A Productivity-Oriented Faculty Members Professional Credentials Enhancement Model: The Case of Tehran Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University

Abstract

This applied descriptive mixed-methods research set out to propose a productivity-oriented model to enhance professional credentials of faculty members at Tehran Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University. The research population comprised all faculty members of the Science and Research Branch of the Azad University. Initially, the indicators of faculty members’ professional efficacy enhancement model were qualitatively specified via the Delphi technique. Having verified the content validity of the proposed questionnaire, it was subsequently piloted by distributing it among a larger sample and its reliability was confirmed through z test and Cronbach's alpha, respectively. The collected research data were analyzed using t and z tests, Structural Equational Modelling (SEM), Friedman, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Bartlett, KMO and factor analysis. The findings revealed that the participants had identified 6 types of educational, technological, research and specialized services credentials like individual and value, organizational and perceptual competencies, all of which were confirmed in the final model. Moreover, the findings underscored the unsatisfactory level of these credentials in both the existing and desirable situations and the need to improve them.

Keywords

• professional competency model
• human resources
• higher education systems