A study of selected women administrators and their perceptions of the challenges encountered in achieving high level positions in higher education administration

Ononiwu, Innocentia Marie Michigan State University 2001 해외박사(DDOD)

Records of gender equity in higher education administration have shown that women have been the second choice in the selection as higher education administrators. For the reason that many women think that they cannot be hired as much as their male counterparts are hired in higher education administrative positions, some of them took it for granted that they are the endangered species in the administration of higher education. The purpose of this study was to identify the enhancing and challenging factors influencing the achievement of women who reached top levels of administration in selected Michigan Universities; and to determine whether these factors are different from those perceived by other researchers who are concerned with the issue of inequity in higher education administrative positions. The study investigated the progress that women have made in attaining positions in higher education administration in the early 1980s. The researcher intended to utilize information obtained to provide guidance and perspective to women who aspire to top level administrative positions in higher education. This study used a qualitative interview method was used to gain an in-depth understanding of purposively selected participants from their perspective. A list of fourteen research questions were administered to purposively selected female administrators in three categories of administration, from three higher institutions of learning in Michigan. The qualitative data analytical method consisted of words and statements, which expressed qualities rather than quantities, was used to describe and summarize the data. This constant qualitative data analysis relied on the findings from the fourteen research questions to determine the most critical consistencies and inconsistencies with the literature review. The findings on the perceptions of the female administrators from research questions two through fourteen were consistent with the literature review. It is not possible to draw conclusions that the findings from research question one is neither consistent nor inconsistent because there is no review of literature on demographic information. It was observed from the findings that the female administrators interviewed were aware that females have made gains in appointments to higher education administrative positions. They still believe, however, that balance, proportionately, is needed with male counterparts. The study participants were in agreement that there are serious societal sex-stereotypical hindrances that need to be completely removed. Such action would permit females to more visibly recognized and on equal basis with their male counterparts.

The relationship between job satisfaction and the organizational climate for women higher education administrators at five institutions

Dutka, Mela A Boston College 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

This study examined women higher education administrators' job satisfaction levels and the relationship between their job satisfaction and perceptions of and satisfaction with the organizational climate. The literature suggests women higher education administrators' may be dissatisfied but few studies explore the influence of the organizational climate on job satisfaction. A total of 186 useable surveys were returned from women administrators employed at five colleges and universities in the U.S. southeast and northeast. The survey, combining two existing instruments, assessed job satisfaction along three scales (<italic>Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire-short form </italic>), organizational climate perceptions and satisfaction along 14 dimensions (<italic>Organizational Climate Questionnaire</italic>), and beliefs about advancement opportunities. Statistical analyses revealed a number of significant associations between job satisfaction and the organizational climate. Women higher education administrators' report good levels of intrinsic job satisfaction but only moderate levels of extrinsic job satisfaction. While this group characterizes all 14 organizational climate dimensions as important, they report dissatisfaction with each. The dimensions with the highest dissatisfaction ratings include conflict management, reward system, equity, commitment/morale, and planning/decision-making. Women higher education administrators' extrinsic job satisfaction was found to be strongly associated with the organizational climate, as was intrinsic satisfaction although to a lesser degree. Extrinsic job satisfaction was predicted by satisfaction with the climate for career development, communication, conflict management and reward system. Intrinsic satisfaction was predicted by satisfaction with the climate for planning/decision-making, conflict management and career development. The organizational climate dimension career development and a non-organizational climate variable, belief in equal opportunities for advancement within the institution, exhibited strong relationship with all aspects of women higher education administrators' job satisfaction. The findings reported here reveal women higher education administrators' dissatisfaction with the organizational climate overall, and underscore the importance of the climate for career development. Equally important are the findings about advancement opportunities. Both factors affect women higher education administrators' job satisfaction, which may influence attrition as well as individual and organizational effectiveness.

The response of physical education department leaders to organizational restructuring mandated by Taiwan higher education reform (China)

Luo, Christine Ting-Yi University of Montana 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Physical education, which plays a major role in determining the health and quality of life for students, plays a critical role in institutions of higher education. In Taiwan, Physical Education Departments have historically been a second-level administrative department under the Department of Student Affairs in institutions of higher education. Since 1994 higher education reform, most universities have moved the Physical Educational Departments to a first administrative level. Physical Education Departments face numerous challenges after the elevation of their administrative status to level one. This change in status has required substantial organizational improvements in order to fulfill the new goals for higher education. This research investigated the current status of higher education institutions Taiwanese Physical Education Departments in order to determine the degree of organizational improvement resulting from higher education reform. A survey was sent to 150 chairs of Physical Education Department in all public and private non-religions higher education institutions in Taiwan. There were 112 completed surveys received providing an effective response rate of 75%. The analyses of the data indicate that Physical Education Departments have reached a high level of compliance with the mandates and goals of Taiwanese higher educational reform. With few exceptions, the Physical Education Departments have met the expectations of higher education reform and may be characterized as having achieved approximately 98% of the goals directed to them by the MOE. Based upon the responses of the department chairs, this research found very few differences in organizational structure among Physical Education Departments were found. Therefore, the invariant organization structure of Physical Education Department nullified correlative analysis using demographic variables and/or Knowledge Management as predictive variables.

Higher education in the creation of individual social capital: A student organization ethnography

Miracle, Jeffrie W University of Pittsburgh 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

Higher education is often credited with being an effective means for an individual to invest in and acquire skills and knowledge---often referred to as human capital. Participating in higher education may also provide an individual with the opportunity to build valuable relationships with individuals that result in access to resources such as information, the mutual exchange of favors, emotional support and career networking---often referred to as social capital. While it is understood that higher education is an effective way for an individual to invest in and accumulate human capital, it is not as clearly understood how higher education can be an effective way for an individual to invest in and accumulate other forms of capital, such as social capital. The consequence of not having an equivalent emphasis on how higher education creates social capital among students potentially implies that higher education may not be explicitly making an effort to promote opportunities for social capital investment; students and researchers may not be aware that higher education can facilitate social capital investment; and students may not understand the application of social capital in their own lives. In response to the lack of emphasis on higher education as a form of social capital investment, this study looks at one segment of higher education, namely undergraduate student participation in student organizations, to explore the potential opportunities for social capital accumulation in higher education. Qualitative research methodology was used to collect, analyze and interpret comprehensive narrative and visual data to gain insights in the phenomenon of higher education in the creation of social capital. The population for the study was undergraduate students at the University of Pittsburgh who participate in student organizations. As the result of criterion-based sampling, the sample chosen for the study was the Blue and Gold Society, a student ambassador organization that supports and represents the University while providing members with opportunities to network with faculty, staff, other students, university donors, alumni and community members. Ethnography, more specifically participant observation, semi-structured interviews and cultural artifact review, were utilized to collect the data. Computer assisted qualitative data analysis software was utilized to efficiently manage, organize and analyze data. The results from the research study answer the questions: 1) What individuals make up an undergraduate student organization member's social network and how are those relationships developed? 2) What forms of social capital are embedded in the social networks of undergraduate student organization members? 3) What role does trust play in an undergraduate student organization member's access to social capital and how is trust developed among social network members? The findings state that members of the Blue and Gold Society student organization are able to collectively invest in and accumulate 18 forms of social capital amongst a social network of 30 distinct individuals/types of individuals; Society members develop relationships with these individuals through 21 distinct processes; trust plays a role in Society members' ability to invest in and access social capital embedded in their social networks; and, Society members utilize 16 distinct processes to develop trust within their relationships with social network members. Recommendations are provided for higher education student affairs professionals, researchers, institutional leadership and assessment designers.

Three studies on the leadership behaviors of academic deans in higher education

Brower, Rebecca The Florida State University 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

This three article mixed methods dissertation is titled "Three Studies on the Leadership Behaviors of Academic Deans in Higher Education." Each article is based on a sample of 51 academic deans from a three state region in the Southeastern United States. In the first study, the results of the statistical analyses reinforce the gender similarities hypothesis which states that "males and females are similar on most, but not all psychological variables" (Hyde, 2005, p. 581). Male and female deans did not differ significantly on political skill and social capital. However, the study did contain two methodological concerns which may have obscured the relationship between gender, political skill, and social capital. First, the sample size was necessarily small due to the time consuming nature of converting survey data into social network data for statistical analysis. Second, the political skill scores and social capital scores were based on self-reported data. Ultimately, there is ambiguity in my results because it is difficult to determine whether the results indeed support the gender similarities hypothesis as I argued or whether methodological limitations have resulted in non-significant statistical findings. In the second study, the central result is a conceptual model of information use in problem solving in academic administration. The conceptual model is a visual representation of the relationship between information use and problem solving among decision makers in academic administration. In my model, the problem solving process begins with a problem catalyst which initiates the information filtering phase of the process. The decision makers then embark on an iterative process of questioning, seeking information, verifying information, and weighing decision options. This information filtering phase is fed by information streams including explicit, tacit, cultural, external, internal, received, and sought information. The information filtering process narrows until a decision point is reached. After the administrator makes the decision, the institutional action phase initiates with successive cycles of decision sharing and institutional action. Ultimately, the possible outcomes of the problem solving process represent a continuum with unresolved problems at one end, resolved problems leading to incremental organizational change at the midpoint, and resolved problems leading to organizational paradigm shifts at the far end of the continuum. Data representing each of these phases of the problem solving process are presented. The third study illuminates the ambiguity of sexual discrimination and the issues around gender roles in academic administration. From these data, four propositions regarding gender are presented. First, there is ambiguity surrounding gender in academic administration in higher education because of the culture of academia. This explanation for the unwillingness of deans to express certainty surrounding the influence of gender in academic administration is that they are adopting the social norms of universities, which emphasize uncertainty both in their organizational culture and in the ideas they produce. Second, academic leaders who must represent the broad interests of male and female employees keep their own feelings of discrimination private as part of their practice of impression management within the organization. Ambiguity also surrounds gender in academic administration in higher education because of attributional ambiguity (Crocker, Voelkl, Testa, Major, 1991). This term suggests that there is considerable ambiguity about whether social interactions have occurred because of gender or for other reasons. Finally, changing gender roles creates ambiguity in academic administration in higher education Gender roles in the modern era are now constantly in flux, being quite rigid under some circumstances and quite flexible under other circumstances. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

A New Paradigm of knowledge production in Minnesota higher education: A Delphi study

Moravec, John W University of Minnesota 2007 해외박사(DDOD)

The convergence of globalization, emergence of the knowledge society and accelerating change contribute to what might be best termed a New Paradigm of knowledge production in higher education. The New Paradigm reflects the emerging shifts in thought, beliefs, priorities and practice in regard to education in society. These new patterns of thought and belief are forming to harness and manage the chaos, indeterminacy, and complex relationships of the postmodern. This future-oriented, multiple-methods study identifies potential futures for higher education and their related implications, consequences and policy actions in regard to the New Paradigm of knowledge production. In the first phase of the study, a review of the relevant literature qualitatively scanned for trends in higher education and identified profound statements on the long-term futures of higher education in the United States, and globally, related to the three driving trends of the New Paradigm. Data generated in the first phase were developed into a set of statements and inputted into a Delphi questionnaire instrument. An expert group of 20 Minnesota 2 college and university presidents (or their designates) comprised this study's Delphi panel in the study's second phase, which determined the level of importance, level of acceptability and possibility of occurrence for each item identified by the literature review's scan of the environment of higher education. Content analysis of the response set in the study's third phase revealed ten thematic categories for implications and policy actions for higher education given the futures identified in the first two rounds of the Delphi process. The findings suggest higher education leaders need to integrate the concept of accelerating change of the New Paradigm into their thinking and leadership practices and further align their activities to succeed in an era of accelerating change, chaos and ambiguity. This research helps to better inform the practices of leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders in Minnesota higher education and beyond. This study concludes with a note that through action on the findings and the feedback-looped, reflective consideration of policy actions, this study provides for the possibility of better informed and more future-oriented praxis by the higher education leaders who participated.

The supply of private higher education in Taiwan: Policy options and issues

Song, Mei-Mei Columbia University Teachers College 2001 해외박사(DDOD)

This study explores the possibility of encouraging the expansion of private colleges and universities in Taiwan to relieve the excess demand for higher education. Related issues are also examined: quality of students after expansion, quality assurance of higher education institutions, tuition policy, fundraising policy, and the role of the Ministry of Education (MOE) in tertiary education. As in many Confucian societies, the Taiwanese people highly appreciate the value of a college diploma. Higher education has thus been in great demand, which becomes particularly difficult for policymakers to ignore after the country's unprecedented political and economic liberalization in the mid-1980s. Since then, Taiwan has experienced a phenomenal growth in 4-year colleges and universities. Some problems such as insufficient public funding, however, soon followed the expansion. The possibility of expanding private higher education subsequently emerged. The private sector, nevertheless, has its own problems: insufficient revenues; lack of academic autonomy to realize unique educational philosophy; inability to freely recruit students; rigid controls of the MOE, etc. These problems have put private colleges and universities in a position of inferior status in relation to their public counterparts. The purposes of this study are the following: (1) Explore the feasibility of encouraging private tertiary education expansion in response to the high social demand. (2) Examine the impact of the government's regulated mechanism for tertiary education on 4-year colleges and universities, particularly for the private sector. (3) Search for ways of enhancing the quality of higher education, especially for the private sector. (4) Analyze the effect of the current financing policies on tertiary education, particularly the private sector. (5) Make policy recommendations based on the analysis of the study. The methodology of qualitative analysis has been adopted in this study. In-depth interviews with 58 elite college administrators (presidents and deans of academic affairs, general affairs, and student affairs) in Taiwan were conducted to acquire insights regarding policies and practices in the country's higher education system. Findings and policy implications in respect of the development of Taiwanese higher education are presented. Policy recommendations are made for the MOE and college administrators, respectively.

The practice of continuous improvement in higher education

Thalner, Deborah M Western Michigan University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Studies on the use of Total Quality Management (TQM) within higher education have primarily focused on the implementation of TQM as an institutional initiative. While TQM has been successful in business and industry and has seen some limited success in higher education, the most recent studies on its use in higher education indicate that it has not been successful institution-wide, and in many cases has been abandoned after two to three years. The problem, therefore, is one of a perceived need for continuous improvement in coupled with mixed results from previous attempts at implementation. This research study focused on higher education's use of continuous improvement methods; however, the focus was on specific departmental initiatives, rather than on institution-wide implementation. This study surveyed directors in departments of Financial Services, Facilities Management, Auxiliary Services, and Corporate Training within all public higher education institutions in Michigan. Out of a population of 148 directors surveyed, 54% responded to the survey. Directors of these departments were sent an e-mail with a link to a web-based survey. In addition to determining the level of continuous quality improvement (CQI) use in these departments, the survey also identified common drivers, obstacles, support factors, and outcomes derived from CQI. Key findings included that most had attempted CQI methods at some point in time and continued to pursue CQI. They were able to achieve the outcomes of improved service, quicker response, improved efficiencies, and increased financial returns, while at the same time seeing improved communications within their department and with the institution. These improvements could be realized regardless of institution type, department type, or type of CQI method used, and in spite of the obstacles encountered. In summary, TQM purists would suggest that TQM/CQI is no longer in place within higher education institutions as there is limited evidence of institution-wide continuing implementation. This study revealed, however, that department-based implementation is still in effect, and these departments continue to use CQI methods beyond the time period that current literature suggests it takes for higher education institutions to abandon CQI.

The lessons of experience: Developmental experiences of mid-level female administrators in higher education

Evans, Cheryl Columbia University Teachers College 2000 해외박사(DDOD)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are similar developmental experiences shared by both the corporate and higher education worlds, thus allowing for the possibility of applying business management development theory to higher education administration. This study builds directly on research findings from the corporate world that indicate how on-the-job experiences relate to management development. McCall, Lombardo, and Morrison (1988) documented four broad categories of experiences that executives indicated were potentially developmental: assignments, hardships, events and other (mostly people related experiences). The authors then detailed 33 types of developmental lessons that executives reported emerged from these experiential categories. The following question guided the study process: Do the developmental administrative experiences of mid-level women in higher education administration agree with, refute, challenge, or extend the four Lessons of Experience “categories” as outlined by McCall, Lombardo, and Morrison based on their studies of business executives?. A mailed critical incident survey was used to collect data from women administrators who had participated in past summer management development programs given by the National Association of Women in Education's (NAWE). Institute for Emerging Women Leaders in Higher Education. A total of 104 surveys were sent out, and 61 were returned, for a response rate of 58%. Of the 61 returned surveys, 9 were eliminated because they did not fall into the parameters of the study criteria. The analysis of the data included tabulating the frequency and percentage of responses of the demographic data given by the respondents, as well as a content analysis of the qualitative data from the critical incident stories. The primary outcomes from on-the-job experiences appear to be growth in personal and interpersonal leadership skills, knowledge, and values. Additionally, these experiences further developed administrative/management knowledge and skills specific to context, as well as broaden one's perspective about the organization. The findings of this study are consistent with the McCall et al. (1988) study, which also reported that the key to on-the-job management development is to provide multiple opportunities to assume responsibility for challenging assignments and to reflect on the meaning of these events for accomplishing future management responsibilities.

Quality assurance policies in Thai higher education

Rattananuntapat, Malinee University of Pittsburgh 2015 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation explores the perceptions of university administrators concerning internal quality assurance policies administrated by the Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC) and the external quality assurance policies administrated by the Office for National Education Standards, and Quality Assessment (ONESQA) in Thailand's higher education. A pre-developed questionnaire and guided interview questions for the telephone interviews were developed to investigate the administrators' perceptions toward four aspects of the policy implementation: 1) the current practices of national quality assurance policies, 2) the major components of institutional quality assurance, 3) the roles of state governments and national quality assurance agencies, and 4) the policies' recommendations. The 80 completed questionnaire surveys of overall surveys distributed to 153 targeted higher education institutions were returned for an overall response rate of 52.3% in addition to 6 administrators participated in the interviews. The findings in this study revealed a consensus exists among the administrators about the current practices of national QA policies. In general, the administrators showed positive perceptions on the presence and objectives of the policies and desire for improvement on the policies' administration. The major components of institutional quality assurance for Thai higher education derived from analysis of the administrators' perceptions encompassed QA process, QA system, QA people, budget investment, and QA outcomes. The findings revealed that most administrators held positive views toward the existing role and functions of OHEC and expected OHEC to focus on being a quality management supporter and increasing the effectiveness of the policy administration. Meanwhile, the perceptions toward the ONESQA's role and functioning were somewhat negative, and many administrators supported ONESQA to seriously reinforce its role as an external QA agency. The statistically significant associations found in this study suggested that public and private universities may view the major components of institutional quality assurance and the existing roles of OHEC and ONESQA differently. The findings also confirmed that quality awareness and collaboration in higher education institutions were very important for the success of the policy implementation. Based on the result of this study, a model for effective QA policy implementation in the Thai higher education system was proposed.