This study sought to create a guideline to assist theological seminaries build a longitudinal database for institutional research. The study used the National Center for Higher Education Management (NCHEMS) data element dictionary as the base document for the study.

Sociologists ask a myriad of questions about their cultural environment, the relationships which are formed within it, and the social products of human interaction. In recent decades, sociologists have begun to ask these questions of the scientific research community. They have been interested in identifying the social and intellectual connections which bring together scholars and their ideas, forming subcultures within academic disciplines. The present study, which follows this line of sociological inquiry, employs author cocitation analysis to identify the distinct subcultures which characterize the field of higher education research. The cocitation patterns among the twenty-one most highly cited researchers in the field are examined through multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, and an analysis of the authors’ vitae which reveals the cognitive and social contexts of the authors’ citation careers. A unique temporal factor is introduced, dividing the scholars’ Careers into time periods based on the dates of their cited articles, in order to evaluate the extent to which author's cognitive interests and relationships change over time. The statistical analyses reveal that three dimensions and five clusters best characterize the author cocitation data. As a result of these quantitative analyses, and the more subjective analysis of the authors’ vitae, five subcultures are identified within the field of higher education research: Organizational Structure and Leadership in Academia, Impact of College Environment on Student Outcomes, Material and Nonmaterial Culture of Academia, Student Perceptions and Effective Teaching, and Hierarchy and Inequality in Education. The temporal analysis reveals that six of the authors move from one subculture to another at some point during their careers; these subcultural shifts are explained through examination of the authors’ changing research foci and career developments. The subcultures are compared on characteristics such as cluster stability, and the length and extent of influence of the subcultures on the larger culture of higher education. The unique contributions and the methodological limitations of this study are discussed, as are suggestions for further analysis of higher education research. Finally, the present methodology is reviewed in relation to its applicability to the exploration of other academic cultures, using several areas within sociology as illustrations. / Ph. D.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Research production is increasingly becoming a focal point in higher education transformation. Merging of higher educational institutions has produced various challenges ranging from changing the focus from purely teaching functions to both research and teaching. While novice researchers (i.e. those that are training to become researchers) are expected to develop capacity by engaging in research through various means, the aim of capacity development is to enable young researchers (i.e. those who are developing a profile as researchers) to publish in high impact publications which attracts funding in the form of subsidy from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET). The manners in which tertiary educational institutions promote research output through capacity development initiatives are important from the perspective of attracting funding. The researcher undertook this study to explore mentorship as a means to increase research output at a merged tertiary institution. A case study using a mixed method approach was adopted. The literature reviewed indicated that mentorship was popular in many fields but there is a paucity of data evident on mentorship as a means to increase research output for researchers. The researcher obtained views and perceptions from academic staff members from sample faculties with regards to an implementation of a formal research mentorship program (REMP). Semi-structured interviews with the deans of four sample faculties and analyses of institutional documentation was also undertaken to ascertain institutional and faculty support and development for research. The findings of this study are useful not only to the case study institution, but to all HE institutions, especially merged institutions and the public management sector.

University of Macau / Faculty of Science and Technology / Department of Computer and Information Science

The purpose of the study was to identify factors affecting student retention at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. It has been estimated that 35% of university students leave higher education before completing their studies (Al-Saud, 2006). This study was guided by Tinto’s (1975) Student Integration Theory. Berger and Braxton (1998, p. 104) have stated that Tinto’s integration model ‘has been the focus of much empirical research and has near-paradigmatic status in the study of the college student departure.’ This theory is longitudinal and dynamic and views student retention decisions largely as the results of interactions between the student and the academic and social systems of the institution (Tinto, 1975, 1993). This study used a mixed methods approach. Using the terminology of Creswell (2003), the appropriate description of the overall design of this study is a mixed methods concurrent triangulation strategy. This means that ‘qualitative and quantitative data are collected and analyzed at the same time. Priority is usually equal and given to both forms of data. Data analysis is usually separate, and integration usually occurs at the data interpretation stage’ (Hanson et al., 2005, p. 229). This strategy was selected because it allows the findings to be confirmed, cross-validated, and corroborated within a single study (Creswell, 2003). This strategy consisted of two phases. The first phase was the quantitative approach. Quantitative data were collected from 414 freshman students using two questionnaires administered on two occasions and from the university admission office. The quantitative data were analysed using a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique using the AMOS software package. The results of the SEM indicated that Tinto’s model were not useful in predicting the Saudi freshman student retention process. The variables in the model explained only 30 percent of the variance in student retention. The results of the SEM indicated that four of the nine hypotheses proposed in Tinto’s model were supported by statistically significant results. Moreover, only three variables had direct effects on retention. The largest direct effect on retention was accounted for by initial goal and institutional commitment (0.49), followed by later goal and institutional commitment and pre-college schooling as measured by high school scores (0.10). The second phase of this study utilised a qualitative approach. Qualitative data were obtained from three sources: non-persister students, persister students, and staff members. Seventeen non-persister students were interviewed over the phone; 15 persister students were interviewed using a focus group technique; while staff members were asked to complete a survey. Of the 200 surveys distributed, 37 were returned including responses from 16 lecturers, 12 administrators, 5 librarians and 4 academic advisors. A comparison was made between those students who persisted and those who dropped out using constructs from Tinto’s theory. In relation to students’ levels of goal and institutional commitment, it was found that persister students appeared to be more motivated and to have higher levels of goal commitment than non-persister students. Similarly, persister students appeared to have higher levels of institutional commitment than non-persister students, in part it is suggested, due to the fact that the majority of persister students had been able to select their desired majors whereas the majority of non-persister students had not. In relation to the students’ levels of academic integration, there was no significant difference between both groups of students. Persister and non-persister students both exhibited low levels of academic integration into the university system. In addition, there was no significant difference between both groups of students in terms of social integration. Both groups of students indicated low levels of social integration into the university system. In addition, the participants (persister students, non-persister students, and staff members) were all asked to indicate what they perceived to be the major factors affecting student retention at King Saud University. The findings from the qualitative data not only help to explain and confirm the quantitative findings but also identify why Saudi freshman students leave the university before completing their studies. The most important factors were: difficulties of selecting majors, difficulties of transferring between subjects, lack of academic advice and irregularity of monthly reward.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master's Degree in Information and Communication Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / Research has become one of the major activities of higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide. Increasingly important is research information that emanates from the published research as it has now become one of the major sources of funding especially within the South African higher education landscape. However, many HEIs are facing numerous problems managing research information to sustain and attract more funding. The lack of resources to build or acquire appropriate systems for managing research information has been identified as one of the major challenges in HEIs. However, recent studies show that advancements have been made in some countries to address the challenge. For instance, in South Africa, a proprietary research information management system (RIMS) has been implemented in some HEIs. Nevertheless, some HEIs still face problems regarding the use of RIMS. Studies further show that most proprietary systems do not adequately satisfy requirements as desired by the HEIs. This is mostly because proprietary systems are developed without fully understanding the user requirements of individual HEIs. Moreover, most proprietary systems are developed following ad hoc approaches which neglect the requirements specification stage in the development life cycle. Requirements specification is important as it brings developers and users to a common understanding about the requirements of the system before development. The initial lack of consensus about system requirements results in systems that have technical barriers which make users shun from using them. For instance, such systems do not adapt very well to devices with small screens such as mobile phones, and do not have attractive interfaces to make users want to use them. Proprietary systems are also costly to acquire and maintain. Moreover, HEIs may not be able to immediately implement the new desired features in the system because proprietary systems usually do not allow them access to the source code. This study develops a web-based research administration and management system (RAMS) as a proposed solution to the problems of using a proprietary system to manage research information at a South African higher education institution. The study emphasises the use of formal methods for requirements specification to build an optimal system. Consequently, the Zermelo-Fraenkel Z specification language was used to specify the requirements of the proposed system which was developed in close collaboration with the intended users who also assessed its usability. The system evaluation responses were made on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. The overall results of the evaluation show that RAMS is usable and suitable for managing research information, nonetheless improvements are recommended. / M

Previous research has identified student engagement as an important antecedent to student learning in higher education. Although student engagement is viewed as important for learning, a significant number of college students still report frequently feeling bored in their courses. The use of music as a pedagogical tool is believed to be beneficial for promoting student engagement and student learning in higher education sociology courses, yet it has been suggested that sociology faculty members do not commonly incorporate the technique into their courses. The purpose of this comparative interview study is to explore higher education sociology faculty members' understandings of the use of music as a pedagogical tool, and the perceived importance of student engagement to student learning among higher education sociology faculty members. In this study, it is found that higher education sociology faculty members believe student engagement can lead to increased student learning. It is also found that higher education sociology faculty members generally identify music as an effective pedagogical tool for promoting student engagement and learning in higher education sociology courses. Interestingly, participants believed the use of music as a pedagogical tool to be an uncommon practice in higher education sociology courses in the United States. As part of their efforts to explain their choices to use or not use music as a pedagogical tool, faculty participants described potential barriers that may impact faculty member choices to use music in their higher education sociology courses. Sociology faculty participants in this study agreed that a lack of discussion of pedagogical tools among colleagues and in teaching courses might serve as a potential barrier for the use of music as a pedagogical tool. Higher education sociology faculty participants also identified a lack of knowledge of how to use music as a pedagogical tool as a potential barrier for the use of music in sociology courses. This research suggests that the lack of faculty knowledge of music as a pedagogical tool may be due to the lack of discussion of pedagogical tools both among colleagues and in the teaching courses completed by higher education sociology faculty members. Past research has suggested that sociology faculty members need to create an environment that encourages students to be active and engaged participants in their own learning through building a community of learners. This study suggests that higher education sociology faculty members may successfully build a community of learners through using music as a pedagogical tool in their courses. This study recommends that changes at the departmental level need to occur in order to make it easier for sociology faculty members to gain the knowledge required to use music effectively in their courses. Suggestions for practice and future research are provided.

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this study was to analyze the dissertations in Higher Education Administration at the University of North Texas from 1971 to 1991.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and report the relationship between teaching and research as experienced by twelve faculty members at a medium sized, doctoral granting, state assisted university in the Midwest. Research review revealed that the relationship between research and teaching in higher education was supportive, conflicting, or neutral (Marsh & Hattie, 1996).Twelve faculty members from five different departments at Teachers College participated in this study. Evidence was gathered using semi-structured interviews. Analysis of evidence revealed several findings.Faculty members in this study described activities needed to produce publishable research, which included participating in professional meetings (conferences, workshops, and seminars), contributing to professional associations, reading publications, and writing activities. Faculty members engaged in research projects, and worked with students on their dissertations and research papers. Many of faculty members' research ideas came from their reading and their participation in learning activities needed to produce quality teaching.In this study, faculty members reported that research and teaching were intertwined activities that produced two different products. Faculty members reported that some of the activities in both teaching and research were similar and overlapping. They found ways to make progress in both activities at the same time. The activities used to produce quality teaching were influenced by the demands of producing publishable research and vice versa.For faculty members, many of their activities as scholars produced both research and teaching. While teaching was identified as the highest form of scholarship, research was considered also an important form of scholarship. Scholarship includes discovery of new knowledge, looking for connections, and building bridges between theory and practice. Teaching is scholarship applied. / Department of Educational Leadership