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Investigation of Science Faculty with Education Specialties within the Largest University System in the United States

Efforts to improve science education include university science departments hiring Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES), scientists who take on specialized roles in science education within their discipline. Although these positions have existed for decades and may be growing more commo...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Bush, Seth D., Pelaez, Nancy J., Rudd, James A., Stevens, Michael T., Tanner, Kimberly D., Williams, Kathy S.
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Society for Cell Biology 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046885/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21364098
http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.10-08-0106
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author Bush, Seth D.
Pelaez, Nancy J.
Rudd, James A.
Stevens, Michael T.
Tanner, Kimberly D.
Williams, Kathy S.
author_facet Bush, Seth D.
Pelaez, Nancy J.
Rudd, James A.
Stevens, Michael T.
Tanner, Kimberly D.
Williams, Kathy S.
author_sort Bush, Seth D.
collection PubMed
description Efforts to improve science education include university science departments hiring Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES), scientists who take on specialized roles in science education within their discipline. Although these positions have existed for decades and may be growing more common, few reports have investigated the SFES approach to improving science education. We present comprehensive data on the SFES in the California State University (CSU) system, the largest university system in the United States. We found that CSU SFES were engaged in three key arenas including K–12 science education, undergraduate science education, and discipline-based science education research. As such, CSU SFES appeared to be well-positioned to have an impact on science education from within science departments. However, there appeared to be a lack of clarity and agreement about the purpose of these SFES positions. In addition, formal training in science education among CSU SFES was limited. Although over 75% of CSU SFES were fulfilled by their teaching, scholarship, and service, our results revealed that almost 40% of CSU SFES were seriously considering leaving their positions. Our data suggest that science departments would likely benefit from explicit discussions about the role of SFES and strategies for supporting their professional activities.
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spelling pubmed-30468852011-03-02 Investigation of Science Faculty with Education Specialties within the Largest University System in the United States Bush, Seth D. Pelaez, Nancy J. Rudd, James A. Stevens, Michael T. Tanner, Kimberly D. Williams, Kathy S. CBE Life Sci Educ Articles Efforts to improve science education include university science departments hiring Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES), scientists who take on specialized roles in science education within their discipline. Although these positions have existed for decades and may be growing more common, few reports have investigated the SFES approach to improving science education. We present comprehensive data on the SFES in the California State University (CSU) system, the largest university system in the United States. We found that CSU SFES were engaged in three key arenas including K–12 science education, undergraduate science education, and discipline-based science education research. As such, CSU SFES appeared to be well-positioned to have an impact on science education from within science departments. However, there appeared to be a lack of clarity and agreement about the purpose of these SFES positions. In addition, formal training in science education among CSU SFES was limited. Although over 75% of CSU SFES were fulfilled by their teaching, scholarship, and service, our results revealed that almost 40% of CSU SFES were seriously considering leaving their positions. Our data suggest that science departments would likely benefit from explicit discussions about the role of SFES and strategies for supporting their professional activities. American Society for Cell Biology 2011-03-01 /pmc/articles/PMC3046885/ /pubmed/21364098 http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.10-08-0106 Text en © 2011 S. D. Bush et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2011 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0). “ASCB®” and “The American Society for Cell Biology®” are registered trademarks of The American Society of Cell Biology.
spellingShingle Articles
Bush, Seth D.
Pelaez, Nancy J.
Rudd, James A.
Stevens, Michael T.
Tanner, Kimberly D.
Williams, Kathy S.
Investigation of Science Faculty with Education Specialties within the Largest University System in the United States
title Investigation of Science Faculty with Education Specialties within the Largest University System in the United States
title_full Investigation of Science Faculty with Education Specialties within the Largest University System in the United States
title_fullStr Investigation of Science Faculty with Education Specialties within the Largest University System in the United States
title_full_unstemmed Investigation of Science Faculty with Education Specialties within the Largest University System in the United States
title_short Investigation of Science Faculty with Education Specialties within the Largest University System in the United States
title_sort investigation of science faculty with education specialties within the largest university system in the united states
topic Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046885/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21364098
http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.10-08-0106
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