فصلنامه پژوهش و برنامه ریزی در آموزش عالی
سال بیست و ششم شماره 2 (پیاپی 96، تابستان 1399)

In this study, after recognizing the current situation of financial resources of universities and reviewing the literature, the major new financial resources in Iranian universities were extracted by collecting the experts and administrators’ opinions. In addition, the effectiveness of administrative strategies for the diversification of higher education resources was analyzed. This study was an applied and descriptive-survey research. The statistical population included universities, research institutes, and science and technology parks affiliated with Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. The study sample was comprised of 30 universities, 7 research institutes, and 7 science and technology parks. A total of 142 questionnaires were completed by respondents. Cronbachchr('39')s alpha was used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire (α =. /848). Questionnaire items were assigned to the proposed tactics, and according to their nature were classified into three subscales: research, teaching and administrative-financial. The results showed that among the administrative and financial strategies, the efficient use of legal capacity in budget notes, expansion, and diversification of charitable activities and development of educational charitable organizations are the most effective strategies for diversifying sources of income for universities, research institutes, and science and technology parks. Furthermore, due to  the existing capacities such as faculty members, the number of graduate students, assigned missions, physical facilities, being in a specific geographical location, and allocated budget, the experts consider using financial resources tactics  based on industry-based academic research projects in order to provide superior services and strengthen the knowledge-based economy and achieve the goals of "leap in production" in the country,  more effective than other strategies in the field of research and technology.

The purpose of present study was to analyze the current status of Handcrafts’ education in Iran’s Art universities in the context of sustainable development discourse. This idea was shaped due to the potential and actual capacity of handicrafts’ industries encountered an education model for sustainable development. The main question was how is the current status of bachelor of Handcraft education to reach an education model for sustainable development? A qualitative case study methodology was chosen for this study. The sampling method was purposeful. The data collection was done through semi-structured interviews with Handcraft education experts, which was done until the theoretical saturation was achieved. Using thematic analysis 16 pivotal themes were identified  and categorized under four comprehensive themes including specialty-based policymaking, traditional/transitional education instead of learning, absurd curriculum and hard perceptions. Findings showed that the current status of academic education of Handicraft in Iranian Art universities on the path to fulfilling their role in reaching the goal of sustainable development is critical. Therefore, improving the knowledge, attitude and skills of policymakers, planners and professors in the educational and curriculum planning process as well as the teaching and learning processes of handcrafts based on the education for sustainable development approach are essential. Results showed that although there exists common medium with sustainable development discourse, education of handcrafts in bachelor degree in order to reach the education for sustainable development need fundamental revision.

In the current study, based upon the Career Construction Theory, entrepreneurship is considered as an adaptive vocational behavior driven by an individualchr('39')s self-regulatory capacity to thrive in a complex entrepreneurial career context. This study evaluated relationships among career adaptability, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, self-perceived employability and entrepreneurial intentions of agriculture students. It also examined the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and self-perceived employability on the relationship between career adaptability and entrepreneurial intentions. The research method was quantitative research with a descriptive correlational design. The statistical population of this study was composed of senior bachelor agriculture students of Bu-Ali Sina University and Arak University during 2018-19 academic year (N=1300). Based on Krejcie and Morgan’s table, the sample size was estimated 297 individuals. To increase the validity of research, 341 students were selected through stratified sample technique. Data were collected by a standardized questionnaire and then analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling by the help of SPSS and Amos software. The results indicated that entrepreneurial self-efficacy and self-perceived employability were positively related to entrepreneurial intentions. The results also showed that career adaptability was directly related to entrepreneurial self-efficacy and self-perceived employability and indirectly related to entrepreneurial intentions through these variables. These results could be used to promote and develop students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy, self-perceived employability and entrepreneurial intentions.

Improving the curriculum of academic disciplines requires to consider the perspectives and needs of the curriculum constituencies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of graduates in evaluating the curricula of the top universities in Iran and the world in order to design a specific curriculum evaluation scale for graduates. A mixed sequential -exploratory research in the form of instrument design was chosen for this study. Statistical population consisted of six groups. The first group included faculty members and curriculum experts at top universities, the second group was officials of educational planning centers at top universities and the third group was relevant officials in the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology from which a total of 30 people were interviewed. The fourth group consisted of the worldchr('39')s selected universities, the fifth group included masterchr('39')s degree program instructors in some humanities disciplines at top universities, and the sixth group consisted of 30 employed graduates. Data collection tool was semi-structured interview, documents analysis, and specific graduate- researcher-made scale. The validity of the interview questions was content-based that used the opinions of ten academic experts. The reliability of the interview data was done through re-implementation of the interviews and the use of peer group as well as the validity of the graduate scale in terms of contents and validation using Lawshe coefficient. The internal correlation of variables was estimated through Cronbachchr('39')s alpha. The findings showed that the worldchr('39')s leading universities use the views of all constituencies such as faculty members, students, graduates and employers to improve and revise curricula. In comparison, in Iranian universities, graduates, except in exceptional cases, do not participate much in the evaluation of curricula, and even experts consider the importance and necessity of graduate participation lower than other constituencies. Using the obtained data, a scale with 62 phrases and 7 open-ended questions was developed to evaluate the curriculum from the perspective of graduates.

This study aimed to examine different models of teaching sociology in Iran, using Glaserschr('39') Grounded Theory (GT) method. A total of 19 doctoral students were participated in this study. Participants were selected through a targeted and theoretical sampling method and underwent semi-structured interviews to the point of data and theoretical saturation. The data were analyzed in three stages of open, axial and selective coding using Atlas.ti software (version 7) and finally, the theoretical model of the research emerged. The results showed that in the academic field of sociology education in public universities in Tehran, factors such as personality type and epistemological authority of professors, their distinctions and research programs, their academic and extra academic interactions, and media environments and social networks affect the social atmosphere of education. Characteristics of universities and disciplines, students’ social classes and their organizations, coupled with the political, legal and administrative environment, as well as technological environment underlies these effects. Of course some mediating variables, such as leadership style of university administrators, the life style of faculty members, faculty members’ ages and backgrounds, as well as sizes of educational departments are also involved in the process of influences and effects on the scope of the university. It such a  situation we are  witnessing strategic actions and reactions of faculty members and students and formation of five types of institutional models of teaching in sociology, i.e. classical, critical, applied, social and task-oriented-behavioral models accompanied with an en route hybrid ambiguous and contingency model that has not yet been fully developed and established. Current processes of sociology teaching in Iran have different outcomes, including credentialism, commodity-orientation, oligarchy, politicization, ritualism, scientific corruption, erosion of university’s social capital and ambiguity in its functioning, at the same time leading to levels of transferring of knowledge and sociological skills to individual, social and civil lives as well as formation of intellectual circles and paradigmatic changes.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the degree of bullying in relationship between faculty members in universities affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and to provide solutions to improve it. The research approach was quantitative. A descriptive correlation method, multiple regression analysis was used.  A questionnaire tool was designed to gather information. The statistical population was faculty members at public universities and institutes affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.  A sample of 601 individuals were randomly selected using stratified random sampling method. Findings showed that 56.24% of the faculty members participated in this study were bullied during their careers. Meanwhile, single female faculty members with the rank of assistant professor and probationary contract have experienced social bulling more than any other dimension of bullying (verbal and physical). The research results also showed that organizational and individual factors have a significant relationship with bullying and highly explain and predict the changes in bullying variance among faculty members. Based on the results of regression test, organizational factors predict bullying with more strength than individual factors. Among the five components of organizational factors,   organizational culture and academic leadership factors, while having a significant and indirect relationship with bullying, have more power in explaining bulling than other components. In terms of the power of anticipating bullying change and explanation,   the three components of rules and regulations, organizational discrimination, and culture and society are ranked third to fifth, respectively. From the perspectives of participants in focus group meetings, the  following solutions may pave the way to solve the bulling problem: reviewing the faculty socialization programs, decentralization in recruitment and revising the provisions of promotion regulations, avoiding  politicization,  academics participation in the selection of university presidents on the basis of meritocracy, turning bulling into a macro-socio-structural discourse, establishing a clear appeal system  with feedback mechanism and structural strength, respectively.