Abstract
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.
Notes
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Graduation Date
2020
Semester
Summer
Advisor
Boote, David
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
College
College of Community Innovation and Education
Department
School of Teacher Education
Degree Program
Education; Higher Education Track
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0008255; DP0023609
URL
https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0023609
Language
English
Release Date
8-15-2023
Length of Campus-only Access
3 years
Access Status
Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)
STARS Citation
McLaren Turner, Claudine, "The Impact of Faculty Socialization on Teaching Practices of Postsecondary Physics Instructors" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-. 306.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2020/306