(1) A Mixed Methods Exploration of Mid-Career Faculty Professional Development Resources to Foster Career Advancement

Objective : The objective of this research was to determine resource availability and benefit for fostering mid-career faculty (MCF) development/advancement. It was hypothesized that there is misalignment between MCF needs and resources available to facilitate development/advancement.

Methods: This study employed mixed methods where an electronic survey was distributed to AACP members who were associate professors (MCF), full-professors, and faculty-administrators. Questions centered on MCF development needs/resources and used a 5-point Likert scale to quantify agreement. Survey data were analyzed statistically with sub-analyses conducted by demographic. Survey respondents opted into focus groups that were recorded and transcribed. Investigators coded transcripts and conducted thematic analysis.

Results: In total, 825 faculty responded to the survey (18% response-rate); at least one response was received from 139/142 schools (98%). The top-3 development needs identified were clear expectations for advancement, financial support for professional engagement, and protected time for research/scholarship. Although 78% of MCF indicated receiving financial support for professional engagement, only 57% agreed they had clear expectations for advancement and 35% agreed they had protected time for research/scholarship. Subgroup analyses revealed differences by gender, promotion track, and institution type. While 90% of MCF indicated the department head/chair should be well versed/trained to facilitate their professional development, only 43% agreed their department head/chair met these qualifications. Thematic analysis of seven focus groups including 31 faculty revealed seven themes reinforcing the survey results around the topics of expectations, evaluations, workload, leadership, culture, and agency.

Conclusions: There was misalignment between the needs of MCF and resources available to facilitate development/advancement. These data and perspectives should be used by schools to assess their approach to MCF development to foster advancement.