Blurring the Boundaries: Reflections From Early Career Faculty During the COVID-19 Era.
Early-career IDD faculty describe pandemic career shocks and pose questions the field must answer to keep new scholars afloat.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Geovanna et al. (2021) asked new faculty in intellectual and developmental disabilities to write short stories.
The stories cover how COVID-19 changed hiring, teaching, and research plans.
Each essay ends with questions the field should ask itself next.
What they found
The writers felt jobs, labs, and classes were suddenly frozen.
They saw blurred lines between work and home.
The group offers reflective questions to guide future faculty support.
How this fits with other research
Jimenez-Gomez et al. (2021) counted the stress. Their survey of ABA staff shows one in three feared job loss and half felt burnout. The essays now have numbers behind them.
Howard et al. (2023) asked direct-support staff the same questions two years later. DSPs still report low pay and poor work-life balance. The faculty stories were an early warning.
Patton et al. (2020) wrote a field-wide COVID-19 review. They call for lasting policy changes like telehealth and flexible staffing. The faculty essays fit inside that bigger picture.
Why it matters
If you train or supervise new BCBAs, expect lingering COVID-19 effects. Hiring freezes may have delayed their careers and raised burnout risk. Use the reflective questions in supervision. Ask rookies what supports they still need and push for telehealth and flexible hours as standard, not emergency, options.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The last three issues of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) have featured perspectives from a diverse set of contributors on how the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is being impacted by COVID-19. As four newly appointed faculty members with diverse backgrounds, the editor of IDD invited us to share our experiences with beginning academic careers during this unique time. In making this request, he pointed out that approximately half the members of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) are those who have some type of affiliation with an institution of higher education. While the perspectives outlined in this article do not represent those of all early career faculty, we hope our stories resonate with IDD readers who may be facing similar circumstances. This article includes a series of brief essays addressing how the pandemic has affected our academic job searches, research, teaching, and service. Although penned by different authors, each section encompasses our collective experiences, concerns, and hopes for the broader IDD community. We close with guiding questions that might support more socially responsive and integrated approaches to traditional academic roles as faculty continue to navigate the repercussions of COVID-19.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2021 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-59.1.1