Science Department Chairs Research Articles

“None of This Happens in a Vacuum”: The Impact of External Dynamics on Department Chairs’ Efforts to Broaden Participation in Undergraduate Computing

ABSTRACT Department chairs play a key role in efforts to diversify higher education, particularly in fields like computer science that face long-standing gender and racial/ethnic gaps. This study considers the role of computer science department chairs in guiding broadening participation efforts and how they make sense of external dynamics that influence their efforts. Objective This study seeks to better understand the external dynamics that shaped diversity efforts within their departments and how chairs positioned themselves in relation to those dynamics. Method Using the Inclusive Excellence Model as a conceptual framework this longitudinal qualitative study draws on 29 interviews conducted over two years with 18 computer science department chairs from 15 research universities across the United States. Findings Chairs described actively grappling with and leveraging external dynamics across three dimensions: systemic, political, and bureaucratic/structural. While existing literature on department chairs often frame external dynamics as unidirectionally impacting departmental efforts, we found that chairs saw their role as agentive. Implications As efforts to broaden participation in computing (BPC) continue to expand, we argue that chairs must recognize and harness the complex and interconnected external forces that influence their work in order to fully actualize their role as transformative leaders.

Policy School Deans Want It All: Results of a Survey of APSIA Deans and Top-50 Political Science Department Chairs on Hiring and Promotion

Abstract How do intellectual leaders of professional schools of international affairs, whose institutions primarily educate and train master's students for careers in government, the non-governmental sector, and the private sector, differ from academic administrators in disciplinary departments, whose primary raison d’être is producing the next generation of scholars whose primary task is to conduct basic research, in terms of how they see the academic enterprise and their expectations of faculty research and writing? The results of our recent survey of deans of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA), the leading professional body for international relations-oriented policy schools, and chairs of Top-50 political science departments, reveal some predictable differences but also some surprising overlap. Specifically, we find a clear convergence between disciplinary departments and APSIA schools on the core requirements for promotion and tenure: Peer-reviewed publications in high-impact scholarly journals and leading university presses. But rather than relax demands for other activities by their faculty as they hold them to the expectations of their disciplines, APSIA deans still expect significant policy and broader public engagement from them. In other words, policy schools’ faculties face a greater array of professional demands than their disciplinary colleagues. APSIA schools simultaneously embrace the disciplinary criteria for excellence and still try to maintain a close policy focus as they seek to bridge the gap between these two worlds. How feasible this effort will turn out to be hinges on whether policy school faculty can indeed do it all.

The evolving role of the science department chair

ABSTRACTWorking from a historical perspective indicates that there are four periods over the last 170 years through which the role of the science chair has developed. This evolution has progressed from the administrative need to implement the agenda of the newly professionalised science of the nineteenth century, to a greater emphasis on the role of the chair as an instructional leader in the latter half of the twentieth century. The growing complexity of the role has also resulted in chairs becoming conflicted between their roles as specialist teachers and middle-level school administrators. From the earliest days of school science departments, the role of the chair has been heavily invested in two main areas. The first of these is a fealty to the discipline. The second is the need to attempt to balance the competing demands of the discipline, science education and educational reforms. Given the ongoing pressure for the reform of science education, the evolution of the role highlights the potential need for chairs to become actively engaged in maintaining links to the academic, professional, and school communities in which they serve.

I Wonder Why Series

Book Review| November 01 2017 I Wonder Why Series Fragrant as a Flower. By Lawrence F. Lowery. 2017. National Science Teachers Association. (ISBN 9781681403533). 36 pp. Paperback. $11.95.Quiet as a Butterfly. By Lawrence F. Lowery. 2017. National Science Teachers Association. (ISBN 9781681403540). 36 pp. Paperback. $11.95.Look and See. By Lawrence F. Lowery. 2017. National Science Teachers Association. (ISBN 9781681403557). 33 pp. Paperback. $11.95. Robin Bulleri Robin Bulleri 1rbulleri@chccs.k12.nc.us Science Department Chair Carrboro High School Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (2017) 79 (9): 779–780. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2017.79.9.779c Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Robin Bulleri; I Wonder Why Series. The American Biology Teacher 1 November 2017; 79 (9): 779–780. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2017.79.9.779c Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search These three books are from the “I Wonder Why” series from NSTA. According to NSTA's website, the “I Wonder Why” book series is “written to ignite the curiosity of children in grades K-6 while encouraging them to become avid readers.” There are a variety of topics in this series, including nature, measurements, plants, insects, and colors. Each book also has teaching tips for teachers and parents at the end. Fragrant as a Flower follows a boy as he visits locations around town, noticing each place's unique smell. Some smells are pleasant—the flower shop, laundry, the bakery—while others are a little less nice, like the fish market, and “rubbish in a clump.” This book is written in rhyme, and although the father-son aspect of the story is sweet, the rest feels a bit forced. Imagining the smells of the pastry store and the fruit shop are reminiscent, but I don't want... You do not currently have access to this content.

Axiology, the Subject and the Chair

This article addresses two gaps in the literature related to science department chairs: the axiological relationship between the chair and science, the subject, and the perceptions of the chair with respect to teaching and learning within their departments. In this work, axiology is used to understand how the chair’s values toward the subject influenced his own perceived capacity to lead learning within his department in a reformed discourse. A narrative inquiry methodology was used to consider the chair’s experiences in the development of his identify over his life span in the form of two stories: (1) the relationship between the chair and science, the subject, and (2) the perceptions of the chair with regards to teacher learning within the department. The findings revealed that the work and career of the chair in this study were authored by strong elements of personal continuity and points of stability around the valuing of science, the subject, even as this valuing evolved from being more focused on epistemic values early in his career, to being more concerned with universal values connected to his legacy and his department later in his career.

Secondary School Science Department Chairs Leading Successful Change

A foundational understanding within education leadership literature is that education leaders are expected to guide reform efforts within school systems (e.g., Darling-Hammond, 2001; Evans, 1996; Fullan, 2001). This expectation mirrors organizational development literature that describes leaders as individuals who constructively institute change within their organizations (e.g., Northouse, 2004; Havelock & Zlotolow, 1995; Yukl & Lepsinger, 2005). Although leadership and change are portrayed as codependent and recursive phenomena within both educational and organizational development literature, no scholarship has linked change models with leadership theories (Herold, Fedor, Caldwell, & Liu, 2008). This article describes a multiple case study that explored the relationship between leadership behaviors and the change process through secondary school department chair stories of change. From the analysis of these stories of successful and unsuccessful change attempts, a clearer picture emerged that illustrates how leaders with little control over decisions implement change. Findings included distinct connections between CREATER change process stages (Havelock & Zlotolow, 1995) and specific leadership behaviors related to the Leadership Grid (Blake & McCanse, 1991; Yukl, Gordon, and Tabers, 2002), as well as change-leadership patterns that differentiate successful and unsuccessful change. Based on these findings, suggestions as to how education leaders should approach change attempts within their schools are discussed.

Major Competition? Exploring Perceptions of International Studies Programs among Political Science Department Chairs

ABSTRACTGiven the growth of international studies (IS) programs and the reciprocal relationship between political science and IS, this article explores perceptions of IS among political science department chairs. We found that the relationship between political science departments and IS programs is largely positive—that is, a majority of chairs supports the existence of IS at their institution, believes the job prospects for political science and IS majors are about equal, and perceives a low level of financial competition between programs. However, we discovered two points of contention: (1) the perception of lower academic rigor of IS programs, and (2) a high level of competition for majors and the “best students.” Perceptions of IS programs are related to a host of factors, including whether a program is housed within the political science department. Finally, we provide suggestions for improving the relationship between political science and IS.

The Power of Partnerships: Exploring the Relationship between Campus Career Centers and Political Science Departments

Given the growing emphasis on career preparation in higher education, career centers play important roles on today's college campuses. The literature has focused on the reasons students use career services, but it has not addressed the vital linkage between career centers and academic departments. Using a survey of 279 political science department chairs, this study explores the factors that best explain the strength of the relationship between political science departments and campus career centers. After investigating a host of characteristics, we show that close ties between career centers and departments are more likely at smaller colleges, in departments where professors advise students (as opposed to departments with only professional advisors), and in departments that incorporate career preparation into the curriculum. We conclude with recommendations for establishing a more collaborative partnership between career centers and political science departments.

Career Preparation and the Political Science Major: Evidence from Departments

AbstractWe know little about the amount of career preparation offered to students in political science departments. This lack of information is particularly troubling given the state of the current job market and the growth of applied degree programs on university campuses. To address this issue, this article presents the results of a December 2010 survey of 279 political science department chairs that asked questions about the level of career preparation in their respective departments. Based on our empirical findings, we believe that political science departments are not doing enough to address their students' career preparation. Our results demonstrate that most departments rely on voluntary internships and faculty advisers to address career-related issues for political science majors. Only a few departments use required internships, required resumes, specific classes related to career preparation, and social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn to support career preparation. We also found substantial differences in career preparation across department type (BA, MA, and PhD) and between public and private universities, urban and rural universities, and universities with different average SAT scores. Our findings should interest faculty and administrators who are concerned with different approaches to career preparation on college campuses.

Bourdieu, Department Chairs and the Reform of Science Education

Using the insights of the French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, this article considers the role of the science department chair in the reform of school science education. Using Bourdieu’s ‘thinking tools’ of ‘field’, ‘habitus’ and ‘capital’, we case study the work of two teachers who both actively pursue the teaching and learning of science as inquiry. One teacher, Dan, has been a department chair since 2000, and has actively encouraged his department to embrace science as inquiry. The other teacher, Leslie, worked for one year in Dan’s department before being transferred to another school where science teaching continues to be more traditional. Our work suggests that there are three crucial considerations for chairs seeking to lead the reform of science teaching within their department. The first of these is the development of a reform-minded habitus, as this appears to be foundational to the capital that can be expended in the leadership of reform. The second is an understanding of how to wield power and position in the promotion of reform. The third is the capacity to operate simultaneously and strategically within, and across, two fields; the departmental field and the larger science education field. This involves downplaying administrative logics, and foregrounding more inquiry-focused logics as a vehicle to challenge traditional science-teaching dispositions—the latter being typically dominated by concerns about curriculum ‘coverage’.

ACS NATIONAL AWARDS

FOLLOWING IS the third set of vignettes of recipients of awards administered by the American Chemical Society for 2011. C&EN will publish the vignettes of the remaining recipients in January and February issues. A profile of Ahmed H. Zewail, the 2011 Priestley Medalist, is scheduled to appear in the March 28 issue of C&EN along with his award address. Most of the award recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony that will be held on Tuesday, March 29, in conjunction with the 241st ACS national meeting in Anaheim, Calif. However, the Arthur C. Cope Scholar awardees will be honored at the 242nd ACS national meeting in Denver, Aug. 28–Sept. 1. JAMES BRYANT CONANT AWARD IN HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY TEACHING Sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific Master teacher, champion of demonstrations, and teacher of teachers are how colleagues describe Jesse D. Bernstein for his accomplishments as a high school chemistry teacher. Currently the science department chair ...

The Ohio State University College of Medicine

The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Dimensions of communication in urban science education: Interactions and transactions

AbstractThis paper is birthed from my lifelong experiences as student, teacher, administrator, and researcher in urban science classrooms. This includes my years as a minority student in biology, chemistry, and physics classrooms, 10 tears as science teacher and high school science department chair, 5‐years conducting research on youth experiences in urban science classrooms, and current work in preparing science teachers for teaching in urban schools. These experiences afford me both emic and etic lenses through which to view urban science classrooms and urban youth communities. This paper, both experiential and research based, forms an ethnography of urban youth communication and introduces the science education community to an aspect of science teaching that has been overlooked in traditional science education research. In documenting urban youth communication across social fields, this paper contributes to the research in science education that addresses science talk with urban youth in science classrooms (C. Ballenger, 1997; P. Gee, 1997). More specifically, I utilize the lenses I bring to urban science education research to interrogate the larger research questions of whether urban students' modes of communication are supported in the urban science classroom and the effects of this support or lack thereof on true participation/engagement of urban youth in science. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 95: 1–20, 2011

Tenure Standards in Political Science Departments: Results from a Survey of Department Chairs

ABSTRACTThis article presents the results from a survey of political science department chairs regarding the tenure procedures and standards at their colleges or universities. The findings reveal that only a small fraction of the colleges and universities in the United States refuse to offer tenure or are attempting to limit tenure. We also find general agreement regarding the standards for evaluating teaching and service and that research expectations vary according to the highest degree offered by a department.

Fear and Loathing in College Classrooms: A Survey of Political Science Department Chairs Regarding Political Bias

Some conservative critics of higher education have asserted that the current generation of American professors, especially those in the social sciences and humanities, are using their classrooms to advance a liberal political agenda. As evidence, they point to surveys of the political leanings of faculty and have accumulated examples of individual professors they allege to have made inflammatory statements veering from standards of academic objectivity and who punish undergraduates for expressing differing points of view. We surveyed political science department chairs at primarily undergraduate institutions to gather their perceptions about the scope of political bias in the classroom and the institutional procedures available to them to deal with student complaints about such practices. Our results indicate that chairs are indeed sensitive to concerns about faculty who cross the line from legitimate political expression to proselytizing in the classroom. By and large, however, they do not believe such activities are widespread and they believe that their institutions already have in place procedures that treat all parties fairly when political disagreements arise between students and faculty. The data show strong support for academic freedom across public, private, and religious institutions but reveal some differences in the social and political perspectives they promote.

Training Teachers to Use Food to Teach Science

ABSTRACT: In January 2006, every science department chair in U.S. public, private, and parochial high schools received information on food science, including a DVD, poster, and experiment guide developed by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), IFT Foundation, and Discovery Education. To promote the experiments and to encourage implementation of the program's components in secondary schools, the IFT K‐12 Career Guidance Committee presented a teacher training session at the national IFT Annual Meeting + Food EXPO® in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, June 26, 2006. Twenty Orlando‐area science teachers were treated to 3 h of activities, during which they performed and learned how to teach 3 experiments from the areas of physics, chemistry, and biology, demonstrated by the committee. In addition, to extend the effects of the session beyond the Orlando area, IFT member Food Science Ambassadors were invited to the training session so that they could become proficient in demonstrating the experiments, and to equip them with the knowledge to host a training session in their own geographical area in the future. Fifteen Food Science Ambassadors attended the session. After lab time, K‐12 Career Guidance Committee members and IFT Student Association (IFTSA) chapter presidents led small groups of teachers on tours of the EXPO floor to learn more about how science is applied in the food industry.

Earth sciences and public schools

More than a year ago (Eos 85(49), 523, 2004), the Eos Forum column featured an article by Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, administrator for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Charles Groat, who at that time was Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, concerning the status of the Earth sciences in the public school curriculum. A very small percentage of high school students take an Earth science course, and that number is dropping every day As a retired high school Earth science teacher and science department chair, I often found myself defending our Earth science requirement to some parents and school committee members.

2004 Conference for Chairs Symposium—Strategizing in an Era of Resource Constraints

The 2004 Conference for Political Science Department Chairs was dedicated to discussing the strategies available to chairs who are dealing with growing budget constraints. Themes included declining state budgets, surviving administrative mandates, tradeoffs of using adjuncts, and supporting professional development. APSA President Susanne Rudolph opened the conference, noting the theme is both relevant to the discipline and valuable for political science department chairs. Susan Pharr, Departmental Services Committee (DSC) chair, moderated the panel, which consisted of Michael Baer, Stephen Majeski, Shirley Geiger, Donald Baumer, and John Brehm. The Conference drew over 65 attendees to hear the five presentations and to consider concrete suggestions for how to operate efficiently under a shrinking budget. Given the widespread interest in the topic, the DSC has asked that the participants publish their findings in this symposium.

Question Their Answers

Brenda Royce has been teaching high school chemistry and physics for nine years, and is currently science department chair at University High School in Fresno, CA, a college prep charter school on the CSU Fresno campus. She also enjoys coaching Science Olympiad, and working with science and math student teachers as a workshop leader and mentor teacher through the Science and Math Education Center at CSUF. Prior to teaching, she worked in analytical and environmental chemistry for several years. Brenda shares with us her strategy of answering students' questions by “questioning their answers.”

Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health.

Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health.