Presentation of a Model for Educating Professionl Citizens in Higher Education System of Iran in the Third Millennium

The purpose of this study was to design a model for educating professional citizens in higher education system particularly Islamic Azad University branches which is essential to meet the new challenges of the third millennium in the age of postmodernism. The review of relevant research literature is indicative of supercomplexity and extensiveness of the range of theoretical and practical frameworks of educating professional citizens in leading universities and higher education institutions of the world. However, literature review in Iran shows lack of any model or theoretical and research framework in this regard. To obviate this shortcoming, the researcher attempted to design an appropriate model, on the basis of revision of the relevant literature and theoretical foundations and some prevailing models such as educating multidimensional citizen, extending social context of educating citizen, human capital, intellectual capital, social capital, teaching- learning process of educating citizens and paying due attention to values, the sum of which led to the development of an initial model. An attitude measurement scale (a questionnaire) composed of 22 elements was designed to evaluate the initial model. Reliability of the questionnaire was established by test-retest method. It was calculated 85.46%. A panel of higher education expert (n=30) established the content validity. Minor changes/modifications were made based on evaluation of pilot study and suggestions from the panel of experts. Final questionnaire (proposed model) was distributed among the randomly selected target sample (n=480), composed of university chancellors, (n1=150) deans of faculties, heads of departments (n2=150). Faculty members (N3=150) and higher education experts (n4=30). The collected data and the proposed model was then approved with a scale of 4.79 out of 5 through the application of statistical methods of pierson and Donkan coefficient of correlation and was analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics and Spss software, afterward. The major finding of this study was a model made up of six main components: philosophy, goals, theoretical foundations, conceptual framework, implementation procedures, evaluation and reengineering systems. By implementing the proposed model in higher education system, particularly in Islamic Azad University branches , educating professional, knowledgable, responsible, and proficient citizens who will be able to meet the challenges of knowledge-based society, knowledge economy, and knowledge management in the third millennium would be actualized. To educate professional citizens, it is required to develop technological, economic, social, intellectual, management and leadership, spiritual, ethical & religious, environmental, global & international, individual, research , political, and cultural competencies through an integrated program in higher education system particularly in the Islamic Azad University. It is recommended that the proposed model be applied by the “Office of Human Resource development Studies” after being approved by the University`s Supreme Council of Planing, through considering teaching and learning (conceptual, affective, active, and instituionalization) levels.