Claire Howell Major

Status of Journals in the Field of Higher Education

The quality of a journal can have a profound influence on reading and submission patterns as well as impact promotion and tenure decisions. This article presents the perceived quality of 50 different publications in higher education and how often they are read and cited.

Integration of qualitative evidence: towards construction of academic knowledge in social science and professional fields

In this article, we present an overview of the growing field of the integration of qualitative evidence. Based on an analysis of 177 syntheses published in a variety of professional and social science fields, they introduce a way of categorizing the various approaches that synthesists use to combine evidence derived from primary qualitative studies. Finally, they argue for the place of a constructionist approach when synthesizing findings from primary qualitative research.

Faculty Knowledge of Influences on Student Learning

This article comprises findings from a research project investigating faculty pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The research took place at a private university in the southern United States that had been involved in a campuswide project to improve teaching. Drawing on qualitative methods, we describe several significant aspects of faculty PCK. We suggest an iterative process by which faculty can blend their knowledge of teaching and learning to enhance student learning outcomes.

Images of Fictional Community College Students

Popular media represent outlets for shaping and informing public perception of institutions and institutional actors found in our society. Community colleges and their students have been featured in a number of fictional works. This paper provides an analysis of the portrayal of community college students in the fictional works of novels, short stories, television programs, and motion pictures. Through this analysis, the authors highlight significant lessons that can be learned from increased understanding of fictional portrayals of community colleges and their students and applied to both community college practice and continued research.

When Power is the Limit: The Image of the Professor in Selected Fiction

The professor has appeared as a fictional character since the middle ages, and several professorial images may be found in academic fiction. An analysis of fictional images reveals that authors most often depict professors who have no ambitions to gain power, whether economic, personal, political, or philosophical, as estimable characters; but authors condemn professor characters who attempt to exert power in order to gain money, relationships, position, or knowledge.

Perceived Value of University-Based Continuing Education Leadership Development Programs for Administrators

Abstract This quantitative study, which involved development of a Value Creation Survey, examined the perceived value of leadership development programs (LDPs) provided by continuing higher education for administrators in colleges and universities. Participants were administrators at Association for Continuing Higher Education (ACHE) member institutions. Answers to eight research questions became the focus of this study. Three questions—one at each level (individual, institutional, higher education enterprise)—examined respondents’ beliefs and perceptions about program value. Four questions focused on program aspects: success/helpfulness in developing leadership competencies, if they had priority status, competitive advantages gained through program attendance, and was there a sufficient number of LDPs. A final question was devoted to beliefs and perceptions of model effectiveness (noncredit, credit, and blended). The authors of this article sought understandings of how leadership, leadership development, intangibles, and value creation come together. Results are summarized and the article concludes with recommendations for future practice and future research.

Learning Context and Perceptions of Problem-Based Learning: A Marketing Course Project at a Community College

In this article, the authors present information gathered from a marketing course designed for second-year students that centered on a problem-based project at a community college. Using learning context as a theoretical frame for this classroom-based research, they explore student perceptions of the method and outline strengths and weaknesses of the approach. The authors make suggestions for research and practice based upon their findings.