Scaling Culture Change Through Institutional Logics: A Look at the Association of American Universities STEM Initiative

• In Event: 66.043 - STEM Teaching and Learning Environments

Abstract

This paper is based on findings from a three-year study of the AAU Undergraduate STEM Initiative – a project designed to improve STEM teaching and learning among AAU’s 62 member universities. Informed by institutional theory and theories of culture change, the study utilized a case study approach and relied on multiple qualitative data sources, including documents, interviews and observations, to examine perceptions around motivation, sustainability and strategies that have been successful in creating and scaling culture change. Our data reflects that AAU was successful in developing new institutional logics that took hold on campuses. However, those logics did not extend to campus policies and practices which remained largely bound by existing values of research as a priority over teaching.

Authors

• Adrianna Kezar, University of Southern California

• Samantha Bernstein-Sierra, University of Southern California