Abstract

Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) are increasingly being hired across the United States. However, little is known about the motivations for SFES hiring or the potential or actual impact of SFES. In the context of a recent national survey of US SFES, we investigated SFES perceptions about these issues. Strikingly, perceptions about reasons for hiring SFES were poorly aligned with perceptions about potential and actual contributions reported by SFES themselves, and the advice they extended to beginning SFES was varied. While preparation of future teachers and departmental teaching needs were common reasons offered for SFES hiring, the potential and actual contributions of SFES highlighted instead their roles as pedagogical resources and as contributors to curricular reform. Misalignments between SFES perceptions about what motivates SFES hiring and their perceptions of their most valuable contributions present challenges for those interested in maximizing the impact of SFES.

Comments

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in BioScience following peer review. The version of record, Bush, S.D., Pelaez, N.J., Rudd, J.A., II, Stevens, M.T., Tanner, K.D., & Williams, K.S. (2014). Misalignments: Challenges in Cultivating Science Faculty with Education Specialties in Your Department. BioScience, 65(1), 81-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biu186, is available online at: http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/biu186?ijkey=0tl5emgSJkUfbZ1&keytype=ref.

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Keywords

science education, higher education, science workforce, faculty development, career development

Date of this Version

12-2014

Volume

65

Issue

1

First Page

81

Last Page

89

DOI

10.1093/biosci/biu186

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