ESPOUSED TEACHING PARADIGMS OF COLLEGE FACULTY

The purpose of this research was to ascertain the impact of an array o f variables on the espoused teaching paradigms and instructional behav iors of college faculty. The study, which was exploratory and speculat ive, alternately analyzed espoused teaching paradigms as independent a nd dependent variables. Analyses were based on data collected from a l arge national sample of college faculty (N = 443) spread across 163 co lleges and universities and compared across four academic disciplines (English, biology, mathematics, and psychology). The results of the in quiry demonstrated gender, academic discipline, and some contextual va riables to be the most significant predictors of faculty teaching para digms. Furthermore, manifestations of teaching paradigms were explicit ly reflected in the frequencies of instructional behaviors reported by the faculty surveyed. It was concluded that contingency theories of l eadership offer a framework that facilitates a multivariate analysis o f teaching-learning.