Institutional Entrepreneurship in Action: Translating Community Colleges Across India

Initiated in 1995, community college in India grew from a grassroots movement into a national policy priority. Rather than achieve stability as a cohesive system, three distinct but overlapping community college models developed. To begin to understand the forces shaping this unexpectedly fragmented landscape, I conducted an embedded case study focused on how advocates defined what it means to be a community college in India. Over one year of data collection, I conducted interviews with 99 advocates and practitioners at 35 community colleges, government offices, and higher education facilities in 7 states. Guided by interwoven concepts from institutional theory – translation, institutional entrepreneurship, and an institutional logics perspective – I find that all three models focus on preparing marginalized students for employment aligned with a national priority on skill development and a global trend of promoting community colleges as a tool for economic and educational justice. Yet, the ultimate form, function, and field position of community colleges remain in flux. A desire to “make skills aspirational” coupled with a national “degree obsession” led advocates into what I call recognition chasing – a process focused on securing community colleges a formal place within higher education through regulatory support. Guided by a perceived need for government recognition, an interdependent network of advocates initiated each successive model by promoting a globally acceptable yet locally differentiated vision for the community college. Translation was a continually responsive process at the organizational and system level, which resulted in three distinct but overlapping models championed by new advocates offering new opportunities for recognition. Strategies to achieve legitimacy were generally top down and based on personal relationships to help overcome challenges associated with the centralized and individual-centric bureaucracy that controlled higher education. Advocates offered desirable frames, mobilized allies, and developed standards and norms, but the ability to influence community college policy was largely concentrated within a small group of people and organizations. What I call coercive cooperation came to define each community college model by providing minimal but controlling oversight through selection processes, the creation of guidelines, and hosting workshops to disseminate information to practitioners. As a result, the role of personal relationships was elevated above the need for collaborative problem solving in the field building stage. Advocates’ actions were both constrained and enabled by a shifting constellation of the community, state, market, professional, and religious logics influencing community college development. Given the complex resource environment with competing demands for action, logic seeking, or aggressively pursuing the influence of multiple logics on community college development, was necessary. For a grassroots movement to gain regulatory backing and desirable market outcomes, in a bureaucratic emerging economy, advocates actively engaged in logic seeking to secure legitimacy for a new organizational arrangement. They doggedly chased government backing, courted relationships with industry partners, and shaped the curriculum to meet specific employer needs based on professional standards. Ultimately, logic seeking was not an attempt to resolve or mitigate complexity; instead it was the active pursuit of complexity. Findings have broad implications for theory, practice, policy, and research. It is important to understand the interconnected forces shaping the development of community colleges in India, because without careful attention to policy and practice, community colleges in India may serve to reinforce the inequitable social system they are intended to disrupt.PHDHigher EducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138634/1/grossj_1.pd

Volume 6 #2 Full Issue

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A Perspective in the Attitude towards the Quality of Education Delivered Through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) System

This paper reviews the available literature on how to reach Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system potential customers or learners and potential quality practitioners. In this review, the following categories will be discussed: Praxis to Attract Learners in ODL System, The Use of IT/ICT Tools with ODL, and Praxis to Train ODL Trainers. The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) as an integral part of the design of distance taught courses raises interesting challenges to our thinking about course design and learner support. These have typically been conceptualized as two complementary but distinct systems in distance education, characterized by different practices often carried out by different groups of staff. Where CMC is designed as an integral part of the course, with collaborative learning as essential to assessment and study, this separation breaks down. The design of online activities is integral to both learner support and the course content, with new possibilities for open and distance learning as a result. Where the learning group itself is a resource for study and personal development, it also becomes feasible to orientate courses and programmes towards local teams and communities. Online tutors play a key role and need to develop 'the technology of conversation' and expertise in the design of activities, as part of their facilitator role.

A study of the provision of distance education for the upgrading and improvement of the qualifications of teachers in the province of Kwazulu-Natal

This research is predicated in the firm conviction that the quality of education is dependent upon the quality of teachers. Teachers as the bedrock of education must participate actively and conscientiously in their intellectual growth through various forms of INSET discussed in the research. From an international comparative perspective DE as a strategy of INSET is deemed as the most functional, if not prudent and efficacious educational experience for the upgrading and improvement of the qualifications of teachers. In this research the origin of DE in terms of its antecedents and evolution, the raison d'etre and the advantages and limitations of DE are adumbrated in order to focus on the complexity and diversity of DE. As part of the conceptual and theoretical framework various terms used synonymously with DE are considered. A syntagma of principles providing a utilitarian and pragmatic connotation for DE is then postulated. Selected theories relevant to DE provide the synthesis for theoretical perspectives. The typology of DE institutions comprising autonomous, dedicated providers of DE and those that are mixed or hybrid or dual mode systems is analyzed. In koeping with the theme of educational borrowing fundamental to comparative education studies provision of DE by the UKOU and AU for developed countries, IGNOU and the ZINTEC model for developing countries is discussed. National examples are UNISA, Vista University and SACTE. The provincial institutions discussed are the former SCE, NCE, UCFE and the newly formed SACOL. General and specific recommendations for the provision of DE programmes for the upgrading and improvement of the qualifications of teachers in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal are adumbrated. By way of conclusion, it is iterated that the provision of DE for the upgrading and improvement of the qualifications of teachers is irrefragably xxvii the quintessential factor in the new generation of teacher education and a pivotal element for INSET.Educational StudiesD. Ed. (Comparative Education

Effective assessment in open distance and e-learning : using the signature courses at the University of South Africa as a model for future practice

This study was conceptualised within a social-constructivist ontological orientation and, further, uses an interpretive epistemological lens to extract information from the participants who are coming from different life worlds. This thesis, Effective assessment in open distance and e-learning: using the Signature Courses at the University of South Africa as a model for future practice, investigated how emerging information communication technologies (ICTs) can be used to transform, enhance and influence student assessment practices in Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) contexts. The ultimate objective of the study was to establish assessment guidelines for effective student assessment in distance education using technology as an enabler. To achieve the objectives of this study, a mixed methods research methodology was adopted in which Unisa lecturers’ and first-year students’ experiences, perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs regarding the use of ICT as a tool to enhance and influence student assessment were sought. Despite some limitations, the study was able to reveal that technology has the potential to influence student-lecturer, and student-peer interaction thereby bridging the isolation gap that normally exists between them. Further, these potential benefits also include the identification of teaching strengths and weaknesses, the indication of areas where instructional change or modification is needed, and the application of more effective means of interacting with students. A key function of this study, therefore, is to help the lecturers involved in higher learning assessment to use technology effectively and efficiently to enhance assessment practices as a means of maintaining both the academic standards and enhancing the quality of the student learning experience. In addition, the study has shown that technology has the potential to enhance and influence student learning and motivation. Furthermore, this study made theoretical and practical contributions to the literature on information communication technology implementation on lecturers’ and students’ pedagogical and technological readiness to online learning and assessment in open distance and e-learning.Curriculum and Instructional StudiesD. Ed. (Curriculum Studies

Rural students’ experiences at the Open University of Tanzania

This ethnographic study has been undertaken to address a literature gap relating to rural students’ experiences of distance education in developing countries. It gives an account of teaching and learning practices at the Open University of Tanzania (OUT), describes the needs, challenges and coping strategies of students and makes recommendations for improving teaching and support practices in rural areas. An ethnographic approach was used to enable the generation of rich, contextual data from four OUT regional centres. Data generation methods included interviews, observation and document review, while themes were inductively generated through thematic analysis. Bourdieu’s concepts of field and habitus were used to guide the conduct of the study and interpretation of the findings. The study shows that the OUT does not significantly address the problem of the educational divide between the rural and urban populations of Tanzania. This is mainly due to the urban location of regional centres and to students’ inadequate access to relevant teaching and support services such as tutors, library resources and Internet services. The existence of poor infrastructure and the many technological challenges encountered in rural areas further exacerbate the situation. Such limitations may make it difficult for students to develop the intellectual inquiry and critical commentary skills necessary to make informed decisions, and to acquire the competencies expected of graduates of higher education programmes. This study presents rich data based on the immersion of the researcher in the everyday lives of students at the OUT, and proposes a series of recommendations addressing the development of future policy and planning for the university

A proposed checklist for assessing Master’s and Doctoral research proposals

The study confirmed that most chairs of departments (CODs) in the College of Economic and Management Sciences (CEMS) regard Master’s and doctoral (M and D) throughput rates as poor. A proposed checklist for assessing M and D research proposals is advanced. The aim of the research was to establish if a proposed checklist may contribute to improved throughput rates. Inconsistent assessment criteria are used to assess the research proposals of M and D students. Structured interviews with CODs revealed that most departments are using criteria based on previous experience to assess M and D research proposals. These criteria have not been documented. The proposed checklist is regarded by CODs as being potentially valuable for assessing M and D proposals, but they are less optimistic that it could lead to improved throughput rates. The proposed checklist may nevertheless assist prospective M and D students to plan their research in a way that will avoid critical problems. Academic departments should consider testing the proposed checklist for its potential contribution to improve M and D throughput.Finance, Risk Management and Bankin

The challenge of e-learning for healthcare professionals: an exploration in rural Thailand

This research investigates the barriers and drivers of eLearning for healthcare professional students in rural Thailand. An initial deskstudy was undertaken to investigate the factors that had an impact on eLearning within a professional healthcare environment. This was followed by a pilot study in a university in rural areas of Thailand. The results from the investigation led to a model being created to identify the barriers and drivers for implementing eLearning programmes in rural Thailand. This research explores the challenges of eLearning within four domains (IFPC);infrastructure (I), financing eLearning courses (F), university policy (P), and cultural diversity (C). The research utilised mixed research methods to identify the impacts of eLearning; employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. The participants of this research included healthcare professionals associated with the eLearning environment within rural areas in Thailand. The fieldwork data from both quantitative and qualitative methods were analysed assisting by SPSS software and Nvivo software. The results and findings demonstrated that the IFPC domains impact on the uptake of eLearning for healthcare professionals and healthcare professional students. The results of statistical testing corroborated that healthcare professional students with their own computers perceived that eLearning was useful to their professional development. In addition, it showed that universities’ policies on eLearning affected the use of the iv eLearning infrastructure, the participants’ motivation to undertake eLearning courses and that eLearning course-uptake was affected by both healthcare professionals’ motivation and their ability to use a computer. The subject of the financing of eLearning course was directly correlated to the level of computer skills held by the healthcare professional students and their attitude towards their own use of computers. The results identified how the elements of the IFPC model were related to each other and affected the implementation of eLearning programmes. It is hoped that these findings will make a significant contribution by informing lecturers about online teaching material, course delivery and design. They will also inform policymakers when considering budgets, plans and requirements for supporting healthcare professional students undertaking eLearning in rural Thailand. In particular the results will provide useful lessons for healthcare professionals undertaking similar programmes in other developing countries