Welcome to the survey on Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES). This page gives information about the survey and asks for your informed consent. The survey will take between 45 and 60 minutes to complete.
An examination of Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) in Australian universities
Chief Investigator: Professor Susan Rowland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, and Faculty of Science, The University of Queensland. Ph: (07) 336 54615. Email: s.rowland1@uq.edu.au Associate Investigator: Professor Elizabeth Johnson, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Teaching and Learning, Deakin University. Ph: (03) 924 68303. Email: liz.johnson@deakin.edu.au Student Investigator: Natalia Rebollo Sampedro, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland. Email: n.rebollosampedro@uq.net.au
The goal of this project is to better understand the role, the career pathways, and the impact of Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES; science academics specializing in learning and teaching) in Australian universities. We aim to produce a similar set of reports to those published by Bush et al in the USA (for an example see http://science.sciencemag.org/content/322/5909/1795.full).
SFES are important drivers of the educational innovation that is happening in Australian universities, however very little is known about the hiring, promotion, and support culture that surrounds the SFES position. It is unclear what is required of SFES, and whether SFES have access to career progression opportunities that are equivalent to the opportunities for other academics. We hope that SFES in Australia will be able to use the data collected in this project to compare their experiences and to better understand the career possibilities and expectations for SFES.
How can I participate? With your consent, your contribution in the project will involve answering an anonymous survey that will take between 45 and 60 minutes to complete. The questionnaire is detailed, as we are working with an instrument that has already been used in the USA. The instrument comprehensively addresses the wide variety of activities that SFES may encounter and lead.
You may also choose to participate in an additional face-to-face interview of approximately one hour at a location and time of your choosing. Both the survey and the interview will involve answering questions about your work, your impact, and your work environment and expectations. You will be given the opportunity to opt into the interview process at the end of this survey.
What are the risks to me of participating? Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary and you are free to withdraw from participating at any time. The data in this survey are collected anonymously. We cannot tell your identity from the data, and no identifying information about you or your responses will be released.
How will the data be managed and used? The data in this survey will be managed and held as strictly confidential, and any potentially identifiable information (e.g., names of universities or departments) will be removed from any data that are released.
If you wish to get updates about the project or participate in the interview you can provide your name and contact details using an additional survey that is not linked to your other survey data.
How do I get started? If you agree to take part in the survey, please click the “Yes” button on this page.
This study has been cleared by one of the human ethics committees of The University of Queensland in acco
