Contingent faculty perceptions of shared governance in a Texas community college: A phenomenological inquiry

This phenomenological qualitative study explored the conceptions and perceptions of community college contingent faculty regarding shared governance. Shared governance is a normative principle in higher education reflecting the belief that faculty should have a strong voice in the decision-making of the institution. Community colleges rely heavily on contingent faculty who are employed on a semester basis to provide instruction, are compensated per class, and have no guarantee of continued employment. Although contingent faculty members make up approximately 40% of community college faculty in Texas, contingent faculty typically have no formal voice in the shared governance system of their college. This inquiry was conducted through the social constructivist lens and the researcher collected data through semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 15 contingent faculty at a very large, urban, multi-campus Texas community college that serves approximately 50,000 students. The study explored how contingent faculty conceive of and describe their experiences in shared governance, how they perceive their roles in shared governance, and how they perceive the fairness of shared governance at their college. The results of this study indicate that contingent faculty at the study setting conceive of shared governance as involving voice and input. That voice and input should contribute to decisions related to curriculum and instruction, support students and student success, and help retain contingent faculty. This study also found that contingent faculty conceptions of shared governance reflect the desire to engage in community and to have their faculty expertise honored. Further, the findings of this study indicate that contingent faculty members at the study setting have little experience in shared governance. Likewise, contingent faculty members perceive that they are considered dispensable and as a result they are not provided a role in shared governance. Further, participants perceive categories of contingent faculty and workload limits that affect their roles. However, the participants perceive that they should be a respected voice in shared governance in the future. Finally, the participants perceive that fairness in shared governance is tied to the need for dialogue, the need for pay equity, and the need for structure as a means of channeling their voice and input. The results of this study elicited recommendations for practice in higher education. It is recommended that community college boards of trustees engage in broad-based and inclusive strategic planning that includes examining the intent of shared governance, the role that full-time and contingent faculty input can play in institutional decision-making, and the benefits and drawbacks of a robust system of shared governance. A related recommendation is that the mechanism for faculty participation be discussed across constituencies within a college by focusing on when, how, and why to integrate contingent faculty into shared governance. In addition, it is recommended that community college leaders at all levels of the college, from president to department chairs, examine their understanding of shared governance and how their leadership roles could contribute to establishing a collaborative approach to decision-making that includes contingent faculty. Community colleges must also examine questions of structure as they relate to shared governance so that full-time and contingent faculty input is meaningful. Finally, it is recommended that community colleges consider the definition of faculty, for purposes of shared governance, to include contingent faculty and that contingent faculty participation in governance be free from retaliation and, where appropriate, be compensated.