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Article Excerpt
This article is the 3rd in a series that has been focused on the experiences of assistant professors of counselor education who were at the conclusion of their 3rd year in the profession. Thirty-six participants provided information about their experiences, sources of pleasure and displeasure, professional contributions, areas of change, and expectations for tenure and promotion. Prominent themes that emerged from the data included mentoring, balance and family focus, and scholarship. Recommendations are presented for counselor educators-in-training, candidates, new counselor educators (CEs), and veteran CEs.
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By the end of her 3rd year as a counselor educator (CE), "Jane" had written 16 journal articles and had begun writing a textbook. Jane was active in her state's counseling association and had served on one committee of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES). She realized that this was what I was born to do.... I couldn't be happier. I feel like I have it all in my career. I do research. I write. I teach. I supervise. I see clients. Jane added, I have changed ... becoming a professional and having a professional feeling--not feeling like I am an imposter. I can feel it. I'm doing a good job. And I know that. That feels good. These accomplishments have contributed to Jane's satisfaction and success, and she is aware of the costs to her personal life. For example, Jane knows that she "can't write during the semester. I don't have the time. So I write on holidays." Jane is confident that she will be able to achieve a satisfactory balance between her personal and professional lives posttenure and promotion.
In contrast, "Ted" is excessively anxious because he has no publications even though he has submitted several manuscripts to journal editors. Ted has received strong teaching evaluations from students and peers, yet he feels overwhelmed by the extensive demands of his counselor education position. He worries that he will be asked to leave the university because of the limited evidence of his scholarly potential.
Ted is worried about his professional future, and he acknowledges having a feeling of general unhappiness. His relationships with other members of the faculty are not strong, and he feels isolated. He has relinquished his hope of having a mentor. He is disenchanted by colleagues' "jealousy and competitiveness" and "lack of professionalism."
Ted devotes extensive amounts of time to his work and regrets that he does not have enough time to invest in his personal life. He is also struggling to repay student loans and to keep other financial commitments.
These vignettes, drawn from longitudinal data, illustrate the continuum of experiences reported by CEs at the end of their 3rd year in faculty positions. These descriptions corroborate the broader literature on new assistant professors.
Indeed, authors of articles addressing the experiences of new assistant professors across disciplines have painted a grim picture (e.g., Barnes, Agago, & Coombs, 1998; Boice, 1992, 2000; Luce & Murray, 1998). Boice (2000) noted that "new hires ... need useful advice but are least likely to receive it" (p. 2) during this crucial career juncture. This may contribute to what Luce and Murray (1998) identified as "traumatic and demoralizing" (p. 103) experiences. New assistant professors may be "left alone to discover their own career path through a process of trial and error" (Olsen & Crawford, 1998, p. 52). They often feel isolated and confused by the ambiguous and inconsistent information related to expectations (Cawyer & Friedrich, 1998). Too many assistant professors are "overloaded, unsupported, and uninformed" (Boice, 1992, p. 3).
In this regard, Cawyer and Friedrich (1998) contended that "it is doubtful that the newcomer will achieve his or her full potential as a scholar and departmental member if he or she must constantly carry the majority of the responsibility for adapting to the work place" (p. 243). Challenges become prominent in contexts that are characterized by "lack of clarity regarding responsibilities, conflicting and excessive demands, and diverse expectations [that] confront and confound not only new faculty but faculty at all stages of their careers" (Bianco-Mathis & Chalofsky, 1999, p. 144).
Faculty members' responses to their debut era experiences are often long lasting (Boice, 1992, 2000; Olsen & Crawford, 1998). Patterns of productivity are often established during these pretenure years, and unsuccessful careers are often attributed to 1st-year experiences (Boice, 1992). In this regard, Boice (1992) suggested that
those who fare in mediocre or unhappy fashion often leave for other
positions, in or out of academe. Second, those who fare even less
well often end up being rejected in the retention and tenure process, usually after sharing an uncomfortable experience with their colleagues. Third, marginally successful newcomers may remain
in the department for unhappy and unproductive careers. (p. 6) Thus, the personal, professional, and economic experiences are costly, intertwined, and tragic for the individual and for the institution. Responding to such tragedies, authors have challenged university communities to become intentional in providing environments that are conducive to the professional and personal well-being of new colleagues (Barnes et al., 1998; Cawyer & Friedrich, 1998; Luce & Murray, 1998; Olsen & Crawford, 1998). Boice (1992) aptly identified new faculty as a "neglected resource" (p. 1). He further emphasized that effectively supporting faculty during their foundational years provides financial and personal advantages. Thus, administrators who heed this challenge may realize greater returns on the human and financial capital invested in recruiting and selecting new faculty.
The extant literature that addresses the experiences of new assistant professors is general in nature and does not address specific concerns of CEs. Therefore, the rationale for our study is grounded in and consistent with the traditions of the counseling profession that champion career development, optimal well-being, and advocacy. This inquiry is our attempt to provide the information and insight needed to bridge the gap of knowledge between the general academic and counselor education literatures. In response to this void, the first author initiated a longitudinal, mixed methodology inquiry to (a) explicate and aggregate the experiences of new CEs during their pretenure years, (b) examine the meanings these individuals attributed to those experiences, and (c) inform veteran colleagues' responses to the changing needs of pretenured CEs. Previous findings of this longitudinal inquiry have provided evidence that many of the new CEs experienced isolation, loneliness, and dissatisfaction (Magnuson, 2002; Magnuson, Shaw, Tubin, & Norem, 2004). Additionally, participants reported a decline in satisfaction during their 1st (Magnuson, 2002) and 2nd years (Magnuson et al., 2004). In this article, we present analyses of data collected during the spring term of the participating CEs' 3rd year in full-time faculty positions.
Method
We used a phenomenological approach to conduct this inquiry because we wanted to give voice to the lived experiences of pretenured CEs during their first 3 years. In-depth semistructured interviews, with the option of providing written responses to the questions, were deemed appropriate primary sources of data. This is the third study in a series of longitudinal data collection opportunities; thus, we recognized the rich and intense nature of the previous inquiries conducted by the principal investigator (the first author). We believe that the quality of the data was strengthened by the previous research relationship. A phenomenological approach with oral or written responses was consistent with the goals of the study and sensitive to the needs of the participants.
Research...
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