Scholarly activity in British Columbia's community colleges: senior administrators' perspectives

This study will show scholarly activity has emerged as a significant dimension in British Columbia’s community colleges. The purpose of this study was to explore the emergence, history and current role of scholarly activity initiatives, policies and practice in BC’s community colleges and how this dimension of the college is an indicator of organizational change and adaptation. This qualitative, descriptive and interpretive study was informed by a naturalistic paradigm. Organizational change theory was utilized to analyze and interpret the findings of how the colleges adapted to include scholarly activity. Primary data were collected through personal interviews; secondary data were obtained from the literature. The sample included all 12 community colleges in BC and senior college administrators were interviewed about their perspectives and predictions of scholarly activity. The body of literature explored definitions of and distinctions between scholarly activity and its related terms, and traced the influences and emergence of scholarly activity in BC’s community colleges. The findings indicate there is no common definition of scholarly activity in BC’s community colleges; historical events, reports, legislation and initiatives influenced the emergence of scholarly activity; administrators’ perspectives of scholarly activity are generally optimistic in that it is sustainable, supported and encouraged; and scholarly activity is an indicator of organizational change and adaptation, evidenced by change in college initiatives, policies and practice. Senior administrators in this study claim the primary intent of scholarly activity is to enhance teaching and learning. Trends to appoint faculty with higher credentials and expectations to conduct scholarly activity are evident. Future leadership from college administrators to define and develop scholarly activity is identified, as well as implications for colleges to be proactive about this dimension in their strategic planning.