An Evaluation of Teachers’ Research Qualifications: a Comparison between the Existing and Desirable Conditions
Somayeh Toolabifard
1
(
PhD student in Educational Management. Faculty of Management.West Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
)
Nader Barzegar
2
(
Educational Management Department, Eslamshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
)
Saeid Alizadeh
3
(
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, West Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
)
Keywords: Research, Research qualifications, Teacher, Existing and desirable conditions,
Abstract :
The present study aimed to evaluate teachers’ research qualifications by comparing the existing and desirable conditions. The study was an applied one in terms of its purpose, and data collection was carried out according to a mixed method (qualitative-quantitative) approach. The population of the qualitative section included the view and opinions of scholars and experts in credible published records, professors and specialists in education, and the top managers of the Ministry of Education until reaching a theoretical saturation of 17 people. On the other hand, the population of the quantitative section consisted of primary school teachers in Tehran, Iran, out of whom 384 teachers were selected for the sample of the study according to Morgan’s table and the cluster sampling technique. The instruments of data collection in the qualitative section were made up of indexing forms and semi-structured interviews, while a researcher-made questionnaire with 15 items (questions) arranged according to a five-point Likert scale was implemented in the quantitative section. Data analysis in the qualitative section was conducted according to open, axial, and selective coding, while the quantitative section used descriptive statistics (mean and SD) and inferential statistics like Cronbach’s Alpha test, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, One-sample t-test, and Friedman test. According to the results, teachers’ research qualifications were classified into 15 general components. Moreover, the mean of teachers’ research qualifications was above 4 in 9 components and between 3 and 4 in 6 components, and this indicated that primary school teachers’ research qualifications were upper intermediate.