Lay of the Land: A Description of Isomorphic Change and Institutional Diversity among Religious Higher Education
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| Title: | Lay of the Land: A Description of Isomorphic Change and Institutional Diversity among Religious Higher Education |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Craig Thomas Shore |
| Source: | ProQuest LLC. 2021Ed.D. Dissertation, The University of Alabama. |
| Availability: | ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 163 |
| Publication Date: | 2021 |
| Document Type: | Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Religious Education, Higher Education, Diversity (Institutional), Educational Change, Institutional Characteristics |
| ISBN: | 979-85-15-24704-1 |
| Abstract: | Institutional diversity studies have substantiated the presence of isomorphism (Bernasconi, 2006; Birnbaum, 1983; Harris & Ellis, 2020; Morphew, 2009; Teixeira & Amaral, 2001) but these studies are too broad and often just extrapolate findings to religious higher education. The problem of this study is that American religious higher education lacked an understanding of institutional diversity and isomorphic change within its own ranks and did not have an effective typology to classify itself. The purpose of this descriptive quantitative dissertation was to describe isomorphic change occurring among four subgroups of religious higher education, by analyzing five research variables and calculating institutional diversity between the snapshot years of 2000, 2009, and 2019. This dissertation utilized the five institutional characteristic of "size," "cost," "urbanization," "highest degree offered," and "level" from IPEDS as research variables to construct a 4x3x3x5x4 matrix to chart institutional diversity. The selected population for this dissertation included private and nonprofit institutions with a marked "religious affiliation" in IPEDS and this population is divided into four sample groups: "Christ-centered" (Group I), "evangelical" (Group II), "ecclesiastical" (Group III), and "church-related" (Group IV). The first three sample groups (Group I-Group III) were created from membership lists of the CCCU, ABHE, and ACCU. Among the first four research questions related to Group I-IV, it was discovered that there was an increase in institutional diversity across all subgroups from 2000 to 2019. The research hypothesis of this dissertation was refuted as there was no difference between Group IV and Groups I-III. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Access URL: | https://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqm&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:28323237 |
| Accession Number: | ED666143 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Institutional diversity studies have substantiated the presence of isomorphism (Bernasconi, 2006; Birnbaum, 1983; Harris & Ellis, 2020; Morphew, 2009; Teixeira & Amaral, 2001) but these studies are too broad and often just extrapolate findings to religious higher education. The problem of this study is that American religious higher education lacked an understanding of institutional diversity and isomorphic change within its own ranks and did not have an effective typology to classify itself. The purpose of this descriptive quantitative dissertation was to describe isomorphic change occurring among four subgroups of religious higher education, by analyzing five research variables and calculating institutional diversity between the snapshot years of 2000, 2009, and 2019. This dissertation utilized the five institutional characteristic of "size," "cost," "urbanization," "highest degree offered," and "level" from IPEDS as research variables to construct a 4x3x3x5x4 matrix to chart institutional diversity. The selected population for this dissertation included private and nonprofit institutions with a marked "religious affiliation" in IPEDS and this population is divided into four sample groups: "Christ-centered" (Group I), "evangelical" (Group II), "ecclesiastical" (Group III), and "church-related" (Group IV). The first three sample groups (Group I-Group III) were created from membership lists of the CCCU, ABHE, and ACCU. Among the first four research questions related to Group I-IV, it was discovered that there was an increase in institutional diversity across all subgroups from 2000 to 2019. The research hypothesis of this dissertation was refuted as there was no difference between Group IV and Groups I-III. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] |
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| ISBN: | 979-85-15-24704-1 |
