Exploring Internal Collaboration in Community Colleges

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Organization Development & Change (D.O.D.C.)

Department

Organization Development

First Advisor

Steve Cady (Committee Chair)

Second Advisor

M. Frances Baldwin (Committee Member)

Third Advisor

Jeanelle Sears (Committee Member)

Fourth Advisor

Colleen Boff (Other)

Abstract

Community colleges in America are facing significant challenges that necessitate transformational change. Collaboration is essential to address these challenges within an environment characterized by external stakeholder interdependence, internal stakeholder interdependence through shared governance, and unique power and authority structures. Although there is extensive literature on collaboration in higher education, research specific to community colleges has predominantly focused on inter-organizational collaboration. This study aimed to fill the gap in the literature by addressing the following research question: what factors impact internal collaboration in community colleges? Focusing specifically on the perspectives of senior administrators, the findings of this qualitative study, analyzed through Reflexive Thematic Analysis, yielded a Model of Internal Collaboration in Community Colleges, which advances both the theory and practice of internal collaboration.

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