Prospecting of Professional Development of Faculty Members at Bu-Ali Sina University through Motivational Factors

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the motivational factors and the professional development of the members at the University of Bu-Ali Sina. The research method is descriptive-correlational. The population of the study consists of 435 faculty members of Bu-Ali Sina University. Out of the faculty members, 196 individuals were selected using a random sampling method, by sample size set for Krejci and Morgan. The data gathering tool included two questionnaires of motivational factors and professional development of faculty members. The collected data were analyzed in two levels of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics including correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis with stepwise method. The findings of this study showed that the average of motivational factors, both internal and external, and all the components of professional development of faculty members were higher than average. There is a positive and significant correlation between the motivational factors, both internal and external, with professional development of faculty members. In addition, the findings of the research showed that external motivating factor has more influence on professional development of faculty members than internal stimulus factor and alone has been able to explain more than 58% of their professional development changes, and when this factor added to internal motivation factor has been able to explain, together, about 63 percent of the changes in the professional development of faculty members.