analyze the article, Qualitative

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ANALYSIS 1

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ANALYSIS 2

Welch, M. & Plaxton-Moore, S. (2017). Faculty development for advancing community

engagement in higher education: Current trends and future directions. Journal of Higher

Education Outreach and Engagement, 21(2), 131-165.

Qualitative Research Group Analysis

Problem Statement

According to the researchers, there has been an increase in the area of community engagement in higher education. This results in a need for professional development and technical support for faculty members. Current research does not provide detailed descriptions of how facilities are able to design and implement community engagement programs. So the problem statement of this study implies there is “a need for further exploration to understand what is currently being done to advance community engagement as well as to identify what is not taking place in this important work,” (Welch & Plaxton-Moore, 2017, p.131).

Research Focus

The focus of the study is to identify features and trends of existing faculty development programs that are designed to advance service-learning and community engagement. This was an attempt to learn more about the content, format, duration, and impact of these programs. They did this by using a qualitative research method consisting of following an idea through a review of literature and then collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating the findings. The second part of the study consisted of conducting a survey to learn about current practices (trends, formats, topics) used in faculty development in regards to strategies that advance community engagement in higher education. Research Questions

The conceptual literature review of the study consisted of four main questions regarding faculty development programs designed to advance community engagement in higher education. These included:

1) Do current programs incorporate theoretical frameworks for adult learning?

2) What types of information about faculty development programs already exist in the literature?

3) What are the current formats, topics, and practice of programs? What skills are taught in the programs?

4) What new directions should the field pursue in order to support these programs?

When implementing the survey part of the study, researchers wished to know “how and which (if any) competencies, knowledge, and skill sets are currently disseminated through professional development,” (Welch & Plaxton-Moore, 2017, p.132).

Appropriateness of Research Design

This study began with an overview of the theoretical frameworks for adult learning through faculty development on community engagement in higher education. “The theoretical framework and proposed knowledge and skill sets formed the basis of this investigation’s research questions and the structure of the content analysis coding of the articles as well as the survey questions,” (Welch & Plaxton-Moore, 2017, p.133). The review process was based on other studies. Since the researchers reviewed as much of the past research as possible, and also attempted to conduct their own research based on current practices, this study had a very appropriate research design and procedures.

Characteristics of Population Researchers began the literature review with any articles appearing in a database of peer-reviewed journals between 2000-2015 that contained a variety of search terms that related to faculty development of community engagement programs. This resulted in 50 articles. Researchers then reviewed each article’s abstract to determine if it directly related to the topic and elmintated ones that did not. They ended up with 28 total articles. 57% of the articles described faculty development programs and 25% were guides on how to assist faculty in developing service-learning courses. This formed the sample they used for the literature review.

When dispersing the survey, researchers began by using an electronic database from the New England Resource Center for Higher Education. They attempted to send surveys to a variety of higher education institutions in the U.S, totaling 609. Only 83 surveys were successfully completed and submitted back to the researchers.

Researchers recognized the use of one database search engine and limited number of

survey responses were limitations of the study. They also identified that future research might investigate ways to support professional development for their trainers.

Results of Data Analysis

Results were divided into two parts, that of the literature review and of the survey results. The literature review was analyzed by type of article, design or method used in the research, the outcomes measured, and the theoretical framework. The results were presented in table format. The researchers then explained each section in depth. The survey results were also presented in several tables to show the responses and gave explanations for each section. These included: characteristics of the responding institutions, faculty development formats, number and type of participants involved in faculty development, faculty development curriculum, theoretical framework for faculty development, incentives for participation in faculty development, and assessing outcomes of faculty development.

Reference

Welch, M. & Plaxton-Moore, S. (2017). Faculty development for advancing community

engagement in higher education: Current trends and future directions. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 21(2), 131-165.