This research investigates faculty socialization of college physics instructors and its effect on teaching practice. Results of two studies—a statistical analysis about professional characteristics and teaching practice and an ethnography about culture, professional roles, and teaching practice—are integrated to inform our understanding of the impact of socialization on teaching practice. These findings have the potential to improve institutional and organizational faculty development, as well as improve individual teaching practice and, by extension, student persistence and success. Exploratory factor analysis, latent class analysis, and multiple analysis of variance were used to examine cross-sectional survey data collected from 1,176 postsecondary physics instructors across the United States to determine whether a difference between groups exists on the range of experiences and perceptions about teaching practice. Semi-structured ethnographic interviews ten instructors of introductory-level physics across multiple institutions in Florida inform our understanding of how physics faculty believe culture and socialization impact their professional roles, perception, and practice. Preliminary results suggest that: (a) identification with professional and organizational roles begins in graduate school and is reinforced in a full-time instructor's departmental home, and (b) teaching practice is informed by past experience and informal engagement with peers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd2020-1305 |
| Date | 01 January 2020 |
| Creators | McLaren Turner, Claudine |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020- |
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