Assessment of Barriers and Problems of Faculty Members' Activities in Teacher Higher Education

The faculty members of Farhangian University are the most valuable and influential assets of the higher education system in educating the best teachers of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Identifying the existing barriers to the activities of these people and investing in improving their quality and quantity as the most important strategy in the growth of the university and paving the way for scientific authority and teacher training needed in the country, is doubly important. The aim of this study was to identify the existing barriers to the activities of the faculty members of Farhangian University by a combination of research methods in a qualitative and quantitative manner based on descriptive phenomenology. In the qualitative stage, through semi-structured interviews with 20 professors who were selected by purposive sampling, barriers and problems of faculty members' activities were identified. The sample and information of the quantitative section are the views of 240 people from a community of approximately 950 faculty members of Farhangian University who were selected according to the Jersey and Morgan table and using the relative class sampling method. Data collection tools were developed based on the pairwise comparison form of problems and obstacles. The analysis was done in the first phase of the research to the question "What are the obstacles and problems of the faculty members of Farhangian University?" answered. At this stage, the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis and in a quantitative part by hierarchical analysis. The results of this study showed; There are three categories of obstacles and problems in the field of educational activities, institutional factors and cultural and research (five educational components, four institutional components and four cultural and research components) over the activities of faculty members of Farhangian University. For each of these three areas, indicators have been identified that prioritize the set of barriers and problems of faculty members, respectively; Evaluation, social services, content, indigenous culture, program and performance. The results show the need to review and develop guidelines and regulations in the departments that have the highest priority among the obstacles and problems of faculty members of Farhangian University.