This study addressed the controversy among academics in conventional universities over the credibility of distance education for degree credit. Faculty scepticism has slowed the development and expansion of distance education despite increased demands for it. Distance education is an educational method in which the teacher and learners are separated in time and space for the majority, if not all, of the teaching-learning process; two-way communication occurs primarily via print, postal service, and telecommunications (Keegan, 1990). There is little empirical evidence about the reasons for the antagonism between the supporters and opponents of distance education. The purpose of this research was to explain why some faculty support distance education while others do not. Support was defined as how faculty would speak about and vote for proposals to offer distance education courses for degree credit. The conceptual framework drew on studies of faculty attitudes towards university expansion and distance education, and literature on academic culture and change. An interpretive perspective and qualitative methods dominated the two-phase study. First, a mailed survey (n=487) investigated the extent of faculty familiarity with and support for distance education. Then faculty (n=50) were interviewed from three categories of support for distance education identified by the survey: supportive, divided support, and opposed. The interviews explored how faculty understood the compatibility and feasibility of distance education. Compatibility was defined as the congruence of distance education with faculty beliefs and values about the accessibility and quality of university education. Feasibility was the perceived ability to successfully implement distance education. In general, faculty were not very familiar with or supportive of distance education, except for undergraduate courses. There was very little support for a graduate program by distance education. There were significant differences in faculty support by discipline and gender. The reasons for variations in faculty support for distance education are best explained by the concept of compatibility. Faculty supported distance education if it was congruent with their beliefs and values about university education in general. Faculty thought about distance education as promoting social justice, as an educational method, or as the distribution of information. Faculty who were supportive held the beliefs and values Trow (1973) associated with mass education while those who were opposed tended to believe in an elite approach to university education. There was a substantial divided group who were in a conflict about the priority that should be given to the major values involved, the accessibility and quality of university education. The study contributes to the development of theory about different conceptions of university and distance education and provides insight into the study of disciplinary cultures. It presents a revised conceptual framework for further research on the topic. The results have implications for educational planning and for the development of distance education.

In 1957, The University of British Columbia launched Canada's first degree-granting program in adult education. It subsequently grew to be one of the largest departments in the Faculty of Education, and recognized internationally for its work. As it grew, however, the program lost its initial administrative privilege. This study asks why UBC had the honour of this Canadian "first," and how the program flowed and ebbed. It shows the relations between the department's administrative and intellectual activities, and how the program fit British Columbia's social development more generally. The study concludes that the successes were largely opportunistic, as the program profited from the changing face of higher education more generally and privileges secured under an early administrative regime. The program's failure was that it did not create a stable identity independent of these opportunities: it failed to gain recognition from academic outsiders as the home of distinct adult education research and knowledge, and it failed to become the gatekeeper of a controlled profession.

This thesis explores the early twentieth century beginnings of the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia, when that university first accepted responsibility for the education of secondary teachers. The university's participation came in successive stages, beginning with summer school sessions, moving to a shared training responsibility for high school teachers with the Normal School, and eventually to total responsibility for the training of high school teachers. In addition to documenting the steps by which high school teacher training became established as a program of university studies, this study analyzes the academic, social and political forces that combined to create a perceived need for, and then to legitimize, the creation of a new university department. The University of British Columbia's acceptance of responsibility for this training was a culmination of a complex social interaction of three groups (including the state, the teachers, and university administrators and faculty) all of whose values were shaped by the newly dominant ideology of professionalism. Accordingly, fundamental assumptions about "appropriate" training for teachers were embedded in a social milieu where professionalization, bureaucratization, and gender issues were compelling forces. The perceived centrality of professionals in a increasingly technocratic society led to pressure being exerted from a number of quarters in British Columbia for the institutionalization of high school teacher training in an appropriately scientific arena - the university. This study focuses on the theoretical principles underlying the dialectic of ideological determinism and human agency, as well as the historical evidence of the way that one such ideology (professionalism) shaped the transition of social policy (high school teacher training). The study concludes by utilizing contemporary theoretical perspectives to discuss the premises which inform not only the ideology of professionalism but also any metanarrative which purports to identify the true way for training teachers and by expressing hope that, as the type of knowledge associated with social power shifts, those who establish any new framework for teacher education will not repeat the mistakes of the past.

This study addressed the controversy among academics in conventional universities over the credibility of distance education for degree credit. Faculty scepticism has slowed the development and expansion of distance education despite increased demands for it. Distance education is an educational method in which the teacher and learners are separated in time and space for the majority, if not all, of the teaching-learning process; two-way communication occurs primarily via print, postal service, and telecommunications (Keegan, 1990). There is little empirical evidence about the reasons for the antagonism between the supporters and opponents of distance education. The purpose of this research was to explain why some faculty support distance education while others do not. Support was defined as how faculty would speak about and vote for proposals to offer distance education courses for degree credit. The conceptual framework drew on studies of faculty attitudes towards university expansion and distance education, and literature on academic culture and change. An interpretive perspective and qualitative methods dominated the two-phase study. First, a mailed survey (n=487) investigated the extent of faculty familiarity with and support for distance education. Then faculty (n=50) were interviewed from three categories of support for distance education identified by the survey: supportive, divided support, and opposed. The interviews explored how faculty understood the compatibility and feasibility of distance education. Compatibility was defined as the congruence of distance education with faculty beliefs and values about the accessibility and quality of university education. Feasibility was the perceived ability to successfully implement distance education. In general, faculty were not very familiar with or supportive of distance education, except for undergraduate courses. There was very little support for a graduate program by distance education. There were significant differences in faculty support by discipline and gender. The reasons for variations in faculty support for distance education are best explained by the concept of compatibility. Faculty supported distance education if it was congruent with their beliefs and values about university education in general. Faculty thought about distance education as promoting social justice, as an educational method, or as the distribution of information. Faculty who were supportive held the beliefs and values Trow (1973) associated with mass education while those who were opposed tended to believe in an elite approach to university education. There was a substantial divided group who were in a conflict about the priority that should be given to the major values involved, the accessibility and quality of university education. The study contributes to the development of theory about different conceptions of university and distance education and provides insight into the study of disciplinary cultures. It presents a revised conceptual framework for further research on the topic. The results have implications for educational planning and for the development of distance education. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

In 1957, The University of British Columbia launched Canada's first degree-granting program in adult education. It subsequently grew to be one of the largest departments in the Faculty of Education, and recognized internationally for its work. As it grew, however, the program lost its initial administrative privilege. This study asks why UBC had the honour of this Canadian "first," and how the program flowed and ebbed. It shows the relations between the department's administrative and intellectual activities, and how the program fit British Columbia's social development more generally. The study concludes that the successes were largely opportunistic, as the program profited from the changing face of higher education more generally and privileges secured under an early administrative regime. The program's failure was that it did not create a stable identity independent of these opportunities: it failed to gain recognition from academic outsiders as the home of distinct adult education research and knowledge, and it failed to become the gatekeeper of a controlled profession. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

This thesis explores the early twentieth century beginnings of the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia, when that university first accepted responsibility for the education of secondary teachers. The university's participation came in successive stages, beginning with summer school sessions, moving to a shared training responsibility for high school teachers with the Normal School, and eventually to total responsibility for the training of high school teachers. In addition to documenting the steps by which high school teacher training became established as a program of university studies, this study analyzes the academic, social and political forces that combined to create a perceived need for, and then to legitimize, the creation of a new university department. The University of British Columbia's acceptance of responsibility for this training was a culmination of a complex social interaction of three groups (including the state, the teachers, and university administrators and faculty) all of whose values were shaped by the newly dominant ideology of professionalism. Accordingly, fundamental assumptions about "appropriate" training for teachers were embedded in a social milieu where professionalization, bureaucratization, and gender issues were compelling forces. The perceived centrality of professionals in a increasingly technocratic society led to pressure being exerted from a number of quarters in British Columbia for the institutionalization of high school teacher training in an appropriately scientific arena - the university. This study focuses on the theoretical principles underlying the dialectic of ideological determinism and human agency, as well as the historical evidence of the way that one such ideology (professionalism) shaped the transition of social policy (high school teacher training). The study concludes by utilizing contemporary theoretical perspectives to discuss the premises which inform not only the ideology of professionalism but also any metanarrative which purports to identify the true way for training teachers and by expressing hope that, as the type of knowledge associated with social power shifts, those who establish any new framework for teacher education will not repeat the mistakes of the past. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of the study was to provide insights into the information seeking behaviors and needs of graduate students of Management Sciences at the Centre for Operations Excellence, University of British Columbia. The study describes major aspects of the information seeking patterns taking into account the whole phenomena: from the nature of the original situation where and when the need was recognized, to the characteristics of the information seeker, to the providers which were consulted and degrees of success. Using the case-study method and the sense-making approach, data were gathered through logs, interviews, and a questionnaire. Verbal protocols helped to delve and probe into the qualitative aspects of the search behavior resulting in a model for the search process. Findings revealed that the students went through six stages during their research: [1] Task defining, [2] Focus forming, [3] Monitoring and reviewing, [4] Selecting and sieving, [5] Interpreting, and [6] Presenting. Typically, information seeking occurred in context of task achievement which was affected by various factors such as time, cost, prior knowledge, feedback, motivation and experience and perception of students. A user survey demonstrated that [1] informal channels were used more avidly in information seeking than formal channels, [2] information service providers were not consulted on a regular basis, [3] UBC libraries were very rarely used, [4] factors such as time, location, motivation, cost, perception, feedback played an integral role in information seeking and task completion, [5] satisfaction with services of service provider were based on the relevance, currency, timeliness and accuracy of information provided, and [6] usage of information was weighed against the benefit to analysts. Recommendations for action and further study and a service model were the outcomes of the findings.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the educational practices used in first year law school and the impact of these practices on students. Prior research showed that students are negatively impacted during first year and that educational practices are somewhat to blame. This study is consistent with this literature and provides new and important information about the extent to which teaching methods; content and curriculum; assessment and grading; learning theory and aims of law school all contribute to the experiences of law students. The research method in this study consisted of in-depth interviews of 19 University of British Columbia law school graduates who had completed law school a few months earlier. Graduates were questioned about their perceptions of both the first year law school educational practices and their impacts, specifically in relation to the five core courses taught in first year law school. This study revealed that students found first year law school problematic in many ways. This research supports the literature that suggests the case method and the lecture method used in first year are not entirely effective or efficient for student learning. The case method seems to makes learning more difficult and slower than it needs to be. As suggested in the literature the lecture method was useful in providing information to students and this information helped students focus their studies. However, these typically didactic lectures did not appear to engage students or encourage deeper learning. The question and answer technique used in some lectures intimidated students and appeared to interfere with their learning. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of the study was to provide insights into the information seeking behaviors and needs of graduate students of Management Sciences at the Centre for Operations Excellence, University of British Columbia. The study describes major aspects of the information seeking patterns taking into account the whole phenomena: from the nature of the original situation where and when the need was recognized, to the characteristics of the information seeker, to the providers which were consulted and degrees of success. Using the case-study method and the sense-making approach, data were gathered through logs, interviews, and a questionnaire. Verbal protocols helped to delve and probe into the qualitative aspects of the search behavior resulting in a model for the search process. Findings revealed that the students went through six stages during their research: [1] Task defining, [2] Focus forming, [3] Monitoring and reviewing, [4] Selecting and sieving, [5] Interpreting, and [6] Presenting. Typically, information seeking occurred in context of task achievement which was affected by various factors such as time, cost, prior knowledge, feedback, motivation and experience and perception of students. A user survey demonstrated that [1] informal channels were used more avidly in information seeking than formal channels, [2] information service providers were not consulted on a regular basis, [3] UBC libraries were very rarely used, [4] factors such as time, location, motivation, cost, perception, feedback played an integral role in information seeking and task completion, [5] satisfaction with services of service provider were based on the relevance, currency, timeliness and accuracy of information provided, and [6] usage of information was weighed against the benefit to analysts. Recommendations for action and further study and a service model were the outcomes of the findings. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate