The Effectiveness of Induction of Novice Academics at Kwame Nkrumah University in Zambia

Abstract

The paper problematizes career induction for novice academicians at Kwame Nkrumah University in Zambia. The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of inducting both young and new academic members of staff at the named institution. The article probes whether induction for new academicians exists at Kwame Nkrumah University or not. Data were collected through structured interviews. Eight participants were drawn from the purposively chosen sub-samples of four existing faculties or schools at the institution, namely, Humanities and Social Sciences, Education, Natural Sciences, and Business Studies, at the recommendation of Faculty Heads. Each faculty had two nominees in the study sample. Being a qualitative study, participants were purposively selected from the sample faculties. Using the phenomenological approach, data were collected, described, examined, and analyzed thematically based on the novice academicians' individual experiences regarding induction during their early careers. The study reveals that new academicians at Kwame Nkrumah University are rarely inducted into academic life but are left to be taught by nature as they embark on the job of training. Therefore, there is a need to induct new academicians into the life of research, publications, presentations of lectures, general code of ethics of academics, prospects in terms of appointments as well as continuous assessments and examination. Implementation of the above issues defines mentorship of new academics.