Institutional Ethical Practices and Faculty Professional Self-Esteem Survey

Abstract

The Institutional Ethical Practices and Faculty Professional Self-Esteem Survey, developed by L. F. O’Hara in 1991, is a brief, 10-item instrument designed to assess faculty perceptions regarding institutional factors that influence their professional self-esteem. The survey focuses specifically on nine key areas of organizational behavior, including administrative support, resource management, and transparency in ethical practices. This tool provides institutions, particularly community college administrators, with actionable data on how their policies and actions are perceived by the faculty.

The scale measures perceptions across dimensions such as administrative commitment, honesty, information sharing, and faculty influence over budget and institutional planning. The data derived from this survey can be utilized to improve organizational climate and enhance the professional identity of academic staff within higher education settings.

Keywords

Faculty self-esteem, institutional ethics, administrative commitment, higher education, community college, professional development, organizational climate, faculty input, survey research.

Authors

O’Hara, L. F.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Institutional Ethical Practices and Faculty Professional Self-Esteem Survey is to gauge faculty perspectives on the ethical standards and operational efficacy of their employing institution. It serves as a diagnostic tool for measuring the organizational climate as it pertains to the professional identity and self-esteem of academic staff.

By focusing on specific areas such as budget influence, faculty input in decision-making, and open communication, the survey allows institutional leaders to identify specific policy or procedural deficits that may negatively impact morale and, consequently, the quality of the teaching and learning environment.

Construct

The survey measures the overarching construct of Faculty Professional Self-Esteem as influenced by Institutional Ethical Practices. This construct is operationalized through nine distinct, measurable dimensions of institutional behavior.

These dimensions include: Administrative Commitment to faculty welfare, the degree of Faculty Input into institutional decisions, Information Sharing and organizational transparency, perceived Honesty and consistency in dealing with staff, faculty influence over the Budget, Classroom Control autonomy, adequacy of Support Services, opportunities for Professional Development, and meaningful involvement in Goal Setting and Institutional Planning. The tenth item allows for qualitative exploration of other significant variables.

Validity

Specific quantitative data regarding content, criterion, or construct validity are not extensively detailed in the summarized report (ERIC ED 331 543). However, given the nature of the development, the scale exhibits strong Content Validity, as the nine measured dimensions were explicitly chosen based on their perceived impact on faculty morale and professional identity within the community college context.

The focus on specific, observable institutional behaviors (e.g., budget determination, information exchange) suggests the items were designed to comprehensively cover the domain of institutional support systems necessary for maintaining high professional self-esteem among faculty.

Reliability

The original report does not explicitly publish standard measures of internal consistency, such as Cronbach’s Alpha. Further psychometric research would be necessary to establish the test-retest reliability or internal consistency of the nine components across different institutional settings. The analysis focused primarily on reporting means across different site locations, rather than on internal scale consistency.

Factor Analysis

The scale is structured around nine predetermined, conceptually distinct variables. While the initial data analysis focused on reporting means for these nine variables based on site location, the provided documentation does not indicate that exploratory or confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed to empirically confirm the hypothesized structure of these nine factors. The instrument is utilized primarily as a multi-dimensional diagnostic tool rather than a single-score measure of a latent construct.

Instrument

Test Type: Perceptual Survey / Organizational Climate Assessment

Format: 10 items (9 scaled items, 1 open-ended qualitative item)

Language Available: English

Population Group: Academic professionals and administrators

Age Group: Adult (Working professionals)

Population Details: The original sample included 1,286 full-time faculty and 25 chief executive officers (CEOs) from 20 institutions of higher education, specifically community college campuses, across 13 U.S. states.

Test Methodology: Self-report survey administered to faculty and CEOs. Items are scored on a 10-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (Does not describe) to 10 (Describes).

Keywords

Academic administration, higher education policy, organizational transparency, ethical leadership, faculty morale, institutional planning, budget allocation, classroom autonomy.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not available in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not available in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not available in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The survey was published in 1991. Given its status as an ERIC document (ED 331 543), the instrument is generally considered publicly accessible for research purposes, although specific permissions for commercial use should be sought from the original author, L. F. O’Hara. The original PDF can be downloaded via the ERIC database using the accession number ED 331 543.

Information regarding licensing fees or formal permissions beyond academic research use is not provided in the summary source material.

Reference’s

• O’Hara, L. F. (1991). Institutional Ethical Practices and Faculty Professional Self-Esteem Survey Report. Community/Junior College Quarterly 18:319–27.
• O’Hara, L. F. (1991). Institutional Ethical Practices and Faculty Professional Self-Esteem: Survey Report. ERIC ED 331 543.

Items of the Institutional Ethical Practices and Faculty Professional Self-Esteem Survey

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. The administration of this college has stated, formally and/or informally, its commitment to promoting the profes- sional self-esteem of the faculty.
2. Faculty are influential in ensuring that issues which will enhance their professional self-esteem are addressed.
3. All pertinent information dealing with college issues is openly and freely exchanged.
4. Faculty are dealt with in an honest and consistent manner.

5. Faculty have power in determining the institutional budget.
6. Faculty have control over all appropriate classroom-related matters.
7. The institution demonstrates sensitivity to the faculty need to devote the proper amount of time and attention to instructional matters.
8. The institution supports opportunities for faculty professional growth and renewal.
9. Faculty are meaningfully involved in institutional planning.
10. List any other institutional variable that is significant to the quality of the teaching-learning environment at this institution. Explain.