Institutional origin : labor market signaling in higher education

• Main Author: Wyer, Jean Conover
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: W&M ScholarWorks 1980
• Subjects: Higher Education
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539618600; https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1810&context=etd

In response to the need for further research on promotion and tenure decisions, this study examined one of the criteria used in these decisions: inbreeding. Based on an analysis of the academic marketplace modifying Spence's theory of job market signaling behavior, the following research hypotheses guided the study: (1) female inbred faculty have patterns of productivity which are significantly different from the patterns of productivity of male inbred faculty; (2) inbred faculty show less professional advancement than noninbred faculty; and (3) inbred faculty receive fewer institutional rewards than noninbred faculty.;The data for the research was taken from the 1977 Survey of the American Professoriate. This instrument was designed and implemented under the direction of Everett Carll Ladd, Jr. and Seymour Martin Lipset. Seven statistical hypotheses were tested covering the productivity of male and female inbred faculty, their professional advancement, and their rewards. Methodological factors included a broad operationalization of academic productivity, the use of multivariate analyses, and the inclusion of a test for the statistical significance of discrimination in rewards.;The results of the analyses showed that inbred faculty do experience discrimination in rewards and in some areas of professional advancement. Significant differences were found in the patterns of productivity exhibited by female and male inbred faculty members. Women show higher performance in most traditional institutional areas while men emphasize external activities. The results indicate that institutional origin cannot be used as a reliable signal in the academic labor market.