Research On FD Of Local Undergraduate Engineering Universities

Engineering education plays an important role in China's way towards an innovative country of new industrialization with Chinese characteristics. Recent years has witnessed China's initiation of some corresponding policies, which include Excellent Engineer Training Program or are related to classified management of institutes of higher learning and the construction of universities of applied technology. In carrying out these plans, the basic particles are the local undergraduate engineering universities and colleges, which constantly provide fresh blood of applied technical talents for the regional economy. It is imperative to train a large group of qualified teachers in these institutes since the former serve as the driving force and main body in the latter. The current faculty development system, however, cannot meet the demand. For the above consideration, this dissertation is an attempt to find out solutions for the development of teachers in local undergraduate engineering universities and colleges. To meet this end, the dissertation will be organized in a problem-reason-model-solution sequence and some study methods, including document reading, case study and comparative study, will be employed.According to the document, most domestic studies on university faculty development had a macro perspective by taking the entire teaching group as the study object. In few cases the objects were narrowed down to the faculty in research universities or universities in a common sense. There are even fewer studies on faculty development in certain specific kinds of universities or colleges, leaving alone the ones based on competency model. Hence it is practically and theoretically significant in this dissertation to take a specific university as the object. First, both a questionnaire survey and interview were conducted, from which the following problems regarding faculty development at the local undergraduate engineering universities were found. Generally speaking, there is a high professional identity among the teachers, which, however, is low among the young. Most teachers have ambitious goals but lack specific periodical aims. Their development is uneven in that their teaching and personal aspects are the weak links. The faculty development programs are usually carried out in a rigid rather than pertinent way. The mechanism for faculty development is unsound for being short of professionals, hence leading to poor substantive work.Next, a comparative study is carried out by analyzing the faculty development in American, German and Japanese Universities. It is found to be greatly influenced by their respective political, economic and cultural systems at a macro level and their management system of higher education at a specific level. In America, specialized institutes are formed based on the faculty's needs and there are full-time working-staff both in the fields of research and practice. In Japan, the government also plays a vital role in university faculty development with its main aim at improving the teaching content and pedagogy. It does so by setting up seven nationwide organizations, each responsible for the faculty development in a different kind of universities or colleges. In Germany, university teachers are in the civil servant team. The country has formulated stringent requirement in the content, structure and class hours on faculty training. Moreover, the Germans also set up sound evaluation and certification systems. All the measures help prompt teachers to evaluate and improve themselves ceaselessly.In the following part, a faculty competency model is established for faculty development. Through the analysis of functions of local colleges and universities, this dissertation presents the characteristics that conform to the organizational development and the positioning of talent cultivation objectives. It also extracts the characteristics of outstanding teachers by in-depth interviews. The dissertation clarifies the "students-centered" teacher competency by inquiry of students as well as interviews with "The Best Teachers in My Heart" voted by students. Accordingly, in the light of some theories, this dissertation constructs faculty competency model of local undergraduate engineering universities and colleges by doing survey and analysis with the help of the formulated teacher competency scale and designed questionnaires.Finally, Based on the analysis above and the faculty competency model of local undergraduate engineering universities and colleges, and in light of such relative theories as Whole Perspective Study Theory, Learning Organization Theory and Career Management, along with the in-depth inquiry and analysis of the university in this case study, this dissertation presents four proposals for the faculty development in schools of its type. First, the universities should adhere to the faculty-oriented notion and all-round development, which means sticking to the principle of faculty development in line with the school, with teacher's ethics as the top priority so as to study the differences of teachers' groups and promote the all-round development of teachers. Secondly, the institutes should specify the content and set clear goals of development. To be specific, they are supposed to analyze the demands of teachers at different phases in order to figure out the content and objectives of development in accordance with faculty competency model and the characteristics of teachers of local undergraduate engineering universities and colleges. Thirdly, the ones should perfect development mode by scientific designing and implementing of development projects. Four modes are proposed in compliance with the development of teachers of local undergraduate engineering universities and colleges which include Demonstration Radiation Mode (DRM), Faculty Development Alliance Mode (FDAM), Campus Center Mode (CCM), and Department Project Mode (DPM). Fourthly, they should enhance organizational guarantee to cultivate professionals for faculty development. That is, organizational guarantee system must be established for faculty development of local undergraduate engineering universities and colleges, consisting of government, social organizations, professional associations, schools and bottom-level academic organizations, and faculty development workers.