Zhang, Si (2021). Research university faculty views on professional development opportunities related to teaching: A Q study. Doctoral dissertation (Education), University of Georgia. (Access: https://www.proquest.com/docview/2572546517?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true)
Abstract: The growing number of teaching professional development (TPD) programs in most major universities shows higher education institutions’ determination to improve the quality of classroom teaching with the support of contemporary instructional strategies and advanced technology. However, TPD programs at research universities often face the struggle of how to engage faculty members to participate in voluntary TPD. This study used a unique mixed-methods methodology named Q methodology to investigate perceptions of faculty members in research universities toward their participation in TPD in order to understand motives for and barriers against faculty members’ participation in TPD. Q methodology uses an integrated quantitative and qualitative framework to examine human subjectivity. This study followed Watts and Stenner’s (2012) guidance for conducting multi-participants Q research. Discussion of the findings of this study involve comparisons of different viewpoints of faculty members in a large college of education at a research university regarding their participation in TPD.
Si Zhang <zhangsi@uga.edu> is a graduate of the Department of Learning, Design, and Technology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (USA) and will soon take a position in the Center for Teaching and Learning, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
