One of the most powerful faculty development resources for tenured faculty across the academy is the sabbatical. Despite benefits realized by faculty members and their institutions, there are few resources available to faculty developers or campus leaders to provide strategic guidance and mentorship throughout all phases of the sabbatical…

The faculty sabbatical leave has been present in many institutions of higher education since its inception at Harvard University in 1880 but is relatively underexamined in the literature related to the outcomes not only to the institution but also to the faculty member. This study included interviews with 12 faculty members at one research…

A focus on faculty professional learning, given the challenges that California community colleges and students face, must remain a high priority and continue to evolve. The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) has long been an advocate for the development of robust professional development policies as part of senate purview…

The essence of being a faculty member is to be a scholar. And, the work of a scholar is to think. However, the demands of academic life correlated with mid-career concerns can form a distraction away from this essential activity. As such, the goal of this essay is to discuss matters of professional development for tenured business professors at…

Sabbaticals have been identified as an important tool to help faculty remain current in their responsibilities. By having a dedicated break from traditional responsibilities, faculty members have self-reported rejuvenation and recommitment to their professional work. Institutional policies, however, are largely vague and lack measures to help…

If a programme were to be devised for the early-career development of science teachers, what might such a programme look like? This was the focus of a meeting of science educators interested in developing such a structure, from the start of initial teacher training onwards. The contributions, modified and written up here, include a suggested…

The purpose of this study was to determine the merit and applicability of the mid-career faculty development model proposed by Baldwin and Chang (2006). A total of 7 associate and 10 full professors participated in semi-structured interviews. Categories were developed from an inductive analysis. The results showed positive support for the model…

In the context of increased expectations for accountability and growing controversy surrounding sabbatical leave programs, it is important to address seemingly simple questions of who is or should be awarded a sabbatical and what the rationale is for the award. The study attempted to offer some insight on these issues by examining the factors that…

International exchange is an important aspect of academic life. Thus, international sabbaticals are, in general, seen as a measure of research collaboration, networking, and international standing. There are, however, a few groups who are likely to be disadvantaged by such criteria even though they may be implicit, that is, those for whom…

Exploring the development of excellent teachers could contribute to the revision of current practices in faculty recruitment, evaluation, workload expectations, and reward systems. This grounded theory study examined the professional careers of nine award-winning faculty members of a faith-based institution of higher education. The data, collected…

This study examined the reasons for and products of faculty sabbatical leaves, using data from 193 approved sabbatical applications and 125 sabbatical reports submitted between 1991 and 1993 at a public research university in the midwest. It found that of the 193 successful applicants, 164 actually completed the sabbatical, and that approximately…

Discusses problems besetting faculty sabbatical programs in an age of general financial cutbacks. Suggests various types of faculty exchange programs as a means of substituting for the cutback in sabbaticals. (Author/DB)

This paper explores the results of a case study of a 6-month sabbatical taken to complete a master's degree program. It reports the case of a practicing elementary school teacher with 9 years of teaching experience. This intrinsic, reflexive case study was undertaken to help the participant better understand the meaning and effect of the…

A handbook of information for faculty going on sabbatical or leave is presented, based on several personal experiences with planning, completing, and returning from sabbaticals. Eleven chapters are as follows: (1) applying for a sabbatical; (2) where to go and for how long; (3) can you afford it (e.g. taxes); (4) renting your house (must you rent,…

National Faculty Exchange, and organization that helps faculty members "get away" by teaching at another college, is described. The organization was established by a small group of colleges and universities that were looking for ways to renew their faculty. (MLW)