The shift in the political environment calling for greater student retention in higher education is changing the work dynamics of higher education faculty. Despite many initiatives, the research indicates that faculty have the greatest impact on student persistence. The demands for faculty time continues to increase and to broaden. No longer do…

Throughout the world of higher education, universities and colleges are reconceptualizing how their institutions are organized, especially in terms of faculty size related to overall programming. As adjunct rates increase and faculty positions are eliminated, many programs may be reduced to a single faculty lead. Yet, single faculty member…

Background: The landscape of higher education continues to evolve in ways that have significant implications for the academic profession, including the shaping of academic identities. In a context of increasing marketisation, it is essential to understand more about the complex relationship between academic identities and structural change within…

As higher education institutions adopt a neoliberal approach to education (Kater, 2017; Levin, 2007), the changes implemented can disrupt the organization (Christensen & Eyring, 2012; Kezar & Sam, 2012). Yet, the effects of neoliberal policies and practice on traditional faculty roles is not well understood and little research has examined…

The principles of diversity and inclusion are valued across the higher education sector, but the ways in which these principles are translated into pedagogic practice are not always evident. Students who are first in their family to attend university continue to report barriers to full participation in university life. They are more likely to…

The integration of student-centered learning (SCL) practices in higher education, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, is essential for addressing persistent challenges such as high failure rates among underrepresented groups. Institutions of Higher Education are increasingly emphasizing evidence-based,…

Acknowledging the role that faculty play in student success is vital. As such, it is important to better understand how STEM faculty perceive and approach their work if we are to produce enough scientists and engineers to remain competitive as a nation. Faculty mindsets largely impact classroom experience - even over other factors like gender,…

While university department heads are integral to the operation and culture of higher education institutions, they often experience little training or support to fulfill their complex and multifaceted role. At the same time, there is limited research on how heads come to understand their work or how such understandings shape their behavior. In…

Little is known about the ways in which faculty members understand their role and responsibility in addressing sexual violence and how they engage in sexual violence education efforts. This qualitative study of 10 faculty members gives insight into how faculty members engage in efforts to address sexual violence. Their experiences demonstrate how…

Background: Across the globe, there have been significant reforms to improve STEM education at all levels. A significant part of this has been teacher reform. While the responses and resilience of STEM teachers to educational reforms in secondary education have received significant attention, the responses and resilience of STEM teachers in higher…

Faculty play crucial yet understudied roles in diversifying the professoriate. Rates of diversification across the pipeline to the professoriate have moved slowly. Guided by directed content analysis, this qualitative study uses data from interviews with 74 faculty at five different California State University institutions and explores the…

In educational research, the literature reveals disparities in how academics view their academic roles. Through semi-structured interviews, this study explores how a group of 53 Philippine higher education academics view themselves as doctoral academics and their roles in academic publishing. Overall, doctoral academics (which, in the present…

Findings from interviews with mid-career academics in English and Australian universities elucidate how academics interpret and navigate complex institutional contexts in shaping academic jobs. The paper argues that how they do this is a function of what they notice and respond to as well as the mode of reflexivity they employ. Three core areas…

Employing part-time and casual academics is now a widely accepted practice in higher education globally. We explored the issue of the identity of part-time academics in Indonesian higher education through interviews with 14 part-time and 11 full-time academics. Both groups identified more strongly with their teaching roles than with other roles.…

Effective role adjustment is crucial for the successful transition of chairs from faculty to academic leaders. Drawing on the data from semi-structured interviews with a select group of Filipino department chairs, this qualitative grounded theory inquiry applies Weick's framework of sensemaking to the analysis of their role adjustment process. The…