Transcript Surviving and Succeeding as an Early Career Faculty Member

Success and Relational Agency in Academia:
The Experiences of Early Career Academics (ECAs)
in NZ Universities
Dr Kathryn Sutherland
Associate Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
[email protected]
(Project Team Members: Dr Pam Williams and Dr Marc Wilson)
The Project
1) Factors influencing success, productivity and
satisfaction of ECAs
2) Variations in organisational expectations and personal
aspirations
3) Institutional and personal processes and support
4) Resources at a national and local level
The project team
All from Victoria University of Wellington
 Dr Kathryn Sutherland, Associate Dean, Humanities and
Social Sciences
 Team Role: Principal Investigator
 Dr Pamela Williams, Sustainability Consultant
 Team Role: Researcher
 Dr Marc Wilson, Associate Professor, Psychology
 Team Role: Researcher and Statistical Consultant
The need for the project
 BIG GAP between external/institutional and personal
expectations
Externally imposed constructions of success
Item
Rank
Grant funding
1
Rapid/early promotion or tenure
2
Knowing the right people
3
Being an “all rounder”
4
Publishing in the right journals
5=
Publishing a lot
5=
International collaborations and networks
7
Generating/attracting more postgraduates
8
Working in a reputable university
9
Launching a successful research programme
10
Editorial boards, Fellowships, disciplinary appointments
11
Early Career Researcher/Scholar Awards
12
First authorship/principal grant applicant
13
Being a good writer
14
Good teaching evaluations
15
Personal constructions of success
Item
Rank
Work, life, family balance
1
Happiness, enjoyment, love of the job
2
Making a difference/a lasting contribution to human knowledge
3
Being a good academic citizen
4
Freedom and autonomy
5
Sought out as a collaborator
6
Influencing postgraduates’ opportunities and job prospects
7
Grandparenting
8
Doing challenging teaching – changing students’ lives
9
Positive feedback on teaching
10
Building a research niche
11
Overcoming social/educational barriers
12
Survival (overcoming nervousness)
13
Being able to teach less/buy out teaching to focus on research
14
Being invited to run academic development/teaching workshops
15
The need for the project, cont’d…
 BIG GAP between external/institutional and personal
expectations
 If “successful” ECAs report a LACK OF SATISFACTION
AND BALANCE, what is happening for the rest?
 Importance of the FIRST FEW YEARS of learning in any
new job
Factors influencing success
 Institutional support and resources
 Prior experiences
 Personal characteristics
 Resourcefulness
 Resilience
 Relationships/relational agency
 Academic citizenship
 Balance
http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/ako-hub/ako-aotearoa-central-hub/resources/pages/success-and-impact-early-career-academics-two-new-z
Research Design
 Builds on already published research
 Multi-method approach – interviews, questionnaires,
focus groups
 Includes participants from all eight New Zealand
universities (up to 54 interviewees and up to 96 focus
group participants, as well as up to 800 questionnaire
respondents)
 Triangulation and role of reference group
Impact on practice for enhanced
learner benefit
 Academics are learners too, as Developing Scholarly
Habits (DSH) programme at Victoria is demonstrating
 Potential new induction and support programmes and
resources in universities (and other institutions)
 Better balance and satisfaction among academics will
flow on to benefits for students, too
Progress to date
 Ethics approval granted
 Interviews conducted at two of the four remaining
universities (the other two will happen in May)
Next steps
 Data analysis of Phase One
 Literature review
 National questionnaire of all ECAs
 Focus groups with ECAs
 Focus groups with management/admin/reps of “the
university”