Moving from a Predominantly Teaching Oriented Culture to a Research Productivity Mission: The Case of Mexico and the United States

Abstract

This study qualitatively analyzes the culture conflicts professors in the United States and Mexico are experiencing with the increasing pressures to produce more research about higher education. The first dataset was collected from 36 faculty members from 12 small and medium sized private, doctorate-granting universities. These universities are located in 11 states across the United States. The remaining data came from 44 faculty members employed at four small and medium sized private, doctoral granting universities in four states across Mexico. Results showed that universities in the US are transitioning from a predominantly teaching college culture to a more research orientation. Although the sampled universities continue to offer established graduate programs, faculty members continue to struggle with their teaching requirements and conflicts research productivity pressures place on their teaching and mentoring time with students. Participating faculty members employed in the US were not evenly interested in research opportunities due to the diverse mission objectives promoted by their respective institutions. On the other hand, faculty members employed in Mexico were generally more concerned with their research productivity and subsequent factors, which negatively impact their research productivity. Mexican faculty members rarely cited conflicts between their institutional missions and teaching objectives. This study is highly relevant to policy makers, higher education administrators, and scholars interested in comparative and international higher education. Administrators can benefit from the findings in this study, which provides faculty members’ perceptions and describes departmental structures and organizational dynamics employed to advance greater research and development opportunities. This study concludes with a discussion on how administrators and faculty members should handle the pressures for research productivity and alternative models of higher education.