Faculty assessment of scholarship of teaching and learning among United States pharmacy programs

Pharmacy faculty understanding of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and its recognition remain unclear. This study aimed to determine faculty SoTL perceptions and whether it should be recognized in promotion and tenure decisions.

A survey instrument was developed and distributed to 6454 faculty in 139 United States pharmacy programs. The survey provided a list of scholarly activities and respondents were asked to select activities they perceived as SoTL and solicited faculty attitudes toward SoTL, its recognition and value in promotion and tenure, and SoTL engagement. Results were stratified based on SoTL participation, disciplines, and years of experience.

Six hundred forty-three pharmacy faculty responded to the survey. Diverse scholarly works from teaching and learning practices to curriculum development, which lead to peer-reviewed public dissemination, were perceived as SoTL by most (78-98%) of the respondents. Participation in SoTL was reported by 74%. Pharmaceutical/biomedical science faculty were significantly less likely to accept the SoTL definition than pharmacy practice or social and administrative sciences faculty. Over 90% of participants indicated that college/school and departmental policies should encourage participation in SoTL activities. More than 70% of respondents strongly agreed that SoTL should be incorporated into criteria for promotion and tenure. Competing time commitments, lack of funding, interest, and institutional SoTL recognition were identified as challenges.

Findings demonstrate that pharmacy faculty perceive SoTL as a broad spectrum of scholarly activities, including classroom practices and beyond, that culminate into peer-reviewed public dissemination. Pharmacy faculty support the incorporation of SoTL into promotion and tenure criteria.