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Polytechnic Instructors As Scholars: Developing A Culture That Embraces Scholarly Activity, Ian M. Cowley

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) proposes a leadership solution to develop a culture that embraces faculty scholarly activity at a large Canadian polytechnic institution. The recent advent of two baccalaureate degrees at this diploma-offering institute brought with it the provincial government stipulation that faculty teaching in degree programs must be continually engaged in scholarly activity. A previous unsuccessful implementation of this requirement addressed the functional, managerial aspects of conducting research, however faculty were unprepared for the cultural shift necessary to transform them from polytechnic instructors to scholarly polytechnic instructors. Though the requirement to research remains, early attempts at support have …