Continuing professional development of academics in sri lankan national universities

Abstract

The teaching and learning processes in the Higher Education (HE) sector are changing rapidly with the chronological evolutions in the field. Consequently, the focus on CPD of academics is gaining attention of the human capital development projects in HE world over. However, so far only a limited amount of studies has been undertaken in the world, in this upcoming research area. Considering this void in literature, this paper reports the results of a survey conducted with the aim of ascertaining the sources used by academics for their CPD. Data was collected from academics in Management and Arts disciplines (n=102), selected based on convenience to access; and the responses indicated that CPD can be achieved through a wide array of sources. According to the findings, the most common source of CPD is the quality time spent with senior or parallel colleagues engaging in formal and informal intellectual discussions or debates. However, it was perceived by many that the main barrier for CPD is, the low time available to engage in the same due to ceremonial and administrative activities popularizing in universities these days, and organizational politics. This finding contradicts with literature coming from the West, where the main barrier for CPD, is the demand for greater focus on research. Thus, it could be stated that both the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the academics need to pay attention on creating synergies on both formal and informal sources of CPD, rather than depending on only one source. Finally, the most important conclusion of the study is that, it is much needed to inculcate the insight, that CPD should be part and partial of the life of an academic rather than focussing on it, only during one stage of the career.