Faculty engagement in higher education: prospects and areas of research

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the available literature on engagement of faculty members teaching in higher education institutions and present forth a strong foundation for researchers of the same area to gain insight into the available literature and prospects of faculty engagement. Design/methodology/approach – Exploratory study has been conducted using different keywords to draw a list of relevant research papers on Google Scholar and several online databases like Emerald Management, EBSCO Host, Elseiver, etc. Findings – Various definitions of the major constructs have been captured from which dimensions have been explored. Identification of dimensions and factors has been done by performing extensive literature review. Studies so conducted on the major construct have been tabulated to present a comprehensive picture. Universities across the world have been studied to find out differences with respect to India in terms of their higher education system and practices related to faculty. Originality/value – The paper is original and holds significance as not much literature is available on faculty engagement in published domain and higher education has become an area of keen interest in present times. This paper will give a strong foundation of literature to future researchers who want to pursue their studies in this area.

Educators Role on the Challenges of Education and Technology in Global and Local Era

“…University governance is highlighted as one of the critical problems experienced in most higher education institutions (Welch 2007;DGHE, 2003). A number of underlying factors were identified by UNESCO (2006) and Raina and Khatri (2015) as influencing the capacity of a university to implement management reformation.…”

“…The factors that influence the effectiveness of education management reformation include human resources, facilities, financial resources, technology, environment, department structure, management and leadership (Schwartzman, 2010). Amongst these elements, researchers and practitioners claimed that human resources are the challenging issues for most organizations (Prybil, 2003) in particular for faculties (Raina &Khatri, 2015). It was acknowledged by Ramanujam and Rousseau (2006) that workforces will face more complex demands for producing high quality services and goods than they can produce as their contribution in sustaining the existence of the enterprise during global competitive situation (Haslam, Wegge & Postmes, 2009).…”

Transformational Educational Leadership and the Innovative Strategies Engaging Online Faculty for the Excellent Teaching Performance in the United States

“…Saks referred to engagement as not being an attitude, rather a specific level that an individual embrace when they are attentive and absorbed in a particular performance in their role (as cited in Anthony-McMann et al, 2017). Engaged employees are more loyal, provide a transformation that revolutionizes the organization, perform better, and are more productive (Raina & Khatri, 2015). Jolley et al (2014) emphasized the importance of monitoring and providing support to adjunct faculty amongst institutions.…”

Open Source Technology as an Option for an Albanian University With No Online Platform: Can It Be Used to Improve Learning?

“…Based on the literature (Raina and Khatri, 2015;Jonasssen, Mayes, and MacHeese, 1993), there are technology platforms for continued learning outside the university and these have been helpful for students to improve their grasp of the nuances of learning and to have an opportunity to co-learn with "more knowledgeable peers" and learn in the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1929). Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate online platforms for extending teaching.…”

“…History has included the fountain pen replacing the quill, the ballpoint pen replacing the fountain pen, and the calculator replacing manual calculation (Probable Quotes from History, Fall, 1978). Such dialectics between traditional and safe pedagogical tools, which can be uninspiring for the students, and new and risky, but enthralling and intriguing for students, will continue to coexist (Raina and Khatri, 2015). The latest strategy is based more on the constructivist approach to learning, that is, one learns more effectively through social interaction with the teacher, the peers, and others, than learning alone (Garrison and Richardson, 2009).…”