Reflections on a Career Spanning Kinesiology and Athletic Training

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
David H. Perrin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Faculty Member ◽  
Athletic Training ◽  
Department Chair ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Career Trajectory ◽  
Graduate Degrees ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Small College

In this essay, I reflect on my life and academic career, detailing my childhood, family background, education, and those who influenced me to study physical education and athletic training. My higher education started with a small college experience that had a transformative impact on my intellectual curiosity, leading to graduate degrees and, ultimately, a career in higher education. I chronicle my academic career trajectory as a non-tenure-track faculty member and clinician, tenured faculty member, department chair, dean, and provost. My personal and professional lives have been undergirded by a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, with examples provided in this essay.

scholarly journals Attractors to Faculty Positions Within Higher Education Institutions for Women in Athletic Training

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Barrett ◽  
Stephanie M. Mazerolle ◽  
Leah Sampson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Faculty Member ◽  
Athletic Training ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Years Of Experience ◽  
Job Responsibilities ◽  
Professional Programs ◽  
Experience Teaching ◽  
Employment Goals

Context: Selection of one's occupation can be influenced and determined by several variables and is often studied through the lens of the socialization framework. Career choice has been examined in athletic training, with scholars focusing on identifying initial attractors to the education programs as well as the traditional employment settings. However, little is understood about why an athletic trainer (AT) pursues a role in higher education, specifically women ATs. Objective: Gain an understanding of the factors that influence and motivate women ATs to pursue a career as a faculty member. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education professional programs. Patients or Other Participants: Sixteen women faculty members, average age 35 (±6.2, range 28–49; 2 did not report ages) with 11 average years of experience teaching in athletic training programs (1 did not report) and an average of 14 years of experience as certified ATs (±5.9, range 7–25). Main Outcome Measure(s): Participants completed one-on-one phone interviews, which were digitally recorded and transcribed. Analysis of the data followed the interpretative phenomenological approach. Credibility was established through pilot testing, peer review, and researcher triangulation. Results: Women ATs who have selected a role in higher education were attracted to their positions for three main reasons: (1) connection to the role of being a faculty member, employment goals aligned with the tenets of higher education, teaching, and research; (2) flexibility of schedule the women were able to maintain, accommodating schedule shaped to fit their needs; (3) selecting current jobs due primarily to logistics and location, allowing them to live in a desired location also acceptable to their spouse. Conclusions: Pursuing a faculty role in higher education for women ATs appears to be stimulated by personal and organizational factors, including an attraction to the roles of the faculty member and job responsibilities that can afford flexibility.

scholarly journals Faculty Mentorship in Higher Education: The Value of Institutional and Professional Mentors

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie M. Mazerolle ◽  
Sara L. Nottingham ◽  
Kelly A. Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Faculty Member ◽  
Athletic Training ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Junior Faculty Member ◽  
Socialization Process ◽  
Athletic Training Faculty ◽  
Training Faculty

Context: Mentorship has been identified as a key aspect to the transition into higher education for the junior faculty member, as it is an effective organizational socializing agent. The literature, however, often examines mentorship as a derivative of the socialization process, rather than as the primary focus of investigation. Objective: Explore the perceptions of mentorship for the athletic training faculty member on professional development and transition into a new faculty role, specifically looking at mentorship through a role transition and inductance lens for the junior faculty member. Design: Phenomenology. Setting: Higher education institutions. Patients or Other Participants: Twenty junior athletic training faculty members (14 women, 6 men) who met our inclusion criteria. All participants were in positions leading to promotion or tenure. Saturation was met with our 20 participants. Main Outcome Measure(s): Semistructured phone interviews were conducted and transcribed verbatim afterward. Using a phenomenological approach, we analyzed the data. Credibility of the data was confirmed with peer review and researcher triangulation. Results: Mentoring relationships were determined to be internal and external to the athletic training faculty member's institutions. Relationships were classified as informal, regardless of the location of the mentor. Internal mentoring relationships were informal and navigated by the faculty member with individuals the faculty member believed to have valued experiences and knowledge regarding the institution's culture and expectations for role performance and promotion. External mentors, mostly doctoral advisors, were individuals who could continue to support professional development and the specific tenets of higher education independently of institutional expectations. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that mentoring is done by a constellation of individuals, as each mentoring relationship fulfills a particular need of the junior faculty member and one mentor may not provide or possess all the necessary experiences to support the transition.

scholarly journals Examining the Factors that Facilitate Athletic Training Faculty Socialization into Higher Education

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 208-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie M. Mazerolle ◽  
Jessica L. Barrett ◽  
Sara Nottingham
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Faculty Member ◽  
Athletic Training ◽  
Doctoral Education ◽  
Doctoral Training ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Socialization Process ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Athletic Training Faculty ◽  
Training Faculty

Context: Doctoral education is the mechanism whereby athletic trainers can develop an awareness of their future roles and responsibilities in higher education. Evidence suggests that doctoral education may provide an incomplete understanding of these roles and responsibilities, warranting further investigation. Objective: To gain a better understanding on how athletic training faculty members are socialized into their role. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: Higher education institutions. Patients or Other Participants: Twenty-eight athletic training educators (14 men, 14 women) who had completed doctoral training. Participants' average age was 39 ± 6 years, with 11.6 ± 5.6 years of experience working in education. Main Outcome Measure(s): One-on-one interviews were completed with all participants following a semistructured framework. Data saturation drove sampling. Inductive analysis was used to evaluate the data. Member checks, peer review, and researcher triangulation established rigor. Results: The first theme, professional socialization, was defined by participants as those experiences in their doctoral training that provided role understanding. The second theme, organizational socialization, speaks to those experiences that occurred once the athletic training faculty member was employed full time in higher education. The category of mentorship was articulated, in both themes, as impactful in both professional preparations at the doctoral level and during the institutional socialization process once a novice faculty member is hired. Conclusions: Doctoral education provides the platform for role understanding, which allows the athletic trainer to be prepared to transition into the faculty member role. Specifically, engagement in the role and mentoring provided this role awareness, which is common within the socialization framework. Institutions also offer formalized orientation sessions as a means to assimilate, and mentoring is also available for support.

scholarly journals Mentoring Processes in Higher Education: Perspectives of Junior Athletic Training Faculty Members

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Nottingham ◽  
Stephanie Mazerolle
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Faculty Member ◽  
Athletic Training ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Athletic Training Faculty ◽  
Time Faculty ◽  
Training Faculty

Purpose: Mentorship is a valuable mechanism of socializing faculty members to higher education, but understanding of how mentoring relationships develop is limited. The purpose of this study was to seek a more complete understanding of how mentoring relationships develop for junior faculty members, and how these effective mentoring relationships can be fostered. Method: A qualitative, phenomenological design was used to examine junior athletic training faculty members’ experiences with mentoring. Twenty athletic training faculty members: 14 women, 6 men, 32±3 years of age and averaged 2.4±2.1 years as a full-time faculty member in an accredited athletic training program participated in this study. Participants completed one telephone interview, which was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed with an inductive phenomenological approach. Data saturation was obtained Trustworthiness strategies included peer review and the use of multi-analyst triangulation. Results: Junior faculty participated in informal and formal mentoring relationships that evolved over time, which aided their transition from doctoral student to full-time faculty member. Additionally, mentoring relationships were strengthened when participants took initiative, engaged in the relationship, and set clear goals. Mentors who exhibit good communication skills, willingness to participate, and genuine interest in the mentee are particularly valuable. Conclusions: Both formal and informal mentoring experiences appear to be valuable for junior faculty members, particularly informal relationships. If institutional mentoring programs are lacking then junior faculty should seek out additional mentoring opportunities. These findings also confirm existing literature on effective mentoring characteristics.

scholarly journals Doctoral Education in Athletic Training: Pursuit of the Degree and Its Influence on Career Aspirations

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-107
Author(s):  
Stephanie Mazerolle Singe ◽  
Alicia M. Pike ◽  
Kelly A. Coleman ◽  
Sarah L. Myers ◽  
Jessica Barrett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Faculty Member ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Athletic Training ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Athletic Trainers ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Career Goals ◽  
Past Experiences

Context Athletic trainers pursue higher education to obtain positions in academia, which often include scholarship and/or teaching responsibilities. Previous research has investigated the preparation and transition phases for doctoral students moving from student to junior faculty member as well as their professional socialization. However, the reasons for the pursuit of a doctoral degree and doctoral students' career goals postgraduation are not yet understood. Objective To explore the motivational factors and attractors for the pursuit of a doctoral degree among athletic trainers in doctoral programs. Secondarily, to examine how doctoral experiences shape career goals and aspirations. Design Qualitative phenomenology. Setting Higher education institutions. Patients or Other Participants Twelve academic doctoral students (8 female, 4 male; 6.0 ± 4 years Board of Certification–certified; 5.0 ± 3.0 years clinical athletic training practice) completed the study. Main Outcome Measure(s) Participants completed a single one-on-one telephone interview, which was recorded and transcribed. Analysis followed the phenomenological paradigm. Credibility was established through peer review and multi-analyst triangulation. Results Past experiences, mentorship, and professional development served as motivators for pursuit of an academic doctoral degree. Past experiences were supported by (1) previous educational experiences and (2) time in a nonacademic role. Additionally, our participants' career aspirations were shaped through mentorship and legitimization during their doctoral programs. Conclusions Pursuit of a doctoral degree was primarily influenced by the previous educational experiences that provided students with exposure to responsibilities that accompany a faculty role. Strong mentorship helped support the decision to pursue a doctoral degree, as well as to develop a career plan. Engaging in the role of faculty member via an assistantship also supported the development of career plans.

scholarly journals Shape-shifting and pushing against the odds: staff perceptions of the experiences of first generation students in South Africa and the UK

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Forsyth ◽  
Claire Hamshire ◽  
Danny Fontaine-Rainen ◽  
Leza Soldaat
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Staff Perceptions ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
University Life ◽  
The Uk

AbstractThe principles of diversity and inclusion are valued across the higher education sector, but the ways in which these principles are translated into pedagogic practice are not always evident. Students who are first in their family to attend university continue to report barriers to full participation in university life. They are more likely to leave their studies early, and to achieve lower grades in their final qualifications, than students whose families have previous experience of higher education. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a mismatch between staff perceptions and students’ experiences might be a possible contributor to these disparities. The study explored and compared staff discourses about the experiences of first generation students at two universities, one in the United Kingdom (UK), and the other in South Africa (SA). One-to-one interviews were carried out with 40 staff members (20 at each institution) to explore their views about first generation students. The results showed that staff were well aware of challenges faced by first generation students; however, they were unsure of their roles in relation to shaping an inclusive environment, and tended not to consider how to use the assets that they believed first generation students bring with them to higher education. This paper explores these staff discourses; and considers proposals for challenging commonly-voiced assumptions about students and university life in a broader context of diversity and inclusive teaching practice.

Tainted Love: The Trials and Tribulations of a Career in Animal Studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan O’Sullivan ◽  
Yvette Watt ◽  
Fiona Probyn-Rapsey
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Term Benefit

AbstractDeveloping an academic career can be exciting, rewarding and stimulating. It can also be challenging, disheartening, and highly insecure. Results from a survey of Animal Studies (AS) scholars identifies reasons why pursuing a career in AS might generate additional challenges, over and above those experienced by academics generally. For example, 44 percent of respondents stated that in their view, undertaking research in AS “creates challenges for an academic career.” This is compared to just 16 percent who thought that it is an advantage. Yet despite the challenges, there is much that is positive about AS. Participants described being in “dialogue with clever colleagues,” viewed their work as “totally engaging,” and reported feeling “morally useful.” This in turn affords AS scholars an authenticity that may be of long-term benefit in the competitive and constantly transforming world of higher education.

Walking in the Ivory Tower: Differential Belonging and the Architexture of Home

2021 ◽  
pp. 107780042110483
Author(s):  
Gust A. Yep
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Faculty Member ◽  
Ivory Tower ◽  
Relational Patterns ◽  
The U.S

Deploying Carrillo Rowe’s concept of differential belonging and extending McCune’s notion of architexture to encompass transnational sensory registers, affective valences and intensities, relational patterns, and ideological and political textures, I describe and examine the complexities of home as a racial, gender, and sexual non-normative transnational subject in the U.S. academy. More specifically, I narrate two scenes of my autoethnography to make sense of my transnational experiences of academic home in U.S. spaces of higher education. In the article, I first discuss the concept of differential belonging and the architexture of home before I embark on my autoethnographic scenes and conclude with an exploration of how people “back home” imagine my life as a faculty member of a major U.S. university.

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