Occupational Therapy Adjunct Faculty Self-Perceptions of Readiness to Teach

Abstract

To meet the demands of a growing profession, occupational therapy (OT) education programs rely on adjunct faculty to augment their faculty pool. Clinicians transitioning into faculty roles frequently do not have formal training in teaching and learning practices. This problem is compounded with adjunct faculty, as they are not using best teaching practices in OT education programs and do not have easy access to university resources. A qualitative study was conducted to describe the perceptions of new OT adjunct faculty on their degree of preparedness to teach, the supports needed to be successful in transitioning from clinician to academician, and their familiarity with and use of evidence-based teaching strategies. New OT adjunct faculty perceived they were prepared to teach, provided they have supports in place and command of the subject. New OT adjunct faculty make limited use of EBTP and use occupational therapy skills to aid in classroom teaching. New OT adjunct faculty feel ready to teach in terms of content knowledge but not in terms of pedagogical knowledge. They do not fully understand their academic role and have limited access to pedagogical content provided by their academic institutions. CommentsThe authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Building the Capacity of the Next-Generation Philippine Occupational Therapy Academic Workforce: Insights from an Occupational Profile Study

“…1 Because many work on a semesterby-semester basis for a few days or hours per week, they face many issues such as the lack of job security, paid leave entitlements, salaries that are based on an hourly formula, and limited access to professional development resources. 15 Additional supports may be needed for contract or parttime faculty, to address their needs, such as developing their pedagogical skills. 15 Although expected to fulfill many roles, the literature supports findings that next-generation academics' foremost responsibility is teaching.…”

“…15 Additional supports may be needed for contract or parttime faculty, to address their needs, such as developing their pedagogical skills. 15 Although expected to fulfill many roles, the literature supports findings that next-generation academics' foremost responsibility is teaching. 11 This explains the challenges related to the teaching role: adjustment from clinician to faculty roles, doubting their educator competence, designing effective lectures, exams, and other teaching-learning activities.…”

“…16,17 Adjunct OT faculty describe their lack of competence in pedagogy despite being viewed as content experts. 15 New full-time faculty were unprepared for roles and unforeseen responsibilities such as participating in committees and interviewing for admissions. 16 OT clinicians transitioning to academic roles experienced feelings of doubt and incompetence as educators.…”

“…14 Support is especially crucial for part-time, adjunct, or contractual faculty who do not have access to support networks in academic work environments. 15…”

A profile of Australian occupational therapy academic workforce job satisfaction

“…This finding, together with the responses that a major motivator and benefit of academia was the enjoyment of and opportunity to teach occupational therapy students, supported the premise that some Australian occupational therapy academics prefer to teach rather than pursue a research career. Notably, Lockhart‐Keene and Potvin (2018) found that although new occupational therapy academics felt ready to teach students content knowledge, they were less likely to “fully understand their academic role and have limited access to pedagogical content provided by their academic institutions” (p. 1). Fisher, Dones, Petit‐Frere Naromie, Dillow and Behler (2017) have reported that there is a shortage of qualified educators within the US and challenges recruiting qualified and experienced academic staff.…”