Call for Papers: Special Issue “Motivation of Higher Education Faculty: Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Evidence, and Future Directions”

Special Issue in the International Journal of Educational Research Guest Editors: Martin Daumiller, Rob Stupnisky, Stefan Janke

Optimal performance by higher education (i.e., university, post-secondary college) faculty is critical to society. Effective instruction at institutions of higher education has been consistently linked to the quality of student engagement, learning, and persistence (BrckaLorenz et al., 2012; McKeachie, 2007; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005; Umbach & Wawrzynski, 2005). Faculty members are also producers of innovative research and enhance disciplinary progress. They contribute to institutional visibility, and compete for resources (e.g., grant funding; Javitz et al., 2010). At a societal level, faculty teaching and research can be a fundamental component of informed citizenship, scientific advancement, economic activity, and government decision-making (Perkmann et al., 2013; Landry et al., 2003; Weinberg et al., 2014).

Despite the importance of faculty teaching and research, several concerning trends in faculty development and performance exist. In the U.S., the number of articles published in the world’s major peer-reviewed journals has plateaued while research expenditures continue to increase, suggesting less return on investment in research (Hill et al., 2007; Javitz et al., 2010; Litwin, 2014). Relatedly, teaching is regularly de-emphasized, with even traditionally teaching-focused institutions coming under the pressure to meet challenging research expectations (Eagan et al., 2014; Wilkesmann & Schmid, 2014). This enhanced burden might contribute to the elevated stress and burnout levels that are often reported by faculty members in the USA (Padilla & Thompson, 2015), Canada (Catano et al., 2010), United Kingdom (Kinman, Jones, & Kinman, 2006), Australia (Winefeld, Boyd, Saebel, & Pignata, 2008), and South Africa (Barkhuizen & Rothmann, 2008).

In sum, it is a significant challenge for faculty members to perform well and to stay well in an ever-changing working environment characterized by high teaching and research demands. Apart from performance, well-being and job satisfaction are thus crucial factors that should be considered. Existing research shows established demographic, institutional, and social-environmental factors to explain limited variability in faculty affect and behaviours (Harrison & Kelly, 1996; Ponjuan et al., 2011; Stupnisky et al., 2015). In direct contrast, research with students (Lazowski & Hulleman, 2016; Robins et al., 2004) and K-12 teachers (Richardson et al., 2014; Tönjes & Dickhäuser, 2009) has consistently documented the predictive utility of motivational variables on performance and well-being over and above demographic factors.

Given the limited scope of existing research on the role of motivation for experiences and behaviours of higher education faculty, the objective of this proposed International Journal of Educational Research special issue is to bring together multiple international studies utilizing a range of established motivation theories to understand faculty success.

As a common theme, the special issue will focus on the interplay between motivation of higher education faculty and their experiences and behaviours at work, including contextual factors and important outcomes (e.g., teaching quality, job satisfaction, well-being). The special issue will conclude with a discussion of the papers from a leading scholar in the field that aims to bring together the different contexts and theoretical approaches used.

We invite papers using a wide array of research designs and methods, from quantitative to qualitative and mixed-methods, and from cross-sectional to experimental and longitudinal. Each paper should use a conceptual motivational framework (e.g., attribution theory, achievement goal theory, self-determination theory, self-efficacy, emotions) and focus on a higher education system. We are specifically looking for authors from different countries. In the discussion of the paper, its contribution for theory-development, strengths and weaknesses of the used methodology for research on motivation of higher education faculty, and the implications for educational practice should be discussed.

Deadline for manuscript submission: January 31, 2019.

Manuscripts will have to be submitted online through the Evise system (https://www.evise.com/profile/api/navigate/IJER). Any manuscripts that fail to meet this deadline will be moved to general issue and dealt with under normal editorial procedures. After a subsequent peer-review process, there will be approximately five months to resubmit the manuscript.

If you are interested in submitting a manuscript to our Special Issue, we would appreciate it if you could contact Martin Daumiller ([email protected]) beforehand to ask whether your work fits before you submit it.

Also, would like to draw your attention to the following guidelines of the journal (specifically in regard to structure of articles, length of articles/abstracts, referencing styles and other quirks unique to IJER such as ‘highlights’): https://www.elsevier.com/journals/international-journal-of-educational-research/0883-0355/guide-for-authors

Please direct questions regarding the Special Issue to Martin Daumiller ([email protected]). Specifically, feel free to contact us anytime, if you are not sure if your manuscript suits the topic.