Seeking “better ways”: early career faculty researcher development

Abstract

Purpose Researcher development is an important but underexplored topic with implications for knowledge production, graduate education, faculty development and equity in higher education. The purpose of this constructivist instrumental case study was to understand how the process of writing and publishing from qualitative dissertations sparked researcher development among two pre-tenure faculty members in higher education. Design/methodology/approach Two researchers and seven data sources (i.e. six essays and one dialogue transcript) were used to construct the case. Researchers first inductively and independently coded the data sources. Researchers then collectively used the constant comparative technique (Charmaz, 2014) for data analysis. Findings Data analysis uncovered an iterative, three-phase process of seeking “better ways” (Evans, 2011) to translate dissertations into publications. This process included (1) recognizing one or more issues in the research design or conveyance of data, (2) rallying in a multitude of ways to seek better ways to address the issue(s) and (3) resolving the issue(s) by following internal voices and finding “better ways”. Originality/value Findings offer implications for faculty members’ approaches to mentoring and graduate preparation, and for postdoctoral and early career scholars’ agentic approaches to publishing, teaching and reflecting on one’s own researcher development.

Navigating the neo-academy: Experiences of liminality and identity construction among early career researchers at one Australian regional university

“…The demand to work collaboratively was also identified by these ECRs as challenging in the absence of a clear researcher identity, as they were unsure to which 'tribe' they should or could connect. Robbins et al (2018) reported similar challenges for ECRs where there were not ready-made collaborations in place postdoctorate. As Drew explained, "You don't know where you fit but you are being told that you must fit!".…”

In pursuit of impact: Toward a contextualized theory of professional agency of engineering education scholars

“…Within the discussion of outcomes of agency, the impact of both our internal and external interpretations on our actions and perceptions align with other examples from faculty research. For instance, research focused on early career faculty reinforces the importance of external interpretations, such as peer reviews within the journal publication process, as faculty attempt to pursue impact within their fields (e.g., Robbins & LePeau, 2018). As another example, in a study of race-related service and agency, Baez illustrates an important dynamic between faculty members exercising agency to participate in race-related service and the external assessment of service within the "traditional notions of merit" (2000, p. 389).…”

Academic Pipeline Programs

“…Faculty and administrator pipeline programs assist their participants with the iterative process of learning coping skills during times of rejection, accepting constructive criticism, building mentoring networks, and developing academic socialization skills (Robbins & LePeau, 2018). In this section, we will illustrate some of the hallmark URM faculty and postdoctoral programs (the University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) Faculty Success Program, the Sisters of the Academy [SOTA] Institute, the Rochester Institution of Technology [RIT] Future Faculty Career Exploration Program, and the Creating Connections Consortium [C3]), which have assisted many underrepresented minority (URM) postdoctoral researchers and faculty members to move successfully through their academic life journey.…”