A Feasibility Study of Establishing a Virtual in-service Training System in Islamic Azad University

The aim of this research was to explore the feasibility of establishing a virtual in-service training system in Islamic Azad University from the point of view of the faculty members in district three. 1523 full-time and part-time faculty members in 20 university branches in district three were the target population for this descriptive survey study. Based on Krejcie & Morgan’s table 310 faculty members were selected through stratified random sampling as the sample of the study. A Likert-type questionnaire with 41 closed questions developed by the current researchers was administered after determining its validity and reliability (0.86). Both descriptive and inferential statistics (ANOVA and Scheffe test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Kruskal-Wallis) were used. As regards the first research question, a study of the circumstances & facilities for the establishment of the virtual in-service training system indicated that there was a significant difference among these circumstances and facilities for the establishment of the virtual in-service training system in different university branches in this research. With regard to the second research question, an identification of the applied contexts for the establishment of the virtual in-service training system showed that there was no significant difference among university branches in this regard. It is worth noting that respondents principally had the same idea as far as this question is concerned. Concerning the third research question, a diagnosis of obstacles to the establishment of the virtual in-service training system revealed that there was a significant difference among university branches in district three in regard to these obstacles. With respect to the forth research question, an identification of the facilitative factors for the establishment of the virtual in-service training system showed that there was a significant difference among university branches in district three with regard to these factors.