Faculty Members’ Perceptions of the Impact of Unionization on Shared Governance

Rossmann, Brian William

Faculty Members’ Perceptions of the Impact of Unionization on Shared Governance

dc.contributor.advisor	Scott, Shelleyann
dc.contributor.author	Rossmann, Brian William
dc.contributor.committeemember	Scott, Donald
dc.contributor.committeemember	Chua, Catherine
dc.date	2024-11
dc.date.accessioned	2024-05-22T18:37:38Z
dc.date.available	2024-05-22T18:37:38Z
dc.date.issued	2024-05-17
dc.description.abstract	The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions that faculty members have regarding the impact that faculty unionization has on shared governance at public universities in the United States. An exploratory sequential design mixed methods study was conducted in which 25 faculty senators from 13 universities were interviewed to determine their perceptions on the effect of faculty unionization on shared governance. Next, all the remaining faculty senators from those same institutions were surveyed with a questionnaire to generalize the findings to a larger population. The main findings were that participants perceived that faculty unionization had a positive impact on shared governance and that unionization improved faculty members’ working conditions and salaries. Through this study, it was determined that it would be in the best interests of improved shared governance if unions would be less confrontational with administrators, that there were perceptions by faculty members who de-unionized that shared governance was worse as a result of de-unionization, and that faculty felt safer when they were represented by a union. The findings were consistent with the literature in that there was the perception of the erosion of shared governance at institutions of higher education. However, the literature indicated more ambivalence regarding the appropriateness of faculty unionization than was reflected in the findings. Some lessons learned from the findings were that unionized faculty members today value their unions and value what their unions do for them. The findings also indicated a perception that a crisis of shared governance at universities continues to persist today and, indeed, may be worsening. Based on the findings, this study provides recommendations of how faculty unionization can have a positive impact on shared governance and some suggestions for university leaders with respect to improving shared governance by embracing unionized faculty.
dc.identifier.citation	Rossmann, B. W. (2024). Faculty members’ perceptions of the impact of unionization on shared governance (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/118812
dc.identifier.uri	https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/46409
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Werklund School of Education
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Faculty Members
dc.subject	Unions
dc.subject	Unionization
dc.subject	Shared Governance
dc.subject	Administrators
dc.subject	Faculty Senates
dc.subject.classification	Education--Higher
dc.subject.classification	Education--Administration
dc.title	Faculty Members’ Perceptions of the Impact of Unionization on Shared Governance
dc.type	doctoral thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Education Graduate Program – Educational Research
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Education (EdD)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.