Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2024
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Health Science
First Advisor
John Korkow
Abstract
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program faculty often enter academia as expert clinicians or researchers, but rarely as expert educators. Recommendations for faculty development exist, yet many physical therapy faculty still enter academia with little or no formal preparation for teaching and limited understanding of academe. This lack of preparation can impact faculty performance and identity, which ultimately can influence student outcomes. This is particularly true for associated faculty, who have very limited access to development opportunities due to the nature of their academic positions. Framed in social constructivism and transition theory, this study explored the experience and identity of associated faculty teaching in a DPT program. As very little was known about this group of educators, a grounded theory approach was used to allow for a rich exploration of their experience. Data collection occurred primarily through semi-structured interviews, with questions designed to explore the educators’ experience and identity transitions within a workplace community, consisting of classroom/laboratory teaching and exposure to a faculty development series. Use of participant-produced drawings of identity and field observations allowed for triangulation of data. Data was analyzed using the constant comparative method. Six categories emerged inductively from the data – professional identity salience, emotional well-being, connection and belonging, centrality of roles, development of the educator and needs – organized around the central theme of interleaving, analogous to blank pages within a book. Interleaving indicated associated faculty experience and identity were punctuated by numerous gaps, the result of which is an incomplete experience and low self-concept as an educator. Through this grounded theory exploration, the shared perspectives of associated faculty teaching in a DPT resulted in the emergence of key elements central to understanding factors influencing their experience and identity in an academic role.
Subject Categories
Higher Education | Medicine and Health Sciences | Physical Therapy
Keywords
faculty development, identity, physical therapy
Number of Pages
144
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
A Bilyeu, Catherine, "EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCE AND IDENTITY OF ASSOCIATED FACULTY TEACHING IN A DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM" (2024). Dissertations and Theses. 241.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/241