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Attitude of Faculty Members towards Faculty Development Programs and their Perceived Outcomes
Authors: Devkant Kala, D.S. Chaubey
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A confluence of social, economic and global forces in the knowledgedriven eeconomy pose new challenges to the nation's vitality and make clear the need for higher education institutions (HEIs) to assume new responsibilities. In view of this, faculty development is considered as an enduring process that enhances the productivity of academics for helping faculty to play their instructional, professional, and organizational roles effectively. It promotes academic excellence and innovation, sharpens conceptual, human, and technical skills of faculty and enables academic institutions to produce employable graduates. Faculty development programs (FDPs) are a means to expose the faculty in higher education to review, renew and extend their commitment as change agents to the moral purposes of teaching; and by which they acquire and develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes. The present study investigated the attitude of 124 faculty members, working in professional institutes of Dehradun, the state capital of Uttarakhand, towards FDPs and their perceived outcomes. Using factor analysis methods, researchers identify five important factors related to faculty attitude for such development programs. Researchers also attempt to examine possible outcomes and obstacles in attending such programs.