The purpose of this study was to explore the composition of intellectual capital (IC) by addressing the research question: What are the knowledge-based activities and outputs which comprise the IC of a university medical department? A conceptual framework was developed to highlight the importance of activities. The conceptualization of IC was further developed using concept mapping. Education administrators’ perceptions were solicited to derive IC used in a research faculty of a Canadian university. The results indicate that IC can be understood in terms of activities and outputs. Clinical faculty can be expected to engage in research and its supervision, education, obtaining qualifications, clinical and professional practice, and service. Within these categories, individual activities and outputs were not considered to be of equal importance or impact. Among seventy activities and outputs, articles in internationally refereed journals was ranked as most important, whereas teaching awards was ranked as having the most impact.

The purpose of this study was to explore the composition of intellectual capital (IC) by addressing the research question: What are the knowledge-based activities and outputs which comprise the IC of a university medical department? A conceptual framework was developed to highlight the importance of activities. The conceptualization of IC was further developed using concept mapping. Education administrators’ perceptions were solicited to derive IC used in a research faculty of a Canadian university. The results indicate that IC can be understood in terms of activities and outputs. Clinical faculty can be expected to engage in research and its supervision, education, obtaining qualifications, clinical and professional practice, and service. Within these categories, individual activities and outputs were not considered to be of equal importance or impact. Among seventy activities and outputs, articles in internationally refereed journals was ranked as most important, whereas teaching awards was ranked as having the most impact.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES; 2016), contingent faculty comprise nearly half of the higher education teaching workforce. I was a contingent faculty member working in a music teacher preparation program at a small college in the Northeast U.S. Using Wenger’s communities of practice (1998) and Lave and Wenger’s legitimate peripheral participation (1991) as a theoretical lens, I conducted a self-study to understand: (a) how our group of two full-time and two part-time contingent faculty negotiated our work, and (b) how my contingent faculty identity was shaped through participating in the group. I analyzed transcriptions of group meetings, email messages sent among the group members, and brief interviews to establish that our community of practice (CoP) was positioned relative to broader enterprises, such as accrediting bodies and the state department of education that regulated teacher licensure. We negotiated our practices in response to their standards and regulations, and we often felt that our practices were constrained. I learned that the members of our CoP had rich histories of membership in other CoPs, and knowledge and identity from those CoPs were constantly reconciled with new understandings and identity. I learned that multimembership can be a hindrance for some, yet it can also be a benefit that helps propel the work of a CoP forward. My identity was shaped through dialogue with other members of the community. I learned that it is common for contingent faculty to feel as I did: autonomous and competent in my teaching practices, yet detached from the department (Kezar & Sam, 2010; Levin & Hernandez, 2014; Shaker, 2008). Learning some of the history of the joint enterprise helped me feel more connected and empowered, and as my dialogue with the full-time tenure-track faculty continued, I was given additional responsibility for developing and subsequently teaching two new courses. Very little research has been conducted from the perspective of contingent faculty in higher education. This self-study was therefore a timely addition to the literature, and it should be replicated, extended to other teacher education faculty, and also to collaborative self-studies between full-time and contingent faculty.

Background: The full-time nurse faculty shortage has resulted in nursing programs employing adjunct nursing faculty heavily into the clinical teaching component to fill the gap. Many adjunct faculty members continue to teach semester after semester; however, there is a lack of evidence to support the predictive factors that facilitate intent to stay teaching. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to better understand predictors of intent to stay teaching for associate degree (AD) adjunct clinical nurse faculty. Theoretical Framework: Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor motivator-hygiene theory (1959) was utilized as a foundation to explore the factors that impact intent to stay teaching. Methods: Adjunct clinical nurse faculty employed in associate degree nursing programs during the 2015 calendar year were invited to participate in this study. Participants were surveyed utilizing the Job Satisfaction Survey, the Nurse Educators’ Intent to Stay in Academe Scale, and demographic questionnaire via SurveyMonkey Web site. Results: Regression analysis indicated statistically significant relationships between job satisfaction, motivator, and hygiene factors with intent to stay score. In addition, faculty who had full-time employment outside of the adjunct position were found to have lower intent to stay scores compared to those working part time or not at all. Conclusions: Enhancement of adjunct clinical faculty members’ job satisfaction, motivator, and hygiene factors is necessary to retain this qualified group of educators. Improvement of intent to stay in the role can improve teaching and reduce costs at similar institutions of higher learning.

Many vital components of clinical practice including placement of candidate with clinical faculty remain unaddressed in current research. Missing from formal mentoring research is recognition of the best-quality way to pair mentors and protégés in order for both parties to receive the most benefits from the relationship. Mentoring has been shown to be foundational to the retention of career and technical education teachers making mentoring especially critical. The candidate population for the study included students enrolled in clinical practice during the spring of 2009 in agricultural education certification programs at 14 different universities. Findings using a matched pairs t-tests were conducted to reach the heart of the study, the dyadic mentoring relationships between candidate and clinical faculty. Cognitive effect, an indicator of problem solving style was not found to be a significant factor in the study. However, cognitive affect, an indicator of interpersonal orientation found many significant differences. Significance was found at the 0.05 level in the areas of candidate expressed inclusion and clinical faculty wanted inclusion (t=5.27), candidate expressed total and clinical faculty wanted total (t=3.88), candidate wanted control and clinical faculty expressed control (t=-2.97). Significance was also found at the 0.01 level of significance for candidate wanted total and clinical faculty expressed total (t=-2.37). In the area of behavior a matched pairs t-test determined perceived psychosocial support (t=-2.86) and perceived total support (t=-2.32) to be significant. Mentoring and clinical practice are extremely dynamic constructs as many different influences are present from personal preferences to the way people naturally and holistically function. When universities identify clinical faculty, attention should be paid to the matching of dyads in order to emulate an informal mentoring experience to the greatest extent possible. Although mentoring is extremely complex, the research indicates promise for agreement and promise for continued research to benefit not only individuals, but our entire profession. / Master of Science in Life Sciences