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Faculty development programs provide educators with opportunities to improve their skills and learn new ones, sponsored by educational institutions, school districts, or governments. Programs can include continuing education courses, workshops, and training in new technology. Some programs focus on career management, and universities may provide tenured professors with benefits such as time off for research and funds for travel.
Faculty development provides educators with opportunities to self-evaluate, improve their skills, and learn new skills. These programs may be sponsored by educational institutions, school districts or governments. They can also be organized by individual teachers on a voluntary basis. Programming available through these efforts may include continuing education courses or short workshops, as well as training in new types of technology. At the post-secondary level, faculty development also includes providing sabbaticals to engage in research and writing within their discipline.
Most educational institutions recognize that, to be effective educators, instructors need to continually develop their skills and knowledge. The degree to which faculty development programs are made available depends on both the budget an institution has and the commitment of its leadership to provide these opportunities. In some situations, particularly when an institution is operating on a very low budget, teachers may have to operate their own development programs on a voluntary basis.
Some teacher development programs are very specific in their focus. For example, some schools may be interested in integrating various types of instructional technology into the curriculum. These schools may establish specialized teacher development programs with the goal of training all instructors in the technology the school wants to use in its programs. In other cases, a school-sponsored teacher development program may be more diffuse in nature, offering ongoing opportunities in the form of meetings, workshops and consultations with teachers.
In addition to improving instructional skills, some teacher development programs focus on helping instructors manage their careers. These programs can provide instructors with training and professional advice, as well as the ability to dedicate time to teaching to attend professional conferences or to complete educational programs that can lead to a graduate degree or professional certification. Instructors who complete these programs may also be eligible to advance into administrative or higher education positions in their school or school system.
Universities often provide professors who have been hired into tenured positions with faculty development benefits, such as time off to complete writing and research, as well as funds to travel to professional conferences. These benefits can be included in the employment contract between teachers and the school. Academic departments may also receive funds that can be used to subsidize travel for faculty who wish to present their research at academic meetings and events.
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