Abstract
Novice lecturers or also known as neophyte lecturers are an important part of higher education institutions, and the early stages of the career among novice lecturers involve the process of adapting to the new role of educators. They need to overcome different challenges and participate in occupational adaptation. The purpose of this study is to explore the occupational adaptation process among novice lecturers in order to promote their career development. The goal is also to provide useful references for the university management to support novice lecturers in making a successful start in order to grow into professional educators. Using qualitative research method, this study engages case study approach to investigate occupational adaptation process through in-depth interviews of two novice lecturers in a public university in China. By analyzing their emotional and behavioral changes in the process of occupational adaptation, findings indicate that the occupational adaptation process of novice lecturers can be subdivided into three stages; namely 1) initial period, 2) transition period, and 3) adaptation period. The transition and division between each period reveal marked changes mainly in psychological, emotional, and behavioral adjustments. Helping novice lecturers understand the characteristics of the three periods may assist them to adapt to their jobs as soon as possible and accomplish greater success in their careers.
Highlights
Novice lecturers or known as neophyte lecturers are likely to face multiple challenges relating to their pedagogical practices and responsibilities since they are equipped with adequate content knowledge but are lacking in experience and pedagogical skills [1]. For those who have just engaged in their roles and responsibilities as educators, they would need to overcome the challenges of occupational adaptation processes
With the expansion of universities in China, novice lecturers are an important component of teaching staff in higher education institutions, and are the fundamental factors affecting the quality of higher education [5]
It is suggested that the construction of teaching staff in universities should be further improved from eight factors: ideological and moral level, talent selection and employment system, professional development ability, teamwork, discipline leader construction, institutional environment, working conditions, and organizational leadership
Summary
Novice lecturers or known as neophyte lecturers are likely to face multiple challenges relating to their pedagogical practices and responsibilities since they are equipped with adequate content knowledge but are lacking in experience and pedagogical skills [1] For those who have just engaged in their roles and responsibilities as educators, they would need to overcome the challenges of occupational adaptation processes. Lecturers’ development is an important part of education elements and a key factor affecting the quality of higher education [6] Most of these novice lecturers have just graduated from university and are full of curiosity and fantasies about the profession of lecturers in China. It is meaningful to understand their feelings about occupational adaptation and necessary to help them adapt to their roles more quickly
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