A comprehensive survey instrument, the Doctoral Program Context Inventory (DPCI), was developed to measure educational leadership doctoral students' perception of program-related structural, cultural and academic constructs. Conceptual grounding derived from a synthesis of variables related to doctoral retention/attrition and emphasized program as opposed to individual student-related variables.
The development of the instrument was based on a survey of 81 educational administration doctoral programs. The response included 773 doctoral students representing 69 universities (an 85% program return rate). Usable data were collected from 54 programs, program being the unit of analysis. The administrators of 64 programs completed and returned Chair's/Faculty surveys (a 79% return rate). Student data were aggregated at the university program level and merged with the faculty surveys.
Principal factors extractions conducted through the SPSS 10.0 statistical program on 103 items diminished the number of items to 69 and collapsed them into 12 factors with high internal consistency reliability (alphas above .8). The first 11 factors constitute the DPCI scales: advisement, climate, curriculum quality, faculty as scholars and researchers, faculty-student relationships, instruction orientation, instruction quality, peer-student relationships, professional activities, psychological integration (students' sense of belongingness), and student activities. The last factor represents the outcome variable intention to persist.
Summated factor scores of the 12 scales were computed for each program. Pearson correlation coefficients were examined to explore inter-scale relations. The results lend support to construct validity of the DPCI. Such factors as faculty-student relationships, integration, climate, peer-student relationships, curriculum quality, advisement, instruction quality, and instruction orientation significantly correlated with intention to persist.
A second order factor analysis revealed two higher order factors: academic environment and interpersonal environment.
This study has implications for doctoral programs. It shows that persistence tends to be higher where there is a greater level of integration and cohesion among students and between students and faculty on both academic and social dimensions. The DPCI appears to be an easily administered measure for doctoral program self-assessment and self-improvement (a guide for practical usage with standardized scores is included).
