James L. Morrison

EdD and PhD Research Training in the Field of Higher Education: A Survey and a Proposal

In this article, the authors first review the history of EdD and PhD degrees in education and then report a survey of the objectives and research requirements of such programs in higher education. The findings of the survey indicate that almost half of those higher education programs having both degrees do not distinguish between the objectives or research requirements of these degrees. The authors argue that the two degrees should be substantively distinct, and outline a proposal illustrating the distinctiveness of each degree through research and internship requirements.

US higher education in transition

American higher education is undergoing substantial change in terms of the way colleges and universities are organized and function. This change is being driven by the combined forces of demographics, globalization, economic restructuring, and information technology – forces that will, over the coming decade, lead us to adopt new conceptions of educational markets, organizational structures, how we teach, and what we teach. This article describes these forces and speculates on their effects on higher education in the USA and other industrialized nations.

Professional Obsolescence: Implications for Continuing Professional Education.

This paper describes and illustrates the utility of the Content- Based Group-Assessment Model for developing programs of con tinuing professional education. The model provides a generalized and systematic procedure for assessing the educational needs of a defined group of practitioners and for translating the identified needs into knowledge areas which can form the basis for develop ing continuing education programs. A recent study of physical educators is used to demonstrate the potential utility of the model in developing curricular programs for that group of professionals.

FACULTY ROLE ORIENTATION AND PERCEIVED TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS: The Case of an Intervening Variable

This study was designed to explore the relationship between faculty role orientations and student perceptions of teaching effectiveness in community colleges. Survey questionnaires were completed by 260 faculty members and 12,396 students at five Pennsylvania community college campuses. Using a conceptual framework drawn from symbolic interaction theory, it was hypothesized that faculty members holding a student-centered role orientation will be perceived as more effective teachers than those holding a subject-matter orientation. Results indicate that whereas there is an association between a student-centered role orientation and perceived teaching effectiveness, the relationship is due to an intervening variable—the expected course grade. An examination of the causal chain of relationships among these variables is presented.

Socialization Experience, Role Orientation, and Faculty Acceptance of the Comprehensive Community Junior College Concept

As several reviews of the historical development of the community college have demonstrated, the modern public community college has evolved from a college emphasizing transfer curricula paralleling the first two years of a senior institution to an institution characterized by comprehensive curricula (Medsker, 1960; Blocker, Plummer, & Richardson, 1965; Brunner, 1970; and Medsker & Tillery, 1971). Friedman (1966) argues that there is an ideology which has developed within the ranks of the community college movement concerning the nature and mission of the modem public community college. This ideology, commonly called the comprehensive community college concept, stresses that the curricular offerings of this type of institution include (1) transfer or preprofessional education, (2) occupational education, (3) general education for all students, (4) community service, including continuing education, and (5) the guidance and counseling of students. In addition, the predominant emphasis of the community college concept consists of community development activities as well as assisting a student clientele marked by widely varying ambitions, backgrounds, and abilities to their maximum personal and academic development. Because the community college as an institution has no obligation to conduct original research, but does have the obligation for community and student development, the ideology emphasizes that faculty within the community college should be selected and retained solely on the basis of a teaching orientation. Such an orientation includes a vital interest in students, a thorough awareness and sympathetic understanding of the kinds of problems that students face, an eagerness to communicate with them, and an active interest in the promotion of student organizations and activities (Pyle, 1968). In addition, many community college leaders stress that teachers in these institutions should also understand and support the community college concept (Medsker, 1960; Gleazer, 1967). Reviews of a number of empirical studies that have dealt with the degree of acceptance of the community college concept by community college faculty and with the degree to which they are student-oriented

Organizational planning and policy analysis: Combining theory with experiential learning

Planning is vital to the continued effectiveness of educational institutions. The course described in this paper succeeds in combining two crucial elements of a students comprehension of the planning process: first, an overview of the strategic planning literature provides a theoretical underpinning; then, an experiential planning exercise reinforces and extends the students appreciation for this complex process. This course focuses on the alternative futures approach to planning. This approach has the added benefits of linking a study of relevant developments in the real world, through the planning process, with strategy formulation for the simulated institution.

Community College Faculty Attitudes, Socialization Experiences, and Perceived Teaching Effectiveness.

Abstract This study seeks to determine whether variance in teaching effectiveness of community college faculty, as assessed by students, can be attributed to particular attitudes and/or socialization experiences of these faculty. A theoretical model derived from symbolic interaction theory is tested by path analysis. Data to test the model were obtained through a 1973 survey of faculty and students at five community colleges in Pennsylvania. On the basis of this analysis, the authors conclude that the “predictor” variables used in this study and often by administrators in developing faculty selection policies do not correlate highly with teaching effectiveness.

The Relationship of Selected Community College Faculty Attitudes, Socialization Experiences, and Reference Group Identities

Abstract This study was designed to explore the relationship of selected attitudinal variables among community college faculty members, using a framework derived from symbolic interaction of theory. A survey questionnaire was administered to 627 faculty members in five Pennsylvania community colleges in autumn of 1973. Attitudinal variables are operationally defined through the use of factor analysis, and are related to one another and to socialization experience and reference group identity proxy variables through multiple and partial correlational analysis. Hypotheses concerning variations in attitudes toward the community college philosophy and orientations toward education as consequences of differences in socialization experiences and reference group identities are supported.

Vignettes of Campus Transformation

This selection of vignettes examines efforts on additional campuses to accelerate the forces of transformation.

What Have We Learned from the Case Studies

The editors summarize the insights from the cases in this volume and other cases and describe lessons for all campuses approaching the Knowledge Age. They conclude by suggesting the basic competence campuses will need in order to succeed in the twenty-first century.