Systemic Support for ECIs: Signaling Values in the Neoliberal University

Every early-career instructor (ECI) is likely to feel off-kilter in their first job post-PhD as they adjust to a new teaching environment. In this chapter, I ask why support for learning new systems is lacking, what the deprioritization of teaching can tell us about higher education, and how we might imagine our systems differently. I argue that the over-bureaucratization and credentialism that characterize the contemporary work of teaching cannot be addressed via systematic solutions because they are systemic features of the neoliberal university. As a consequence, only systemic transformation can center on collective, horizontal, emancipatory pedagogy in higher education. I offer short- and long-term recommendations for ECIs who prioritize teaching as they attempt to navigate and reimagine their institutions.