SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I LEAVE : THE QUESTION OF TENURE TRACK FACULTY JOB SATISFACTION AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The purpose of this study was to explore how tenure procedures at institutions of higher education, workload, confidence in support of teaching and research objectives, climate, culture, collegiality and salary affect job satisfaction of tenure track faculty. The study compares three different cohort groups composed of tenure-track faculty from over eighty institutions of higher education in the United States. The cohort groups used in this study are Baccalaureate, Masters and Research institutions that have been classified by Carnegie Classification. Institutions of higher education were invited to participate in the Harvard University Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) survey. Institutions that participated provided lists of their full-time tenure track faculty members who were pre-tenure. The University of North Carolina system (consisting of sixteen institutions) mandates that its institutions participate in this study. Previous research indicated both individual and institutional characteristics contribute to faculty job satisfaction. This study explored the differences in tenure track faculty job satisfaction by Carnegie Classification using exploratory factor analysis with oblimin rotation to construct factors which represent the dimensions of workload, confidence and support of teaching and research objectives by the institution's administration, autonomy,   climate, collegiality and salary. Because of institutional differences, these factors are experienced differently by the three cohort groups and therefore are indicative to each group. In order to observe the strength of each component and the amount of variation explained by the combination of these factors a stepwise linear multiple regression was conducted for each Carnegie Classification. Stepwise linear regression allowed estimation of the strength of the institutional components which contribute to tenure track faculty job satisfaction or dissatisfaction by observing differences in standardized beta weights and allowed observation of the amount of variation explained by each regression equation for each institution.  This study has observed differences in the constructs that make up tenure track faculty job satisfaction across different types of institutions defined by Carnegie Classification. This study enhances the institutional component of Johnsrud and Rosser's research because it used data that was collected more recently and focuses only on tenure track faculty. Additionally, it adds to the literature currently published by COACHE, which has been primarily descriptive in nature, by predicting what sets of variables contribute more predominantly to tenure track job satisfaction. The study observed differences in both the way that Johnsrud, Johnsrud, and Heck, Rosser and COACHE portray tenure track faculty job satisfaction. The use of Carnegie Classification is also new because previous inferential studies have used public/private institutions as a method of classification.  Ed.D

Perceptions of Leadership Behaviors by Female Principals in North Caroline

This study was designed to investigate whether significant differences exist among the perceptions of leadership behaviors of female principals in North Carolina using Bolman and Deal\u27s (1984) four frames (structural, human re- source, political, and symbolic) for analysis. Participants consisted of 1,245 fe- male principals from elementary, middle, and secondary public schools in North Carolina. The researchers collected 525 responses for a 53% response rate. Overall, female principals in North Carolina perceive that they use multiple frame perspectives in their leadership behaviors. Furthermore, results indicate that age, parental status, and years in current position made a difference in the number and type of frames female principals use

Recruiting International Students to Your Campus

The purpose of this paper was to determine what institutional, program, and recruitment characteristics influenced international students to attend institutions in the United States. Two hundred sixteen international students at a Southern public research university responded to the survey (53% response rate) from 56 countries representing 8 regions. An empirical analysis using t-tests and analysis of variance was conducted to determine what characteristics international students found to be most important when selecting an institution. Regardless of degree level, all students ranked faculty/student ratio as an important program characteristic. Second, students ranked both the admission process and time to degree as important characteristics. Third, doctoral, master’s, and bachelor’s students respectively ranked funding as an important characteristic in their decision making process. There are three basic implications for recruitment officers. First, as size matters, international students need to feel connected to faculty and staff

Self-Efficacy Change Associated with a Cognitive Load-Based Intervention in an Undergraduate Biology Course

Cognitive load theory (CLT) holds that discovery learning and other instructional strategies imposing high levels of extraneous load on novice learners hinder learning. Such learning conditions are also associated with significant drops in persistence, a key measure of motivation. However, research within the CLT framework typically engages motivation as a necessary precursor to learning, rather than as an outcome of instruction. In this study, we examine changes in motivational beliefs as outcomes of learners\u27 cognitive processes through a CLT lens as they engage with instruction. Using a double-blind quasi-experimental design, we manipulate the level of cognitive load imposed on participants through instruction and assess changes in self-efficacy from pre-to post-intervention. In an analysis of data from students enrolled in an undergraduate biology course (n = 2078), students in the treatment condition demonstrated significantly higher performance on end-of-semester lab reports and self-efficacy measures. However, post-instruction self-efficacy was not significantly related to performance, controlling for pre-instruction self-efficacy, gender, and scientific reasoning ability. These findings introduce the possibility that the cognitive load imposed on working memory during instruction may affect motivational beliefs and provides a foundation to further explore connections between historically distinct theoretical frameworks such as CLT and social cognitive theory

Perceptions of Leadership Behaviors by Female Principals in North Caroline

This study was designed to investigate whether significant differences exist among the perceptions of leadership behaviors of female principals in North Carolina using Bolman and Deal\u27s (1984) four frames (structural, human re- source, political, and symbolic) for analysis. Participants consisted of 1,245 fe- male principals from elementary, middle, and secondary public schools in North Carolina. The researchers collected 525 responses for a 53% response rate. Overall, female principals in North Carolina perceive that they use multiple frame perspectives in their leadership behaviors. Furthermore, results indicate that age, parental status, and years in current position made a difference in the number and type of frames female principals use

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I LEAVE : THE QUESTION OF TENURE TRACK FACULTY JOB SATISFACTION AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The purpose of this study was to explore how tenure procedures at institutions of higher education, workload, confidence in support of teaching and research objectives, climate, culture, collegiality and salary affect job satisfaction of tenure track faculty. The study compares three different cohort groups composed of tenure-track faculty from over eighty institutions of higher education in the United States. The cohort groups used in this study are Baccalaureate, Masters and Research institutions that have been classified by Carnegie Classification. Institutions of higher education were invited to participate in the Harvard University Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) survey. Institutions that participated provided lists of their full-time tenure track faculty members who were pre-tenure. The University of North Carolina system (consisting of sixteen institutions) mandates that its institutions participate in this study. Previous research indicated both individual and institutional characteristics contribute to faculty job satisfaction. This study explored the differences in tenure track faculty job satisfaction by Carnegie Classification using exploratory factor analysis with oblimin rotation to construct factors which represent the dimensions of workload, confidence and support of teaching and research objectives by the institution's administration, autonomy,   climate, collegiality and salary. Because of institutional differences, these factors are experienced differently by the three cohort groups and therefore are indicative to each group. In order to observe the strength of each component and the amount of variation explained by the combination of these factors a stepwise linear multiple regression was conducted for each Carnegie Classification. Stepwise linear regression allowed estimation of the strength of the institutional components which contribute to tenure track faculty job satisfaction or dissatisfaction by observing differences in standardized beta weights and allowed observation of the amount of variation explained by each regression equation for each institution.  This study has observed differences in the constructs that make up tenure track faculty job satisfaction across different types of institutions defined by Carnegie Classification. This study enhances the institutional component of Johnsrud and Rosser's research because it used data that was collected more recently and focuses only on tenure track faculty. Additionally, it adds to the literature currently published by COACHE, which has been primarily descriptive in nature, by predicting what sets of variables contribute more predominantly to tenure track job satisfaction. The study observed differences in both the way that Johnsrud, Johnsrud, and Heck, Rosser and COACHE portray tenure track faculty job satisfaction. The use of Carnegie Classification is also new because previous inferential studies have used public/private institutions as a method of classification. 

Null Effects of Boot Camps and Short-Format Training for PhD Students in Life Sciences

Many PhD programs incorporate boot camps and summer bridge programs to accelerate the development of doctoral students\u27 research skills and acculturation into their respective disciplines. These brief, high-intensity experiences span no more than several weeks and are typically designed to expose graduate students to data analysis techniques, to develop scientific writing skills, and to better embed incoming students into the scholarly community. However, there is no previous study that directly measures the outcomes of PhD students who participate in such programs and compares them to the outcomes of students who did not participate. Likewise, no previous study has used a longitudinal design to assess these outcomes over time. Here we show that participation in such programs is not associated with detectable benefits related to skill development, socialization into the academic community, or scholarly productivity for students in our sample. Analyzing data from 294 PhD students in the life sciences from 53 US institutions, we found no statistically significant differences in outcomes between participants and nonparticipants across 115 variables. These results stand in contrast to prior studies presenting boot camps as effective interventions based on participant satisfaction and perceived value. Many universities and government aggencies (e.g., National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation) invest substantial resources in boot camp and summer bridge activities in the hopes of better supporting scientific workforce development. Our findings do not reveal any measurable benefits to students, indicating that an allocation of limited resources to alternative strategies with stronger empirical foundations warrants consideration

Electrifying Engagement in Middle School Science Class: Improving Student Interest Through E-Textiles

Most interventions with “maker” technologies take place outside of school or out of core area classrooms. However, intervening in schools holds potential for reaching much larger numbers of students and the opportunity to shift instructional dynamics in classrooms. This paper shares one such intervention where electronic textiles (sewable circuits) were introduced into eighth grade science classes with the intent of exploring possible gains in student learning and motivation, particularly for underrepresented minorities. Using a quasi-experimental design, four classes engaged in a traditional circuitry unit while the other four classes undertook a new e-textile unit. Overall, students in both groups demonstrated significant learning gains on standard test items without significant differences between conditions. Significant differences appeared between groups’ attitudes toward science after the units in ways that show increasing interest in science by students in the e-textile unit. In particular, they reported positive identity shifts pertaining to their perceptions of the beliefs of their friends, family, and teacher. Findings and prior research suggest that student-created e-textile designs provide opportunities for connections outside of the classroom with friends and family and may shift students’ perceptions of their teacher’s beliefs about them more positively

The role of affordances in children’s learning performance and efficiency when using virtual manipulative mathematics touch-screen apps

This paper focuses on understanding the role that affordances played in children’s learning performance and efficiency during clinical interviews of their interactions with mathematics apps on touch-screen devices. One hundred children, ages 3 to 8, each used six different virtual manipulative mathematics apps during 30–40-min interviews. The study used a convergent mixed methods design, in which quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently to answer the research questions (Creswell and Plano Clark 2011). Videos were used to capture each child’s interactions with the virtual manipulative mathematics apps, document learning performance and efficiency, and record children’s interactions with the affordances within the apps. Quantitized video data answered the research question on differences in children’s learning performance and efficiency between pre- and post-assessments. A Wilcoxon matched pairs signed-rank test was used to explore these data. Qualitative video data was used to identify affordance access by children when using each app, identifying 95 potential helping and hindering affordances among the 18 apps. The results showed that there were changes in children’s learning performance and efficiency when children accessed a helping or a hindering affordance. Helping affordances were more likely to be accessed by children who progressed between the pre- and post-assessments, and the same affordances had helping and hindering effects for different children. These results have important implications for the design of virtual manipulative mathematics learning apps