The Components of the Personality Dimensions of the Faculty Members of Universities: A Meta-Synthesis

Extended Abstract

Background

A key mission of universities is to educate and train students who are assets of the organization and will become the future specialists and managers of the country. In this regard, universities play a vital role in shaping the professional development of their graduates. Proper regulation of mutual relations between faculty members and students in the process of teaching and learning can help effectively in the education and research trend. Knowing the personal characteristics of the faculty members from the students' point of view can promote this mutual relationship and ultimately lead to the enhancement of the quality of education. While traditional pedagogical models often prioritize subject matter expertise. However, emerging research increasingly highlights the significant influence of faculty personality on student engagement, satisfaction, and overall academic outcomes. Therefore, identifying the individual characteristics of professors is necessary and a key priority for the corresponding ministry. To this end, the study investigated and prioritized the impact of personality dimensions (personal, academic, and professional) related to the teaching of faculty members on students' learning.

Methods

The qualitative research method utilized a meta-synthesis approach using Sandelowski and Barroso's seven step model. The study performed the following seven steps as following: 1) conceive the focus of the study 2) select a research question to guide the study 3) search for candidate sources 4) retrieve the sources 5) review and appraise the sources 6) analyze the findings found in the sources 7) present the results of the analytical process. After the main question was defined and converted to the search query then searching the databases between 1984 and 2023 was performed. Number of 265 articles were selected that were related to the personality dimensions of professors. Subsequently, by examining their titles, 85 articles were discarded due to their inconsistency with the research topic, and the total number of screened abstracts was reduced to 180 articles. In the next step, the abstracts of 180 screened articles were carefully studied, and after the necessary checks with the team of supervisors, another 25 articles were excluded from the study, bringing the total number of initial articles to 155 articles. In the final step, the content of all 155 articles was studied and reviewed by experts, and another 41 articles were removed. Therefore, 114 articles were selected as the final articles to extract the components.

Results

By studying 114 selected articles and after analyzing the findings and combining the results through content analysis, out of a total of 85 codes, 10 concepts and 3 components were identified concerning the personality dimensions of university professors. Based on the findings, the codes of “teaching skills”, “research skills”, “interactive ability”, and “individual ability” were the most frequent components of the personality dimensions of university professors.

Conclusion

One of the reasons that a total learning process can not complete in the education systems, is the lack of ability among professors in the university. Therefore, the findings of this study can be used in the policymaking of universities when recruiting and empowering professors. In the current study, the method of meta-synthesis and analysis of existing opinions and foundations was used concerning the personality dimensions of faculty members of universities. By summarizing the results of the studies conducted in this regard, we have considered the personality dimensions of faculty members in individual, scientific, and professional dimensions. The results of the study show that the scientific dimension in the personality dimensions of faculty members is considered more than other dimensions, and the personal and professional dimensions are important at the next step. According to the findings, universities should pay special attention to academic mastery, eloquence, and interest in teaching when recruiting faculty members. Additionally, after hiring the faculty members, it is important to plan and organize teaching empowerment workshops for them. This would lead to a greater sense of satisfaction among students and improve the quality of teaching and learning. Consequently, the findings of this study can be used in the policymaking of ministries and universities when recruiting faculty staff.