Becoming the new normal the second time around: The perceptions and experiences of second-career contingent faculty on their adaptability to teaching in the academe.

摘要

There is a new normal in higher educational institutions in the United States. The majority of instructors teaching college students are contingent faculty. This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study explored the perceptions and experiences of the career adaptability to teaching in the academe of six second-career contingent faculty at four-year public universities in the Northeast. The findings of the study showed that these accomplished professionals turned educators possessed the career adapt-abilities to successfully adapt to teaching in the academe. A metaphor of an Experienced Tour Guide was used to illustrate how the participants exhibited curiosity, concern, control, confidence and made significant contributions to their university, departments, and students. Participants did not exhibit a fifth career-adaptability of cooperation/commitment. Instead, they experienced a culture of competition that was exacerbated by a lack of time, resulting in roadblocks to their career adaptability. In addition, they noted several unexpected breakdowns in the higher education system that inhibited their ability to adapt to teaching in the academe such as a lack of support, recognition, status, power, and job security. Since the practice of using contingent faculty is commonplace and will continue, this study offered recommendations for both universities and department chairs to create a more inclusive, supportive culture for contingent faculty. Implications for practice include the development and implementation of leadership training programs for department chairs, adopting a new perspective and discourse on contingent faculty, implementing inclusive policies and practices, and providing opportunities for support, recognition, power, status, and job security for these accomplished professionals who now call themselves educators.