Professional Improvement Needs of Faculty of Postsecondary Technical/Vocational Programs. Summary Report. Professional Improvement Assessment Project.

One part of a five-phase study was conducted to develop a database that identifies the professional improvement needs of postsecondary health occupations educators as expressed by individuals responding to a survey and to disseminate the findings of the needs assessment to the coordinators/directors of local institutions for planning faculty development. Information was gathered through a review of literature that identified competencies/tasks performed by individuals employed as health occupations instructors. These tasks were then validated by practitioners at four Texas colleges. A needs assessment was conducted by mailing questionnaires to coordinators/directors of faculty development asking for the present and desired levels of development of their health occupations instructors for 106 task/competency statements. Biographical information also was collected. The study found that 49 percent of the 673 responding faculty had not completed a professional development course in technical/vocational education, and 51 percent felt that development efforts in their institutions were inadequate. The respondents indicated a need for professional development in all 106 competency/task statements on the questionnaire, with the most pressing needs related to program planning, development, and evaluation. Recommendations were made to develop more extensive professional development programs for postsecondary health occupations instructors. (Appendixes include a job inventory survey and the needs assessment questionnaire.) (KC)