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This review has been accessed times since September 19, 2008

Twale, Darla. J. & DeLuca, Barbara M. (2008). Faculty Incivility: The Rise of the Academic Bully Culture and What to Do About it. SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Pp. xvi + 219         ISBN 978-0-470-19766-0

Reviewed by Karen Mauck Cicmanec
Morgan State University

September 19, 2008

Certainly, the media and general public have become more sensitized to the prevalence of civility in today’s community, work, and school environment. As a consequence, one may find a number of related literatures focusing on incivility by doing an ERIC keyword search (e.g., “bullying”, “university” and “college”). For example, Millman (2007) examined a report of a professor’s alleged intimidating and hostile behavior (Millman, 2007). Lawrence and Adams (2006) described an approach to addressing bullying behavior in the schools. And, Lewis (2004), noted the lasting impact of shame on the victims of bullying in a recent study. Similarly, a web search will produce additional illustrations of incivility including descriptions and options for countering the incivility of students against faculty (Morrissette, 2001; Holladay, n.d.).

Fortunately for researchers and educators interested in the impact of civility in the academic setting, Faculty Incivility, authored by Twale and DeLuca, offers a thick description of the nuances of incivility found in academe that addresses speculations that people are less civil than they used to be. The authors, indicating that they have witnessed and experienced incivility during their collective 60-plus years of experience in higher education, intend to help others understand and link socio-cultural theories and frameworks that support research on these behaviors that appear “as unique as the people involved” (p. xiii). It is within this context that Twale and DeLuca offer readers a scholarly perspective on faculty incivility.

In this book of nine chapters divided into three parts, the authors define “incivility” (i.e., bullying, mobbing, camouflaged aggression, and harassment), review and analyze related literature and theory, and offer suggestions for ways to address incivility. Twale and DeLuca use Salin’s (2003) framework for bulling to lay a foundation for understanding incivility, and add anecdotal information gathered from faculty members who have experienced or witnessed incivility as a way to propose possible causes and effects.

The five chapters of the first section of the book are used to situate the reader and address each of the elements found in Salin (2003) (e.g., motivating structure, precipitating circumstances, enabling structure and processes) that lead to incivility or a bullying culture in academe. Noting that most of the research on workplace incivility has been done outside of academe, Twale and Deluca highlight what can be found in the literature on civility, incivility, bullying, and mobbing, link the highlights to the history of higher education, and illustrate various elements of the framework with faculty anecdotes. The authors reflect on the past 370 years to support their belief that “incivility has roots in academe” (p. 33). They cite examples of elitism versus merit versus democratization, faculty versus administration, and academic freedom versus paternalism as illustrations of the tensions that are present in academe.

In an attempt to answer the question, “How do we learn to be uncivil and to bully others?”, Twale and Deluca present information from research on social learning theories that address aggressive behaviors, gender, social distance, paternalism, power and politics, and management styles to support their observation that “aggression increases naturally as the population increases” (p. 47), “given adverse circumstances, faculty jockey for power” (p. 58), and “academic life is competitive” (p. 64). Here is one illustration of the anecdotal writings from faculty victims of incivility included in this section:

I kept asking my mentor for help in dealing with an evening class of graduate students who were clearly indignant to me during class. But she clearly was not going to back me up on anything. I found out later that my mentor actually orchestrated the behavior of the class. (p. 53-54)

Twale and DeLuca examine the influence of the organizational structure in higher education and the illusion of “shared governance” or “faculty self-governance”. They also articulate that the tenure and promotion process is often enveloped in mystery and that this, like the insecurity that accompanies non-tenured status, may be one of several conditions for faculty victimization. They continue by suggesting that institutional bureaucracy and faculty isolation create a site where camouflaged aggression may thrive. Perhaps readers will recognize this anecdotal comment as a famliar one: “Faculty meetings became much more intense—nothing gets done…and we go nowhere.” (p. 71).

The academic culture is multi-dimensional. What may be viewed as friendly, collaborative, and meaningful may cover an undercurrent of challenges to academic freedom, collegiality for some and not others, and turf battles. As with earlier chapters, the authors support their writing with citations from literature. (Over 250 citations appear in the reference list.) It is at this point in the book that the authors suggest that students may be witnessing incivility and consider the practices normative, and that new or untenured faculty may consider incivility as a rite of passage. In the anecdotal records that accompany this section, we view the problems relating to faculty incivility and the extent to which all own the problem:

I will never forget a September departmental faculty meeting when we welcomed five new faculty members. During the meeting, an old guard faculty member explained how we conducted business, and one of the new group asked the faculty member to explain why we did things that way. I had been in the department long enough to know that the new guy had just pounded the first nail in his coffin. I predicted he would not last beyond his first year, and unfortunately, I was right. I am not sure he realized what he was doing to himself, which is regrettable, or how welcome his refreshing perspective really was to me. His comment made me feel part of the problem. (p. 96)

In Part II of the book, the authors attempt to pinpoint the causes of incivility and suggest that the marginalization of academic work, minority groups, male dominance, and market forces may precipitate incivility in academe. The authors indicate that higher education is moving toward a corporate model, an ideological shift that may engender institutional shifts and faculty/administrative tensions and aggressive behavior. Twale and DeLuca support their position with contemporary literature and anecdotes.

I guess budgets are tight all over, but the dean’s push for market share is driving many of us crazy. We keep hearing about preserving the mission and striving for quality and excellence. But then we hear that if we don’t start offering online courses to increase revenue in the college, some other nearby institution will. So which is it, mission or market? (p. 132)

Twale and Deluca devote the final two chapters to suggestions for addressing incivility and its consequences. It is here that administrators, department chairs, faculty, and others will find arguments for and against the development of institutional policies like those that have been developed for sexual harassment. Here also, is a list of warning signs that may help faculty and administrators recognize workplace aggression. The authors indicate that education and socialization may help institutions to build a culture of civility. Strategies are offered to help institutions select and apply research methods that will assist in the development of policy, grievance procedures, sanctions, or redress relating to incivility. Strategies for victims are addressed in the final pages and epilogue. Again, this anecdote illustrates a faculty member’s position on civility.

In the meantime, I do my job. I work well with the other profs in my department. I am trying to make inroads into another department and at other institutions. In general it is a pleasant place to work. But I make statements as the conscience of the group. I don’t try to anger anyone. There isn’t too much you can do. You get passive. You can’t make yourself sick over it. (p. 163)

As mature educator who is approaching retirement and one who is beginning the sixth year as a full time, yet-to-be tenured professor, I have some ability to relate to the anecdotes that appear to come from eleven or more men and women who have witnessed or experienced incivility in academe. I am intrigued by the authors’ methodological approach to analyzing the complexities surrounding faculty incivility. And, I appreciate the authors’ grounding in a contemporary framework for bullying (Salin, 2003) and their extensive use of literature to support each theme. Twale and DeLuca indicate that their goal is to “uncover the personal, social, cultural, organizational, and structural reasons that faculty incivility may have led to the development of an academic bully culture” (p. xi-xii). The book is a valuable read for students, faculty, and administrators, and it establishes a foundation on which additional interesting and valuable research may be constructed.

The book includes a preface written by the authors, short biography, epilogue, reference list, name and subject index.

References

Holladay, J. (n.d.) Managing incivility in the college classroom. Retrieved on July 25, 2008 from http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/gsi/tatalk/incivility.php

Lawrence, G. & Adams, F. D. (2006). For every bully there is a victim. American Secondary Education, 35(1), 66-71.

Lewis, D. Bullying at work: The impact of shame among university and college lecturers. (2004). British Journal of Guidance and Counseling, 32(3), 281-299.

Millman, S. (June, 2007). Piling it on. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(41), 41.

Morrissette, P. J. (2001). Reducing incivility in the university/college classroom. International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning, 5(4). Retrieved on July 25, 2008 from http://www.ucalgary.ca/~iejll/volume5/morrissette.html

Salin, D. (2003). Ways of explaining workplace bullying: A review of enabling, motivating, and precipitating structure and processes in the work environment. Human Relations, 56, 1213-1232.

About the Reviewer

Dr. Karen Mauck Cicmanec teaches courses in assessment, research, curriculum, program evaluation, and technology to graduate students enrolled in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Education Review.

Editors: Gene V Glass, Kate Corby, Gustavo Fischman

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