Part-time faculty in public universities: An unfinished process of professionalization

Author: Ariadna Isabel López Damián, Omar García Ponce de León, Ricardo Pérez Mora, Virginia Montero Hernández, Elsa Liliana Rojas Ortiz
Abstract: The study explores the academic profession by analyzing the experiences of part-time faculty in three public universities in Mexico. We used 56 semi-structured interviews to understand the perspectives of part-time faculty toward their forms of participation in the workplace. This study derives from a larger project aimed at understanding the context, activities and interactions in which faculty engage as part of their profession. We found three profiles that characterize part-time faculty´s participation at the university. The definition of the profiles is based on the relationships among: (1) their occupational status; (2) the activities faculty perform at the university; and (3) their professional aspirations and plans within the university.
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