Learned Experiences of Faculty Members from the Structure of Educational and Research Institutions in the World: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background and purpose: Paying attention to the changing needs of society in health and the need for a responsive education system in line with the needs of society, shows the need to review educational and research structure of medical universities in a country. The purpose of this study was to explain the learned experiences of academic members on the structure of educational and research institutions. Materials and methods: This qualitative study was performed in 26 faculty members of medical sciences graduated from foreign universities using purposeful sampling. Individual semi-structured interviews were performed and the participants were asked about organizational structure, the function, and organizational hierarchy of the university where they had studied. Interviews were recorded and handwritten, coded, and analyzed according to the conventional content analysis approach. Results: We extracted four main themes, 12 sub-themes, and 75 items from the data. Main themes included type of organizational structure, strategies, management of resources, and educational infrastructures. The sub-themes were as follows: the organizational structure of educational and research institutions and traditional structure, new structure, entrepreneurship, change management, interdisciplinary insight, human resources, national resources, physical resources, educational centers, educational groups, fields of study, and research centers. Conclusion: Planning system of every country (centralized/decentralized) was found to affect the type of organizational structure of educational and research institutions. Therefore, universities and research institutions are needed to design a suitable structure consistent with the needs of society and their own goals.

Keywords

• structure
• institutions
• university
• education
• research