Intercultural Understanding : A cultural analysis of the faculty and administration at Kalamazoo College
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Authors
Martyn, Sarah
Issue Date
2002-11-01
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
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Abstract
With the current decline of liberal arts colleges, this study aims to analyze the culture of the administration and faculty at Kalamazoo College in order to better assess the college's strengths and weaknesses. It investigates three particular areas of the college: the K Plan, responsibilities of the faculty, and the institutional mission of the college. In doing so, this study uses William Bergquist's (1992) four academic cultures as a theoretical framework to look at the culture of the faculty and administration of Kalamazoo, asking what that culture entails, and what changes are needed to occur within that culture to ensure success and productivity for the future. Bergquist' s four academic cultures include collegial culture, developmental culture, managerial culture, and negotiation culture. In order to add extra depth to the analysis, this study uses William Tierney's (1988) six cultural categories: socialization (how new members are brought into the institution, what one needs to excel in the institution), environment ( definition and attitude toward the environment), mission (definition, articulation and agreement upon the mission as well as if it is used as a basis for decision making), leadership (who are the leaders-both informal and formal, what the institution expects from them), information (what constitutes information, who has it and how is it spread), and strategy (how decisions are made, who makes them, and what happens when a bad decision is made). The study found significant strengths with respect to the college's ability to foster student development and a progressive educational pedagogy. However, it also found that a large amount of ambiguities exist in both the mission and goals of the college, which lead to ill-defined roles and responsibilities and could significantly hinder attempts for future planned change.
Description
iii, 82p.
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U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.