Processes of Curriculum Change in Colleges and Universities:A Comparison of Population Ecology and Institutional Theorie

本研究探讨了高等教育机构课程结构发生重大转变的过程。它基于种群生态学和组织种群变化的制度理论。PI使用队列分析来调查四年制大学课程的变化。她将使用逻辑和比例风险模型来估计一个机构拥有特定课程结构的概率，课程变化的可能性，以及课程变化对机构生存机会的影响。该研究的一个中心理论目标是阐明组织群体发生变化的一般动力。这项研究将有助于社会理论和教育政策。

This research investigates the processes through which major shifts have occurred in the curricular structure of higher education institutions. It is based on population ecology and institutional theories of change in organizational populations. The PI examines changes in the curricula of four-year institutions using cohort analysis. She will use logistic and proportional hazards models to estimate the probability of an institution having a specified curricular structure, the likelihood of curricular change, and the impact of curricular change on institutions' survival chances. A central theoretical objective of the research is to clarify the general dynamics through which change in organizational populations occurs. The study will contribute to social theory and to educational policy.