Does Gender and Family Status Impact Faculty Motivation and Success in Teaching and Research?

• In Event: Demographic and Emotional Factors in Faculty Teaching, Evaluation, and Development

Abstract

This study explores whether faculty social connectedness has a positive impact on motivation in teaching and research domains, and if faculty express differences in experience based on gender or paternal status. To answer this study’s questions, data collected via electronic survey from two midwestern universities (N=115) during the 2014-2015 academic year was analyzed. Quantitative results reveal that while faculty may be more motivated, have more positive social experiences, and perceive greater success when they are married or have children, female faculty and faculty who are parents experience a diminished effect. For administrators and faculty development officers, findings imply unmarried female faculty mothers may lack the support needed to maximize success.

Authors

• Allyssa Baumbach, University of North Dakota
  Presenting Author

• Robert H. Stupnisky, University of North Dakota
  Presenting Author