En ikke-planlagt karriere. En oppsummering av og etter-refleksjon over en dosentsøknad

The author describes her professional journey from social worker in various settings via contract appointment at a research institution to employment as a university tutor. She relates how she left a nearly completed PhD project and joined the docent path instead. The importance of the critical scientific approach in her research work and how it influenced her application for promotion is explained. She also presents a thorough description of her application and shares some ideas for her work as a docent.

Når uvitenhetens posisjon er fruktbar. Min vei til dosent i spesial- og veiledningspedagogikk

It took 33 years of professional experience before the author attained docent status. His experiences are related to his various employment positions: research assistant, teacher at a school for children with special needs, educational supervisor in South Sudan, school counsellor, curriculum developer and founder of a social network related to counselling, assistant professor, associated professor and coordinator of a bachelor program in social education. At the outset of most of these positions, he had a strong feeling of incompetence and that he lacked the requisite knowledge. This chapter describes how such challenging beginnings have been transformed into fertile experiences of flow. The essence of his application for promotion to docent is also presented. The conclusion relates to the author’s vision for his work as a docent.

Et skritt i riktig retning – fremdeles en vei å gå. En instituttleders perspektiv på førstelektor- og dosentprosjektet ved Universitetet i Agder

The chapter highlights how an outsider with a leadership position (head of the department of education), experienced the impact of the promotion preparatory seminars on her staff. Primarily, their influence was perceived as beneficial, inspiring the staff members who attained promotion to be more motivated in their work. Secondly, the department met the staff qualification criteria required by the government. This dual benefit created general enthusiasm within the department. However, the author emphasizes that more support and resources are necessary to support staff members who wish to join the docent career path to the top academic position.

Dosent i sykepleie, en skjult akademisk kompetanse?

The chapter describes how the author was promoted to docent in nursing. She relates the core competence she has attained through professional involvement and hard work in various contexts. This competence consists of two basic and persistent elements: thorough knowledge of and practical skills in nursing, and how to translate this into educational content. Moreover, she presents how these elements played a vital role in her application for promotion. The author ends the chapter by sharing her vision for her future work as a docent.

«Du gjør det, du lærer ikke bare om det». Min vei til dosent i mat og helse

This chapter describes how the author, after a career of teaching the subject food & health (sometimes referred to as home economics) in lower secondary school, became a docent (professor) of the same subject at a university. Her journey included teaching experiences, curriculum development, research work, publishing textbooks, and being awarded a prize for making entrepreneurship a relevant method of teaching the subject. She reveals how she composed her application for promotion and shares with the reader some of the comments of the assessment committee. To conclude, the author describes her vision for the attained professorship.

En annen kompetanse? Den norske dosenten i et kriterie- og kompetanseperspektiv

This chapter explores the criteria for promotion to docent (dosent in Norwegian), a variant of the professor position. The criteria are based on a different path of qualification to a top academic position where neither a PhD nor a specific number of referee-assessed research articles are required. Four questions are discussed in the chapter: 1) What characterizes the docent position? 2) What kinds of competence does a docent possess? 3) Why do academic institutions need docents? 4) Do the flexible interpretations of the promotion criteria represent challenges? The authors’ answers to these questions show that docents are expected to possess a wider repertoire of competences than a professor does. These different skills are valuable assets for the academic institution, but there is still more potential to be realized.

Kort oppsummert: Hva skal vi med dosentene?

In this summary, docent emeritus Roar C. Pettersen sheds light on some current challenges, discussions and future scenarios of the Norwegian docent position.

Avsluttende oppfordringer

In this call-to-action chapter, Roar C. Pettersen’s reflections in chapter 16 serve as a starting point for summarizing some of the general issues in the book that should be of interest not only to docents, but also other actors in the academic field. Seven points are touched on. (1) The poorly defined docent position, and (2) the constant pro and con discussions associated with the position; (3) the didactic competence of the docents as a key to improved quality of teaching; (4) the differing career ladders of professor and docent seen as an advantage or a challenge, and (5) how to galvanize synergy; (6) who within the landscape of higher education is responsible for implementing change; and (7) how to increase recruitment of docents. The editors do not present clear answers or easy solutions. Rather, they openly invite discussion on these issues. At the same time, they envision a climate in which professors and docents join hands in the same research project as a wishful way to bridge the gap between the two positions, and thereby create synergy.

Planlegging, gjennomføring og evaluering av en seminarrekke for dosentkandidater

This chapter presents a template developed for a facilitating seminar program for candidates seeking to become docents. The processes of planning, implementing, and evaluating the offered program are described. Dilemmas associated with academic advisement and other participatory dilemmas, as well as management’s choices and institutional embeddedness, are also discussed. The implemented seminar program is a pioneer project. Thus, it is encouraging that both the participants and management assessed the project so positively.