Date of Award

Summer 8-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development

Program/Concentration

Occupational and Technical Studies

Committee Director

Philip A. Reed

Committee Member

Michelle Bartlett

Committee Member

Ginger Watson

Abstract

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in community colleges increasingly depend on career-switching instructors, professionals who transition from industry to teaching with substantial technical expertise but limited formal pedagogical preparation. Despite their growing presence in the community college workforce, the lived experiences of first-year career-switching CTE faculty remain underexplored, particularly regarding how the transition shapes professional identity, instructional practice, and institutional belonging.

This qualitative study employed narrative inquiry to examine the first-year teaching experiences of seven career-switching CTE instructors at community and technical colleges in the Gulf South region of the United States. Guided by transformative learning theory, communities of practice, self-efficacy theory, and andragogy, the study examines the challenges associated with this transition and its impact on faculty retention. Analysis revealed five cross-case themes: identity reconstruction, translating industry expertise into teaching practice, isolation and institutional integration, confidence development, and meaning and purpose. Notable findings included the identification of false adequacy in institutional onboarding, a tacit-to-explicit knowledge gap as the central pedagogical challenge, and identity integration as the most resilient transitional pathway. Findings suggest that career-switching CTE faculty require intentional, sustained institutional support that addresses the instructional, relational, and identity-related dimensions of becoming an educator.

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In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/v21n-z011

ISBN

9798193214458

ORCID

0009-0007-3095-2458

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