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A THEORETICAL, EMPIRICAL AND PRACTICAL APPROACH TO ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AND JOB SATISFACTION: THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC ALIGNMENT

Pereyra-Rojas, Milagros

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Management.
Academic productivity has been an important concern for both, scholars and institutions. Although, several studies have explored the factors that may impact academic productivity, only a few have focused on intrinsic academic factors. In addition, specific studies of job satisfaction and overall well-being of scholars are rare, as shown by the results of our extensive literature review on these topics. This research proposes the study of factors that foster or inhibit knowledge production and well-being among scholars, taking into consideration their different scholarship interests and academic environments. Beginning with a qualitative study and the use of grounded theory approach, we found that scholars identify themselves with different scholarship dimensions (discovery, application, teaching, integration, and engagement (Boyer, 1990; Van de Ven, 2007) and that their productivity is influenced by these dimensions of scholarship in addition to the expectations of the scholars’ institutions. We created a research model using the inferences obtained in Phase 1 and developed scales to measure the extent of scholarship identity, work focus, and perceived institutional expectations along the five dimensions of scholarship mentioned above. In Phase 2, we discovered that scholarship Identity, work focus and perceived institutional expectations do influence academic productivity and well-being. Furthermore, when the model is mediated by academic alignment (the congruence of values, skills and resources between the scholar and the institution), productivity and well-being increase significantly. Continuing with our quest, we explored if the proposed mediated model in Phase 2 varies by discipline cluster and/or university type. Our results indicate that our model is moderated by discipline cluster only when the Hard/Pure (i.e. well-defined paradigm and pure research orientation) dimension is present and/or when the institution corresponds to a university type 1 (very high research oriented). This multi-method study also provides a practical guidance to scholars, university administrators, and policy makers. Our findings suggest that academic alignment is fundamental as a mediator of the key factors (scholarship identity and institutional expectations) fostering academic productivity and well-being. For this purpose, the instruments developed for this study allow the assessment of the degree of scholarship triple parallax among scholarship identity, academic work focus and institutional expectations. Higher education administrators can use this triple parallax profile approach as a way to diagnose and minimize academic misalignment to improve scholarship productivity and well-being.
Tony Lingham (Committee Chair)
Gary Hunter (Committee Member)
Antoinette Somers (Committee Member)
Simon Dolan (Committee Member)
209 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Pereyra-Rojas, M. (2014). A THEORETICAL, EMPIRICAL AND PRACTICAL APPROACH TO ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AND JOB SATISFACTION: THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC ALIGNMENT [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1394634774

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Pereyra-Rojas, Milagros. A THEORETICAL, EMPIRICAL AND PRACTICAL APPROACH TO ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AND JOB SATISFACTION: THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC ALIGNMENT. 2014. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1394634774.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Pereyra-Rojas, Milagros. "A THEORETICAL, EMPIRICAL AND PRACTICAL APPROACH TO ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AND JOB SATISFACTION: THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC ALIGNMENT." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1394634774

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)