Faculty Development - How to Develop Saudi Professors by Not Leaving for Abroad - Research Proposal Example

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction to the problem…………………………………………………….........2 1.1 Research questions………………………………………………………….…………4 1.2 Purpose of the study…………………………………………….……………………..4 1.3 Limitations of the study………………………………………….…………..………..5 1.4 Methods…………………………………………………………………...........………6 2.0 Literature Review……………………………………………………………………...7 3.0 Ethical issues……………………………………………………………………....……8 4.0 Significance of the study………………………………………..………………..……11 5.0 Expected outputs and outcomes………………………………..………….….………12 Faculty Development -How to Develop Saudi Professors by not leaving for abroad 1.0 Introduction to the problem Some times back, I was reflecting on what professors in Saudi Arabia have to go through before they settle down in their careers at home. These thoughts were prompted by the reaction of a close friend of mine who happens to be a victim of the problems that professors go through since he is doing his Doctorate degree with an intention of going to teach back home. Personally I had never given this issue a thought until he raised it and I saw the passion and disgust he was expressing himself with. From my discussion with this friend of mine I discovered that there was a huge problem facing professors who wanted to work at home in a given department. I am yet to get to that level of doing my masters but with us holding such a discussion, I realized that I am heading there and I will definitely be expected to operate under the same rules that exist now if I want to be a teacher. For one to become a professor to teach in this department in Saudi Arabia there are conditions to be fulfilled before confirmation. After getting a masters degree one is allowed to teach but for a specified amount of time which is limited. When this time elapses it is impossible to be allowed to continue teaching as long as you remain with the Masters degree alone. You are expected to apply for a Doctorate degree which should be done a broad and not in Saudi Arabia. The reason for this as they say is to increase the quality of education and teaching in the department concerned because it’s standard is still low and a lot of improvement is needed to bring it to acceptable standards. A person who is caught up in this dilemma has to go through some hard times to meet the set standards for teaching. Having acquired a Masters Degree, one could only have the ability to pursue a Doctorate degree in Saudi Arabia. This is because there are many challenges that come with pursuing a degree a way from home. Going for a degree abroad involves both economical and social costs (Kathleen 13). Scarcity of finances and the cost of separation from family and friends are among the things that professors have to face. When one pursues the degree at home the costs involved are less since the tuition fees and other requirements will cost lesser. It also saves the professor the trouble of going to learn in a foreign environment where he needs to adapt to many new things. Now that it is a condition for teaching everybody must face these challenges. Looking at this issue in depth I developed a desire to probe it keenly and that is when I decided I would take it as my topic for research. I hope to discover some possible solutions to the problem although it is believed to be temporary. It is expected that once the standard of teaching at the department improves the rules may change. However we need to get ways of ensuring that there is faculty development for the professors in Saudi Arabia. We need to develop them but at the same time not ask them to go and get a degree abroad. Faculty development should be designed in away that it can improve education in all the required areas (Kathleen 19). This will reduce the necessity of professors going abroad to get quality knowledge. This research will definitely find out ways of improving on the available practices of faculty development in Saudi Arabia so that the need for quality education can be met. 1.1 Research questions This research will be seeking to answer one major question and some other questions with it concerning the topic under investigation. The key question in the research will be: How can Saudi professors develop so that they avoid going abroad for doctorate degrees? What are the available faculty development practices in Saudi Arabia? What kind of improvement needs to be done on these practices in order to bring them to standard? What are the new faculty development practices that can be included incorporated in the system to improve the education value of these professors? 1.2 Purpose of study In this study I have decided that my focus will be on the faculty development of Saudi professors so that they do not leave the country to go abroad. The issue of faculty development is actually not new in Saudi Arabia (Kathleen 14). There are efforts towards faculty development in the Princes Norah University. The problem is that these initiatives are not as fruitful as they would be expected to be. I intend to show that it is possible to make more improvements on the already existent initiatives so that it will be a necessity for professors to be denied an opportunity to teach if they do not have a degree from abroad. In this study I will also show that various ways through which faculty development can be effectively carried out in order to achieve a given end. This will involve a discussion on the available practices as well as any improvements that can be made on them and the new practices that can be incorporated in the system for better performance. In the study I will also investigate if faculty development will become a better alternative to getting Doctorate Degrees abroad. I also intent to examine the effectiveness of the faculty development practices being used at Princes Norah University. Some of the initiatives that have been put in place to facilitate the professors include workshops, scholarships for teaching and conferences (Wright et al 100). Through this research I will find out how professional development, instructional development, leadership development and organizational development can be utilized better to improve the competencies of the professors. 1.3 Limitations of the study This is a study that intended to reveal important information that is expected to change the future of Princes Norah University if implemented well. As a result it is expected to face challenges in a number of areas. The study will be limited by time since the time allocated for completion of the research may not be sufficient. It is expected that the researcher will travel all the way to Saudi Arabia from the U.S to carry out the research. The return of questionnaires may also be a problem. Certain respondents may not be courteous enough to return the questionnaires and this may affect the quality of research (Krathwohl, 100). Lack of sufficient funds could also limit this research since a reasonable amount of money will be needed. Cooperation from the Princess Norah fraternity will be a very important factor. It will determine how the research will go by a big percentage. The topic of the research is somehow sensitive because it touches on university policy. Trying to enquire into this may raise suspicion which may deter the free collection of data. As a consequence if it happens that way, the quality of the research may not be as good as expected (Antoinette, 36). 1.4 Methods Through this study I will show how faculty development can be done for professors in Saudi Arabia so that the Quality of education in Princes Norah University can go up. The sample population will consist of 50 people. All the respondents are expected to come from the university. This sample will constitute both students and teachers. Random sampling will be used to select the respondents to be involved in the study. The sample will be composed of people of the male and female genders (Antoinette 151). In this research project both primary research data and secondary research data sources will be applied. Data will be obtained from the respondents in the study so that it can be used in conducting primary research. Analysis of the data will be done before it is compiled for the findings and analysis. The data from the respondents will then be presented by way of graphs, charts and tables. For the purpose of primary research in this study, the researcher will collect data through interviews and questionnaires which will be distributed to the respondents. The respondents will be given a certain time period through which they will be expected to fill the questionnaires and return them to the researcher. In conducting the interviews it will also be necessary to make use of questionnaires in some instances as a guideline (Krathwohl, 110). Secondary research will be done with the use of information from secondary sources in this case books, journals, and the internet and published articles from universities about faculty development. It is expected that from these sources data will be gathered on the methods of faculty development, their effectiveness and success as applied in other academic institutions. All the data will then be analyzed after which a summary of all the information will be made before a suitable conclusion drawn depending on the hypothesis made. Insightful recommendations will then be made (Antoinette 116). 2.0 Literature Review The term faculty development is synonymous to professional development and staff development in settings where educators are involved (Lawler & Kathleen 2000). Professional development and faculty development refers to continuing professional learning for those involved in teaching. It may be done in the course of work hours or after. Institutions of higher learning are continually facing challenges of the changing population of students and a static financial base. Changing student population presents these institutions with many different academic needs that must be met. The challenge of competition among institutions of higher learning also adds to the pressure. Institutions of higher learning are expected to provide students with high quality education. The quality of education offered at any university determines the number of students seeking admission in that institution. High quality education is necessary for marketing any academic institution (Wight et al 200). Many academic institutions respond to these challenges by introducing faculty development programs and others for organizational and instructional development. The uses of the term faculty development are overlapping but the programs are aimed at a common goal of developing the potential of available resources and institution structures by utilizing them in a variety of ways. The resources are among others the staff and faculty, the programs and the courses. To keep pace with the growing demand of education and the many dynamics in the job market academic institutions of higher learning must update and increase their faculty development programs. This can help them to maintain high standards of education and to remain at par with other leading institutions in the world (Weimer at al 130). 3.0 Ethical issues This research is expected to bring up a number of ethical issues. The issues expected to arise in this study include acceptance and access, confidentiality and privacy, informed consent, misinterpreting and misrepresenting data. Access and acceptance is critical in research. It will be the initial stage in the research whereby the researcher will be expected to gain access to the university to conduct the research and to be accepted by the people whose permission the researcher needs to carry out the research (Wiersma 47). Accessing personal records for both primary and secondary research should be done legally and ethically. In this study the researcher will investigate university faculty development programs at Princess Norah University, interview students, professors, management and analyze certain official documents belonging to the faculty where the research will be focused. Because of this the research will need to obtain permission from the relevant authorities such as the head of the faculty and the university to carry out comprehensive data collection. The authorities need to be informed about the researcher’s aims, the procedure and the nature of the study. Definitely this kind of information when revealed to the authorities it will make them to allow the research to proceed. After gaining access and acceptance interviews will then proceed without suspicion or victimization. Achieving cooperation and goodwill is necessary where the study extents for a period of time (Krathwohl 66). Informed consent is what will give information to those participating about the purpose, risk, benefits and nature of the study. Informed consent also happens to be very central in research ethics. Informed consent for the researcher in this case will involve the research purpose, discomfort and risks, benefits and the rights of the participants. Informed consent will have to ensure the mental capacity of the individual, provide enough privacy and time, disclose enough information, provide a safeguard and ensure the awareness of the individual. Semi-structured interviews like the opinion of the participants, subjectivity and relationship will be involved. The researcher will try hard to meet the ethical requirements by giving out a list of questions for the interview to the participants alongside the time to be taken and the interview process. Privacy must be addressed as well alongside confidentiality. Some of the responses given by the participants will reflect personal experiences emanating form misunderstandings. The individual privacy of these participants will therefore have to be given the respect it deserves (Krathwohl 45) The researcher will have the responsibility of protecting the individuals since there exist a difference between the public role one is playing and his private life. The researcher will also be aware of the privacy of the institution since in the research he will describe and point out some weaknesses in the faculty development programs being used in the university. Confidential information must be handled properly or else it may result in discomfort or loss of jobs to the participant who has released that information. The institution and the participants will have to be kept anonymous using the privacy and confidentiality promise (Wiersma 53). The researcher will also need to protect his won privacy since it relates to personal professional development. There is a risk that will be faced in exposing the weaknesses in the university’s programs. This will touch on the reputation of the institution as well as certain people who will be participating. Upon completion of my studies, I intend to work with the university where this research will be conducted. Therefore this could be touching on my professional development as well. Nevertheless this research is necessary since I would not like to be rejected for not having a doctorate degree from a broad when start looking for a chance to teach there. As a result I must use the right language to address the situation properly. I also must protect the name and way through which the private information will be accessed. To ensure absolute confidentiality I will use pseudonyms so that the names of the participants will be changed. The information will therefore not be published or put to use for any purpose apart from this study. Sufficient representation and interpretation of data should be addressed. The subjectivity of the researcher has the capacity to influence the process of research and the proper data representation interpretation (Krathwohl 48). It is challenging to interpret one’s own experiences as well as the behavior and perspectives of other people. I will therefore expect the participants to write their submissions on a given phenomena so that I can check my story form another perspective. Member checking will help me to stay away from misinterpreting my own experiences. This kind of collaboration will be important to reduce any gap that can exist between what is told and what is reported. This research will make use of the narrative inquiry as the main method. My stories and those I will get form other people will need to be represented in order to provide answers to the questions in my research. I will not only direct my focus on answering the research questions but I also need to weigh the benefits and risks to the university, professional development, the participants and myself. I will be forced to request the participants to submit their comments on the parts of the report that represent their behavior, perceptions and responses. I will do my best to observe compassion and not to use a language that shows discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, ethnic group or race. When the appropriate language is used then the possibility of having conflicts will greatly be reduced (Krathwohl 71). 4.0 Significance of the study Professors at Princess Norah University are compelled to get doctorate degrees from abroad before they can be allowed to continue teaching at the university. This turns out to be costly and inconveniencing for them. Development of education is necessary to avoid such kind of conditions for those who want to pursue the teaching career in higher learning institutions (Wright et al 36). This problem is particularly evident in Princes Norah University in Saudi Arabia. This study has been occasioned by the need to solve this problem. It is important and necessary because the professors faced by this big problem will get relief if the results of the research are adopted by their university. For better and quality education that does not put a burden on the teachers, the outcome of this research will be very beneficial. This could be an issue as well in other universities and learning institutions. If that is the case these institutions stand to gain from the findings of this research in terms of faculty development. The outcome and findings from this study will be very important to the players in the education sector in Saudi Arabia particularly in Princess Norah University. The management will definitely find the results of this study useful to them in their efforts of improving the quality of education in the university. There are several suggestions on the programs that need to be adopted by the university in order to address the problem of faculty development. Other institutions of higher learning will also benefit from this research. It will also form a basis for more advanced research by other researchers on the topic of faculty development. The topic under study has not been researched on comprehensively and therefore there exist many gaps in the available knowledge (Lawler & Kathleen 12). This research will serve to fill those gaps and at the same time provide the basis on which other studies will be done to fill the remaining gaps. Through this study it is expected that Princess Norah University will appreciate the need of improving its faculty development so that people will no longer be required to go abroad for degrees since this has become cumbersome for some people. 5.0 Expected outputs and outcomes From this research it is expected that very important discoveries will be made. The study will reveal many improvements that should be made on the faculty development methods being used in the university. It will also unveil the new practices that should be adopted to make the professors better teachers. Professors at Princess Norah University may not be able to teach to the required standards for the faculty in question to improve. For them to succeed in the required teaching skills, faculty development is important. It is important for the improvement of the vitality of education in the university by giving attention to some competencies required by the professors as well as to the policies in the institution that are needed to promote excellence in academics (Lawler & Kathleen 34). In the last three decades prevailing learning and research theories have influenced the strategies to improve teaching. The actions of the professors can be changed through strategies such as workshops, intensive fellowships, consultations and the way students’ rate instructions. The research will reveal the levels to which the faculty development programs have been implemented. These levels are expected to be low and that is why there is a need for professors to have degrees form abroad for them to get teaching jobs in the university. Comprehensive and effective programs for faculty development must be founded on professional development. In this, new members of the faculties need to be oriented to the entire university and their respective faculty roles within the university. Another strategy is instructional development where all members of the faculty should be given easy access to workshops that can improve their teaching, consultations, mentoring and peer coaching. Leadership development is also important. Here, academic programs rely on the efforts of effective leaders and curricula that are well designed. These leaders must then develop scholarship skills which can effectively advance and evaluate education within the university (Wright et al 98). The outcome of this study will unveil the level of willingness of the leaders of the university have in the development of scholarship skills. Organizational development will also be necessary. This is where faculty members are empowered to be excellent in teaching. It requires procedures and policies within the organization that will be able to reward and encourage teaching and continuous learning. Comprehensive and effective faculty development should be able to empower members of a faculty to be excellent and to create communities that value learning and teaching. This study is expected to find out ways through which all the above strategies can be incorporated in the learning and teaching activities of Princess Norah University so that professors can become more excellent. References King Kathleen, P. Keeping Pace with Technology Vol. 1, K-12, 2002 King, Kathleen, P. Keeping Pace with Technology Vol. 2, Higher Education, 2003 Krathwohl David. R.  How to prepare a research proposal: Guidelines for funding and dissertations in the social and behavioral sciences. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1988. Lawler Patricia & King Kathleen P. Effective Principles of Faculty Development, 2000 Lowenthal Patrick, Online faculty development and storytelling: An unlikely solution to improving teacher quality. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 9(3), 349-356, 2008 The Journal of Staff, Program, & Organization Development [New Forums Press, Stillwater, Oklahoma. http://www.newforums.com/prod03.htm] Wilkinson Antoinette, The scientist’s handbook for writing papers and dissertations Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991.  Wiersma William.  Research methods in education: An introduction (Sixth edition). Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1995 Wright, Alan, and Associates, Teaching Improvement Practices: Successful Strategies for Higher Education, Bolton, Mass.: Anker. [420 pp] Weimer, Maryellen, Improving College Teaching: Strategies for Developing Instructional Effectiveness, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [232 pp] 1990 Read More