Tempered Radicals: Faculty Leadership in Interdisciplinary Curricular Change Authors

Abstract

Scientists, researchers, and educators have promoted the improvement of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education by incorporating an interdisciplinary approach to the study of STEM; but current research offers little guidance about how this change can occur. This study expands on a new body of research examining faculty leadership in institutional change. Utilizing the tempered radical framework developed by Meyerson and Scully (1995) and later applied to the higher educational context by Kezar, Bertram Gallant, and Lester (2011), the current research examines faculty leadership in the implementation of an interdisciplinary STEM bridge program in biotechnology. This qualitative study relied primarily on the analysis of interviews with key faculty at four community colleges. The data revealed that faculty leaders employ strategies identified by Meyerson and Scully (1995). Further, the results of this study indicate that characteristics of tempered radical leadership may be more important than specific strategies identified by Kezar et al. (2011).First, tempered radicals are boundary spanners, able to translate their vision to appeal to the values of different stakeholders. Second, tempered radical faculty leaders maintain cognitive complexity, or the ability to perceive change from a variety of perspectives, revealing the importance of collective sensemaking around the change effort. Third, tempered radicals are savvy organizational insiders able to navigate the organizational culture and its systems and are viewed as legitimate change agents within their institutions. Understanding the characteristics of effective faculty leaders may offer guidance to other faculty interested in leading interdisciplinary change in their institutions.