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Academic elite in social work: 1994-2000.
Jeffrey H Bair1, Kendra E Bair
1Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Emporia State University, KS 66801, USA. bairjeff@emporia.edu
Psychological Reports
|January 18, 2003
Summary
Top social work graduate programs remained elite from 1994 to 2000. These leading programs showed minimal changes in hiring faculty from their own or peer institutions.
Area of Science:
- Social Work Education
- Higher Education Studies
- Faculty Recruitment Dynamics
Background:
- The landscape of social work graduate education is competitive.
- Understanding faculty hiring patterns is crucial for program development.
- Elite programs often set trends in academic institutions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the stability of elite social work graduate programs.
- To analyze faculty hiring practices within top-ranked social work programs.
- To identify trends in "in-group" hiring among "elite" social work programs.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of program rankings from 1994 and 2000.
- Examination of faculty hiring data for "elite" social work programs.
- Tracking of faculty recruitment sources within selected institutions.
Main Results:
- The top 11 social work graduate programs maintained their rankings between 1994 and 2000.
- "Elite" programs demonstrated little to no increase in hiring their own graduates.
- Hiring from peer "elite" institutions also showed minimal change.
Conclusions:
- Elite social work programs exhibit significant stability in their rankings.
- Faculty hiring practices in top social work programs are largely insular.
- These findings suggest a consistent, self-perpetuating network among leading institutions.