Implicit Theories of Change as a Barrier to Change on College Campuses: An Examination of STEM Reform

Abstract

This study examines the role of implicit theories of change in inhibiting STEM reform and identifies a range of approaches to help change agents alter their implicit beliefs in order to develop more explicit theories of change. Through observations and interviews, we focus on the experience of reform teams on 11 campuses that were involved in a statewide STEM reform project. The findings provide empirical evidence that change agents’ views can serve as a barrier to implementation and success of changes, and we offer strategies for changing implicit views to garner greater success in change.

Examining the Role of Leadership in an Undergraduate Biology Institutional Reform Initiative

“…The research community in undergraduate STEM reform has, however, begun to recognize the myriad factors at play when engaging faculty, departments, and colleges in institutional reform (Henderson and Dancy, 2007; Brownell and Tanner, 2012; Kezar et al ., 2015). This study of leadership in an undergraduate STEM reform initiative is situated in this niche and sheds light on how department chairs and administrators, especially those under the pressures of research-intensive institutions, can approach reform work.…”

“…It is not unusual for STEM faculty to believe that leadership of reform processes should be exclusively bottom-up or top-down (Kezar et al ., 2015), and garnering buy-in for and encouraging faculty ownership of a reform initiative through developing shared vision alone can be effective given a relatively noncontroversial change and a particular type of institution or culture that can readily prioritize the change (Kezar, 2014). Indeed, though we heard from faculty a number of times throughout this study that undergraduate education is now more valued at research-intensive institutions compared with a decade ago (Association of American Universities, 2013), the cultural and fiscal pressures on tenure-track faculty at research-intensive institutions to produce research results still renders change in undergraduate education a secondary priority, however well-intentioned faculty may be (Hora, 2012).…”

“…Regardless of the strategy, however, changing pedagogy alone does not fully address large-scale issues of persistence, gender-based and race-based achievement gaps, and the need for deep content coverage in introductory courses. Consideration of factors that go beyond issues of pedagogy, such as the effect of instructor beliefs, alignment of curriculum within and across disciplines, and the impact of departmental culture, is required to bring about systemic reform that can outlast any one compelling faculty member or group (Fisher et al ., 2003; Austin, 2011; Hora, 2014; Kezar et al ., 2015). The study of change strategies specifically in reform of undergraduate STEM education is a relatively new field that offers promise in thinking about how multidimensional approaches can improve teaching and learning in STEM, drawing on knowledge about how people learn, the realities of existing faculty reward systems, and our inherent resistance to change (Dancy and Henderson, 2008; Davis, 2014; Finelli et al ., 2014).…”

Nourishing STEM Student Success via a TEAM-Based Advisement Model

“…We consequently identified five pillars to help us develop and implement an improved advisement model that bolsters STEM student success. Given the typical institutional silos and cultural behavior of many STEM faculty, Kezar and her colleagues emphasize that meaningful change occurs at the departmental level, rather than the institutional level (Kezar, Gehrke, & Elrod, 2015). Thus, cross-departmental and cross-divisional collaboration was essential for LaGuardia to make any significant system-level improvements in key student success metrics.…”

Research and Practice on the Transformation Development of Local Private Application-Guided Colleges and Universities

“…Long-term since, our country higher education exists serious talent training and the use of disjointed problem, leading to the college graduates' employment with a serious social problem. Guide the private colleges to the application of technical transformation of colleges and universities are to promote the development of private higher education reform is an important task [1][2].…”