How Do Faculty Experience the University Mission?
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1 How Do Faculty Experience the University Mission? A Descriptive Case Study of One University’s Approach to Its Core Values A thesis presented by Colleen Lynette Keirn To The School of Education In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the field of Education College of Professional Studies Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts December 2017 2 Abstract This research study captured the stories of 11 university faculty about their lived experiences with the university’s social justice mission. Key findings revealed: (a) faculty of color described experiencing racism on campus, (b) faculty of color felt marginalized on campus, (c) faculty developed their understanding of the mission over time, (d) the mission was experienced differently by faculty of color than by White faculty, (e) peer group support was vital for retaining faculty of color, and (f) there was little evidence of collective overt challenges to the dominant ideology of the university. The study used a case study methodology to understand how tenured and tenure-track faculty made meaning of and understood a university’s mission at a private university in the western United States. Campus documents were analyzed and 11 faculty members were interviewed. Data were analyzed using the in vivo coding method and were interpreted through a critical race theory framework. Results indicate that more can be done by universities in the United States to create inclusive campuses and to retain faculty of color. Suggestions for actionable steps are offered. These results are significant because they inform higher education leadership that the work of implementing their mission is never over and that the higher education community must continuously strive to be more inclusive, equitable, and accessible. Keywords: higher education, faculty, university mission, organizational culture, microaggressions, racial microaggressions, racism, critical race theory, case study. 3 Dedication To my husband, Jason and my dad, Bill, and in memory of my mom, Susan: You are the cheese to my macaroni. To our dogs, Fudge and Ginger, and in memory of Mocha: Rowrrowr bark woof! Rrrruf! Hnnn! Hnn! Hnnn! Rrrrowf! Arf! 4 Acknowledgements This study would not have been possible without the help of many people. I thank my husband, Jason, for his love, support, encouragement, editing, and patience through this difficult and trying process. I thank my father and my late mother for their love and encouragement and for always pushing me to excel. I thank my research assistants, our dogs, Mocha, Fudge, and Ginger, for being the distraction and wackiness that I needed to keep me focused and committed. I thank my advisor, Dr. Bryan Patterson, for his guidance, encouragement, and feedback through this process. I thank my second reader, Dr. Margaret Gorman, for her insight and perspective as a critical reader. Thank you to my third reader, Dr. Tamara Spencer, for the laughs, support, understanding, Jolly Ranchers, and perspective I have needed time and again. Thanks goes out to my friend and talented graphic artist and designer Jeff Weeks for making the tree diagram look professional and impactful. I thank my numerous NEU classmates who commiserated, laughed, drank, and ate with me and offered important reality checks and balance. I thank my many colleagues who helped me with my assignments through coursework, who supported me through drafting chapters, and who offered important feedback and insight. Last but not least, I thank the participants: literally this study could not exist without them. I honor and respect their voices and experiences. Through their voices, may we achieve change. 5 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Dedication 3 Acknowledgements 4 Table of Contents 5 Chapter 1: Overview 8 Problem Statement 11 Research Question 13 Theoretical Framework – Critical Race Theory 13 Tenets of Critical Race Theory 13 Storytelling and counterstorytelling 15 The value of experiential knowledge 15 Whiteness as property 15 A critique of liberalism 16 A commitment to social justice 16 The permanence of racism 17 Tree Diagram of Systemic Racism and Critical Race Theory 17 Research Method Overview 20 Potential Significance 21 Conclusion 22 Chapter 2: Literature Review 23 Social Justice and Institutional Racism 24 University Mission Statements 26 Racial Microaggressions 27 Types of Microaggressions 30 Microaggressions in the Higher Education Setting 32 Types of Microaggressions Experienced by Campus Faculty 33 Effects of Microaggressions and Possible Solutions 37 Types of Stresses 37 Coping Mechanisms for Faculty 39 Possible Solutions 40 Campus-wide solutions 40 Campus climate 41 Organizational Culture 43 Organizational Culture in Higher Education 43 Varied Descriptions of Higher Education Culture 45 Four Culture Types 47 Critical Race Theory 48 Historical Trajectory 48 Seminal Works 49 Contemporary Authors 50 6 Empirical Studies 50 Conclusion 52 Chapter 3: Methodology 54 Case Study Methodology 54 Research Design 56 Institutional Review Board 56 Phase 1: Planning 56 Phase 2: Recruitment 57 Phase 3: Data Collection 57 Phase 4: Data Analysis 58 Sample Design and Study Population 59 Demographics 61 Areas of Responsibility 62 Experience and Education 62 Data Collection 64 Visual Materials 65 Interviews 66 Data Analysis 70 Before First-Cycle Coding: Transcriptions and Organization 70 First-Cycle Coding: In vivo Coding 71 Second-Cycle Coding: Pattern Coding 71 After Second-Cycle Coding: Theme Development 71 Data Storage 72 Trustworthiness Strategies 73 Study Assumptions 75 Positionality Statement 76 Trustworthiness and Validity 77 Construct validity 78 Internal validity 78 External validity 78 Reliability 78 Threats to Validity 79 Conclusion 80 Chapter 4: Results 82 Groups of Participants 82 System Changers 83 Curriculum Changers 83 The Mentor 83 Research Question 84 Preliminary Analysis of Findings 85 Emergent Themes 86 Understanding of the mission 87 7 Social justice 88 Relational culture 93 Feelings of exclusion 94 A critical mass of new faculty 97 Good works 97 Key Findings from Analysis 99 Finding 1 99 Finding 2 99 Finding 3 99 Finding 4 100 Finding 5 100 Conclusion 100 Chapter 5: Interpretations, Conclusions, and Implications 102 Study Conclusions 103 Through the Lens of Critical Race Theory 107 Implications 110 Implications for Practice 110 Implications for Future Research 115 Reflections as Scholar-Practitioner 116 Limitations 117 Conclusion 118 References 119 Appendices 135 Appendix A: Definition of Key Terminology 136 Appendix B: Letter for Participants 138 Appendix C: Selection Questionnaire 139 Appendix D: Interview Protocol 145 Appendix E: Unsigned Consent Form 147 Appendix F: Signed Consent Form 150 Appendix G: NEU IRB Approval 153 Appendix H: IRB Approval at Study Site 154 Appendix I: Research Chain of Evidence 155 Appendix J: Coding Manual 157 Appendix K: Code Segments 158 Appendix L: Sample Responses to Interview Questions 162 8 Chapter 1: Overview The purpose of this dissertation was to uncover university faculty members’ lived experiences with the social justice mission at one university. Specifically, the study sought to uncover the extent to which there was variance between these experiences based on race identity, length in career, religious affiliation, and faculty rank. This chapter provides an overview of the thesis. The chapter will first present the problem statement and the researcher’s motivation for the study, which was to understand and make visible the issues facing faculty on a university campus in this current era of overt and covert racism. Next, it presents the research question, which focuses on the lived experiences of faculty and how they make sense of a university’s mission. Following this is a section presenting the tenets of the theoretical framework, critical race theory (CRT), and a discussion of how this theory was applied to the study. It then introduces a tree diagram that illustrates the relationship between the critical race theory framework, the context of higher education, the lived experiences of faculty, and the systems and cultures that impact the context. Next, it provides an overview of and introduction to the case study research method. Finally, it provides the significance of the study and its context within the literature. This first section considers a brief history of race and racism in higher education to provide a background for the context of today’s universities. Higher education in the United States (U.S.) has a troublesome foundation that universities of today struggle with. It can be argued that, from its creation, higher education in the United States was designed as a system of division, segregation, and inequity (Museus, Ledesma, & Parker, 2015; Wilder, 2014). The U.S. university system was founded by slave holders, with money acquired through slave trading, to educate White men and to convert Native Americans and freed slaves to the “Christian” way (Wilder, 2014). This educational model of 9 colonialism and conversion persisted through the Civil War and the creation of land grant colleges and Black colleges (Thelin, 2011). Segregation of Whites and African Americans in higher education continued through the Jim Crow era of the 1960s (Thelin, 2011). As universities became integrated and multicultural, blatant, overt racism increased on campuses (Museus et al., 2015; Thelin, 2011). As the civil rights movement progressed and legal victories allowed for progress in racial equity, blatant, overt racism became