| This qualitative study examined the journey of six higher education faculty members who encountered a state of professional disillusionment in their careers but later moved to a professional sense of vitality in the professoriate. Building on the extant literature, this study investigated this phenomenon of moving from professional disillusionment to vitality in the professoriate through the lenses of life course, agency, and job satisfaction. These components provided the structure for the study's conceptual framework. Employing interpretative phenomenological analysis based on semistructured interviews, the study traced the journey of these professors to understand how the key encounters of their lived experiences represented aspects of the professional disillusionment as well as the structures and strategies that accounted for their movement into a state of vitality. The findings reveal that the participants underwent this phenomenon in developmental stages. To progress from a state of professional disillusionment to a professional sense of vitality, higher education faculty members must overcome cognitive dissonance, solicit multiple levels of support, and experience selfreflection. Three major policy implications stem from this study: revamping doctorate programs, introducing more professional development opportunities for faculty members, and calling for different organizations and associations to take active roles in the development of future and current faculty members. |
