Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Clarke, Leonie Patricia
Author's Email Address	lpc06c@fsu.edu
URN	etd-04112010-215007
Title	An Exploratory Study of Jamaican Family and Consumer Sciences Educators' Attitudes toward Research Engagement, Perceptions of Research Norms, and Perceived Control over Conducting Research and Research Engagement
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Family and Child Sciences, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Marsha Rehm Committee Chair Penny Ralston Committee Member Linda Vinton University Representative
Keywords	Jamaica Family and Consumer Sciences Attitudes toward Research Engagement Research Norms Research Engagement
Date of Defense	2009-08-17
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between attitudes toward research engagement, research norms, perceived control over the ability to conduct research and research engagement among family and consumer sciences (FCS) faculty in post-secondary institutions in Jamaica. The literature shows that in the family and consumer sciences discipline, faculty members are predominantly female. Females in higher education worldwide have not been as productive as males in terms of research output, at least according to current institutional definitions and quantitative measures. Women tend to have higher teaching loads, constitute a smaller proportion of tenured faculty, and are less likely to attain the professor rank. Additionally, women are more likely to be employed by non-research-intensive institutions. The Theory of Planned Behavior provided the framework for addressing the research question. The sample consisted of 39 female FCS educators, that is, 75% of all FCS educators in 11 post-secondary institutions in Jamaica. They were administered a 62 item, researcher-devised online questionnaire. More than two-thirds (69%) of the respondents had engaged in research. The average number of research products over the five year period was 3.54. There were no significant associations between the educators’ attitudes toward research engagement and their actual engagement in research; between their perceptions of norms regarding research engagement and engagement in research; nor between their perceived control over conducting research and research engagement. Recommendations to improve research engagement among the sample include: implement a FCS program such as that proposed by Nicholls et al. (2004) that allows faculty to mature as researchers; establish research accountability groups with FCS peers or with other university researchers; conduct research as faculty-student teams based on student projects; and encourage institutions to give credence to both quantitative and qualitative research so that FCS faculty are assured of credit for qualitative research they are likely to undertake.
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