Collaboration to Institutionalize Service-Learning in Higher Education Organizations: the Relationship Between the Structures of Academic and Student Affairs Joanne A
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University of Massachusetts Boston ScholarWorks at UMass Boston Graduate Doctoral Dissertations Doctoral Dissertations and Masters Theses 6-1-2008 Collaboration to Institutionalize Service-Learning in Higher Education Organizations: The Relationship Between the Structures of Academic and Student Affairs Joanne A. Dreher University of Massachusetts Boston Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.umb.edu/doctoral_dissertations Recommended Citation Dreher, Joanne A., "Collaboration to Institutionalize Service-Learning in Higher Education Organizations: The Relationship Between the Structures of Academic and Student Affairs" (2008). Graduate Doctoral Dissertations. Paper 181. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Doctoral Dissertations and Masters Theses at ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COLLABORATION TO INSTITUTIONALIZE SERVICE-LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STRUCTURES OF ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS A Dissertation Presented by JOANNE A. DREHER Submitted to the Graduate College of Education University of Massachusetts Boston, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION June 2008 Higher Education Administration Program © 2008 by Joanne A. Dreher All rights reserved COLLABORATION TO INSTITUTIONALIZE SERVICE-LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STRUCTURES OF ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS A Dissertation Presented by JOANNE A. DREHER Approved as to style and content by: Jay K. Dee, Associate Professor Member Caththyv Burack,'Ph.D.Riirnrlr <Ph F> , BrandeiRrnnHpis TTnUniversiti y Member Jay R. Dee, Director Higher Education Doctoral Program ABSTRACT COLLABORATION TO INSTITUTIONALIZE SERVICE-LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STRUCTURES OF ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS June 2008 Joanne A. Dreher, B.A., Framingham State College M.S.M., Lesley University Ed.D., University of Massachusetts Boston Directed by Professor Dwight E. Giles, Jr. Higher education organizations are distinguished by a structural divide between academic affairs and student affairs. Specific to this separation is the divide between the formal curriculum created and managed by faculty and the informal 'hidden' curriculum developed and delivered to students by student affairs professionals. This divide prompts questions about the role of structure and the cultures that are reinforced by those structures to influence collaboration to integrate new pedagogies such as service-learning. Case study design was used to analyze three institutions in New England to understand the influence of organizational structures to institutionalize service-learning and to determine the degree to which collaboration between divisions at those campuses influences the institutionalization of this pedagogy. To approach the study it was iv important to understand the structural characteristics that define the work environments of each campus, and how institutional constituents, including faculty, senior leaders, student affairs professionals, and service-learning directors and staff understand the meaning and value of service-learning as a conceptual model of education. Six themes provided a framework for cross-campus comparison: separate purposes and responsibilities, faculty culture and relationships to student affairs, faculty authority over the academic curriculum, role of the senior academic administrator to motivate collaboration, separate reporting structures for academic affairs and student affairs, and the role of the academic department and its influence on collaboration. Interviews were the primary method of data collection, supported by analysis of institutional documents and observations at each campus. The results of the study show that the divide between faculty and student affairs continues to be a critical institutional factor in higher education. However, findings also provide evidence that in some institutions traditional boundaries have become more permeable and fluid, enabling professional staff and faculty to work in more cooperative ways to expand a culture of service and contribute to sustained service-learning pedagogy. v DEDICATION For Jerry My husband and best friend, With appreciation and love. VI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to the individuals whose contributions helped me in so many ways to complete the dissertation. I am deeply grateful to my family not only for their encouragement to embark on this journey but also for their continued support each step of the way. Their confidence in me never wavered. This is our achievement. I am appreciative to the members of my committee, Dr. Dwight E. Giles, Jr., Dr. Jay R. Dee, and Dr. Cathy Burack, for their guidance on each leg of this long journey. Their thoughtful responses to my work and their insights into the complex elements of the study helped me to value the research process, challenging me to dig deeply to examine and savour the richness of the experience. Because the conditions of the study promised confidentiality, I am not able to name the campuses or those individuals who participated. I am indebted to the participants who candidly shared their perspectives of institutional practices, dimensions of community relationships, and personal experiences with service-learning pedagogy. I am grateful for the assistance of the Executive Directors of the New England Campus Compact Offices. It was with their support of my project and the information they shared with me about service-learning on member campuses that helped me to identify the research sites for the study. Thank you to the members of Cohort 2000.1 treasure the relationships we developed during the program and our continued connections even as our professional lives have taken us in different directions. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii LIST OF FIGURES xii CHAPTER Page 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of Problem 2 Purpose of the Study 9 Research Question 12 Significance of the Study 17 Chapter Descriptions 18 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 20 The Structure of Organizations 20 Colleges and Universities: Complex Organizational Structures 21 Authority and Decision-making Structures 27 Faculty Role and Organizational Structure in Higher Education 29 Student Affairs in the Structure of Higher Education Organizations 32 Institutionalization 35 Institution: A Sociological View of Organizations 36 Innovation, Change, and Institutionalization 44 Service-learning in Higher Education 48 Overview of Service-learning: Model for Teaching and Learning 49 Service-learning and Organizational Structure 52 Service-learning and Faculty Work: The Academic Affairs of the Organization 56 Research Studies and the Role of Faculty in Service-learning 61 Service-learning, Student Affairs, and Collaboration in Higher Education 66 Conclusions from the Literature 70 vin CHAPTER Page 3. RESEARCH DESIGN 75 Qualitative Design of the Study 75 Service-learning, Qualitative Research, and the Research Questions 77 Site Selection 82 Identification of Potential Sites 82 Site Selection Criteria 83 Collecting Campus Information for Site Selection 87 Selecting Sites 89 Summary of Site Selection Process 92 Criterion I: Liberal Arts Institutions 93 Criterion II: Factors of Infrastructure 94 Criterion III: Reporting Structure 95 Revision of Criterion III: Reporting Structure 98 Case Institutions for the Study 98 Data Collection 101 Analysis of Institutional Documents 101 Interviews 102 Observation 104 Data Analysis: Theory, Validity, and Reliability 105 Researcher Role 108 4. THE CAMPUS NARRATIVES 110 Beaver Bridge College 112 History 114 The Service-learning Office 116 Staffing 120 Brighton Falls University 126 History 127 The Service-learning Office 131 Staffing 133 Cresthaven College 138 History 139 The Service-learning Office 142 Staffing 143 IX CHAPTER Page 5. ANALYSIS OF DATA 150 Analyzing the Research Questions 151 Theme 1: Separate Purposes and Responsibilities... 151 Theme 2: Faculty Culture and Relationships to Student Affairs 163 Theme 3: Faculty Authority over the Academic Curriculum 175 Theme 4: Role of the Senior Academic Leadership to Motivate Collaboration 187 Theme 5: Separate Reporting Structures for Academic Affairs and Student Affairs 193 Theme 6: The Academic Department System and its Influence on Collaboration 200 Institutionalizing Service-learning 208 Summary of the Data 216 6. IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 224 Review of Findings 224 The Association between Institutionalization and Collaboration 226 Organizational Structure and the Divisional Divide 231 Role of Senior Leaders to Motivate Collaboration 236 The Academic Department System 238 Faculty Reward Systems 240 Language and Meaning to Institutionalize Service-learning.. 244 The Organizational Environment, Collaboration, and Institutionalization 247 Significance of the Study 251 Limitations of the Study 253 Recommendations for Practice 254 Recommendations for Future Research 256 x CHAPTER Page APPENDIX A. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH STUDIES Service- learning, Faculty Role, and Institutional Factors 258 B. CRITERION III: INITIAL MODELS OF REPORTING STRUCTURES 262 C. INSTITUTIONAL REVIEWS # 1 AND #2 263 D. TELEPHONE PROTOCOL FOR SITE SECTION 265 E. SAMPLE INTERVIEW PROTOCOL 266 F. INTERVIEW CONSENT FORM