Radical or incremental curriculum development in Higher Education : going the distance
Radical or incremental curriculum development in Higher Education : going the distance
The growing and diversifying demand for higher education, increasing competition and globalisation, and the pressures to deliver more for less, are creating challenges for managers of higher education. This thesis reports on the development of a model to demonstrate the areas of conflict in the relationships between the external conditions and influences and the internal decision-making processes during curriculum development in higher education.
A case study approach was adopted to conduct the research using mixed research techniques including participant observation, interviews, surveys, focus groups, document analysis and market research. Two theoretical lenses were used to capture, view and interpret the data. System’s thinking was used to frame the context and the relationships between the external influences and the hierarchical structure of higher education. Stake’s Antecedent Matrix (1977) provided an evaluation framework to compare the intentions of the institution with the data gathered during the case study. A systematic view of the garbage can (Cohen, March and Olsen, 1972) provided a framework to present the internal transactions during decision-making.
The comparative analysis identified the higher education institutions are prone to four dicephalous conditions: lengthy evolutionary curriculum development occurs rather than the radical development needed to meet the dynamic requirements of the external conditions; traditional modes of teaching and learning supported by information and communications technologies due to unstable and uncertain financial condition; individual enthusiasm is suppressed by institutional constraints; the level of bureaucratic procedures is impacting pedagogic development.
The model developed during the research identifies areas where pressures that affect decision-making must be addressed. Further, this work advocates the considered adoption of information and communications technologies to engender prosumption in higher education provision.
University of Southampton
Hennell, Cheryl
0e0715ef-ca09-4a94-b62f-9e6a2da91255
2004
Hennell, Cheryl
0e0715ef-ca09-4a94-b62f-9e6a2da91255
Hennell, Cheryl
(2004)
Radical or incremental curriculum development in Higher Education : going the distance.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The growing and diversifying demand for higher education, increasing competition and globalisation, and the pressures to deliver more for less, are creating challenges for managers of higher education. This thesis reports on the development of a model to demonstrate the areas of conflict in the relationships between the external conditions and influences and the internal decision-making processes during curriculum development in higher education.
A case study approach was adopted to conduct the research using mixed research techniques including participant observation, interviews, surveys, focus groups, document analysis and market research. Two theoretical lenses were used to capture, view and interpret the data. System’s thinking was used to frame the context and the relationships between the external influences and the hierarchical structure of higher education. Stake’s Antecedent Matrix (1977) provided an evaluation framework to compare the intentions of the institution with the data gathered during the case study. A systematic view of the garbage can (Cohen, March and Olsen, 1972) provided a framework to present the internal transactions during decision-making.
The comparative analysis identified the higher education institutions are prone to four dicephalous conditions: lengthy evolutionary curriculum development occurs rather than the radical development needed to meet the dynamic requirements of the external conditions; traditional modes of teaching and learning supported by information and communications technologies due to unstable and uncertain financial condition; individual enthusiasm is suppressed by institutional constraints; the level of bureaucratic procedures is impacting pedagogic development.
The model developed during the research identifies areas where pressures that affect decision-making must be addressed. Further, this work advocates the considered adoption of information and communications technologies to engender prosumption in higher education provision.
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Published date: 2004
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Local EPrints ID: 465491
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/465491
PURE UUID: 2c18ecc0-67ae-4a44-9deb-092c6da0c79b
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 01:24
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 20:12
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Author:
Cheryl Hennell
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