University teachers’ training, teachers’ practice assessment, resources and professional development

Abstract

The purpose of this survey has been to quantify qualitative statements made by university lecturers in Madrid during 2014. An online questionnaire was prepared and sent to a randomly selected sample of lecturers from which 724 answered. Responses were checked for reliability and a Cronbach coefficient of 0.773 was identified. Results show a high level of teaching experience among lecturers; as well as a perception of difficultness for young people to become lecturers. In addition, it is perceived that there are too many students per classroom;
lecturer training was viewed as poor; and the usefulness of current techniques to evaluate lecturer ability and training was rated low to intermediate. Medium to high scores were given to important teaching competencies, such as computers technologies and foreign languages. Finally, a medium to high score was given to the need for an equal balance between teaching and research.