0.4 Erickson, d., hensley, p., & Kinsey, g. (april 2010). lessons  (Page 4/7)

Also included in the survey were the following six open-ended questions as:

1. How prepared were you to enter the professoriate?
2. What were some of the challenges in the transition to higher education?
3. During your first two years at the university, what types of duties were you assigned in addition to teaching?
4. Did you come to the professoriate with a scholarship agenda? If not, how did you get started on writing and research?
5. What barriers or obstacles do you think might have hindered your successful transition (if any)?
6. What suggestions or advice do you have for those transitioning into the professoriate?

After a content analysis of the responses, several themes emerged, including the following: (a) lack of preparation, (b) understanding of the university culture, (c) lack of time and/or over commitment, (d) identity, and (e) scholarship demands.

While these themes may not seem unusual, there was much consistency across the participants’ responses, no matter how long in the profession or type of institution at which they worked. As many of our colleagues come directly to us from the K-12 ranks, it appears that there is still much work to be done in the recruitment and retention of educational leadership faculty.

Lack of preparation . Although nine respondents reported a very smooth transition to university work, three of the nine felt unprepared for the demands of scholarship. It appeared that those who were well prepared had either taught at the university as part of their doctoral program or had friends who were already professors. One responded, “I had been an adjunct for four years…transitioning from public education to higher [ed], I was also published and had two full professors friends who gave me much information and support.” Another responded, “I felt very well-prepared having taught extensively; this was part of my doctoral program assistantship. I worked very closely with new and tenured faculty and had many experiences in teaching, advising, service, and research.”

Much more common was the faculty member who learned on the job, particularly in the areas of scholarship and university culture. According to this respondent, “I was not as prepared as I thought I might be for the areas outside of teaching like committee work and service. [I] should have become more familiar with the tenure/promotion requirements, university/college procedures and budgets.” Another respondent stated, “I was excited – but did not have a clue what I was getting into other than what I had observed of my university doctoral program. Doctorate 1981, new professor 2007.” Several had prior teaching experience as a result, but there were still concerns. “I had four years experience as an adjunct, part-time so I understood the teaching part of the position. Not much in scholarly writing.” “Well-prepared except in the area of scholarship.”