NON-FULL-TIME COLLEGE PROFESSORS: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO THE NON-FULL-TIME FACULTY ROLE

The rate of non-full-time faculty members has increased rapidly over the last decade (Louis, 2009; MacKay, 2014; Meranze & Newfield, 2013), as the post-secondary landscape of fluctuating enrolment, fiscal and operational challenges, and the requirement to hire specialized skill sets have required institutions to rely heavily on this demographic. In the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) system, institutions have tried to preserve and enhance educational quality with fewer resources through greater reliance on non-full-time faculty. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of teaching and support of non-full-time faculty at one Eastern Ontario college. Employing a narrative inquiry methodology, data were collected from four participants through their writing three individual letters at the end of each month and participating in one interview at the end of the contract period. The data were analyzed and coded. This analysis revealed five themes: motivation, connection and engagement, compensation, teaching and development, and performance evaluation. Differences in the participants’ perceptions tended to reflect divergences across career stage: retired versus early career. The compensation package provided to non-full-time faculty was considered inadequate for those in the early career stage, especially comparing it to that of full-time faculty. In addition, the amount of previous teaching experience was an important indicator for the appropriate level of teaching resources and support provided by the institution. The newer faculty members required a higher level of support to combat feelings of role isolation. The temporary nature of the role made it difficult to establish a feeling of a strong connection to the institution and subsequently opportunities to engage further to deepen the relationship. Despite these differences across participants, autonomous motivators were consistent across all narratives, as participants expressed their desire to teach and share their knowledge to help students achieve their goals. Participants concluded their narratives by sharing future advice for faculty interested in pursuing the role. The narratives provided areas for improvement that would help increase the level of job satisfaction for non-full-time college faculty members: (a) establishing a more thorough performance evaluation process to align with institutional supports, (b) offering more diverse teaching resources to better prepare faculty and enhance teaching practices, (c) overhauling the compensation package to better recognize the amount of time and effort spent in the role and aligning with the compensation provided to full-time faculty, and (d) including rewards and incentives as part of the compensation package to enhance the level of commitment and availability for the role. These changes might well increase the job satisfaction and improve the retention of non-full-time faculty members.

Moments of Collusion? Close readings of affective, hidden moments within feminist research

This paper addresses affective ‘moments of collusion’ present in feminist research relationships, and contextualises these seemingly personal encounters within a wider systematic framework of the early career researcher and the increasingly neoliberal climate of academia. Focusing on the temporal transition from doctoral research to postdoctorate research positions immediately post-PhD, this paper questions the concept of collusion within (immersive) fieldwork, and examines the delicate and complex question of who is colluding with whom, and for what purpose at different times within the early career academic journey. Specifically, this paper focuses on how the increasing pressures of the neoliberal university play out on our emotions and bodies during fieldwork, an area which still requires attention within the growing critiques of the affects of neo-liberalism in Higher Education. Using personal case studies as springboard for a far wider and important discussion, this paper situates such methodological dilemmas within a broader temporal framework of the increasingly precarious nature of early career academics, where ‘moments of collusion’ may be the only way to keep your head above water.

Facultad por Facultad. Origen familiar y empleo de los licenciados en CCSS y Humanidades de la UCM en el año 2003

Muchos estudios encuentran un efecto del origen social sobre la ocupación y el salario incluso tras controlar la educación. Este efecto, que suele ser pequeño, puede ser un artificio resultante del deficiente control de la educación. Este trabajo examina la importancia de controlar en detalle la educación desagregando las carreras universitarias. Estudiamos el clasismo del mercado de trabajo para una promoción de titulados en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) en los seis años entre su graduación en 1997 y 2003. Esta es la fecha de la encuesta gracias a la cual podemos medir la influencia del status social de los padres sobre las oportunidades de empleo de los hijos no con título universitario en general, sino con el mismo título universitario. Encontramos que la influencia del origen social sobre la clase profesional y los ingresos disminuye mucho cuando se controlan las titulaciones, y que no se observa en la mayor parte de ellas, pero sí en algunas, en concreto Políticas y Sociología y Económicas. Esta concreción allana el camino para investigar las vías por las que esta influencia se produce.

2015 David Cushing Prize

The prize honors the memory of David Cushing, Founding Editor of Journal of Plankton Research. It is awarded annually for the best paper by an early career stage scientist published in the journal during the previous year. The prize helps foster the interesting and high-quality papers by young scientists that David Cushing so actively supported. The 2015 David Cushing Prize has been awarded to Bingzhang Chen for his paper, “Patterns of thermal limits of phytoplankton” (J. Plankton Res. 37, 285–292) Bingzhang Chen obtained his PhD with a major in Marine Environmental Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology under the supervision of Dr Hongbin Liu in 2008. He also worked with Dr Zoe Finkel and Dr Andrew Irwin in Mount Allison University, Canada, from 2009 to 2010. During this time, he started to learn the R language and entered the field of data analysis and programming. This experience has been proved very useful for his later work.

2015 David Cushing Prize

The prize honors the memory of David Cushing, Founding Editor of Journal of Plankton Research. It is awarded annually for the best paper by an early career stage scientist published in the journal during the previous year. The prize helps foster the interesting and high-quality papers by young scientists that David Cushing so actively supported. The 2015 David Cushing Prize has been awarded to Bingzhang Chen for his paper, “Patterns of thermal limits of phytoplankton” (J. Plankton Res. 37, 285–292) Bingzhang Chen obtained his PhD with a major in Marine Environmental Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology under the supervision of Dr Hongbin Liu in 2008. He also worked with Dr Zoe Finkel and Dr Andrew Irwin in Mount Allison University, Canada, from 2009 to 2010. During this time, he started to learn the R language and entered the field of data analysis and programming. This experience has been proved very useful for his later work.

Digital Humanities Research Through Design

Humanities Computing gave rise to the Digital Humanities, which brought considerations of a wider scope of the digital turn to humanities research. Increasingly, the area is understood to include the field of design, exemplified by definitions that describe the Digital Humanities as a “generative enterprise”. We suggest that design contributes not only to the making of digital artefacts. Design practiced with the aim to generate new knowledge constitues a research method. Design research contributes to the Digital Humanities expertise in addressing complex problems and methods for making the knowledge that is generated during a design process explicit.

Connecting people and ideas from around the world: global innovation platforms for next-generation ecology and beyond

We present a case for using Global Community Innovation Platforms (GCIPs), an approach to improve innovation and knowledge exchange in international scientific communities through a common and open online infrastructure. We highlight the value of GCIPs by focusing on recent efforts targeting the ecological sciences, where GCIPs are of high relevance given the urgent need for interdisciplinary, geographical, and cross-sector collaboration to cope with growing challenges to the environment as well as the scientific community itself. Amidst the emergence of new international institutions, organizations, and meetings, GCIPs provide a stable international infrastructure for rapid and long-term coordination that can be accessed by any individual. This accessibility can be especially important for researchers early in their careers. Recent examples of early-career GCIPs complement an array of existing options for early-career scientists to improve skill sets, increase academic and social impact, and broaden career opportunities. We provide a number of examples of existing early-career initiatives that incorporate elements from the GCIPs approach, and highlight an in-depth case study from the ecological sciences: the International Network of Next-Generation Ecologists (INNGE), initiated in 2010 with support from the International Association for Ecology and 20 member institutions from six continents.

The reality of cross-disciplinary energy research in the United Kingdom:a social science perspective

Cross-disciplinary research is essential in understanding and reducing energy usage, however the reality of this collaboration comes with many challenges. This paper provides an insight into the integration of social science in energy research, drawing on the expertise and first hand experiences of a range of social science researchers (predominantly Early Career Researchers (ECRs)) working on UK cross-disciplinary projects in energy demand. These researchers, participants in a workshop dedicated to understanding the integration of social science in energy research, identified four groups of challenges to successful integration: Differing expectations of the role of social scientists; Working within academia; Feeling like a valued member of the team; and Communicating and comprehension between disciplines. Suggestions of how to negotiate those challenges included: Management and planning; Increasing contact; Sharing experience; and Understanding team roles. The paper offers a definition of ‘success’ in cross-disciplinary energy research from the perspective of social science ECRs, comprising external, internal and personal components. Using the logics of interdisciplinarity, this paper suggests that integration of the social sciences in the projects discussed may be partial at best and highlights a need to recognise the challenges ECRs face, in order to achieve full integration and equality of disciplines.

Teacher survival : staying alive in the job of teaching /

This study presents information gathered during personal interviews with dynamic and capable teachers in the areas of preparedness for teaching, teaching concerns, survival skills and strategies, and how these teachers support themselves and others in the teaching profession. The data are related to Purkey and Novak's work on invitational education and connections are made to Combs' perceptual orientation. Potential participants were gathered through personal recommendations from their colleagues. All teachers recommended were approached and asked for voluntary participation. Of those who agreed to participate, 6 were selected based on gender and years of experience. There was a male and female participant at each of the following career levels: early, mid, and late. The 4 major survival skills that became apparent were the ability to believe in oneself and others, to act decisively upon that belief through personal and professional goal-setting as well as accessing resources, to actively seek opportunities for interaction with other professionals, and to celebrate personal and professional successes.

Second-Career Adults: Issues Encountered in Teacher Education Programs

The purpose of this case study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of 3 second-career males prior to and during their participation in teacher education programs. Case study research techniques were used to elicit data from 3 participants who had completed teacher education programs and were actively teaching in various capacities in Ontario. Data were collected through an email questionnaire, 2 open-ended, one-on-one interviews, and the researcher's field notes and reflections of the interview process. These data were coded, analyzed for emerging trends, collated, and presented as a series of findings. The study revealed that these 3 second-career males transitioning into teacher education programs encountered a number of difficulties, some of which are a result of the way program providers structure their recruitment processes and present their curricula. Findings indicated that the second-career males in this study appeared to be inadequately prepared to work in a female-dominated profession. The study also found incompatibilities between associate teachers and these second-career candidates during practice teaching sessions. The findings and implications are of interest to teacher educators, school boards, teacher federations, and prospective adult candidates that may be considering teaching as an alternative second career.

Finnish model of teacher education for lifelong teaching career

Monogr??fico con el t??tulo: "La investigaci??n sobre la identidad profesional del profesorado en Europa???

Adaptation of career goals to self and opportunities in early adolescence

Development of career goals that are adapted to self and opportunities is a central component of adolescent career preparation. The present longitudinal study (conducted throughout the eighth grade with three assessment points) investigated how 330 Swiss adolescents simultaneously adapt career goals to interests, scholastic achievement and environmental opportunities. Results demonstrated that students increasingly adapt their goals to the environment. Mean adaptation to environment related positively to degree of adaption to interests and achievement. Increased adaptation to environment over time related to increased adaptation to achievement but to decreased adaptation to interests. Gender, attended school type and nationality moderated adaptation processes. Structurally disadvantaged students (girls, lower requirements school track, immigrant students) reported more conflict in aligning adaptation to environment with adaptation to interests.

Gender, Professional Networks, and Subjective Career Success within Early Academic Science Careers: The Role of Gender Composition in Inside and Outside Departmental Support Networks

The present study analyzed (a) gender differences in the gender composition (i.e., the proportion of male to female contacts) of professional support networks inside and outside an individual’s academic department and (b) how these differences in gender composition relate to subjective career success (i.e., perceived career success and perceived external marketability). Results showed that the networks’ gender composition is associated with subjective career success. Men’s networks consist of a higher proportion of male to female supporters, which, in turn, was positively related to subjective career success. Additional analyses revealed that the findings could not be accounted for by alternative factors, such as network size, networking behaviors, and career ambition.

A summative evaluation of a HIV/AIDS Early Childhood Care, Education and Development Teacher Training Workshop in Mongu, Zambia

Objective. To conduct a summative evaluation of an Early Childhood Care, Education and Development (ECCED) Teacher Training Workshop in Mongu, Zambia by assessing changes in knowledge, attitudes and intent to use the information. ^ Study design. A matched cohort survey design was used with additional qualitative data collected by structured observation of workshop sessions, daily facilitator and participant debriefs and participant interviews. ^ Results. Matching pre and post tests were completed by 27 individuals in addition to daily debriefs, structured workshop observation and participant interviews with 22% of the group. The participant population was predominantly female individuals aged 15-44 years old that had completed high school and additional post-secondary training, been teaching children aged 0 – 8 years for 2-5 years in the Western Province and received other HIV/AIDS and ECCED education. Pre-tests indicated a strong understanding of ECCED principles and misconceptions regarding HIV transmission, prevention and the disease's impact on early childhood development. The workshop was found to significantly increase the participants' knowledge of topics covered by the curriculum (paired t-test, N=27, p = 0.004, 95% CI 1.8, 8.6). Participants began with a more limited understanding of HIV/AIDS than ECCED, but the mean gain was much greater at 7.4 +/- 12.3 points. Significantly more participants believed at post-test that HIV/AIDS education should increase for future educators. The 77.8% of participants that increased their knowledge scores at post-test expressed significantly less fear of having a child with HIV/AIDS in the classroom (Independent Samples t-test, N= 27, p = 0.011). Overall participant fear decreased 15.5%. 92.6% and 88.9% of participants planned at post-test to respectively use and share the taught information in their daily professional lives and reported on innovative strategies to communicate with the community. ^ Conclusions. Teacher training workshops can significantly increase HIV/AIDS awareness and promote positive attitudes in educators working with children affected by HIV/AIDS. Using participant suggested teaching techniques such as poems and songs and translating the materials to the local language could assist future facilitators to both culturally and professionally relate to the workshop audience as well as increase participant capacity to share the information with the local community. ^