Content area
Abstract
Within the American system of higher education, declining levels of economic support from public funding sources and changing views on the purposes of colleges and universities have resulted in a prioritization of faculty research agendas, an increased need for contingent faculty members, and shifting roles for many graduate teaching assistants. As faculty reward structures increasingly incentivize research over both teaching and service, the traditional faculty role of teaching mentor for graduate teaching assistants may be ignored. In the absence of traditional teaching mentors and as increasing numbers of graduate teaching assistants are asked to instruct courses independently, universities should seek to develop appropriate support mechanisms for these instructors. The purpose of the research project was to explore the relationships between graduate teaching assistants and contingent faculty members in order to determine if these two constituents can serve as a support mechanism for one another.
Using a qualitative research design with a critical theory foundation, this case study focused on the relationships between graduate teaching assistants and contingent faculty members within a specific academic unit. Evidence gathered from researcher observations, document analysis, and interviews with ten instructors and two university administrators indicates that under certain conditions contingent faculty members and graduate teaching assistants can develop peer mentoring relationships and teaching communities that serve as a support mechanism and help to enhance classroom performance. Data from this case study also demonstrate that by incorporating specific environmental conditions, university administrators can help foster inclusive departmental cultures and climates that promote developmental relationships between instructors and staff. Finally, evidence from this case study supports the argument that contingent faculty members should be viewed and treated as professionals who can contribute to the university community in multiple ways.
