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Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Mohsen Nazarzadeh Zare, Javad Pourkarimi and Sahba Rezaeian

The purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers and challenges to international interactions of the faculty members in Iran.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers and challenges to international interactions of the faculty members in Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the purpose, a qualitative phenomenological approach was used. The research population was all experts in the field of higher education in Iran, it included 17 experts who were selected through purposeful sampling by snowball method and based on theoretical saturation. To collect the data, a semi-structured interview was used and for the data analysis, an inductive content analysis was applied.

Findings

The findings showed that the barriers and challenges to faculty members’ international interactions can be defined through three main barriers: inside university barriers, outside university barriers, and individual barriers.

Practical implications

This research identified the barriers and challenges of faculty members’ international interactions in Iran. The method of this study can be applied in other applied fields as well.

Originality/value

This study adds to the authors’ knowledge about international interactions of the faculty members and also the barriers and challenges of these interactions, so to have more interactions of faculty members at the international level, universities should make an effort to identify barriers and eliminate them, more than ever.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2016

Mohsen Nazarzadeh Zare, Javad Pourkarimi, Gholamreza Zaker Salehi and Sahba Rezaeian

The purpose of this paper is to examine faculty members’ views about the assessment of world-class university components in Iran’s comprehensive universities.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine faculty members’ views about the assessment of world-class university components in Iran’s comprehensive universities.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a descriptive methodology by using a survey method. The statistical population consisted of 8,548 faculty members of comprehensive universities all over Iran. Considering the large size of the population, the comprehensive universities were categorized into five clusters (North, South, East, West and Center). The authors selected the faculty members from different clusters using Cochran’s formula. A total of 367 faculty members were selected from five clusters. For data gathering, a researcher-designed questionnaire was used. In data analysis, statistical procedures including the Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Kolmogrov-Smirnov test, one-sample t-test, and Friedman test were performed.

Findings

The findings of the research showed that except for academic freedom, other components of world-class university in Iran’s comprehensive universities were lower than the mean.

Practical implications

The case study showed how Iran’s comprehensive universities can become world-class universities. The methods of this case study can also be used in other fields.

Originality/value

This study adds to the knowledge of a world-class universities. Therefore to reach a desired level in comprehensive universities’ preparation for converting to a world-class university, it is essential that the policy makers and organizers of Iran’s higher education system pay greater attention to items such as research motivation, research innovation, research budget increase, authority reduction on various university departments, internet bandwidth increase and laboratory facilities increase.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2023

Mohsen Nazarzadeh Zare and Ehsan Parvin

The present study aims to investigate the reasons for the gap between academic education and the required skills of the labor market in Iran.

Abstract

Purpose

The present study aims to investigate the reasons for the gap between academic education and the required skills of the labor market in Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

For this purpose, the authors adopted a thematic analysis method. The participants in the study were connoisseurs from universities and research institutes in Iran, who were selected with purposeful sampling methods of snowball type. To collect the data, the authors used a semi-structured interview and performed a thematic analysis for data analysis.

Findings

The findings showed that the views and perceptions of the connoisseurs participating in the study about the reasons for the gap between academic education and the skills required in the labor market in Iran can be classified into four main themes including lack of attention to labor market needs in the academic curricula, lack of attention to practical and entrepreneurial skills in the academic curricula, the weak link between universities and industry and society, and shortage of academic resources and equipment in some academic disciplines.

Originality/value

The present study had three implications. First, the human capital theory, the social closure theory, the positional conflict theory and the labor market segmentation theory are more compatible with the labor market of Iranian graduates, compared to other theories of the labor market. Second, the lack of coordination between academic education and the required skills in the labor market has weakened the Iranian economy. Third, the absence of practical and entrepreneurial skills in academic graduates has led to increased unemployment in Iranian society.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2022

Mohsen Nazarzadeh Zare and Maryam Sadat Ghoraishi Khorasgani

The present study aimed to investigate the perceptions of academic administrators of the characteristics and strategies of a boundary-spanner leader.

Abstract

Purpose

The present study aimed to investigate the perceptions of academic administrators of the characteristics and strategies of a boundary-spanner leader.

Design/methodology/approach

For this purpose, the authors adopted a qualitative approach and a descriptive phenomenology method. The participants of the study consisted of academic administrators in the public universities, and research institutions in Iran, of whom 17 academic administrators were selected as participants of the study purposefully and based on the criterion of having at least 4 years of management experience. To collect the data, the authors conducted semistructured interviews and performed a Colaizzi content analysis for data analysis.

Findings

The findings showed that perceptions of academic administrators of the characteristics and strategies of a boundary-spanner leader can be classified into six main categories; cognitive skills, relationship skills, professional skills, boundaries management strategies, common boundaries creation strategy and new boundaries discovery strategy.

Originality/value

This study builds upon the existing literature on boundary-spanning leaders in higher education through a new cultural context and lens. Because research to date has privileged institutional contexts predominantly in the USA and the United Kingdom, this study contributes an additional understanding of boundary-spanning leadership in Iranian higher educational contexts. This study also provides a common foundation and shared framework from which cross-national collaborations may be examined and further cultivated.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2016

Javad Pourkarimi and Mohsen Nazarzadeh Zare

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of experts of educational technology and teachers in Tehran, about the components of ICT literacy based on the ISST model.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of experts of educational technology and teachers in Tehran, about the components of ICT literacy based on the ISST model.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted a descriptive methodology by using a survey method. The statistical population consisted of 9,800 teachers and 37 experts of educational technology in Tehran; owing to the small size of the experts’ population, all 37 experts were selected for research, and a sample of 266 teachers was selected based on the cluster sampling method. To collect the necessary data, the researcher designed a questionnaire based on four key components of the ISST model. To analyze the data, statistical procedures including the Kolmogrov-Smirnov test, one sample t-test and independent t-test were used.

Findings

The findings of research showed that from the viewpoint of experts all components of ICT literacy were significant. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of teachers, all components of ICT literacy except the component of information society were significant. Furthermore, the findings showed that, there were a significant difference (p=0.05) between the views of experts and teachers about all components of ICT literacy, except the component of information processing.

Practical implications

The study showed that to equip all teachers with the components of ICT literacy such as information device, information society, information processing and information handling can help them to improve efficiency and effectiveness, and also the ISST model applied in this study can be used by other functional areas.

Originality/value

This study showed that fundamental training in the field of ICT literacy for teachers is very essential in the education system, because fluency of ICT skills can help them to increase better performance, and subsequently to increase self-value, motivation, feeling of success and productivity in the work environment.

Details

The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4880

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 January 2015

Mohsen Nazarzadeh Zare, Shahram Abdi Azzar, Amir Hossein Mardani and Mohammad Ali Arein

– The purpose of this paper is to study the application level of transformational organization components from Tehran Medical Science University librarians’ point of view.

1005

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the application level of transformational organization components from Tehran Medical Science University librarians’ point of view.

Design/methodology/approach

The present survey method is descriptive-scaling. The statistical population of this survey has included all librarians of Medical Science University of Tehran about 50 individuals. As a few numbers of statistical population, almost all of them were surveyed. Accomplished questionnaires were used to collect data. To analyze data, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Pearson correlation coefficient and Friedman test were used.

Findings

The results of survey showed that all components of transformational organization in the libraries of Medical Science University of Tehran were not very strong. Although the results of this survey showed that transformational organization components in the libraries of Medical Science University of Tehran are weak, to reach such a desirable level in libraries preparation of this university for converting to transformational organization, it is essential for managers and organizers of these libraries to take making relations more extensive among managers and staff for more cooperation in organization decision making, appropriate human resource training with up-to-date process, planning and practicality of organization knowledge map for discovering the talents and their management into serious consideration.

Originality/value

To change conventional organization to a transformational one, change and transformation should occur in attitude and human resource knowledge organization and gradually in other dimensions means organizational structure, organizational culture and technology.

Details

Library Management, vol. 36 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

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