The Transformation of Professors of
Education
Margaret W. Sallee
The University of Tennessee
William G. Tierney
University of Southern California
Abstract: Due to declining resources and new demands, those who
work in schools of education need new ways to educate students. Of
consequence, who should educate students is also debatable. Using
data from the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, we
explore how the composition and responsibilities of the faculty
workforce have changed over the past decade. We use the popular
framework of the corporatization of higher education to explore the
increase in use of part-time faculty, the corresponding decrease of
tenured faculty, and the ways in which faculty allocate their time. We
highlight five transformations suggested by the data and consider
how these changes are representative of larger trends facing higher
education.
Due to declining resources and new demands, those who work in
schools of education now need to design new ways to educate students in
a manner that they had not previously considered. Of consequence, who
should educate students is also shifting. Using data from the 2004
National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF), we explore how the
composition and responsibilities of the faculty workforce have changed
over the past decade. We begin by considering the changes that have
characterized academe, focusing specifically on the fiscal challenges
facing many institutions and recent changes to the content of instruction.
We then discuss the ways in which these issues shape schools and faculty
of education before examining the NSOPF data in greater detail. We
Margaret Sallee is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at The University of
Tennessee.
William Tierney is University Professor and Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher
Education and Director of the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis at The
University of Southern California.
Copyright © 2011 by The Journal of the Professoriate, an affiliate of the Center for
African American Research and Policy. All Rights Reserved (ISSN 1556-7699)