A case study of faculty development programs in Division I research institution colleges: the perspective of the program administrators

Fitzsimmons, Jason

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/16048 Copy

Description

Title

A case study of faculty development programs in Division I research institution colleges: the perspective of the program administrators

Author(s)

Fitzsimmons, Jason

Issue Date

2010-05-19T18:33:20Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Johnston-Parsons, Marilyn A.

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Johnston-Parsons, Marilyn A.

Committee Member(s)

• Hug, Barbara
• Shields, Carolyn M.
• Ndimande, Bekisizwe S.

Department of Study

Curriculum and Instruction

Discipline

Secondary & Continuing Educ

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Faculty Development Programs
• Faculty Development
• Teaching
• Student Learning
• Research Institution
• Colleges
• Administrator's Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate faculty development from the perspectives of program administrators in different colleges of a Division I research institution. The participants were administrators of faculty development programs from eight different colleges at the institution. The research questions were (a) How do the administrators of faculty development programs describe the organization of their programs? (b) What do program administrators see as the purposes of the faculty development programs in the colleges? and (c) How do the program administrators as well as the college leadership determine the viability of a faculty development program? The data from the interviews were first coded to themes; as broader categories emerged, they were connected to the three research questions. The framework for the study was the concept of communities of practice, a part of Wenger’s (1998) social theory of learning. The discussion explored how the role of a faculty development program in a college could be classified as a passive instructional resource, an active teaching service, or an influential community changer. In each classification a college places an increasing degree of importance on (a) teaching as a measure of faculty competence, (b) faculty pursuit of becoming a better teacher, and (c) the need for a faculty development program in the college.

Graduation Semester

2010-5

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16048

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2010 Jason FitzSimmons

Owning Collections