Complex Contributors to Perceptions of Major Change in a Community College

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Autor/in	Pellegrino, Lauren Nicole
Titel	Complex Contributors to Perceptions of Major Change in a Community College
Quelle	(2018), (209 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit Ph.D. Dissertation, North Carolina State University
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISBN	978-0-4385-9856-0
Schlagwörter	Hochschulschrift; Dissertation; Educational Change; Community Colleges; Accreditation (Institutions); Program Implementation; Program Improvement; Outcomes of Education; Electronic Learning; Two Year College Students; Stakeholders; Attitude Change; Organizational Culture; Institutional Mission; Educational Objectives; College Faculty; Teacher Attitudes; North Carolina + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Thesis; Dissertations; Academic thesis; Bildungsreform; Community college; Community College; Accreditation; Institution; Institutions; Akkreditierung; Staatliche Anerkennung; Institut; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Attitudinal change; Einstellungsänderung; Unternehmenskultur; Educational objective; Bildungsziel; Erziehungsziel; Fakultät; Lehrerverhalten
Abstract	For more than 10 years, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) regional accrediting body has required all of the nearly 800 institutions under its umbrella to prepare and execute a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as part of the reaccreditation process that occurs every 10 years. Pursuant to the requirement, the QEP must focus on improving student learning outcomes and is, therefore, typically a large-scale change initiative (SACSCOC, 2017). While there is some literature addressing short-term outcomes and anecdotes of QEPs, there is little published about the process of implementing this major change. Because it is typically large in scale, the QEP affects many institutional stakeholders, often requiring significant changes in teaching strategies, process execution, and/or course content. Given the wide-reaching implications of the QEP as a major institutional change and the number of institutions that must meet the requirement, it is surprising that stakeholder perceptions of major change have not been explored in this context. Applying a three-pronged lens of sensemaking, constructivism, and organizational learning (Kezar, Gerhke, and Elrod, 2015), this intrinsic case study contributed to closing the gap in knowledge of stakeholder perceptions of change through examining those perceptions at Wake Technical Community College (Wake Tech) in North Carolina as the college implemented a QEP aimed at improving online student outcomes (e-Learning Preparedness Initiative Across the College (EPIC)). Through conducting 18 in-depth interviews with stakeholders who were not involved in the initiative through sitting on committees for implementation or assessment, this study began to uncover the ways in which relevant stakeholders developed perceptions around a major change, how those perceptions evolved over time, and the learning that took place as stakeholders adjusted their practices and changed their beliefs and attitudes. The findings of this study revealed that participants developed perceptions through a multitude of ways, including communication about the initiative, individual learning, professional development requirements, and beliefs about organizational culture, innovation, and change in general. Further, this study illuminated that EPIC, while large-scale and complex, closely aligned with the institutional mission, goals, and values such that the change itself was not radical or transformative but rather, a process of building upon existing skills and knowledge and, in some cases, validating existing knowledge. This is important as leaders consider framing change and seeking support, where an enhancement of skills rather than an overhaul of skills may be more palatable for individuals affected by the change. It is hoped that through this study college leadership can also gain a better understanding of the elements that contribute to the development of perceptions of a QEP and thus, can better prepare for dealing with challenges in advance of actually encountering them and assemble a list of best practices for use in conceiving, implementing, and sustaining future changes. Furthermore, leaders of the other nearly 800 SACSCOC-accredited schools could benefit from garnering an understanding of how perceptions are formed among directly affected faculty and staff, the largest non-student stakeholder groups affected by a major student learning-related change. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01