Improving Professional Development of Assistant Faculty Members at Al-Azhar University Based on Experiences of Some Foreign Universities

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Administration, Planning and Comparative Studies, Faculty of Education, Tafhana Al-Ashraf, Al-Azhar University

Abstract

     The research aims at improving professional Development of Assistant Faculty Members at Al-Azhar University Based on Experiences of Some Foreign Universities, To achieve this objective, the research used the descriptive methodology to explore the theoretical foundations of professional development for assistant faculty members, It also deals with the experiences of selected foreign universities in the field of professional development for this category, A questionnaire was applied to a sample of (362) participants to evaluate the level of professional development and its obstacles among them, The research had several key findings, including the relatively low level of professional development among assistant faculty members at Al-Azhar University, with a mean of (1.49), In terms of specific areas of professional development, research activities came in the first rank with a moderate level of practice and a mean (1.71), followed by teaching activities with a weak level of practice and a mean (1.52), Community service activities came in the third rank with a weak level of practice and a mean (1.43), while leadership activities came at the last rank with a weak level of practice and a mean (1.29), Additionally, the research identified significant obstacles to professional development among this group, with a high level of availability and a mean (2.88), There were no statistically significant differences at the (0.05) significance level in the responses of the sample participants regarding the level of professional development and its obstacles based on variables such as job rank (demonstrators vs. assistant lecturer), or the nature of the study program (theoretical vs. practical), However, there were statistically significant differences in favor of accredited faculties compared to non-accredited faculties,  Based on these findings from foreign universities and the results of the field study, the researchers proposed a prospective for improving the professional development of assistant faculty members at Al-Azhar University.

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