Roads to change: Exploring the lived experiences of be(com)ing among faculty who participated in educational development

The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of be(com)ing among faculty members who participated in educational development. It aims to contribute to our knowledge on be(com)ing, a portmanteau of becoming and being that emphasizes that these two processes are often interconnected. I generated data for this study using semi-structured interviews with eight faculty members who participated in at least one program through the Center for Teaching and Learning at a research university in the southeastern United States. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, I identified five themes in the data: (1) Reimagining Faculty Identities in the Academy, (2) Embracing a Culture of Experimentation, (3) Thriving Amid Constraints, (4), Building Transformative Communities, and (5) Cultivating Spaces for Equity and Inclusion. The findings of this study not only shed light on the complex landscapes that faculty members navigate but also demonstrate the potentialities of educational development to enable them to shape their professional growth in meaningful ways.