Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users, please click the view more button below to purchase a copy of this dissertation from Proquest.
(Some titles may also be available free of charge in our Open Access Dissertation Collection, so please check there first.)
Effective community college teachers: Portraits of faculty-student interaction
Abstract
This dissertation examined the interaction between effective community college faculty and students at a selected regional community college in Massachusetts. More specifically it: (a) explored the viewpoints, values and behavior of effective community college faculty regarding effective teaching; (b) described what effective community college faculty do in and out of the classroom; and (c) explored faculty viewpoints, values and behavior regarding faculty-student interaction in and outside of the classroom. The research was qualitative in nature, consisting of systematic observations of five effective community college faculty interacting with students in the classroom supplemented with open ended interviews of faculty. The results of the study validate earlier research on effective college teaching and they suggest that there are four "hidden characteristics" that help to explain why some community college professors are particularly effective. Each faculty member (a) overcame personal adversity; (b) was inspired by past teachers; (c) has a distinct identity as teacher/messiah; and (d) needs students as much, if not more, than their students need them. These characteristics are significant in that they have not been previously reported. Attention is shifted from looking solely at a teacher's command of the subject, organizational skills and rapport with students. Attributes such as charisma, altruism and dedication seem to be significant. For these faculty, teaching is more than an occupation; it's a dedication to leave the world a better place, an opportunity to make a difference in another's life, and a chance to enhance one's own life through a kind of immortality, that of remembrance.
Subject Area
Education|Curriculum development|Community college education
Recommended Citation
DuBois, Glenn, "Effective community college teachers: Portraits of faculty-student interaction" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9132844.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9132844