Faculty development in higher education: A mixed-methods inquiry into institutional practices, academic needs and recommendations

Date

2026-7-17

Author

Baltacı, Hasan Şerif

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This doctoral study explores the current state of faculty development in Turkish higher education through a three-phase sequential dominant mixed-methods design. In the first phase, institutional landscape of Centers for Teaching and Learning was mapped through a systematic content analysis of 22 university websites, uncovering the current practices initiated by CTLs. In the second phase, a needs analysis using a 77-item Faculty Needs Analysis Survey (FNAS) was distributed to a substantially larger pool of faculty across 24 universities using proportional stratified random sampling and a total of 477 academics responded to the survey. Exploratory factor analysis yielded nine underlying factors of FD needs, with international research networking, AI integration, and personal well-being emerging as the highest priority areas. Hierarchical regression results further demonstrated that participation in CTL activities significantly predicted lower perceived need scores. In the last phase, an expert panel of 18 scholars from diverse disciplines across three focus groups was conducted addressing design, implementation, and evaluation of FD programs. Findings revealed that effective FD requires needs-driven, modular, and career-sensitive program design; participatory and context-responsive implementation supported by strong institutional leadership; and multi-source, longitudinal evaluation systems capable of capturing behavioral and organizational change. Findings also indicate that FD in Türkiye remains largely reactive and fragmented. The study calls for a nationally coordinated FD framework, strengthened CTL capacity, and evidence-based program practices that are responsive to the diverse disciplinary, institutional, and career contexts of Turkish academics.

Subject Keywords

Faculty development, Professional development, Faculty development programs, Teaching and learning centers, Higher education

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/119986

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis