Characteristics of an Effective University Professor From Students’ Perspective: Are the Qualities Changing?

Abstract

This study investigates the characteristics of an effective university professor based on the evaluations made by students in different majors at a state university in Iran. Two-hundred forty BA, MA, and Ph.D. students’ evaluations of their teachers were selected via purposive sampling. The evaluations were then content analyzed to determine which characteristics build the profile of an effective teacher in the students’ eyes. The results confirmed the findings of many previous studies that a good university professor needs to possess certain essential qualities. However, the profile of an effective university professor, at least the importance of the qualities that make up this profile, was rather different. More specifically, the most important criterion for evaluating the teachers was their assessment policies and practices. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the characteristics of an effective professor are dynamic and open to contextual, cultural and temporal influences. In light of the results of this study, it is recommended that higher education institutions put in place programs that educate teachers about a more learner-centered pedagogy to maximize not only their own teaching efficacy but also their students’ motivation and learning.

Determinants of effective instructors in higher education institutions: a cross-cultural comparison

“…The results of this study are in line with other studies in the literature (Al-Busaidi et al. , 2016; Gottardello and Karabag, 2022; Nushi et al. , 2022).…”

“…Successful student performance is, obviously, the intended outcome of effective teaching in higher education (Aljubaily, 2010;Srikanthan and Dalrymple, 2007). And because the caliber of university instruction is so important, researchers have examined student perceptions to explore the traits and qualities which may best characterize an effective teacher (Nushi et al, 2022;Samples and Copeland, 2013;Witcher et al, 2001). Recent research suggests that students seem to value the qualities of an effective teacher differentially, with personal details such as socioeconomic status (SES), gender, or collegiate year, etc.…”

How to develop four competencies for teacher educators

“…Motivational competence, which has a positive or negative impact on the learning of students and their colleagues, determines all educational and professional activities and job satisfaction. Personal competency is also the most important feature of being a university professor in general (Bakhru, 2017;Dervenis et al, 2022;Nushi et al, 2022). Meanwhile, having high morality is a must for ideal teacher educators, according to a study in Malaysia (Singh et al, 2021).…”

“…-Knowledge and skills about (1) subject content (Koster et al, 2005;Celik, 2011;Blašková et al, 2014;Duţă et al, 2014;Long et al, 2014;Tripathi, 2015;Mork et al, 2021;Singh et al, 2021;Dervenis et al, 2022); (2) pedagogical content or teaching skill (Koster et al, 2005;Celik, 2011;Blašková et al, 2014;Duţă et al, 2014;Long et al, 2014;Tripathi, 2015;Dervenis et al, 2022); (3) interpersonal understanding (Smith, 2005;Celik, 2011;Blašková et al, 2014;Duţă et al, 2014;Bakhru, 2017;Dervenis et al, 2022;Nushi et al, 2022); (4) research and publication (Smith, 2005;Celik, 2011;Blašková et al, 2014;Duţă et al, 2014;Tripathi, 2015); and (5) collaboration or communication with others (Koster et al, 2005;Smith, 2005;Celik, 2011;Blašková et al, 2014;Duţă et al, 2014;Long et al, 2014;Tripathi, 2015;Dervenis et al, 2022).…”

Quantitizing Qualitative Data from Semi-Structured Interviews: A Methodological Contribution in the Context of Public Policy Decision-Making

“…Thus, qualitative research values people's lived experiences and is inherently subjective and sensitive to the biases of both researchers and participants [10,11]. Our choice for a mixed methods approach was made for its ability to tackle two main issues that we came across in the abovementioned research: the need for a readable systematization and effective management of data; to mitigate the subjectivity inherent to qualitative data [6,12,13]. Therefore, despite their ontological and epistemological differences, our combining of qualitative and quantitative methods in a single study seemed viable by employing an overarching paradigmatic model/framework [14,15].…”