FACULTY BELIEFS AND ORIENTATIONS TO TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE LAB: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

This dissertation presents a two-phase multiple case study conducted to investigate the faculty

beliefs regarding the integration of labs into engineering and engineering technology education

and the relationship between such beliefs and the teaching practices adopted in the labs. In the first

phase, an exploratory study grounded on a framework of beliefs was conducted to elicit the beliefs

espoused by the participants. Interviews were used to elicit the participants’ beliefs. The

transcribed interviews were analyzed through the constant comparative method. Thirteen faculty

members from the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology participated. In the second

phase, a triangulation approach was used to investigate the relationships between the participants’

beliefs and their corresponding teaching practices. The findings from phase one were triangulated

with the data from interviews, questionnaires, and documents to elicit the relationships between

beliefs and practices.