An analysis of the perceptions of young (junior) faculty in selected four-year universities in China regarding pre-service training, collegiality, and teacher effectiveness training

The purpose of this study was to analyze the differences between the perceptions of young faculty in selected four-year universities in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR) of China regarding what they need and what they actually receive in three domains of professional development (pre-service training, collegiality, and teacher effectiveness training). This study also examined the impact that ethnicity, gender, and teaching experience categories have on young faculty perceptions. The design of this study was descriptive analytical. A Likert scale survey entitled Professional Development Survey of Young Faculty (PDSYF) was developed to collect the data. The sample was selected from the population of young faculty at Inner Mongolia Normal University (IMNU) and Baotou Teachers\u27 College (BTTC). Of the 244 surveys sent out, a total of 220 were returned and 149 were valid. The responses of the participants were analyzed using a dependent-samples t test, an independent-samples t test, and a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). As a result of this study, there were significant differences between young faculty perceptions of what they needed and what they received in response to all forty questions regarding pre-service training, collegiality, and teacher effectiveness training. The perceptions of young faculty regarding the actually received level of pre-service training, collegiality, and teacher effectiveness training did not meet the level of what they perceived they needed. Thus, the current pre-service and teacher effectiveness training provided for young faculty were inadequate for their instructional development and a collegial environment in which young faculty receive support in teaching and research from colleagues at different levels was not established in the selected universities. This study also indicated that ethnicity, gender, and teaching experience categories had a significant impact on young faculty perceptions. Ethnicity influenced the young faculty perceptions regarding the level of their need for pre-service training and collegiality as well as their actually received level of collegiality and teacher effectiveness training. Gender influenced the young faculty perceptions regarding the level of their need for teacher effectiveness training. Teaching experience influenced the young faculty perceptions regarding their actually received level of pre-service training, collegiality, and teacher effectiveness training