Date of Award
5-1-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ed.D. in Education
First Advisor
Amy Wells Dolan
Second Advisor
Whitney Webb
Third Advisor
Macy Edmondson
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Therapy schools. Many of the new faculty members will be composed of former clinicians who have made the transition to academia without any prior preparation or experience in the academic sphere. To help with this transition, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has accredited Faculty Development Residencies (FDRs) to help prepare new faculty for academic life. However, many clinicians transitioning to faculty life are not in a position to go through a residency prior to starting an academic position. Therefore, my goal with the Dissertation in Practice (DiP) was to take the socialization elements from the FDRs and propose a practitioner to faculty (P2F) socialization plan for PT programs to implement as they seek to help their faculty develop and grow in their new role.
In Manuscript 1, the need and importance of faculty socialization in physical therapy was established through an extensive Literature Review. The literature review revealed five areas of importance in this realm: 1) the need for faculty socialization, 2) educator identity, 3) education in teaching and learning, 4) faculty mentorship, and 5) faculty development programming. These five domains were discussed and described in detail to verify the significance of this topic in physical therapy education.
In Manuscript II, a qualitative study was proposed to asses four Faculty Development Residencies (FDRs) by using an environmental scan to understand how the faculty socialization components of learning, interaction, and integration are implemented in the residencies. The Weidman, Twale, and Stein Graduate Framework was used to identify these key socialization components and to determine how the residencies used these components to socialize the residents to faculty members. The proposed environmental scan was composed of observations, interviews, and a document review. The document review portion was performed of the FDRs, and the results demonstrated how these residencies implemented the socialization components of learning, interaction, and integration in their programs.
In Manuscript III, a recommendation of how to implement a Practitioner to Faculty (P2F) Socialization Plan was made based off the socialization components identified in the document review. The manuscript provided an in-depth discussion of Transformational Leadership. Transformational Leadership was analyzed in the literature in higher education, and this leadership style was established as my personal leadership style and philosophy. Lastly, a discussion of how I would personally use my Transformational Leadership skills to help a PT program initiate a P2F Socialization Plan successfully was developed and considered practically from the standpoint of being a new PT faculty member.
Recommended Citation
Meurrier, Joseph Michael, "Faculty Socialization in Physical Therapy Residencies" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 8850.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/8850