The Role of Educational Departments in Professional Development of Academic Members of Universities and Higher Education Institutions: A Mixed Approach

The purpose of this research was to identify and explain the factors affecting the professional development of faculty members with emphasis on the role of educational departments. The research method is mixed (qualitative-quantitative) research. The statistical population in the qualitative section is the articles related to the professional development of faculty members out of which 42 articles were selected as sample; the data collection tool is the checklist in the qualitative section. In the quantitative part of the statistical population, the heads of educational departments and faculty members of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman (N = 667) and the sample was proportional to the number of 244 persons. In the qualitative section, 14 factors influencing the professional development of faculty members were identified, whose importance was acknowledged by faculty members and heads of departments in the quantitative section. These components were categorized into two categories of supportive and process management factors. Component ratings with Friedman test (Friedman statistic = 11.58 and p <0.05) showed that faculty members' participation in decision making, management support and research skills were highest. Based on the results obtained, it seems that attention to the components identified as a prerequisite for faculty development programs as a cohesive set provides the necessary context for their development in educational departments, which is the beginning of change in higher education system, respectively.