This paper responds to a growing literature arguing that change in higher education institutions might be better understood and managed if such institutions are understood as complex systems with emergent properties. Based on complexity theory, the paper articulates a set of characteristics that might be expected if institutions are in fact acting…

The goal of this study was to identify perceptions of the importance and needs of the essential job competencies required by Korean science and engineering graduates in the context of actual workplaces. We analyzed data from the 11th Youth Panel using the paired t-test, the Borich needs assessment, and the locus for focus model. An important…

The new model of Polish education was designed by the Komisja Edukacji Narodowej (KEN). The Commission, established in 1773, was the first ministry of education in Europe. It dealt not only with problems related to the learning-teaching process, but also promoted scientific development. The present analysis is an attempt at examining the process…

Scholarly journals are not passive receptors of scientific information. On the contrary, they, within the process of filtrating the kind of research that will finally been published, contextualize a scientific field. In the present review I examine the Environmental Education related articles published in science education journals between the…

This article describes the development of the Inquiry Institute, a collaboration of scientists from a science department and science educators from a school of education. The history of the institute and the benefits to students, faculty, and the institution are presented. The institute is responsible for the creation, maintenance, and ongoing…

There are countless reports stressing the economic and societal benefits to be gained from improved science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for all students. Although there is extensive research on alternative teaching methods that increase student learning and are practical to implement, the combined efforts of federal…

Examines combined departments of geology and geography, a structure present at numerous 4-year institutions, using a survey of department chairs and heads. Explores the reasons behind the combined departments; advantages, challenges, and disadvantages of the structure; and steps taken by chairs to promote the success of their multidisciplinary…

This study is concerned with domonstrating and discussing some of the differences between scientific fields in the functioning of graduate departments, where the goals of teaching and research and the technology determined by the structure of knowledge are in close interaction. (Authors)

The importance of the role of partnerships in research is evidenced by the federal government's, private sector's, and nonprofit organizations' continued interest in and approach to funding research through these vehicles. In education research involving interorganizational partnerships, partnerships are needed to create coordination and alignment…

Reports results of surveys received from universities concerning aspects of departmental operation which include type of institution, numbers of faculty with academic appointments, salaries, budgets and graduate program stipends, sources of support and areas of study/research. Some data are represented by tables and graphs. (RT)

The National Caucus of Biomedical Science Chairs administered a 35-item questionnaire concerning department downsizing to medical school basic science department heads (n=400). Results indicate significant loss of faculty positions in one-third of the schools, with a 10% overall reduction from 1985-95. Department restructuring, with merging of…

A 1977 study examined the organization of six medical schools' basic sciences, including faculty research interests and department affiliations, and was updated with 1987 data from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Results show overlapping research interests, blurred departmental boundaries, and divergence between faculty research…

Provides an introduction to the chemical engineering department at North Carolina State University. (BB)

Describes the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati, including departmental history and facilities, graduate and undergraduate programs, and current faculty and their research interests. (JN)

Described is a project being conducted by the Physics Institute of the University of San Luis Potori, Mexico, in order to avoid concentrating physics education and research activities in Mexico City. (SL)