Socialization and Mentoring of Community and Technical College Faculty

This case study research examined the socialization and mentoring processes at a community and technical college based on the perspectives of new college faculty members transitioning from career professions. Three main areas were the focus of examination: perceptions of institutional socialization structures and processes; perceived impact of processes on providing discipline content and pedagogical knowledge during integration to institutional norms and culture; and perceived impact of processes on classroom pedagogy and student learning. Interviews with sample faculty members having approximately three to five years experience at a community and technical college, located in the Mid-Atlantic Region, provide representative data for similar Applied Technology institutions. In support of this study, a research literature review addressing scholarly work associated with this topic includes: the historical context of postsecondary institutions, socialization processes related to higher education, mentoring practices associated with socialization and its impact of future faculty, the importance of socialization for teaching in college, and representative programs being utilized to enhance socialization of future faculty for their role in higher education. The research methodology is described in detail with emphasis on design of the study, assumptions of case study research, site selection and data collection, analysis of data, and concerns validity of research. Summary and analysis of individual interviews and a focus group interview are presented addressing discovering information. Lastly, findings and conclusions are drawn describing connections between existing research relative to this study and recommendations for additional researc