Professional Development

Love Your Part-time Teachers: Five
Supportive Steps Full-time Faculty
Could Take

Brett Milliner
Tamagawa University
Even though part-time teachers form the foundation of many university-level language
programs in Japan, they receive very little support from their institution and full-timecolleagues. Such working conditions can leave teachers feeling isolated or demotivated,
and it can have an adverse impact upon the classes they teach. Aiming to encourage greater
support for part-time teachers, this paper presents five steps that full-time faculty can taketo support their part-time colleagues.
日本における大学レベルの言語教育は多くの場合非常勤講師によって支えられているが、彼等が大学や周囲の専任教員から得られるサポートは非常に限られたものとなっている。こうした職務環境の中で非常勤講師が抱く疎外感や指導意欲の低下は、授業への悪影響にも繋がりかねない。本稿では、同僚としての立場から非常勤講師により良いサポートを提供するために、専任教員ができる5つの取り組みを紹介する。

At the end of the last academic year, one of my professional peers was reflecting in
a Facebook post on his departure from a part-time university position he had held
for over ten years, and he voiced his overall disappointment with how part-time
faculty are treated at Japanese universities. His message to teachers in tenured/leadership positions was, “Be sure to say goodbye to your part-time colleagues, as
it is through their efforts that the pyramid remains standing”.
It is likely true that part-time teachers form the bedrock of most universitylevel English programs in Japan (Helgesen, 2009; Nagatomo, 2012). In fact,
more than half of college staff, teachers and researchers in Japan are employed on
170Love your Part-time Teachers, OnCUE Journal, 10(3), pages 170-177

short-term contracts (“Employers move to terminate”, 2013). In the university
English program where I am employed full-time, 64% or 73 out of the 114
weekly classes are taught by part-timers. Sadly, all part-time teachers are hired on
annual contracts, receive no social welfare benefits and have no job security. Suchan employment situation has been criticized for creating a demotivating work
situation (Helgesen, 2009), dissatisfied instructors (Harshbarger, 2012) and a“conveyor-belt mentality” (Rivers, 2013, p.77). Altbach (1998) also argued that
this type of work situation creates a body of exploited teachers who show very
little loyalty to their institution. Furthermore, the plight of language teachers at
Japanese universities does not seem to be improving, given the growing trends ofoutsourcing English language classes (Mulvey, 2012), and the growth of contractfull-time university positions (Hayes, 2013).
Regrettably, at many institutions’ part-timers receive little support fromtheir full-time colleagues. I have worked part-time in programs where the only
time I met the full-time faculty was at my job interview, and the only othercorrespondence thereafter was an email to confirm my services for the upcoming
academic year. I would go to the university, teach, go home and get paid. Whilesome teachers are very busy and prefer to be left alone, I suspect most are seeking
a much warmer collegiate environment. When writing about social inclusion
for teachers’ abroad, Falout (2013) noted that human beings are hardwired forseeking companionship and enduring mutual care of others. When individuals
feel socially excluded, it can severely impair their cognitive and self-regulation
skills. Such a situation ought to be a concern for leaders of language programs,
as they can have a very negative influence on teachers’ job satisfaction, and more
importantly, the work they do in the classroom.
Reflecting on how Japanese university part-time language
teachers’employment stands in relation to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Helgesen(2009) posited that only teacher’s physiological needs are being cared for, i.e.,teachers are paid a salary that affords food and accommodation. Helgesen
questioned whether part-time teachers could feel part of a team (love/belonging
needs) if they never see their full-time colleagues. He also highlighted that if ateacher feels they are being appropriately cared for, there is a good chance these171

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feelings would be reciprocated towards their students.
In response to my peer’s aforementioned Facebook post, Helgesen (2009)
suggested some ways in which full-time teachers could support their part-timecolleagues. Following his call for additional ideas, this paper shares five further
steps that full-time faculty and/or program leaders could take to this end.

1. Establish an in-house publication

For any teacher at the university level, publications are essential for careerdevelopment. Also, teachers hunting university work in Japan need to be awareof the hiring criteria of publishing in the internal university publication or kiyo
(Hayes, 2013). Even though most Japanese universities have an in-house bulletinor journal, in many cases, only full-time faculty members are allowed to submit
articles. In slightly more accommodating institutions, part-time teachers have to
pay to publish, or they are only permitted to submit articles co-authored withfull-time faculty. While Falout (2013) and Trowler & Knight (1999) give detailed
descriptions of how mentoring through co-authorship can benefit teachers’
development, if universities are already demanding that part-time teachers havea master’s degree and academic publications, wouldn’t these conditions indicatethat the part-time teacher is fit to conduct independent research? It seems
therefore that full-time faculty should campaign to allow part-time teachers to
be able to submit single-authored papers to their university’s journal. Moreover,
if your department does not have a publication, work to establish one, or as ourlanguage center did, collaborate with an existing journal to edit a special issue
containing articles from our teachers. Working in the trenches, part-time teachers
have a wealth of experience, and they often bring a unique perspective basedon their diverse backgrounds and experience working at multiple institutions.
Having an in-house publication creates a platform for part-time teachers to share
their work and enhances their career development. Likewise, by supporting
teachers’ professional development, you can promote teachers’ commitment toyour program and the quality of their classes (Cote, Milliner, McBride, Imai, &Ogane, 2014).

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2. Eat lunch in the part-time teachers’ lounge

It is often during casual conversations in the hallway, or print room or elsewherethat great teaching ideas are shared. In a large-scale review of technology
integration in the classroom by K-12 American schoolteachers, Rebora (2016)noted that informal communication between teachers was more influential for
those implementing new technologies in their classroom than formal faculty
development sessions with outside experts. In a separate study on faculty training,
Yang (2009) suggested that informal teacher conversations and discussions playeda crucial role in the teacher orientation process.
Reflecting on these points, there seems to be a lack of collegiate connection
with part-time teachers in my current position. While I feel very connected with
my full-time peers, we work in a gated community behind a security door and
one floor away from where part-time teachers gather. Having an uninterrupted
space to work is wonderful, but the only time I talk to part-time teachers is atformal faculty events and if they are using a classroom neighboring mine.
Eating lunch with the part-time staff would be one way to reduce thisdistance. It provides an opportunity for new ideas to be exchanged, and it
shows that full-timers are willing to make an effort to listen to part-time faculty.
Moreover, this simple action addresses teachers’ need for social inclusion.

3. Share your research resources

Full-time staff with access to funding and research resources such as video
cameras, recording equipment, and data analysis software should be prepared toshare these privileges with part-time colleagues. One example could be offering
to run data analyses on behalf of part-time teachers using your institution’s SPSS
license, though be sure to check the specific terms of the license agreement withyour institution to ensure that this is permissible. In my institution I collectedsurvey data on behalf of part-time teachers through SurveyMonkey, and parttime teachers can request access to department-wide survey data. Library accessmay also be restricted for part-time teachers. Full-time staff could also borrowbooks or request journals on behalf of their part-time colleagues, or simply bewilling to show part-time colleagues how to access the school’s database. Full173

Millinertime teachers could also pool a small fraction of their research budgets to pay forinter-library loans and copying of articles not held in the library’s collection but
which are needed by part-timers for their research. For a minimal expense, this
could have a significant affective impact on part-time teachers.

4. Give part-time teachers a voice

I have touched on this point earlier, but it needs to be stressed that a language
program stands to benefit when part-time teachers are given a voice. To this end,
part-time teachers could be surveyed each semester to seek feedback about the
curriculum or classes. They could even be given opportunities to lead parts ofthe program. Personal experience indicates that (a) many part-time teachers areinterested in such roles as they can add them to their resume and (b) many like theopportunity to work in a leadership role even if it is unpaid. My institution has
had no trouble finding volunteers from our pool of part-time teachers to fill theseroles. One example of this would be to ask experienced part-timers to orient new
part-timers to the program and university (Brown, 1995) or to appoint suitably
knowledgeable part-timers to provide electronic learning support.

5. Host workshops and faculty development
sessions

Without a research budget, it can be tough for part-time staff to attend conferencesor other professional events, particularly if they are living in rural Japan. Therefore
full-time faculty should consider establishing a faculty development event. Fulltime or part-time teachers could lead these sessions, or universities could connect
with local Japan Association for Language Teaching ( JALT) or Japan Associationof College English Teachers ( JACET) chapters to host events. My school has
hosted a variety of events like this. They spread knowledge, connect teachers andresearchers and give part-timers the opportunity to share their teaching ideas andresearch in a professional context. Another alternative is the in-house workshop.
If your institution has an in-house workshop, ask your part-timers which areas
they would be interested in offering their critically informed perspective on to
help develop. As part-timers have a view that is critically informed, this will lead
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Love your Part-time Teachers, OnCUE Journal, 10(3), pages 170-177

to development in areas that full-timers may not have been aware of.

Conclusion

While there are many other excellent steps full-time teachers can take to support
their part-time colleagues, these five suggestions are a good start: support inhouse publishing; eat together; share research resources; give part-time teachersa voice and host professional development sessions.
Not only do these steps help to promote part-time teachers’ professional
development, they also develop your leadership and people skills while
simultaneously addressing core human needs for community and mutual
support.
To part-time teachers, you are the engine of many university’s foreign
language programs, and you deserve better treatment. In closing, I would echo
the sentiment of my aforementioned Facebook friend that part-time teachers
also need to work to create their own community to support each other. In spiteof the precarious employment situations facing many university-level language
teachers, by helping each other, we can all grow and work towards our mostimportant goal, serving our students.

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Author bio

Brett Milliner is an assistant professor in the Center for English as a Lingua Franca
at Tamagawa University. Brett’s major research interests include computer assisted
language learning (CALL) and extensive listening. Brett is the treasurer for JALTCALL SIG and JALT Yokohama chapter. milliner@lit.tamagawa.ac.jp
Submitted: January 27, 2017
Accepted: May 22, 2017177