Faculty academic socialization. Strengthening the academic profession in Mexico

This study addressed the issue of how faculty members at Mexican higher education institutions have been prepared in order to assume their professional responsibilities and what should be done to improve the process of socialization to professional norms.; This study relied on two main information sources. First was a secondary analysis of a national faculty database, which included a representative sample of 3,865 faculty members. Second, the other information source consisted of thirty-four interviews of faculty members in eight different higher education institutions in Mexico.; The results pointed out that a high proportion of faculty members (about 75% on average) have remained in the same geographic region where they were born. This finding could also be related with "academic inbreeding," which referred to the high proportion of faculty members in Mexico who have been hired in institutions in which they had previously earned their undergraduate or graduate education.; In the case of Mexico, the bachelor's program has been the most significant influence in the decision to pursue an academic career. Most faculty members have begun their academic career immediately after they earned their bachelor's degree (about 60%). Despite of the importance of this level, no higher education institution seemed to have implemented any activity explicitly oriented to attract talented students into academia. Concerning socialization's dimensions, faculty socialization tended to be individual, informal, and non-sequential.; About 57 percent of faculty in the sample increased their higher education level once they became professors. For instance, professors who had earned a master's degree increased from 8.3 percent to 31.1 percent; and those who had earned a doctoral degree increased from 1.9 percent to 10.5 percent. Nevertheless, the number of academics who have recently initiated their academic career (from 1997 to 2001) having earned graduated education was still low (about one fourth), which implies that they should continue improving their education level once they become faculty members.; It could be that the major influence of policies and programs oriented to faculty development was reflected in the sharply higher number of professors (more than 50%) who started graduate programs during the period 1991--2001, in which these programs were implemented. However, they have been usually aimed at full-time faculty members in public institutions.; Teaching continued to be the main activity among faculty members in Mexico. Finally, the results pointed out a low level of faculty productivity, and involvement within the scientific community. This study included particular analyses considering the type of institution and the type of discipline in which professors were located, among other breakdown variables. In general, professors in comprehensive institutions, mainly in the metropolitan area, and in pure/hard disciplines presented the best socialization conditions.