Alignment of Athletic Training Doctoral Education and Faculty Workload

Abstract

Context: Evidence suggests that doctoral education is incongruent with faculty positions, but this has yet to be specifically examined in athletic training. Objective: To gain understanding of the alignment of doctoral education and faculty workload, including institutional characteristics, from the perspectives of junior faculty members. Design: Qualitative, phenomenological research. Setting: Higher education institutions with Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education–accredited programs. Patients or Other Participants: Twenty athletic training faculty members (14 women and 6 men) who were 32 ± 3 years of age and averaged 10 ± 4 years of experience as athletic trainers and 2 ± 2 years as a full-time faculty member. Main Outcome Measure(s): We developed, peer-reviewed, and piloted 2 semistructured interview guides to obtain participants' perspectives on their doctoral preparation, entrance into higher education, and faculty workload. We completed telephone interviews with each participant over the course of 4 months. Transcribed interviews were analyzed by 2 investigators using a phenomenological approach, then reviewed by 2 additional qualitative researchers. Mechanisms of trustworthiness included member-checking, multianalyst triangulation, and peer review. Results: Two themes emerged from this study: (1) workload and (2) congruency. Faculty workload was dominated by teaching, but faculty had several demands on their time, including administration, service, and research. Most faculty positions focused on teaching, whereas their doctoral education was more focused on research, possibly because of a lack of congruency between doctoral education and faculty position institution types. Although mismatches occurred between doctoral education and faculty workload, participants were often aware of these differences and selected faculty positions aligned with their career goals. Conclusions: Faculty workload is generally teaching-focused and contains additional demands that are often not included in doctoral education programs. Doctoral advisors should promote adequate socialization to these characteristics of faculty positions, and doctoral students should consider their interests and faculty workload when searching for faculty positions.

Athletic Training Junior Faculty Experiences with Institutional Expectations for Tenure and Promotion

“…We used an interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA) to better understand the experiences of junior faculty in athletic training as they transition to their faculty roles for the first time (ie, role inductance). 12,14 The findings presented in this article are focused on participants' experiences related to tenure and promotion expectations at their respective institutions. The selection of an IPA was purposeful because the guiding research questions were founded on understanding how faculty make sense of their role transition into higher education and, for this article, particularly as it relates to tenure and promotion expectations.…”

“…13 Junior faculty members find it valuable to identify mentors within their institution to provide guidance on the tenure and promotion process and seek out mentors beyond their institution to provide support in other areas, such as research. 12,29 Mentoring also continues to be identified as a staple in role transition and the organizational socialization process, given that a mentor appears to communicate the institutional nuances that may accompany tenure and promotion that may not be universal. 13 The formal feedback described by our participants speaks to the need to gain legitimation, 30 as well as a bearing on their performance toward tenure and promotion.…”

“…9,10 However, this preparedness centers more on teaching and research and less on the service and administrative tasks faculty assume once hired. 11 Recently Nottingham et al 12 uncovered an incongruence with new faculty workloads and doctoral education, given that recently hired faculty were not aware of the time commitments associated with service and administrative tasks. The major contributor to the incongruence was insufficient time in doctoral education devoted to this area.…”

“…The major contributor to the incongruence was insufficient time in doctoral education devoted to this area. 12 Doctoral education, however, should not be the sole mechanism to introduce the basic information regarding the tenets of higher education, particularly as it relates to success for tenure and promotion. Recent evidence suggests that doctoral students are aware of the basic tenets, yet lack the knowledge to navigate institution-specific expectations for tenure and promotion.…”