Center for Teaching and Learning Impact on Adjunct Job Satisfaction: Examining Their Lived Experiences

Author

Winsome S. BrooksFollow

Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

11-2020

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2979-6594

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Tim Atkinson

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Lawrence Davenport

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Katherine Yeager

Abstract

Adjunct faculty have become a significant part of the collegiate workforce in times of financial constraints; however, they are not supported like their full-time counterparts and have lower career and job satisfaction. Some institutions have responded to the increase in dependence on adjuncts by developing support systems in the form of teaching and learning centers. This phenomenological case study’s purpose was to explore the lived experiences of adjunct faculty using a center for teaching and learning (CTL) and explore the impacts the CTL has on adjunct job satisfaction. A purposive sample of six adjunct faculty, two CTL leaders, and one American Association of Community Colleges leader participated in in-depth interviews recorded through Zoom. The collected data were transcribed and used to construct four major themes and six subthemes through the processes of using in vivo coding, initial coding, and descriptive coding. The major themes included the CTL practices, inclusiveness, confidence, and satisfaction. The findings from this study imply that factors which enhance job satisfaction are totally distinct from those associated with job dissatisfaction; the presence of certain job attributes (motivators) lead to satisfaction, and the presence of hygiene factors, such as working conditions, prevents dissatisfaction. Overall, the results of this study could encourage institutions’ administrators to refine certain features within the CTL to manage adjunct faculty’s job satisfaction.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Brooks, Winsome S., "Center for Teaching and Learning Impact on Adjunct Job Satisfaction: Examining Their Lived Experiences" (2020). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 272.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/272