This study investigated the strategies employed by adjunct writing teachers in their attempts to reconcile changes in writing program policy with their existing pedagogies. The methods of investigation combined class observation with extensive interviews with three Ball State University adjunct faculty members to identify the means by which these writing instructors brought new pedagogical goals in their classrooms. It also sought to identify the mechanisms each teacher used to integrate computer-oriented teaching styles into his or her course planning. The purpose of this study was to identify means by which a writing program administration could better introduce change to its teachers of first year composition courses, who are largely adjunct staff.The results of this study showed that while each faculty member felt committed to using technology in his or her teaching, each confronted change differently. Studies in faculty vitality were examined to identify development strategies which could effectively address the differences in faculty change. This study recommends, based on the strategies of each participant, that writing programs seek more kairic models of development. These models would seek to foster continuous discussion of change in order that fitting incentives for development could arise in "the proper time," or kairically, for individual teachers. / Department of English

This research sought to ascertain whether differences exist in the levels of student-faculty interactions between students taught by part-time and full-time faculty. Differences in the interactions of students with faculty were examined for four types of content (a) course-related, (b) intellectual, (c) career planning, and (d) informal socializing; for both in-class and out-of-class.

Job satisfaction and its related phenomena have been of considerable interest for many years. Review of the job satisfaction literature, however, revealed few studies which examined the job satisfaction of both full-time and parttime community college faculty. The purpose of the study was (1) to determine the level of job satisfaction among occupational-technical faculty in relation to ten factors based on Herzberg's et al. (1959) Motivation-Hygiene Theory and (2) to determine the relative difference of job satisfaction between full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty in the Virginia Community College System. Specific research questions explored the level of job satisfaction, the level of job satisfaction among the ten factors of Herzberg's et al. (1959) Motivation-Hygiene Theory, and the proportion of variance in job satisfaction explained by selected demographic variables among full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty in the Virginia Community College System. A total of 255 occupational-technical faculty were selected to participate in the study, 127 full-time and 128 part-time. These faculty were mailed a packet of survey materials containing a Data Form and a modified version of the Wood's Faculty Satisfaction/ Dissatisfaction Scale. The overall usable response rate was 70.2% (n=177). The response rate for the full-time occupational-technical faculty was 78.6% (n=99) while the response rate for the part-time occupational-technical faculty was 62.4% (n=78). Results of the study indicated that both the full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty were generally satisfied with their jobs, 76.7% and 89.7% respectively. Both full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty reported the highest level of satisfaction for the factor the work itself and the lowest level of satisfaction for the factor salary. Although both full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty were generally satisfied with their jobs, the part-time faculty were more satisfied with their jobs than were their full-time counterparts. It should be noted, however, that the actual proportion of variance explained by status (i.e., full-time or part-time) was small and may not be of practical significance. Recommendations for local and state level administrators responsible for supervising full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty were delineated. Recommendations for future research were described. / Ph. D.

Adult educators are a growing part of American higher education. Because of their increasing prominence in adult education, it is essential to understand what roles these educators play and what motivates them to remain in the profession despite poor work prospects and conditions. Research to date, however, focuses primarily on the adult learner and not the adult educator. The purpose of this qualitative, multiple-case study was to explore the role and motivation for teaching of adult educators employed as adjunct faculty in an accelerated degree program at a small, liberal arts college in the northwest United States. Purposeful sampling was used to select the five participants for the study. All participants taught in the program for more than five years and were considered to be successful in their positions by peers, students, and administrators. The study employed a preliminary demographic survey to solicit initial background data on the instructors. Other data collection included in-depth, open-ended, face-to-face interviews, document analysis, and classroom observation. The results showed that all five participants identified the following roles and assumed them in the classroom: (a) facilitator, (b) listener, (c) specialist, (d) guide, (e) adviser, and (f) co-learner or colleague. Further results showed that all five participants were motivated to teach in the program for reasons other than monetary compensation. Although participants shared different levels of personal commitment to the institution, they all expressed extensive commitment to teaching, their discipline, and students. Motivating factors for teaching were (a) opportunity to teach part time, (b) love for the subject, (c) opportunity to gain more expertise in the field, (d) opportunity to grow and learn, (e) opportunity to give back, and (f) student success and growth. A major practical implication of this study is that adjunct faculty in an adult education program are motivated to teach for different reasons, but the primary motivation can be seen as altruistic versus monetary and practical. If college administrators want to produce and retain successful adjunct faculty, they must recruit and hire those individuals whose motivation for teaching is altruistic with a desire to enrich the lives of students.

Though professional development interventions are widespread in higher education, administrators often do not formally assess their effectiveness, particularly in relation to teacher self-efficacy. The purposes of this study were to determine if any statistically significant difference existed between the self-efficacy scores of adjunct faculty participants in a community college’s professional development program and nonparticipants and to identify the variables with a statistically significant relationship with self-efficacy. A modified version of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) was administered to 21 adjunct faculty participants in Lone Star College’s Adjunct Certification Program (ACP) and 312 adjunct faculty not currently participating in the program. A demographic questionnaire development by the researcher was also administered. Independent variables of the demographic questionnaire included gender, ethnicity, age, K-12 teaching experience, highest degree earned, subject taught, years of college teaching experience, and number of courses taught each semester. Paired t-test results indicated statistically significant differences in Efficacy in Instructional Strategies for adjunct participants in the ACP program. No significant differences were found for Efficacy in Student Engagement and Efficacy in Classroom Management. Multiple regression analyses indicated that gender has a statistically significant relationship to Efficacy Instructional Strategies. A statistically significant relationship was found for race for Efficacy in Classroom Management. Finally, analysis also indicated a positive relationship between race and gender for Efficacy in Student Engagement. No other statistically significant relationships were found across the other demographic variables. Findings of this study revealed that the ACP increased teacher self-efficacy across two of the three dimensions of the TSES indicating that the professional development intervention had a positive effect on the efficacy of its participants. The present study contributes to the research on teacher self-efficacy, adjunct faculty and professional development interventions.

This study surveyed the opinions of academic administrators of associate degree nursing programs, community college social science programs, and community college biological science programs regarding major benefits and concerns associated with the employment of part-time faculty. This study found that most part-time social science faculty teach in the classroom, half participate in non-teaching faculty activities, and most are paid a contract amount per course or credit hour. Part-time biological science faculty differed only in that most teach a combination of classroom and lab/practicum. Part-time nursing faculty differed in all three areas. Most part-time nursing faculty teach in lab or practicum settings, most participate in more non-teaching activities than other part-time faculty, and most are paid an hourly wage. However, the benefits and concerns associated with the employment of part-time nursing faculty were not significantly different from those identified by academic administrators of the other programs with one exception. Academic administrators felt that part-time nursing faculty expose students to the latest technologies in specialty areas and part-time social science faculty do not. The benefits cited by the respondents, that were in addition to the benefits most frequently cited in the literature, include increased interaction with the community and the ability to "try out" prospective full-time faculty. The concerns cited by respondents, that were in addition to the concerns most frequently cited in the literature, include the inability to find qualified part-time faculty to fill available positions and the concern that the employment of part-time faculty causes resentment among full-time faculty. The results from this study indicate that the literature pertaining to the benefits and concerns associated with the employment of social science and biological science part-time faculty in community colleges can be used to develop policies regarding part-time faculty in associate degree nursing programs.