Measuring and Modeling Cultural Change in Higher Education
From this study, I make claims based firmly in qualitative case study methodology, grounded theory analytic method, and the cultural model theories of Quinn and Shore. However, I cannot emphasize enough that this analysis is an exploratory effort at understanding the role of cultural models in STEM education. Future research in this area would be strengthened with larger sample sizes and mixed methods in a longitudinal design, and especially by drawing on recent methodological advances in cognitive science, organizational behavior, and cultural anthropology. Despite these considerations, this study presents exploratory findings about the complexity of institutional change, and how disciplinary cultural models may be influenced by a skillful "cultural broker." Furthermore, by capturing the dynamic relationships among the institutional context, cultural norms, and individual behaviors, this research realistically situates project outcomes in the context of the home organization, which may be of particular interest to evaluators of MSP projects. I contend that it is only by attending to these factors that findings regarding changes in faculty beliefs can be appropriately contextualized, thereby enabling policymakers and evaluators to better understand how institutional conditions support and/or inhibit specific beliefs and responses to reform initiatives such as the MSP.
