The influence of faculty characteristics on their perceptions of worklife quality in centralized and decentralized curriculum planning environments.

Abstract

Centralized curriculum planning, which uses curriculum specialists to design courses that are taught by a separate group of teaching faculty, is a controversial practice in higher education because faculty do not enjoy traditional autonomy. This study addressed the question: <italic>How do faculty characteristics influence their perceptions of worklife quality in centralized and decentralized curriculum planning environments (CPEs)?</italic> The conceptual framework suggests that perceived worklife quality (job satisfaction, commitment, intention to stay) is a function of person-environment fit (relatedness, competence, autonomy, academic workplace climate and administrative support), which in turn is a function of individual and organizational characteristics. Four hypotheses were tested: (1) There are significant differences in demographic backgrounds, degree attainment, and type of graduate institutions attended between faculty in centralized and decentralized CPEs; (2) The social context (relatedness, perceived competence, autonomy) of the institution is associated with the level of a faculty's intrinsic motivation; (3) The characteristics of faculties in centralized or decentralized CPEs are associated with their judgments about the quality of their worklives: and (4) After employment, the fit between the values of the individual faculty and the culture and climate of their institutions is associated with whether or not the employment relationship continues. Primarily a quantitative study, data were collected from faculty at 22 Specialized Institutions of Business and Management. The response rate was 33%, with a sample size of 918. The findings suggest that full-time status predicts trust and support; motivation for teaching predicts perceptions of trust, support, relatedness, autonomy, and change. More centralized CPEs lead to greater perceptions of support by faculty, but lower levels of commitment to the institution. Trust, support, relatedness, autonomy, and change management were all predictors of job satisfaction, commitment, and intentions to stay. Centralized curriculum planning, with its high use of part-time faculty practitioners, appears to provide a feasible means of achieving a new type of quality through market connectedness. It may increase uniformity of the curriculum and perhaps it delivery, free faculty up to focus on student interaction, utilize the expertise of field practitioners, and provide for an easier transition to online education.