A Comparative Study of New Faculty Socialization in Tertiary Education in Taiwan and the U.S.

Abstract

Although the practice of new faculty socialization may differ by variations across institutional types across the board, experienced faculty members of today have a significant responsibility to prepare and support new faculty members in academies. The various pressures and demands on the professoriate in academies may encourage us to reconsideration of the nature of faculty work and the question of how to prepare new faculty members for integrating the academy. The paper begins with an overview of the faculty career and the socialization process, particularly for new faculty and early faculty members (junior faculty) in higher education. Next, I discuss variations of socialization and strategies for new faculty and junior faculty in the academic workplace. Then I illustrate the research method used for this study, and finally comparing Taiwan and the U.S. in terms of socialization for new faculty and early faculty members.