Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research

Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews that improve knowledge of topics that are of central and current importance to higher education administrators, policymakers, and researchers. Each annual volume contains chapters on such diverse topics as research on college students and faculty, organization and administration, curriculum and instruction, policy, diversity issues, economics and finance, history and philosophy, community colleges, advances in research methodology, and more. Of central importance is understanding how to improve educational experiences, outcomes, and environments, and identifying needed and effective improvements in higher education policy and practice. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the conceptual and methodological rigor of existing research, and sets forth an agenda for research that will advance future knowledge of the topic. The Handbook provides a comprehensive treatment of salient topics of interest to the international higher education community. Past chapters have become the foundation on which continued higher education research builds.