چکیده:
Professional development of faculty members is one aspect of improving academic quality. Therefore, identifying the professional development needs of faculty members is of great importance. The aim of this research was to examine the opinions of faculty members regarding their professional development needs and the methods for meeting these needs. Professional development needs were examined in four areas: teaching, research, administrative, and communication skills. Given its objective, this research is of an applied type, and in terms of data collection, it was analytical and descriptive. The study population included 104 faculty members from the faculties of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Basic Sciences at a large public university. From this number, 50 individuals were selected using stratified sampling. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of two parts: professional development skills and methods for meeting needs. To determine validity, the views of four professors were used, and to determine reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was employed. The professional development skills questionnaire was confirmed with an alpha coefficient of 0.92 at the current level and 0.98 at the desirable level, and the professional development needs meeting methods questionnaire was confirmed with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.97. For data analysis, non-parametric statistical methods, the Chi-square test, and the Wilcoxon test were used. The results showed that needs exist in all four areas—teaching, research, administrative, and communication skills—regardless of the type of faculty, academic rank, and work experience. Faculty members' opinions on the methods of meeting needs were confirmed through four methods: 1. Exchange of experience with other universities, 2. Holding long-term training courses, 3. Holding training workshops, and 4. Forming learning communities. In addition, they emphasized strengthening administrative and professional skills.
خلاصه ماشینی:
From this perspective, higher education institutions are facing demand-driven approaches, customer orientation, interaction with society, and adaptation to evolving needs and emerging expectations; for this reason, planning and continuous professional development of faculty members, as part of human resource management at the university level, holds a special position in university management.
In a study about the professional development needs of faculty members in responding to the challenges of higher education in Europe, these needs are classified into three general levels: skill, interpersonal, and systematic needs, where each category includes a number of competencies (Diaz, Garrett, Kiniley, Moore, Schwartz, Celeste, & Kohrman, 2009).
Additionally, training courses along with the granting of course certificates that are effective in the career growth of faculty members, such as instructional skills enhancement workshops 7, competence in counseling and coaching, website design and training on required topics, and granting scholarships and sabbatical opportunities to help members become familiar with and apply technological innovations, designing and implementing research projects with the help of students, providing and presenting course materials, conferences related to teaching and learning, and designing conferences on the subject of pedagogical knowledge are held (Bergquist & Gillespie, Robertson, 2010).
The second section of the questionnaire consisted of 39 items, in which information related to the methods of assessing development needs and professional development skills was examined from the respondents' perspective, which included: exchange of experience with other universities (domestic and foreign through short-term study opportunities) with 9 questions, long-term training courses (more than one week) with 10 questions, training workshops (less than 5 days) with 5 questions, and the formation of learning communities 8 with 6 questions.
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