Date of Award

1984

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Higher Education Administration PhD

First Advisor

Bernard M. Lall

Second Advisor

Fonda L. Chaffee

Third Advisor

Samuel T. Harris

Abstract

Phenomenal, pervasive, and fundamental change characterize the 1980s, often threatening to lead to entropy and decay. Innovative ways must be found to maintain equilibrium amidst disorienting world events. The search to find a more meaningful experience has moved education to the center of social and cultural concern and created renewed interest in the foundations of educational practice.

Problem. A diligent search revealed a great lack of systematic studies on the development of higher education in Bermuda. There is a need to select data on higher education and present them in a comprehensible format. This study sought to fill that need. It situated the development of higher education in a historical framework and traced its developmentfrom the first attempt, in 1626, to 1980, when the first phase of the Stonington Campus of Bermuda College was completed and occupied.

Method. The study employed both descriptive and inferential approaches to historical research. The organizational structure was designed to show social influences on the development of higher education in Bermuda. The study sought characteristics that would substantiate the thesis that the development of higher education in Bermuda was a discontinuous but persistent struggle which resulted in the sophisticated system that existed in 1980.

Findings. The development of higher education in Bermuda was characterized by a series of struggles and disappointments, with neither a sense of continuity nor a marked evolutionary process. It is, therefore, safe to conclude that the evidence presented substantiated the thesis that the development of higher education in Bermuda was a discontinuous but persistent struggle which resulted in the sophisticated system that existed in 1980.

Decisive issues also involved the transmission, development, and refinement of the legacy up to 1980. These issues were discussed as religious, ethical, political, identity, financial, and racial concerns.

Few efforts achieved permanent success, however, the totality of the experiences has influenced the changing theories and practices of higher education in Bermuda today. The study should provide new insights into current educational concerns and diffuse important concepts for the re-invigoration of higher interaction between the school and the larger community. Bermuda College has the potential to make the educational experience a highly fulfilling endeavor.

Subject Area

Education, Higher--Bermuda Islands

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dissertations/249/

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