Professional Shame as Experienced by Engineering Faculty

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 5:10 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Professional Identity in the Professions (Table 7)

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on how engineering faculty experience and perhaps contribute to cultures of professional shame, that is, the painful emotional state individuals encounter when they fail to meet identity-relevant expectations in a professional domain. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyze interviews with ten participants, we summarize two themes: 1) faculty encountered failure of similar expectations but differentially navigated the shame experience based on the centrality of their professional identity; 2) faculty relationships with students were strongly connected to their experiences of shame based on student appraisals. By understanding the hidden world of shame in those with conspicuous privilege in professional education, we seek to normalize an emotional phenomenon that may hinder how we advance care for professionals.

Authors

• James L Huff, University of Georgia

• Amy L. Brooks, University of Pittsburgh