data were then analyzed in order to answer the research question.

The findings suggested that graduates from programs in higher education administration may be more accepted in community colleges than in liberal arts colleges or universities. The findings also showed that university personnel perceived the major research experience as being significantly more useful than the other personnel. Nonclassroom experiences were thought to be the most useful by all personnel, with faculty experience in higher education perceived to be the most useful. This study also showed that both administrators and faculty perceived majoring in higher education administration to be less useful than any of the other 11 preparation variables.

One of the recommendations of this study is that students, graduates, and professors in higher education administration programs attempt to educate the participants in higher education and the public on the strengths and uses of their programs. It was also recommended that further research is needed in the area of administrative task analysis at the different types of institutions.     

Praxis,educational development and the university sector in Australia

In this article, we utilise recent theorising on praxis and educational development to explore how academics in universities can foster public, institutional and more personal development, even as they are challenged by what are sometimes described as more ‘managerial’ and ‘neoliberal’ conditions. The research draws upon a variety of sources of data, including publicly available correspondence on the university sector in Australia, interviews with colleagues, and personal reflective journals. These data reflect three instances of educational praxis development in the Australian university context, and at three scales/levels: nationally; unit-wide (university/faculty/institute); and sub-unit/individually. The findings reveal such development in the form of: academics using mainstream media to inform the general public about the nature of university industrial relations and funding at a national level; junior and senior academics collaborating and engaging in mentoring practices to build institutional research capacity at a university/institutional level; and, individual academics meeting to develop individual teaching practice. Through explicating the characteristics and value of educational development for and as praxis, we provide resources for hope for better understanding how the work of universities, including their broader mission to inform the public, might be enacted more educationally.