Sabbatical as a part of the academic excellence journey: A narrative qualitative study
نویسندگان
1 School of Nursing, Center for Global Initiative, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
2 School of Nursing, Center for Global Initiative, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
3 Health Management and Economics Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran School of Nursing, Center for Global Initiative, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
doi
چکیده
INTRODUCTION: Sabbaticals were first offered by Harvard University in the late 17th century toprovide “renewal” for faculty members. In this period of career development, a professor might learnnew techniques, expand a research program, or finish off that book or pile of languishing manuscripts.This article tried to organize lived experiences of a visiting scholar from Isfahan University of MedicalSciences to Johns Hopkins University. The research aimed to study the context and conditions ofthe sabbatical in an alternative academic setting.METHODS: This article applies a narrative qualitative study integrated with Eisner critical andconnoisseurship approach as a combined naturalistic methodology. Using narrative inquiry andreflective analysis in form of observations and audit reports, written dairy notes and memos, thecontent analyzed thematically and extracted the themes of lived experiences as well as lessonslearned and then have been transformed into tables.RESULTS: Extracted themes from research sources are categorized into three main themes:organizational and professional experiences; teaching, instruction, and curricular experiences; andresearch and technology management experiences. These are resulted in the explanation of the field andevents (description), discussion about them (interpretation), followed by concluding remarks (evaluation).. It also represents research questions and findings in descriptive and interpretation phases.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: This article addresses some descriptions, interpretations,and evaluations extracted from the experiences through answering the research questions. Itcategorizes these practical lessons into three categories: (1) lessons about becoming a lifelonglearner, (2) lessons about remaining a professor, and (3) innovative experiences.
