How six assistant professors landed their jobs at Baccalaureate Colleges and Master's institutions: A focus on pathways and teaching (un)preparedness

Abstract

Did you pursue your PhD because you wanted to teach at the college level? Do you find it tricky to balance your interest in teaching with the focus on research at your graduate institution? Are you hoping to do a lot of teaching in your future faculty job but don't know where to look for advice or what it would be like? This paper shares the narratives of six assistant professors who are at institutions that largely focus on undergraduate education, such as Baccalaureate Colleges and Master's Institutions. The narratives include each professor's reasons for pursing their positions; how they prepared for their job and what they wished they had done in graduate school; the interview process at their institution; and the uncertainties they faced. This paper uses the novel emerging methodology of narrative analysis that is meant to connect readers with the stories of participants. Rather than focusing on themes present for many research participants, narrative research maintains the integrity of each individual's story. In addition to the narrative stories included in this paper, I include a thematic analysis that looks across all the stories, so that we might make meaning out of the stories as a group. The thematic analysis section of the paper is useful when considering the larger implications of this research. For example, by examining how all participants reflect on their graduate school experience and what they wish would have been different, we can provide insight to current graduate students and their advisors. Graduate students might feel empowered to pursue a teaching opportunity despite it taking away time from research, and advisors might consider different ways of supporting their graduate students to achieve their career goals. Six new engineering assistant professors, two females and four males, were interviewed as part of a larger research project exploring the pathway to and current experiences of faculty members at institutions of varying teaching and research activity. This paper responds to the following research question: How do engineering assistant professors describe their faculty job search experiences and preparation for positions at Baccalaureate Colleges and Master's Institutions? The findings reported in this paper focuses more specifically on how the assistant professors were able, and unable, to prepare for their teaching responsibilities. This paper will likely interest graduate students who are considering academic careers and would like to focus on teaching in their future positons. Faculty members who mentor graduate students may also find this paper useful to understand how to best support their students as they pursue post-graduation options. Finally, future research efforts will explore how some of the findings and recommendations could be implemented into graduate programming and training, such as future faculty and similar professional development initiatives.