Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Teacher Evaluations: A Necessary Evil?, Charlotte J. Headrick

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article critiques the pervasive reliance on student evaluations as the primary metric of teaching effectiveness within higher education . Using narrative inquiry and reflective pedagogy it interrogates how statistical performance metrics can oversimplify complex classroom dynamics mask disciplinary differences between general education and theatre majors and distort tenure review and faculty development processes. The discussion connects assessment scholarship with organizational culture studies illustrating how research prestige and grant acquisition displace instructional quality in promotion deliberations . Through qualitative reflection on classroom practice production based learning and institutional policy this article exposes biases embedded in student feedback including workload aversion …

Diagnosing Communication Problems Of Academic Chairs: Applied Communication In Context, Mark Hickson Iii, James C. Mccroskey

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article applies organizational communication theory to academic administration by diagnosing recurring communication problems faced by department chairs . Using a context bound Likert type instrument distributed before professional development workshops the study ranks thirty common issues and uncovers a pattern of chronic communication overload limited authority over faculty motivation and frequent conflict mediation . The highest scoring concerns highlight information management burdens persuasion challenges with so called dead wood colleagues and public relations gaps between departments and central administration . The findings cluster into four domains conflict management persuasive leadership image management and data management signaling an urgent need …

Cultural Diversty And The Department Chair: Gleanings From The Literature, David W. Addington

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article synthesizes interdisciplinary scholarship to illuminate the implications of cultural diversity for departmental leadership in communication and performing arts. Through a critical literature review situated against contemporary geopolitical upheaval, the discussion maps the rapid expansion of intercultural communication research, identifies performing arts journals as emergent hubs of intercultural discourse, and problematizes notions of cultural purity. It argues that department chairs occupy a strategic nexus for cultivating multicultural pedagogy, inclusive recruitment, and global curricular integration while navigating organizational culture and resource constraints. The analysis foregrounds globalization, intercultural competence, and pluralistic governance as essential drivers of sustainable academic administration and urges …

Facilitating Cultural Diversity: A Latino Perspective, Alberto Gonzàlez

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article interrogates multicultural initiatives in higher education through a Latino communication lens, mapping how institutional diversity mandates reshape curriculum development, faculty workload, and academic identity. Blending critical pedagogy intercultural communication and organizational culture scholarship, the discussion exposes how minority faculty navigate intensified committee service, constrained research agendas, and contradictory expectations from both liberal allies and monocultural critics. The narrative critiques administrative tokenism, questions merit assumptions rooted in Eurocentric traditions, and urges resource allocation that supports inclusive curriculum design, equitable promotion criteria, and culturally competent leadership. By foregrounding lived experience alongside demographic trends and policy discourse, this article contributes to …

Professional Advisory Councils For Communication Programs, Dan B. Curtis, John Graves, Jerry L. Winsor

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article evaluates professional advisory councils as strategic instruments for enhancing communication curricula and aligning academic programs with a rapidly evolving service economy. Through descriptive analysis of a department level initiative the discussion outlines rationales for council formation including curriculum planning internship networks program assessment accreditation preparation and industry engagement . It details implementation logistics from membership criteria and administrative clearance to agenda design meeting cadence and feedback mechanisms while identifying challenges in consensus building resource mobilization and board longevity. By mapping eight documented benefits such as strengthened employer relations faculty development opportunities and increased program credibility this article contributes …

The Dilemma Of Incorporating Intercultural Perspectives Of Underrepresented Groups, Kate Madden

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article explores dilemmas encountered when integrating intercultural perspectives of underrepresented groups into predominantly white mass communication classrooms . Through reflexive narrative it analyzes student discourse that exposes ethnocentrism stereotype reliance affirmative action resentment and challenges of tokenism. Drawing on demographic projections intercultural communication theory and critical pedagogy the discussion argues that effective diversity leadership requires faculty cultural competence dialogic curriculum design and sustained institutional support beyond isolated workshops. It concludes by outlining strategies for fostering inclusive learning environments including contextualized media analysis collaborative exploration of cultural identity and structured opportunities for cross cultural dialogue.

Career And Program Specialties Of Communication Graduates, John Magnasco, Ray Young

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article investigates how curricular specialization and experiential learning shape the initial career trajectories of communication graduates. Drawing on survey data spanning television, radio, public relations, organizational communication speech communication, and journalism subfields, it analyzes linkages among academic specialty internship participation gender and rationales for accepting first professional positions. Chi square and variance analyses reveal that television radio and public relations majors are most likely to secure positions aligned with their coursework whereas speech specialists disperse widely across the labor market. Internships substantially improve specialty matched placement and often convert directly into employment. Graduates prioritize opportunities for growth challenge and …

Graduate Student Advisement: Which Degree?, Rick Gray

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines graduate advisement in theater education by contrasting the Master of Fine Arts MFA the Doctor of Philosophy PhD and the emerging Doctor of Fine Arts DFA as potential terminal degrees. Drawing on disciplinary debates in dramaturgy design directing and production it outlines how research orientation academic career goals secondary education roles and professional theater aspirations shape degree suitability. The discussion describes the scholarly expectations of the PhD the applied creative competencies cultivated by the MFA and the contested hybrid status of the DFA situating each within promotion and tenure structures and university credentialing norms. By illuminating credential …

Minutes Annual Business Meeting Blackstone Hotel Chicago, Illinois October 31, 1990

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Minutes of the Association for Communication Administration's (ACA's) Annual Business Meeting that was held on October 31, 1990 at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.

A Department Chair's Perspective: Promotion And Tenure, Nancy L. Harper

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article delineates a department chair perspective on promotion and tenure deliberations in communication studies, portraying the evaluation process as a rhetorical practice that reconciles honest appraisal with institutional advocacy. It presents three essential steps. First, chairs conduct comprehensive annual reviews of untenured faculty, producing documented feedback that clarifies expectations for teaching, research, advising, and service. Second, accumulated reports demonstrate sustained professional growth, justifying future institutional investment. Third, when recommending promotion and tenure, chairs craft a strategic cover letter that foregrounds departmental needs and candidate strengths while addressing weaknesses with balanced argument. Drawing on administrative experience, the discussion stresses evidence …

In Favor Of Accreditation, Ed Mullins

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article argues that specialized accreditation for journalism and mass communication programs remains a vital mechanism of evaluation and accountability in United States higher education. Rooted in state authority and professional self policing, accreditation is presented as consumer protection that elevates teaching, research, and service standards. The discussion counters assertions that accreditation enforces conformity by documenting the diversity of accredited units in size, mission, and curricular emphasis, while highlighting Standard Three that links professional training with liberal education. Pragmatic benefits are surveyed, including enhanced resource leverage, external funding eligibility, structured program review, and prestige within competitive environments. Cost and effort …

An Evaluation System For Measuring Faculty Performance, Lawrence B. Rosenfeld, Beverly Whitaker Long

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article presents an objective faculty evaluation system that aligns annual review, communication, and motivation goals. Grounded in effectiveness, system maintenance, and resource acquisition perspectives, the design replaces vague macro categories with a detailed micro evaluation template that assigns weighted points to research, teaching, and service activities, forty, thirty, and twenty percent respectively. The flexible matrix values traditional scholarship, creative production, and grant acquisition while accommodating program specific priorities. By translating accumulated points into merit pay through grouped raise categories and discretionary funds, the approach links performance measurement to tangible rewards, reduces salary based inequities, and encourages collaboration. Two trial …

Long Distance Supervision Of Internships, Margaret Fitch-Hauser, Steven B. Padgett

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article addresses the challenge of supervising communication internships when faculty cannot perform on site visits. Drawing on programmatic experience, it outlines a flexible model that integrates computer generated correspondence, structured midterm and final reports, and standardized evaluation forms to maintain accountability across geographic distance. The model begins with triadic goal setting among department, student, and workplace supervisor, proceeds through staged letter campaigns that reinforce expectations and provide legal documentation, and culminates in systematic assessment of performance, motivation, and competency. The discussion details intrinsic and extrinsic goals, advises on balancing student responsibility with agency benefit, and recommends database tracking to …

Report Of The Perceptions Of Communication And Relationships During The Dissertation Process By Speech Communication Doctoral Advisors And Advisees, Nancy Rost Goulden

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article interrogates communication dynamics within doctoral dissertation supervision in speech communication, examining how advisor advisee relationships shape degree completion and satisfaction. Survey data from diverse programs are analyzed to map expectations, roles, feedback routines, and perceptions of power, revealing marked contrasts between students and faculty regarding turnaround time, autonomy, and mentoring style. Findings show that supportive intellectual friendship, timely constructive feedback, and clear role negotiation correspond with positive evaluations and expedited progress, whereas mismatched expectations and ambiguous guidance foster delay and attrition. Although advisors consistently express respect and concern for their students, tension persists around feedback logistics and the …

Full Time Teaching And The Abd Phenomenon, Leroy M. Wright

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article investigates the ABD phenomenon among communication studies graduates who accept full time teaching positions before completing the dissertation. Telephone interviews with faculty reveal that teaching workload, particularly high course loads and extracurricular obligations, dwarfs time management and physical distance as barriers, while psychological distance from the degree granting institution and committee turnover further slow doctoral persistence. Participants who secured approved research proposals and supportive mentoring relationships, or moved to positions with lighter demands, reported greater momentum toward completion. The analysis highlights how employment context, research infrastructure, and institutional expectations intertwine to influence dissertation progress. Recommendations urge departments to …

Misery Loves Company And Other Important Functions Of A Dissertation Support Group, Alice Blake Stalker

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article describes functions and design of dissertation support groups intended to reduce isolation among doctoral candidates and accelerate degree completion. Drawing on experience with seminar based and employment based groups, the discussion outlines rationale, organizational models, and practical guidelines for establishing peer networks at degree granting and ABD hiring institutions. It identifies emotional support, accountability, research skill building, and community integration as core benefits, while highlighting time management and writer block interventions that sustain momentum. Implementation advice covers recruitment, meeting structure, confidentiality norms, and integration with institutional mentoring and faculty development initiatives. By mapping connections between social support, graduate …

Choices: Graduate Education As Preparation For Life In The 21st Century, David W. Weiss

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines graduate education as preparation for professional life in the twenty first century, focusing on theatre practice and academia. Through argumentative reflection, it surveys Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, and doctoral programs, assessing their capacity to develop expertise in acting, directing, design, and pedagogy while supporting career advancement within commercial theatre, regional theatre, and higher education. Discussion highlights curricular breadth, mentoring, financial constraints, and administrative perceptions of terminal degrees, noting the differing tenure, promotion, and salary prospects associated with each credential. By mapping apprenticeship options alongside formal study, this article underscores the need for informed advising …

Faculty Support Groups Vs. Burnout, Joseph G. Meyers

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article investigates academic burnout through the lens of organizational communication, describing how voluntary faculty support groups mitigate stress and enhance teaching efficacy in higher education. Drawing on qualitative reflection and preliminary survey data, the discussion links role ambiguity, tenure pressure, financial constraints, and unprepared students to declining job satisfaction and classroom performance. Support group participation fosters collegiality, expands informal learning networks, and opens communication channels that reframe stress as manageable challenge. Participants report improved perspective, increased student engagement, and broader campus initiatives such as wellness workshops and mentoring seminars. By illustrating strategies that transform individual coping into collective action, …

Aca 19th Annual Presidential Seminar

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Association for Communication Administration's annual presidential seminar held on October 31, 1991 in Atlanta.

Long Range Planning In Speech Communication Departments, Judith K. Litterst, R. Jeffery Ringer

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article investigates strategic planning practices in speech communication departments within higher education . Survey data reveal that most units plan regularly on annual or three year cycles and draw on collaborative governance that blends chair leadership with curriculum and executive committees to steer resource allocation and curriculum development. Findings highlight growth driven pressures in enrollment management space budgeting and faculty recruitment alongside quality goals such as assessment driven program evaluation and internationalization . Although respondents largely rate their planning processes satisfactory to excellent persistent constraints include limited time funding and consensus building challenges . By mapping prevalent issues including …

Cultural Diversity And The Department Chair, Donald A. Drapeau

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article situates the department chair as a pivotal intercultural communication leader within higher education by interrogating demographic projections that forecast a majority minority society and rapid growth in Asian Hispanic and Black youth populations. Through conceptual analysis and synthesis of National Association of Schools of Theatre guidelines it distinguishes cross cultural encounters multicultural conditions cultural diversity and cultural pluralism and evaluates their implications for organizational culture resource allocation curriculum design and faculty governance. The narrative frames globalization and pluralistic governance as drivers of sustainable program development and urges chairs to cultivate cultural competence inclusive recruitment equitable resource distribution and …

An Asian Interpretation Of Communication Education In The United States, Casey Man Kong Lum

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the cultural implications of United States communication education for Asian societies by situating the academic journey of international students within the metaphor of Journey to the West. Drawing on communication and development scholarship it critiques media imperialism assumptions and demonstrates how Western theories technologies and pedagogy shape media production policy and professional practice across Asia. The discussion synthesizes uses and gratifications studies cultural studies and globalization research to reveal the agency of indigenous audiences and creators while acknowledging persistent structural inequities. By calling for epistemological reflexivity and the integration of Asian philosophical traditions, the article urges educators …

School Ka Sabaq: Literacy In A Girls Primary School In Rural Pakistan, Iffat Farah

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper (which is part of a larger ethnographic study) describes literacy learning practices in the context of a girls' school in rural Pakistan. In this context, school ka sabaq is recognized as involving reading and writing activities, and behavior particular to the institution of the school. A description of the reading and writing activities as well as the division of time and space in the school shows that literacy activities are reflected in and determined by the context of the particular institution within which they are learned and practiced. The author also describes school-community relations and the community's goals …

Richards Junior High School New Teacher Handbook, L. Wayne Lanier

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers entering a new school are faced with many stressful situations. Not being aware of the policies and practices which are specific to the new schoo1 cause the teacher to make errors which further pressure the situation. Compounding the problems of the new teacher is that there is no one to lead one through the rough times.

Research on mentoring indicates that one of the most valuable sources of information for the new teacher is a faculty handbook. The Leadership Team at Richards Junior High School recognized the need for a handbook for new teachers and commissioned the creation of …

Feasibility Study For Special Education Services In Clark And Edgar Counties, Michael F. Watts

Masters Theses

The goal of this project was to determine if the eight local school districts in Clark and Edgar counties could provide special education services as effectively as the Eastern Illinois Special Education Cooperative. The study answered this question and provided the districts involved with sufficient data and analysis to recommend to their individual Boards of Education the way in which they would offer these services in the future. This project provided the districts with such alternatives to the current delivery system as to suggest the possibility that the centralized system of special education services has viable alternatives. Districts were able …

Maintaining A High School Elective/Vocational Program With The Increase In College Entrance Requirements, Clyde W. Frankie

Masters Theses

This field experience examines how 21 selected Illinois unit district high schools have maintained their elective/vocational enrollments with the 1985 increase in college admission requirements. The 21 high schools identified had a student population between 700 and 1000. A questionnaire was sent to each school requesting information regarding their master schedule. Questions specifically requested data on number of class periods, length of class periods, number of graduation units, faculty teaching load, class maximums and minimums, and percent of college-bound students in respective schools. This data was analyzed through comparative data tables to identify potential solutions or trends high schools are …

Managing Change In Schools: A Review Of The Western Australian Project, Rod Chadbourne

Research outputs pre 2011

In 1987, the Ministry of Education released a report entitled 'Better Schools in Western Australia: A Program for Improvement'.l It outlined radical proposals to make schools more self-determining and accountable. Although much of the program has yet to be put into effect, the plan and steps taken to implement it caused a major upheaval not only to the system but also to people working in it. For example: the managers of change invested a huge amount of work and worry in the whole process; some of the 'victims' of change suffered personally and professionally; and a lot of those in …

A Descriptive Study Of Perceived-Effective Rural Superintendents In The State Of Iowa, Bonnie Korver Baum

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The nature of the superintendent's responsibilities has changed significantly since the first school superintendent in the United States was hired in the 1830s. Superintendents today have a great influence on education. That influence is felt in rural schools as well as urban and suburban districts. Rural schools have certain unique administrative problems. Solving those problems depends on the vision, leadership, and effectiveness of the administration.

The purpose of this study was to identify selected characteristics of effective rural superintendents. Five rural Iowa superintendents, identified as effective by their peers, were studied in depth. The qualitative dissertation identified characteristics in four …

Effective Secondary Special Education Programs: Administrative And Instructional Practices In Identified Iowa Schools, Robyn Lynn Moen Kramer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This descriptive study with exclusive focus on identified secondary special education programs in Iowa, investigated the interactions of administrators, general classroom and special education teachers to determine common administrative and instructional practices and behaviors within three characteristics -- Facilities Leadership, General Classroom Teaching Behavior, and Special Education Teaching Behavior. Directors of Special Education from six Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEAs) were asked to select five schools form their respective AEAs with exemplary secondary special education programs. From that initial population of 30 schools, 11 schools were selected to participate in this study.

A survey was administered to 354 secondary school …

Creative Drama As An Instructional Strategy In Adult Christian Education, Darlene Richards Graves

Dissertations and Theses

This study reviews the tenents of adult learning. Christian education and creative drama and presents the observation that there are parallel objectives in each of these three major areas. Noting that creative drama is rarely used in adult Christian education, which is primarily cognitive-based and lecture-discussion oriented, the study proposes the application of creative drama strategies to provide an alternative experiential learning process and therefore create a drama strategies to provide an alternative experiential learning process and therefore create a balance of focus between cognitive, affective, reflective and active learning styles in adult Christian education. It also suggests that through …