Faculty Sensemaking of Higher Education Reform in Ecuador
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects Summer 2018 The Transitional Generation: Faculty Sensemaking of Higher Education Reform in Ecuador Mary Amanda Johnson College of William and Mary - School of Education, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation Johnson, Mary Amanda, "The Transitional Generation: Faculty Sensemaking of Higher Education Reform in Ecuador" (2018). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1530192577. http://dx.doi.org/10.25774/w4-5wj0-aw37 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE TRANSITIONAL GENERATION: FACULTY SENSEMAKING OF HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM IN ECUADOR A Dissertation Presented to the The Faculty of the School of Education The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy By M. Amanda Johnson 2018 THE TRANSITIONAL GENERATION: FACULTY SENSEMAKING OF HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM IN ECUADOR By M. Amanda Johnson Approved 2018 by Pamela Eddy, Ph.D. Chairperson of Doctoral Committee James Stronge, Ph.D. Guru Ghosh, Ph.D. Table of Contents Acknowledgments............................................................................................................ viii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................2 Contemporary Higher Education Reform in Ecuador ...................................................5 Faculty Policies and Role in Ecuador ............................................................................7 Problem Statement .......................................................................................................13 Research Questions ......................................................................................................13 Purpose Statement ........................................................................................................14 The Model of Policy Reaction .....................................................................................14 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................16 Definition of Terms......................................................................................................17 Summary ......................................................................................................................22 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE .....................................................................23 History of Higher Education in Ecuador ....................................................................23 The Spanish Colonial University (1520s-1800s) ...................................................24 The Republican University (1800s-1900s) .............................................................27 The Progressive University (1900s-2000s) .............................................................30 Contemporary Reform of Higher Education ...............................................................38 Faculty Work and Role Expectations .....................................................................43 The Model of Policy Reaction .....................................................................................48 iii Neo-institutionalism ................................................................................................49 Role Theory .............................................................................................................56 Sensemaking ............................................................................................................59 Summary ......................................................................................................................62 CHAPTER 3: METHODS .................................................................................................64 Study Design ................................................................................................................65 Research Method ....................................................................................................65 Research Paradigm .................................................................................................66 Cases, Participants, and Sampling ...............................................................................67 Cases .......................................................................................................................67 Final Site Selection .................................................................................................71 Participant Sampling ..............................................................................................73 Data Sources and Collection ........................................................................................77 Interviews ...............................................................................................................77 Field Notes .............................................................................................................79 Documents ..............................................................................................................80 Data Transcription ......................................................................................................81 Data Analysis ...............................................................................................................81 Ethical Considerations .................................................................................................84 Trustworthiness ............................................................................................................84 Researcher Positionality...............................................................................................86 Delimitations, Limitations, and Assumptions ..............................................................87 Delimitations ..........................................................................................................87 iv Limitations ..............................................................................................................88 Assumptions ...........................................................................................................89 Summary .......................................................................................................................90 CHAPTER 4: CONTEXT, CASES, AND PARTICIPANTS ...........................................91 Contemporary Context of Ecuadorian Higher Education ............................................91 Case Institutions and Participants .................................................................................96 Case A ....................................................................................................................98 Case B ...................................................................................................................100 Case C ...................................................................................................................102 Case D ..................................................................................................................103 Case E ...................................................................................................................105 Summary ...................................................................................................................107 CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS ...............................................................................................109 Code Mapping .............................................................................................................110 Navigating Uncertainty ...............................................................................................115 Adapting to Change .............................................................................................115 Resisting Change .................................................................................................119 Building Networks ......................................................................................................121 International-level ................................................................................................122 National-level .......................................................................................................125 Institutional-level .................................................................................................128 Legitimizing Work ......................................................................................................131 Evaluation of Work ..............................................................................................132 v Institutional Decision-making ..............................................................................134