Research On American Faculty Development Organizations

The United States has the world’s most abundant education resources and education experience. Lots of American colleges and universities have established their individual faculty development organizations and agencies since 1960 s, and many scholars began to study on the theories and practices of faculty development. The reason why they focus on the faculty development is to improve the quality of higher education through promoting the faculty development and improving the teachers’ quality. Throughout the history of American faculty development, it’s obvious that not only the American colleges and universities, but also the government and society take part in the activities of faculty development. Therefore, the faculty development organizations and agencies of government level(especially the state ones), college level and social level form a set of complementary system.The article is consisted of six chapters by using the literature method, comparison method and case-study method to put emphasis on the faculty development organizations and agencies of the three levels.The first chapter is Introduction, and it includes the background, significance, definition, relevant research, research design and innovation of the research. The second chapter describes the history of American faculty development organizations and agencies through government level, college level and social level. The third chapter is the categories of the different operation modes of the faculty development organizations and agencies in the three levels, uses some specific organizations and agencies as examples to support the study on each mode, and summarizes the differences and similarities among them. Based on the previous contents, the fourth chapter analyses the function of the faculty development organizations and agencies in the three levels. The fifth chapter summarizes the faculty development organizations and agencies of the three levels and their functions in a structural system, and points out the roles that these organizations and agencies play during the process of faculty development. The last chapter is the conclusion.