Developing and Validating a Model of Job Enrichment for Academic Staff: A Qualitative Study

Higher education institutions are faced with the emerging needs and expectations of the society. Faculty members can realize the quality of higher education and play an essential role in the development of any country. It is desirable for universities to take fundamental steps towards comprehensive development of their academic staff. The purpose of this qualitative study is to develop and validate the syndrome model and dimensions of job enrichment of faculty members. Findings show that the enrichment aspects of faculty members can be classified into five dimensions, each of which has symptoms: 1) educational dimension, including: mastery of new and creative teaching methods, dynamic teaching skills, arousing thinking while teaching, ability  to develop educational and evaluation strategies, ability to give feedback and stimulate reflective thinking and creating superior learning goals, 2) research dimension, including: sensitivity to collect reliable data, team building and networking skills at both national and international levels, project management ability, mastery of research methodology and leading theses toward finding solutions for social problems. 3) specialized services dimensions including: entrepreneurial skills and wealth creation, ability to solve practical problems of the society, developing communication with the society and industry, and possessing power to persuade discourse, 4) individual dimensions including responsibility sensitivity, systemic thinking, intuitive thinking, time management, and self-regulation, 5) organizational dimensions, including building up learning community skills, ability to communicate with foreign distinguished universities, interaction with scientific societies, and peer coaching). A number of administrative and research suggestions are presented at the end.