Wheels within wheels: the analysis of a cultural event

There are few reports in the literature of structured courses for faculty such as that described here, although staff development in university faculties is a topic of interest with a recent focus on improving university teaching through peer collaboration (Quinlan, 1998; Shulman, 1993). A number of recent studies take a cultural perspective on change. Thomas and Willcoxson's (1998) report on what they call a "grass-roots" change does begin with a faculty course, although under somewhat different circumstances than those described in the present study. In Thomas and Willcoxson's study six junior faculty members voluntarily enrolled in a university-wide course in effective teaching practices for academia. This had two results. The six junior faculty, who previously had felt that they were outside the research-based in-group of senior faculty in their department, found legitimization for their own innovative teaching practices. Second, the shared experience of the course created a bond between them that helped them emerge from their isolation and act in concert to effect changes in the culture of their department. Specifically, they were able to bring about increased stress on teaching as a measure of faculty members' academic worth. Thomas and Willcoxson suggest four key factors in the achievement of grassroots change: a supportive "critical mass" of people in the beginning; coordination of the aims of the change with administrative aims; "the progressive 'enlistment' of potential antagonists"; and support and rewards for those who do "come on board." They relate these elements to Schein's (1985) analysis of organizational culture and his recommended "turn-around strategies" for the successful introduction of change. Their analysis is relevant to the changes described in this article. Although the present study does not deal with a grassroots change per se, the fact that the course was given by members of the faculty gave it a grassroots element. Of Thomas and Willcoxson's four elements, a critical mass of people, coordination with administrative aims, and the encouragement of potential protagonists, are all present. A system of support and rewards is largely absent, and this may contribute to the slow pace with which the changes described in this article are being entrenched.