| This single institutional case study investigated faculty vitality within the context of the community college by answering the following research questions: (1) What are the characteristics of vital faculty within the context of a community college? (2) What do the vital faculty do to maintain their vitality? (3) What effect (role) does the environment have on faculty vitality?; The research conducted by Clark & Corcoran (1985), Baldwin (1990) and Schuster (1985) contributed extensively to frame the conceptual framework of this research in that all three of the aforementioned scholars explored the notion of faculty vitality within the context of various higher education venues, such as the university, liberal arts institution and four-year colleges.; The literature review revealed however that little is known about the lives of community college faculty and how they nourish and support their vitality given they teach five introductory courses a semester, teach a population of students who are academically challenged, have limited opportunities to conduct research and report being disconnected from their peers (Baker, 1994; Clark & Corcoran, 1985; Cohen & Brawer, 1996; Gleazer, 1967; Grubb, 1999; Sarko, 1964; and Schuster, 1985). Qualitative research methods were employed to study the lives of the faculty within their naturalistic setting thereby contributing to the understanding of cultural milieu of the community college, giving voice to the vital faculty, which revealed their thoughts, and pedagogical procedures. Demographic data were collected and an analysis of the data employed qualitative methods and procedures.; The results of this study revealed that vitality is closely coupled with the personal characteristics of the faculty and the environmental factors of the institution. The following seven themes are the salient issues with regard to their influence on faculty vitality: (1) Decisive leadership and support; (2) A mutually acceptable mission; (3) Intellectually stimulating faculty development programs; (4) Positive interaction between students and faculty; (5) An atmosphere of collegiality and support for academic freedom; (6) Institutional recognition and rewards; (7) A cultural milieu that fosters open communication and a sharing of pedagogical practices (Baldwin, 1990, Bevan, 1985, Clark & Corcoran, 1985, Grubb, 2000, Maher, 1982 and Schuster, 1985).; All sixteen of the community college faculty who participated in this study agreed that the support they receive from the JCCC administration was crucial to their vitality, enthusiasm and passion for teaching. |
