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Abstract
Purpose: Professional schools rarely prepare prospective academic faculty for the responsibilities of college and university teaching. Without this training, faculty are often left to discover on their own and to varying degrees of success what is expected of them once they enter the academy. At the same time, universities and colleges recognize that retention of faculty depends on the successful transition of academics into the related roles and responsibilities of the professoriate. The purpose of this study was to assess the faculty development needs among allied dental faculty, specifically the state of Florida's dental hygiene and dental assisting faculty, by measuring the following: the relationship between their knowledge and priorities for further training, their level of satisfaction with current faculty development opportunities and mentoring, and their perceptions of what additional training and resources might advance their careers.
Methods: Two hundred and four full-time and part-time faculty were invited to participate in this survey research study. McNemar's test for paired binary data was used to analyze the level of agreement between knowledge and indicated priority. Responses to open ended questions were coded and categorized thematically.
Results: There were 115 responses (n=204, 74%). There were statistically significant differences between participants' ratings of knowledge and priorities for further training on many items related to teaching, scholarship and leadership skills. Participants also identified 5 categories of unmet needs.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that universities and colleges need to offer learning experiences aimed at strengthening the teaching, scholarship and leadership skill needs of their allied dental faculty. Additionally, professional schools might consider offering a program track that provides prospective allied dental faculty with the types of opportunities that develops teaching, scholarship and mentoring skills prior to graduation.
Footnotes
Linda S. Behar-Horenstein, PhD, is a Distinguished Teaching Scholar and Professor at the Colleges of Dentistry, Education and Veterinary Medicine, and Director, Clinical Translational Science Institute, Educational Development and Evaluation University of Florida. Cyndi W. Garvan, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor at the College of Nursing, University of Florida. Frank A. Catalanotto, DMD, is a Professor and Chair, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science at the College of Dentistry, University of Florida. Yu Su, MEd, is a Doctoral Student, Research Evaluation Methods at the College of Education, University of Florida. Xiaoying Feng, BS, is a Doctoral Student, Educational Leadership at the College of Education, University of Florida.
This study supports the NDHRA priority area, Professional Education and Development: Identify the factors that affect recruitment and retention of faculty.
Disclosure
This project was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number and title for grant amount (Award #1 D86HP24477-01-00, Faculty development supporting academic dental institution curriculum for 21st century. Awarded $2,552,191). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
- Copyright © 2016 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association
