Aging and the Quality of Faculty Job Performance

Abstract

An aging professoriate is said to be a serious problem pervading colleges and universities. This review examines the claims being made about the performance of older faculty and separates supportable from nonsupportable assertions. It also investigates how age is related to numerous factors affecting faculty performance. We first consider four types of aging theories—biological, psychological, sociological, and social psychological—and then draw inferences for faculty behavior. Then assuming a life course perspective, we focus on the empirical evidence regarding faculty performance, especially in their scholarly role, and test prediction against research evidence. Extant research is criticized, especially with respect to its methodology. Last, an effort is made to sort out aging effects from cohort and historical effects.