Psychological contract breach as experienced by adjunct faculty: A phenomenological study

Adjunct faculty in higher education now account for more than 70% of all instructors and that trend is expected to increase as staffing and operation models continue the pattern of using contingent workers to control costs. Viewing the lived-experiences of adjunct faculty through the lens of psychological contract and the breach of that contract, this phenomenological study explored an adjunct faculty contingent workforce to provide insight into their lived-experiences. Twelve adjunct faculty participants were selected and the results of the study provided insights on participants' lived-experiences. Thirteen invariant constituents were identified and then clustered into three themes. From the themes, textural and structural descriptions were constructed and three essences were revealed: (a) a loss of identity as an educator due to the nature of the adjunct faculty relationship with the institution, (b) a cycle of grief including attempting to come to terms with the loss of the identity as educator and a subsequent shift to the identity of facilitator, and (c) a resignation to the status quo driven by a sense of powerlessness.;These three essences paralleled three distinct stages of the lived-experience of an adjunct faculty member who experienced psychological contract breach. In the first stage (i.e., the experience), the breach was experienced, as indicated by a gap between employment expectations and reality. In the second stage (i.e., the reaction), the adjunct faculty reacted to the breach through a process of grieving similar to that put forward by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. In the third stage (i.e., meaning), adjunct faculty had internalized the experience and arrived at a series of realizations that gave meaning to their individualized situation.