Academic labor has expanded beyond the walls of academic institutions. Academics are expected to communicate with students online, use digital tools to complete their work, and share their research with broad audiences--often through online spaces like social media. Academics also face technology-facilitated violence and abuse (TFVA) in these same…

This study sought to understand reflection as a means to faculty engagement in continuing professional development (CPD). A mixed-method study was undertaken with faculty members in a Canadian higher education institution. Drawing on data from a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, the extent to which faculty members use reflection as a…

Although Eastern Canadian liberal arts universities are portrayed as progressive work environments that cultivate inclusivity and diversity, the corporatisation of these public spaces has transformed them from institutions that once encouraged pluralism and acceptance among all social groups to spaces that unevenly distribute privileges among…

Administrative staff in higher and health professions education have been described as invisible and been characterized by what they are "not": non-academics, non-teachers, non-faculty and non-professionals. Staff appear as passive objects in literature and minimized in institutional reports. These characterizations contribute to the…

Background: For vocational and professional education to remain relevant, instructors need to keep developing themselves and their practices. Much of instructor learning happens on-the-job. Drawing on literature on teacher learning in the workplace, this article explores how structural and cultural conditions shape professional learning of…

This research examines the extent to which issues identified in "Breaking Anonymity" (The Chilly Collective, 1995) are still salient despite new EDI mandates/programs which support increased research excellence through EDI principles. We present survey results for Canadian academics who identify as women (n = 244) regarding their…

"Crossing over to the dark side" is a popular reference to someone's decision to leave the supposed "good, pure, and honest" side of something to go to its "bad, evil, and suspicious" side. This idiom is typically used when an administrator moves into a faculty position or vice versa. While there is a plethora of…

Research evidence suggests that faculty members' well-being is a serious concern in academia. However, little is known about the academic job demands and resources, which are specific to the professional context and faculty work, that influence faculty well-being. Moreover, the psychological processes how job characteristics lead to well-being…

Starting a career in academia is often fraught with uncertainty, turbulence, and isolation, as aspiring professors manage multiple, often contract-based roles in order to advance their curriculum vitae and secure a livelihood. In this research study, we use narrative inquiry to illuminate the role our critical friendship has played in our academic…

Occupational stress has been constantly rising among academics in universities globally, which affects their health and well-being. Although some studies reviewed occupational stress in academics, there has been less systematic evidence reviewed occupational stress of academic staff through the lens of the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping…

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) undertook a survey of staff at postsecondary institutions to understand the impact of COVID-19 on their working lives. The survey shows that the pandemic has amplified long-standing issues in the post-secondary education sector. This brief provides recommendations to address the issues facing…

Drawing on qualitative data, this case study explores how the precarious employment status of college contract instructors in Canada pushes them to consider bypassing some policies and affects their well-being, both of which could negatively influence the quality of education. Since keeping abreast with internationalisation requires addressing…

This paper explores perceptions of work intensification around the world. Underpinning this analysis is C. Wright Mills' (1959) argument that many personal troubles are public issues, and the notion that a significant dimension of the privatisation of public education, a concern of public education advocates worldwide, is the ways in which school…

This study examines the mediating role of the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (need for relatedness, need for competence, need for autonomy), as derived from self-determination theory, between college teachers' relational trust in three main referents (the administration, colleagues, and students) and their optimal functioning (vigor,…

Fifty-two faculty at two Canadian universities were interviewed about the impact of work environment, role conflict, and work-life balance on career-related experiences and decisions to apply for promotion to full professor. Faculty described conflicts between their academic responsibilities of teaching, research, and service (including limited…