The need for professional training programs to improve faculty members teaching skills

There is no doubt that the large majority of faculty members are expert and knowledgeable in their specializations. Yet, we still find that university graduates are not as qualified as they are supposed to be. The poorer university students are, the more likely they are taught by unskilled teachers. Ironically, many studies have concluded that faculty members tend to believe that students lack the basic skills for college-level work (UCLA Survey, 2005), ignoring that they themselves lack the effective teaching skills. The Saudi government as such has realized that 21st century requires generic skills to be integrated in the curriculum which in turn obligates faculty members to improve their teaching skills accordingly. Saudi universities expect the Deanships for Academic Development across all universities to provide trainings on different teaching and learning skills to improve the quality of their faculty members. The purpose of this study was to investigate the need and the competencies that are required by faculty members to acquire in Saudi universities to enable them achieve the standards stated by the NCAAA. A questionnaire and semistructured interviews were utilized to get the data. The sample consisted of 882 participants (students, faculty members, chairmen and colleges boards, colleges' deans, and deanships' deans) from some universities in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The results showed the great need and importance of providing training programs to enhance and elevate faculty members' professional abilities in teaching. Many participants emphasized that in-service trainings should be mandated to ensure quality teaching.

University Graduates ,

Generic Skills ,

Teaching Skills ,

Academic Training Programs ,