Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive demographic database of dental hygiene education administrators and to examine their academic professional profile.
Methods: On April 1, 1996, a survey was mailed to all dental hygiene education administrators in the U.S. The survey requested participants to respond to specific questions regarding demographic characteristics, professional academic profile, and extent of management theory background. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages. Cross-tabulations and chi-square tests were calculated for type of institution, type of program, extent of management theory background, highest degree earned, and rank.
Results: One hundred thirty-eight valid surveys (63%) were returned. The demographic profile determined the majority of administrators were Caucasian (95.6%), female (87.6%), dental hygienists (87.6%), with a mean age of 47. The highest degree earned was a master's degree (64.5%) with a specialization in education (47.7%). Additionally, 87.5 percent had some form of educational management theory background, and 22.6 percent held the rank of full professor. Professional experience ranged from one to 30 years, with a mean of 10 years. The majority of participants worked in public (95.7%) institutions, primarily community and technical colleges (67.4%) that awarded associate's degrees (72.5%). Cross-tabulations and chi-square tests for type of institution, type of program, extent of management theory background, and rank were calculated. Significance was found between rank and type of institution, type of program, highest degree earned, and gender. Additionally, a relationship was found between gender and highest degree earned.
Conclusion: These findings help develop a demographic database and professional academic profile of dental hygiene education administrators that can be used for future research and theory development, trends identification, problem solving, decision making, and policy formation. When compared to past studies, Caucasian females still dominate the profession. Also, dental hygiene faculty/administrators have increased in percentage of earned master's and doctoral degrees, and in advancement of academic rank to full professor. Furthermore, administrators are comparable to other full-time faculty in health-related programs and two-year institutions in regard to academic rank and highest degree earned. Thus, this population reflects individuals who can be considered highly dedicated and educationally prepared for their administrative role. However, compared to faculty across all disciplines in higher education, this population did not reflect advanced professional preparation or academic rank. It is recommended that dental hygiene administrators and faculty continue their scholarly endeavors to help advance the field to full professionalization and build academic legitimacy.