Institutional culture and support for faculty scholarship in a Virginia community college

• Main Author: Etkin, Sarah Louise
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: W&M ScholarWorks 1996
• Subjects: Educational Administration and Supervision; Higher Education
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539618598; https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1808&context=etd

An institution of higher education was studied to determine whether its culture supported faculty scholarship. The site selected for the study was John Tyler Community College (JTCC) in Virginia chosen because it is fairly representative of other colleges in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) and because its campuses were accessible to the researcher for the collection of study information. Ernest Boyer's broadened definition of scholarship was used to define scholarship in this study.;The research question--"Is the culture in a two-year public institution in Virginia supportive of scholarship as defined by Ernest Boyer"?---was addressed through case study methodology using qualitative and quantitative data collection gathered through interviews and document review. One-third of JTCC full-time faculty, five academic administrators, and VCCS's chancellor and director of professional development were interviewed using nineteen interview questions developed from Tierney's framework for assessing institutional culture. College document review related to these questions was done to triangulate information gathered from interviews.;The study's findings suggest that JTCC's culture does not support faculty scholarship strongly or consistently. In Tierney's elements of environment, mission, and socialization--most interview and document data show a consistent lack of support for scholarship: and in elements of information, leadership, and strategies there is limited, if any, document support for interview responses indicating that scholarship is supported at JTCC.;Future research on community college scholarship should investigate model institutions for scholarship engagement as well as definitions and standards of scholarship that are most fitting for two-year institutions. Further study is needed on the benefits of scholarship to community college missions and a body of literature on community college scholarship should be established.