Much generational research has been conducted in the last decade, prompted most
likely by the drastic social and technological changes of the late 20th century, the increase
in enrollments in higher education, the increase in families with two working parents, and
the meteoric rise in the widespread use and acceptance of emerging technologies. These
changes, experts have argued, have led to greater than usual differences between and
among the generations. These differences have been the subject of much research on the
behaviors and interactions of the generations (Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers
and Millennials) socially and in the workplace.
Current generational research has shown that major differences exist between the
workplace values and motivations of younger workers (Generation X and Millennial) and
older workers (Veterans and Baby Boomers). Indeed, private sector employers have
determined that applying the same recruitment methods and workplace practices that
have been used commonly for the last 50 years does little to attract and, perhaps more
importantly, retain younger workers. Therefore, these types of employers have begun to
rethink their long-held practices.
This study focused on a group which had not been studied closely for generational
differences: community college faculty. The problem addressed was the question of
whether or not the generational characteristics exhibited in private sector employees would also be apparent in higher education. That is, do future faculty have noticeably
different workplace values than their older colleagues and are such differences likely to
influence the recruitment and retention of future faculty? This question is especially
important in light of increased demand for faculty, especially at community colleges, due
to anticipated retirements of older faculty and increased student enrollments. This study
ascertained, through focus groups, interviews, and surveys, whether or not such
differences existed in the population studied and offered suggestions to address any
differences.
The research results indicated that statistically significant differences do exist in
the importance of various areas related to reasons for choosing to teach in higher
education, reasons for accepting a particular position, and reasons to consider leaving a
position. Specifically, Institutional location, Institutional climate, Personality of
colleagues, Family environment, Tenure, Opportunity to do research, and Ethnic diversity
were all significantly more important to future faculty than to current faculty. / text
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/7663 |
| Date | 02 June 2010 |
| Creators | Mouchayleh, Theresa Stewart |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | electronic |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works. |
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