Part-time work and self-identity: A case study of adjuncts in higher education.

摘要

This dissertation explores what "part-time" work means as a dimension of identity embedded within everyday communication practices of adjuncts in higher education by incorporating a communication model based on a constitutive view of identity (Mokros, 2002). The research questions of this study examine adjuncts' self-reflections, interactions with others, and social discourses regarding the concept of "part-time.";This dissertation employed surveys and interviews with adjuncts to collect data during the year 2001. First, 104 adjuncts in English and Business at three institutions (community college, liberal arts university, research university) completed surveys. Next, seven survey respondents were interviewed in-person. Descriptive statistics and themes from textual analysis were obtained.;Survey respondents were generally satisfied being "part-time" but indicated dissatisfaction with compensation. They were very satisfied with departmental support, but indicated they never participate in activities that show departmental membership. They have a variety of career goals and are motivated by the occupation of teaching, meeting practical needs, and gaining personal rewards. With regard to interactions with others, adjuncts are disconnected from members in academia (unless they need assistance) and face a range of acceptance from people outside academia. They described part-time work as both a positive and negative lived experience and described the concept of "part-time" as how people spend their time and as a lack of membership in academia.;Seven adjuncts were interviewed regarding their lived experiences of "part-time" and their social understandings of the concept "part-time." Four emergent themes of their reported lived experiences are: (1) how they fit part-time work into life overall; (2) how they explain/account for being "part-time" or being an adjunct to others; (3) their perceived acceptance by others concerning their part-time work; and (4) how they experience tension between membership and anonymity in the academic community. Each adjunct also presented unique social understandings of "part-time" as a: (1) simple binary category, (2)technocratic term with definitional criteria, (3) inappropriate, stereotypical label, (4) gendered work issue, (5) positioning of self in terms of membership within a community, (6) positioning of self in terms of a complex bureaucratic system, and (7) dangerous economic employment trend in social policy.