Early Career Academics Research Articles

Early career academics’ professional learning in a PBL-focused pedagogical development program

ABSTRACT This study explores early career academics’ (ECAs) professional learning in a Danish university’s Professional Learning (PL) program, based on problem- and project-based learning (PBL) principles. Using a complexity theory lens, professional learning is viewed as a dynamic process involving intrapersonal, behavioral, relational, and contextual sources. Data from 38 written reflections via a questionnaire and six in-depth interviews were analyzed to assess ECAs’ learning outcomes and challenges during and after the PL program. The findings indicate that the program advanced participants’ PBL and pedagogical knowledge, changed their pedagogical beliefs and teaching practices, and improved their collaborative skills and interactions with students and colleagues. Several challenges ECAs confronted are reported at individual and organizational levels, namely, time management, the learning process, the actual teaching and supervision process, institutional culture, and resource allocation. The study suggests ways for ECAs, program designers and organizers, and university management in promoting more effective professional development processes.

Can we do this together? Exploring the transformative potential of care for academic work, labor, and life

Through a reflective account of our own experiences as early career academics, we explore the nuanced ways in which care materializes and is embodied in the micro-relations and mundane practices that constitute academic life. By emphasizing the affective dimension of an ethic of care, we bring the destabilizing and unsettling promise of affect to bear on our understanding of care and, in turn, highlight care’s transformative potential. We show how care, when mobilized by affect, manifests in ambiguous and at times contradictory ways, which leaves us asking whether care can be a straightforward and unproblematic antidote to feelings of dissatisfaction with neoliberal institutions. Yet, at the same time, we speculate that care holds rich potential to problematize the structural norms and demands that organize our academic (work) lives, and to offer new and different ways of living instead.

Playing the Publish or Perish Game: Guidance for Doctoral Students and Early Career Faculty

“Publish or perish,” or the idea that one must consistently publish to succeed in an academic career is a well-known adage within higher education (Schaberg, 2016). Specifically, Bond (2023) shares that publications are promoted as a path to career success. The scholarly output of professors simultaneously affects the reputations of the professors and their institutions. Similarly, doctoral programs often require students to publish before they graduate. When applying for academic positions, having publications beyond the dissertation is seen as a strength by prospective employers. Although publications are viewed as a strength, Huang (2021) discusses some challenges doctoral students have with publishing, including a lack of understanding of the publication process. Many students who are in master’s degree programs may complete a thesis. However, the thesis process diverges from journal articles because the publication procedures differ. Huang (2021) further notes that the pressure to publish in high-quality, well-known journals is another challenge. These journals are identified as the best because of the rigor involved in their peer review process, and they typically accept fewer papers per year. Finally, journal publications are a competitive process, and the inability to complete a publication on time can cause anxiety among students. Researchers have called for an evaluation of publishing practices in academia. For example, Saxena, Godfrey, and Yannessa (2023) explain that publishing expectations can lead to the production of low-quality publications and an increase in unethical behaviors such as plagiarism. Moreover, inexperienced writers may seek to validate their research by relying on the willing acceptance of predatory journals (Mertkan, Aliusta, & Bayrakli, 2022). These journals flood the internet with low-quality papers that do not adhere to rigorous peer-review standards. Consequently, inferior research that has not been vetted is often repetitively cited. Since navigating the publication process is a skill that must be gained, Dyke (2019) suggests that it is necessary to teach early-career academics how to manage the rigors of publication expectations. Dyke asserts that learning to manage stress and time is essential for successfully publishing. Also, new scholars must be taught how to explain their research’s benefits and potential impact. Dyke further argues that publishers can play a crucial role in teaching publication skills. Instead of relying solely on universities, publishers can develop courses to clarify the process of writing publications. These courses can include content about basic writing and editing skills and submitting revisions. The panel recognizes that publishing is indeed not a game. However, it is a necessary component of career progression at many universities. Therefore, in response to library and information science doctoral and early career professionals’ scholarly publishing professional development needs, this panel seeks to advise about strengthening writing skills and clarifying the peer review publishing process. This panel will include expert editors and editorial board members with over a century of combined scholarly publishing experience. Attendees will participate in a discussion of the peer review process and receive suggestions for efficiently writing and submitting journal articles. The panelists are Drs. John Budd and Denice Adkins (co-editors of JELIS), Yunfei Du (editorial board member of JELIS), Maria Cahill (co-editor of School Library Research), and Vanessa Reyes (co-editor of The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion). The moderator will be Dr. Daniella Smith (editorial board member of Public Library Quarterly). Program Format This interactive program will include polls to increase audience engagement and an online whiteboard to collect questions for the discussion after the presentation. The program format will be as follows: Session introduction: The moderator will introduce the session by sharing the presentation objectives and research about publishing in academia.. Panel introduction: Each panelist will introduce themselves and their experience with scholarly publications. Topic Discussion: The panelists will answer questions related to the following topics. Understanding the peer review process: The presenters will share the peer-reviewed process used by the journals and the pros and cons of the peer-review process. Implementing strategies for publishing quicker: Panelists will provide suggestions for streamlining the publication process. Submitting revisions and options for addressing comments: Our experts will discuss their expectations for article revisions and the do’s and don’ts of getting an article published after revisions have been requested. Preparing content for peer-reviewed journals: There is a difference between casual and scholarly writing. The panelists will discuss the differences and provide examples of their expectations regarding the content of peer-reviewed publications. Identifying appropriate journals: The panel will suggest how to determine the best journals for their research areas and how to avoid predatory journals. Identifying publication tools and resources: Authors curate tools and acquire skills that help them navigate the publication process. The presenters will share their favorite tools and resources. Making writing enjoyable: The panelists will discuss embracing writing and making publishing fun. Final words of advice and questions: The session will conclude with audience questions and final panelist thoughts.

Friendships on the stage: co-writing feminist theatrical accounts

ABSTRACT We, as friends, feminists, and Early Career Academics, explore the complex interplay between friendships and the Neoliberal University through an experimental genre blending text: a collaborative performance combining duoethnographic theater, poetry and artistic-academic writings. We offer intimate, embodied insights on friendships – between academics, between academics and non-academics, and between writers and readers. Our work exposes the ambiguity of friendships in the Neoliberal University. Friendship as affective relations without a predefined time frame and purpose is depicted as a danger to be contained, reflecting the denial of relationality in knowledge production. An instrumental framing of friendship is promoted and sustains the normative control of workers and the exploitation of care. Despite these challenges, critical, careful friendships are indispensable for academics to navigate the Neoliberal University's physical and mental consequences. To resist collectively and prefigure alternatives, i.e. for the Caring University to emerge, we need to push the boundaries of friendships.

Reframing and Advancing Academic Mentorship to Support New and Early Career Faculty Members

Reframing and Advancing Academic Mentorship to Support New and Early Career Faculty Members

Mentorship for early career academics in a long-term problem- and project-based university academic development program in Denmark: views of subject and pedagogy mentors

ABSTRACT The study explored the viewpoints of two groups of mentors – subject and pedagogy – on their roles in a 12-month problem-based learning (PBL) academic development program at a Danish university. Q methodology analysis from 49 mentors revealed consensus on certain generic characteristics of good mentorship, namely active listening, constructive feedback, and mutual respect. Significantly distinguished collective opinions on good mentorship were identified through three factors: 1) providing advice using one’s own teaching experience, 2) probing mentee self-reflection and responsibility, and 3) co-creating and mediating. While most pedagogy mentors were loaded on Factor 2, emphasizing a social-constructivist approach centred on mentees, subject mentors’ views differed across all three distinct collective opinions. Factor 1 participants consisted mainly of subject mentors who have had no pedagogical background, with some reporting similar views to pedagogy mentors. Factor 3 included five female subject mentors who highlighted the importance of knowledge co-creation, reciprocity, and peer learning – an approach called for in the mentorship literature. The results suggest that structured mentorship preparation programs are needed, in addition to professional learning communities, for pedagogical and subject mentors to work collaboratively.

Differential and resonant solidarities: A materialist approach to the early career experience

Navigating academia as early career academics (ECAs) is increasingly challenging, with many facing structural inequities, the rise of precarious work, and the increased marketisation of higher education in the United Kingdom and beyond. The purpose of this article is to provide a platform for learnings and insights gleaned from our experiences as five ECAs who worked together to lead the ‘early career network’ for a learned association between 2021 and 2023. In the article, we explore some of the challenges, opportunities, and call for actions that come out of our own encounters with the neoliberal higher education landscape as both students and workers in the social sciences. We propose a dual conceptualisation of solidarity as both resonant and differential, and mobilise this theoretical contribution to reflect on themes of community, materiality, care, knowledge, and labour as key strands which shape the interface between ECAs and complex higher education ecologies. Theoretically and practically, we aim to facilitate solidarity in early career communities, mobilising ‘ECA’ as more than a purely temporal category. Finally, we make recommendations to colleagues across the discipline for forging and nourishing collaborative, healthy, and inclusive environments in which ECAs can thrive.

The effect of corporate executives’ academic experience on firm financialization — Evidence from listed manufacturing firms in China

This paper studies the impact of corporate executives’ early academic experience on corporate financialization using the data from 2010 to 2019 of A-share listed manufacturing firms on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. The results show that the personal characteristics developed in early academic career experience significantly inhibit their decision-making on corporate financialization. This inhibitory effect is more obvious among the non-state-owned firms and those firms in the regions with a high level of marketization. Meanwhile, this inhibitory effect enhances with the implementation of equity incentive policies for corporate executives, but not with the employee stock ownership plan (ESOPs). The results reveal the value of early academic career experiences of executives in corporate governance.

Did changing work and family demands during COVID-19 (de)motivate academic parents to craft sustainable careers?

Covid-19 has introduced many contextual changes into individuals' work and family lives, affecting their career sustainability. Although previous studies have provided evidence for these changes, little is known about how changing contextual demands (de)motivated them to take proactive initiatives for crafting sustainable careers. This study aims to explore how changing work and family demands of academic parents during Covid-19 affected their career sustainability indicators and career initiatives regarding health, happiness, and productivity. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 21 academic parents during the post-lockdown period of Covid-19 in Turkey. We analyzed the qualitative data by using content analysis via MAXQDA software. Results revealed differing career sustainability experiences and initiatives regarding gender roles, career stage, and work/family demands and resources. Notably, women academics with higher contextual demands and lower contextual resources and early-career academics reported relatively adverse experiences concerning their health, happiness, and productivity. Besides, even though early-career academics faced problems with sustaining their career development, they were relatively more oriented to engage in career initiatives, such as reorganizing developmental needs, improving career skills, and seeking career support and guidance. This study sheds light on the context, time, and person aspects of sustainable careers during Covid-19. Moreover, the study represents one of the first investigations into the proactive initiatives for crafting sustainable careers during the pandemic and provides a deeper insight into the (de)motivators for career proactivity.

Between Delivery and Luck: Projectification of Academic Careers and Conflicting Notions of Worth at the Postdoc Level

AbstractThis paper investigates how early career academics interpret and respond to institutional demands structured by projectification. Developing a ‘frame analytic’ approach, it explores projectification as a process constituted at the level of meaning-making. Building on 35 in-depth interviews with fixed-term scholars in political science and history, the findings show that respondents jointly referred to competition and delivery in order to make sense of their current situation. Forming what I call the project frame, these interpretive orientations were legitimized by various organizational routines within the studied departments, feeding into a dominant regime of valuation and accumulation. However, while the content of the project frame is well-defined, attempts to align with it vary, indicating the importance of disciplines and academic age when navigating project-based careers. Furthermore, this way of framing academic work and careers provokes tensions and conflicts that junior scholars try to manage. To curb their competitive relationship and enable cooperation, respondents emphasized the outcome of project funding as ‘being lucky.’ They also drew on imagined futures to envision alternative scripts of success and worth. Both empirically and conceptually, the article contributes to an understanding of academic career-making as a kind of pragmatic problem-solving, centered on navigating multiple career pressures and individual aspirations.

COVID-19 pandemic & neurosciences in India- the CoINstudy: Impact of the pandemic on research related to the neurosciences.

Background & objectives We aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19-related disruptions on ongoing and future projects related to neuroscience research and young researchers in India. Methods We conducted a countrywide online survey using a structured, self-administered questionnaire involving medical trainees, post-doctoral fellows, PhD students, early career faculty members and basic neuroscience researchers. The purpose was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the respondents' ongoing/planned research activities and capture their concerns related to future research. Results Five hundred and four valid responses were analyzed. More than three-fourths of the respondents were in their early careers - 64.1 per cent were resident doctors, and 19.8 per cent were early career consultants. Maximum responses were received from respondents working in neurology (228; 45.2%), followed by psychiatry (192; 38.1%) and neurosurgery (49; 9.7%). More than three-fourths [83.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.8-0.867] of the respondents reported that the pandemic had affected their research. About one-third of the respondents (171; 33.9%) reported delays in completing research studies. Respondents adapted to the pandemic's circumstances by making methodological changes in their research (155; 30.8%). Most respondents (301; 59.6%) reported being diverted from their traditional work settings to COVID-19-related clinical services. Respondents conducting prospective studies and randomized controlled trials and those diverted to COVID-related services were significantly more likely to report the adverse research impact. Interpretation & conclusions In our survey, an overwhelming majority of the respondents reported that the pandemic adversely impacted their study. This trend was independent of sex, designation, and research output of individual subjects. The serious impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on neurosciences research warrants the attention and concerted efforts of the research supervisors, institutional heads, funding agencies and other stakeholders.

Gender balance in academia: Evidence from finance departments

Females are underrepresented in academic finance departments, especially among senior faculty. Using information on 2910 finance scholars from 387 universities worldwide, we show that although females have become more common in finance departments over the past 30 years, yet only one in ten full professors are women. We explore whether this gap is associated with a lower likelihood of female faculty transitioning into higher academic ranks and find no significant difference between the sexes. While we cannot rule out the existence of a glass ceiling impacting women, partly due to their higher exit rates from the profession, we primarily attribute the low representation of female finance professors to historic male-centric recruitment activity. Due to the length of time for early-career academics to reach full professor status, gender imbalance at the most senior levels in finance is likely to continue for several years.

Information ecosystems in early academic career building: how do researchers in the social sciences and humanities learn the tricks of the trade?

Early career investigators (ECIs) in the Social Sciences and Humanities need to receive adequate information so that they will be empowered to progress in their academic career and deal with the various evaluation processes that constitute an essential part of their professional development. This article relies on an informational-ecosystemic approach originally developed in the context of resilience studies and crisis communication and uses it as a theoretical framework to analyse and understand the “early academic career building information ecosystems” (EACBIEs), into which ECIs professionally develop. The characteristics of these ecosystems are then refined through the analysis of interviews conducted with ECIs from all around Europe in the framework of the European Network for Research Evaluation in Social Sciences and Humanities (ENRESSH), European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action. The analysis reveals the remarkable heterogeneity of the information ecosystems into which early career researchers have to build their career in Europe, articulating a diversity of formal, non-formal and informal learning environments, and several related information channels, as well as showing a geographical spread that covers institutional, national and international levels. Furthermore, although the diverse information channels at hand and geographical levels at which they operate appear in some cases to be complementary, and even mutually reinforcing, they can also, in other cases, be dysfunctional, fragmented and unfair to some extent.

Developing the future academic workforce: A descriptive cross-sectional study of the experiences of early career academics from registered health and social care professions

BackgroundHealthcare academics are generally recruited for their expertise as practitioners, however this may not always convert into expertise in higher education. ObjectiveInvestigate experiences of academics who transitioned from clinical roles by:1.Ascertaining prior understanding of the academic role.2.Understanding motivations to transition to academia.3.Determining whether expectations reflected reality.4.Identifying support needs for a successful transition. DesignDescriptive cross-sectional survey. Participants122 survey responses; 103 females, 89.3 % UK participants, 65.6 % nurses. Average years as clinician was 14.49 (SD 8.44), average age at time of transition was 39.99 (SD 8.28), average length of time in academia was 4.36 years (SD 6.51) and most were currently employed as a senior lecturer (36.9 %) or lecturer (28.7 %). MethodsAn electronic survey using an amended version of the Career Transition Inventory (CTI), the HEXACO personality trait measure, and open questions for elaboration.Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed on statistical data and open questions were analysed thematically. Results73 % of participants agreed they felt like a novice again and were overwhelmed in their first year of academia. Most felt they received support from their line manager and the transition was the right decision. Higher levels of extraversion were associated with a positive transition, and those open to new experiences were more likely to feel ready and confident in their career transition.The qualitative data identified four themes: the need to do something different, expectations not reflecting reality, levels of support, and it being a transformative experience. ConclusionsReasons for transitioning from clinical to academic roles are multifaceted. There is a lack of prior understanding around the complexities of the role, and expectations rarely reflect reality. Academic roles require extensive support and development, and time to transition into the role effectively.

Between luck and stigma: gendered experiences of precarity in higher education in the UK and the US

ABSTRACT Through a phenomenological research design, this study explores experiences of precarity among early-career academics in the UK and the USA higher education sectors. These contexts, while similar, exhibit structural differences as pioneers of neoliberalization in the Global North. Conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 early-career academics in both contexts, the study delves into shared and distinct experiences of precarity, manifesting in unstable working conditions, uncertain futures, and competitive job markets dominated by temporary positions. The findings illuminate the role of emotions and gendered experiences in navigating precarity. Accordingly, informants in both contexts expressed being lucky to have academic positions even when they are temporary ones embedded in gendered hierarchies, while informants in the USA further highlighted being stigmatized. The study argues that the experiences of precarity unsettle meritocratic ideals in both cases, whereby individual success and achievements become irrelevant and excluded, and gendered inequalities are overshadowed.

CHALLENGES IN NAVIGATING THE ACADEMIC WORLD: A PERSPECTIVE FROM EARLY-CAREER ACADEMICS

Higher education (HE) is a dynamic sector that is constantly experiencing changes due to the rapidly changing world. Today, academics are not just expected to deliver lectures, but they also need to contribute to other aspects of academia such as publishing scholarly works, securing grants, innovation and holding administrative positions. The multiple demands and responsibilities that an academic need to meet in their career can be overwhelming especially for those early-career academics (ECAs). Understanding the challenges they face in the early years of career is important to facilitate universities in devising effective strategies to develop this group of employees. Following a qualitative, case study method, we explored the challenges facing ECAs serving in two comprehensive public universities in Malaysia. Data were collected using individual, semi-structured interviews on six ECAs. Findings revealed that ECAs faced challenges in terms of support they received, workload, and networking opportunities. Looking at the future, universities need to think of ways to manage and support ECAs which can help with their successful integration into the academic world. Our study contributes to the growing global research on ECAs and talent management initiatives in higher education.

From group mentoring to collective liberation: The imperative to decolonize nursing academia

Four Black early-career faculty members, one Black doctoral student, a Black senior faculty member, (herein referred to as scholars), previously engaged in cross-cultural mentoring with a White senior researcher to bolster their scholarship. In the years following the 2020 racial reckoning, the scholars were motivated to reconvene by the realization that traditional scholarship activities of academia ignore historical educational oppression and fail to account for the contemporary effects of racism and discrimination rooted in American colonialism. Collaborative autoethnography, a decolonizing qualitative approach to research, was used to explicate our journeys in academia. The tenets of Freire’s critical pedagogy (conscientização, scholarship, praxis) framed our collective experiences. We describe resisting academic structures of power, discrimination, and disadvantage through reformation, crafting a vision statement and utilizing positions of influence. To decolonize nursing academia, we invite the scholarly community to pursue liberation and contest structures that center Whiteness and marginalize collectivism and collaboration.

The development and implementation of a Peer Mentoring Scheme for Sociology Early Career Academics (ECAs) in Ireland: lessons from research, insights from practice

ABSTRACT The paper discusses a structured peer mentoring scheme for Early Career Academics (ECAs) in Sociology during COVID-19 and post-Brexit, the pedagogical framework adopted and programme challenges, benefits and learning. Internationally, structured peer mentoring schemes for ECAs are sparse and discussions of ‘what works’ in the context of dedicated peer mentoring programmes for ECAs are limited. This programme, designed and executed by the Sociological Association of Ireland (SAI) and a professional mentoring trainer in 2022, involved 8 peer mentors, all of whom were senior and mid-career academics and 10 mentees comprising PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. It encompassed formative sessions for peer mentors and mentees and a final joint session, which took place online. Subsequently, peer mentors facilitated online peer mentoring sessions, with mentees supporting them to explore, plan and achieve their professional goals. The authors discuss the pedagogical content and active methodologies adopted in relation to reflective practice and knowledge-exchange, whilst illuminating that more investment in and research on structured peer mentoring programmes in Higher Education can lead to better outcomes for ECAs. We underline the potential of similar inter-professional mentoring schemes for ECAs and key learning, which could benefit future programmes.

Career success, collegiality, and the intentions of early career academics to stay in the academic profession

ABSTRACT This article examines the relationship between the career success of early career academics (ECAs), collegiality, and their intentions to stay in the academic profession. Two different surveys were developed and administered to ECAs (n=68) and other academics (n=219) from a public university in South Africa. The data were analysed using bivariate correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that career success factors that include career advising (research and teaching and learning), learning and development, rewards and recognition, and socialisation strengthen the intentions of ECAs to stay in the academic profession. Additionally, collegiality demonstrated a strong moderation effect on the relationship between career advising on research, teaching and learning and the intentions of ECAs to stay in the academic profession. The article further discusses the implications of the results in relation to how career success and collegiality reinforce the intentions of ECAs to stay in the academic profession.

Attitude and practices of higher education academics on education for sustainable development

This research paper explores the views and perceptions of academics towards embedding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into their academic practices and presents study findings on academics’ views on ESD. This study utilized anonymous questionnaires to obtain participant opinions. Participants were encouraged to share personal practices around ESD. This study observed that academics have a diverse perception of the ESD concept, and most academics are aware of ESD to some extent. The results indicate the presence of a statistical relationship between academics’ years of experience in higher education (HE) and their awareness of ESD. Also, early career academics are more likely to be open to incorporating ESD into their teaching practices. In addition to these, this paper discussed that while academics may or may not already be incorporating ESD into their teaching practices, institutional commitment to embedding ESD into policies, staff training, curriculum development, and assessment is critical in ensuring effective integration of ESD into HE. This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0 .