Model of professional competence of faculty members of Islamic Azad University

This study was conducted with the aim of developing a model of professional competence of faculty members with a combined research approach. The statistical population of the study was the qualification section of the subject of professional qualification experts, professors of Islamic Azad University, evaluation experts in higher education and policy makers in the field of higher education. 16 people were selected by snowball sampling method. In the quantitative section, 385 samples were randomly selected based on Morgan table. The research tool is semi-structured in the qualitative part of the interview and a researcher-made questionnaire in the quantitative part. The content validity of the instrument was determined using the opinions of experts and professors and the Cronbach's alpha value (0.87) confirmed the reliability of the questionnaire. In the qualitative part, open, axial and selective coding process was used for data analysis. In the quantitative part, Pearson correlation coefficient matrix and structural equations were used using SPSS and AMOS software. The results show that the professional competence of the faculty members of Islamic Azad University can be classified into three areas of knowledge (general, individual, internal and external) ability (cognitive, sensory, motor) and skill (basic, management and social). This study identified three main categories of competence that were related to the work of Azad University teachers. Therefore, the information provided in this article can be used to assess the qualifications of newly hired teachers in different stages of their teaching and activities, and to develop a curriculum accordingly.