Professional Productivity and Subjective Well-Being

Despite аn extensive research on subjective well-being conducted over the past decades, there remains uncertainty about whether happier workers are actually more productive. The aim of the study was to analyze the causal relationships between subjective well-being and job performance using employees of leading Russian universities as a case study. The article presents the analysis of subjective well-being of scientific-pedagogical employees in modern universities and indicators of their performance based on empirical research materials. The construct of subjective well-being assessment was based on the existing theoretical models by E. Diener, D. Kahneman, R. Inglehardt. The research program included the assessment of indicators of general perception of happiness, productivity, life satisfaction, job satisfaction indicators by questionnaire survey. For the validity of measurements, the research tools included proven methods and scales: Cantril's Self-Anchoring Scale, questions from studies of subjective well-being and quality of life in the European Social Survey (ESS), WCIOM surveys. In this study, statistical methods such as correlation analysis, Pearson's Chi-square test of agreement, and least squares regression analysis (LSR) were used to analyze the relationships between the level of subjective well-being and the level of scientific productivity. The results of the present study statistically proved a significant positive correlation between the level of subjective well-being and scientific productivity of higher education employees. These data are a signal to revise the views on faculty motivation towards the formation of effective social responsibility, which includes, among other things, the development and implementation of programmes to improve the well-being of their staff.

Need satisfaction and achievement goals of university faculty: an international study of their interplay and relevance

Previous research has successfully used basic psychological need satisfaction and achievement goal approaches for describing the motivations of university faculty for teaching and for explaining differences in faculty experiences, success, and learning. However, the interplay between these motivational constructs has been largely ignored, with only faculty from specific educational contexts being studied—neglecting those from other higher education systems and institution types that potentially differ in the configurations, levels, and effects of their motivations. As combining both approaches and examining multiple educational contexts is essential for a comprehensive theoretical understanding of faculty motivation and generalizable results, we conducted an international study including 1410 university faculty members from German, Indian, and US-American teaching and research universities. Aside from need satisfaction and achievement goals, we measured their positive affect, teaching quality, and professional learning. Results demonstrated measurement invariance of basic need and achievement goal scales regarding language, higher education context, and institution type. We found small differences in motivations between the three higher education contexts and negligible differences between institution types. Task, learning, and relational goals were positively and work avoidance goals were negatively linked to the outcome variables. Need satisfaction sensibly explained differences in pursuit of these goals, and—directly and indirectly through the goals—also the outcome variables. Taken together, these results provide international evidence for the importance of faculty motivation for teaching and illuminate how need satisfaction is relevant for goal pursuit, while both motivation approaches uniquely matter for faculty experiences, success, and learning.

Longitudinal Impact of Faculty Participation in a Course Design Institute (CDI) Faculty Motivation and Perception of Expectancy, Value, and Cost

Course design institutes (CDIs), which systematically guide faculty through the (re)design of courses, often transpire in an intensive residency or learning community format. Little is known, to date, of the long-term impact of such initiatives, particularly in the context of faculty motivation. This longitudinal study explores changes in faculty attitudes toward teaching, offering insight into the multifaceted gains and limiting factors influencing motivation as conceptualized by the expectancy-value-cost model (Barron & Hulleman, 2015). Findings reveal that CDI engagement bolsters the value placed on teaching, but arrives at a noteworthy cost to faculty. Implications for CTLs and instructional faculty are explored.

E-teaching satisfaction in a black swan moment: the effect of student engagement and institutional support

Purpose Assessing the impact of hygiene factors on faculty motivation and satisfaction in online teaching will advance the literature. It will especially demystify that both factors (hygiene factors and motivator) can cause job satisfaction in online education. The purpose of this paper is to firstly determine the level of faculty motivation and satisfaction in online teaching. Secondly, this study analyses the extent to which hygiene factors affect motivation and faculty satisfaction with online teaching. Design/methodology/approach The population of this study consists of university faculty in Indonesia and Malaysia. The sample is randomly chosen in 50 higher education institutions in Indonesia and Malaysia. The sample size is 206. The participants completed a survey, including perceived student engagement, institutional support, motivation, faculty satisfaction and demographical questions. To test the model, PLS-SEM was used using SmartPLS3 software. The hygiene factors construct was operationalized as a second-order construct consisting of first-order construct: student engagement and institutional support. Findings There were no statistically significant differences concerning institutional support and motivation by country of residence. However, there were significant differences in student engagement and faculty satisfaction by country residence. Concerning satisfaction and motivation, the most satisfied and motivated was the faculty member in Indonesia. Hygiene factors were found as the antecedent to faculty motivation and faculty motivation multiplying hygiene factors' effect on job satisfaction. The results showed that student engagement has the highest impact on faculty satisfaction, followed by motivation. Work motivation mediates the relationship between hygiene factors and faculty satisfaction. Research limitations/implications This study has limitations; firstly, causal inferences are not warranted as the data is cross-sectional. However, a future direction is to analyse the causal relationship between the hygiene factors, and motivation factors on faculty satisfaction using a formative first-order construct through a longitudinal study. Secondly, the results’ generalizability is another limitation of this study because the sample comprised only Indonesia and Malaysia faculty across 51 higher education institution in big cities in the island of Java in Indonesia and Malaysia peninsular only; however, the factors determined in this study represent the job-related aspects taken from the literature and the researchers’ experiences; other parts influence faculty satisfaction with online teaching. Therefore, identifying other elements is a future path. Practical implications When managers aim at increasing faculty satisfaction, the priority should be given to improve the performance of indicators with the highest effect but a relatively low in performance. All of this implies that higher education institution first needs to find ways to increase motivation by rewarding faculty in many forms, and improve the quality of instruction. Secondly, implementing policies and make some decisions that require an investment such as providing a learning management system. Social implications Indonesia and Malaysia higher education institutions may ameliorate faculty satisfaction with online teaching in several ways. Firstly, before the online course begins, higher education institutions should attempt to have faculty believe teaching online is worthwhile and understand the institution itself also believes it is significant. Administer training for faculty, especially regarding increasing connections with and between students, gives faculty the time needed to design an online course and provide faculty with a course management system with multiple capabilities. Secondly, during the online course, higher education institutions should support technical issues and try to have faculty believe they have an accommodating work schedule and independence with the online course. Originality/value This research firstly contributes to the literature by establishing the relationship between hygiene factors and motivation, and hygiene factors and satisfaction, which did not exist according to the two-factor theory in the past. Secondly, the authors provide evidence of motivation constructs as a mediating variable. Thirdly, this study broadens the literature scope by including faculty in two countries (Indonesia and Malaysia). It includes faculty from 51 higher education systems (e.g. public and private four-year universities), incudes graduate school in seven big cities in two countries, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Mediating role of employee motivation for training, commitment, retention, and performance in higher education institutions

The motivation of the individuals working in higher education institutions has been a topic of great interest for managers and researchers for a long while. This study has been taken to estimate the importance of faculty development program (FDP) as perceived by a faculty member, the role of FDP on faculty motivation and faculty performance, exploring whether faculty motivation mediates the relationship between FDP and employee performance. To achieve the stated aim, data has been collected from 311 faculty members associated with government and private sector institutions of higher education in Uttarakhand State (India). Important factors that motivate faculty to participate in FDP and its influence on faculty motivation and performance were analyzed using factor analysis, regression analysis, and Sobel test to establish the relationship. The findings indicate that FDP has a positive effect on the teaching of faculty, enhances their skills, helps control their emotions, and strengthens their capacity to perform academic and administrative duties. Moreover, FDP enhances work motivation and, in turn, helps faculty in improving their performances. To strengthen faculty motivation, the emphasis must be put on improving faculty recognition and reputation, making work more challenging and exciting, providing better career advancement prospects, and focus more on appropriate salary and compensation benefits for faculty members.

A Qualitative Assessment of the Determinants of Faculty Engagement in Internationalization: A Chinese Perspective

Faculty is the key agent for internationalization. This interview-based study explored faculty views about the internationalization understanding, rationales, roles, engagement, and motivation in a research-centric, double-first class university in China. Faculty motivation was analyzed using the lens of the motivation systems theory (MST). The main findings concerning the five main themes emerging from the analysis of documents and interviews of twenty-eight faculty members are as follows. First, Chinese faculty’s understanding, rationales, roles, engagement, and motivation were significantly influenced by the national and university policies. Second, they mainly understood internationalization as activities, openness, and cross-cultural exchange. Third, unlike other countries, Chinese faculty espoused a broader scope of internationalization in their rationales, spanning from personal to university, higher education, China, and world development. Fourth, faculty perceived roles in internationalization included main drivers, role models, liaisons, and coordinators. Fifth, faculty motivation comprised goals, beliefs, and emotions. Faculty, among other goals, aspired to improve teaching content and expand students and self-abilities, yet they had mixed context and capacity beliefs. For example, they appreciated the university and national support for international travel, funding, and research but criticized complex travel procedures and teaching evaluation methods. They also felt concerned about their teaching, research, and communicating in a foreign language with students and international peers, except those with foreign backgrounds and experience. Faculty experienced different emotions when undertaking international activities, for example, joy, interest, and excitement to explore and learn. Finally, there was a high-medium level of faculty engagement in teaching and research than service internationalization (low or no engagement).

Motivation of Higher Education Faculty: Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Evidence, and Future Directions

We explore and elaborate on four questions to inspire future research on faculty motivation. The first question asks why we should be concerned with the motivations of higher education faculty in the first place, particularly in regard to studying them empirically? Moreover, if re-search on higher education faculty motivation is important, why is it still rather underdevel-oped? Building on this, considering the plethora of motivation frameworks, we wondered which theories apply well to faculty members and how they align with one another? Finally, what should thorough international research on faculty motivation entail? This question encom-passes a search for solutions on what could be done to broaden the scope of this important line research.

Faculty Motivation for Pursuit of Entrepreneurial Mindset Professional Development

Entrepreneurial mindset (EM) has recently been adapted and integrated into various engineering classes and programs globally. Studies have shown that this integration can be effective and lead to beneficial student outcomes. To ensure broader integration of EM, faculty need to be trained on this construct and how it can be implemented within class-based environments. This study examines faculty motivation to attend professional development opportunities focused on EM offered by the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN). Through this mixed methods study it was found that faculty are often motivated by the value the workshop holds for them personally and for their career, and its usefulness in their courses. They are also motivated by their personal interests and enjoyment of professional development opportunities. The faculty in our study indicated being enabled by the workshop content's relevance to their teaching, especially in terms of course development, and its effectiveness in helping them become better instructors. Depending on the circumstances, faculty were either enabled or dissuaded by the timing of the workshop and the available funding for them to attend. The results of this study can help future workshop designers tailor their workshops to meet the needs of engineering faculty both nationwide and globally.

Need Satisfaction and Achievement Goals for Teaching of Universi-ty Faculty: An International Study of Their Interplay and Relevance for Positive Affect, Teaching Quality, and Professional Learning

Previous research has successfully used basic psychological need and achievement goal ap-proaches for describing the motivations of university faculty for teaching and for explaining differences in faculty experiences, success, and learning. However, the interplay between these motivational constructs has been largely ignored, with only faculty from specific educational contexts being studied—neglecting those from other higher education systems and institution types that potentially differ in the configurations, levels, and effects of their motivations. As combining both approaches and examining multiple educational contexts is essential for a comprehensive theoretical understanding of faculty motivation and generalizable results, we conducted an international study including 1,410 university faculty members from German, In-dian, and US-American teaching and research universities. Aside from need satisfaction and achievement goals, we measured their positive affect, teaching quality, and professional learn-ing. Results attested measurement invariance of basic need and achievement goal scales regard-ing language, higher education context, and institution type. We found small differences in mo-tivations between the three higher education contexts and negligible differences between institu-tion types. Task, learning, and relational goals were positively, and work avoidance goals were negatively linked to the outcome variables. Need satisfaction sensibly explained differences in pursuit of these goals, and—directly and indirectly through the goals—also the outcome varia-bles. Taken together, these results provide international evidence for the importance of faculty motivation for teaching and illuminate how need satisfaction is relevant for goal pursuit, while both motivation approaches uniquely matter for faculty experiences, success, and learning.