Faculty Training & Capacity-Building Challenges at Pakistan’s Transnational Education (TNE) Institutions: Propositions for the Way Forward

Abstract

The research was undertaken to assess the problems and practices in relation to training and capacity-building of faculty members serving in the transitional education (TNE) institutions offering higher education qualifications in Pakistan. The study is based on a qualitative research approach that examines the various aspects of faculty training and development covering the issues particular to TNE institutes’ teaching staff. The paper evaluates different requisites and unique training needs which are specific to TNE teaching and academic provision. The paper also elucidates the diverse methods and techniques employed for the delivery of training initiatives to TNE faculty in order to ensure academic rigor and quality at TNE establishments. The paper entails an interpretivist research philosophy, taking into consideration inputs from both primary and secondary data sources including published reports, working-papers, publications from regulatory organizations like HEC (Higher Education Commission) as well as narratives based on interviews of academics, administrators, and quality-assurance officials rendering their services at TNE institutes across Pakistan. Faculty capability has become the determining factor that influences academic quality, program equivalence and student experience in colleges affiliated with foreign institutions. In this paper, faculty training and development in the TNE sector in Pakistan is considered from two perspectives. Firstly, the paper examines faculty needs, deficiencies and contextual issues that contribute to the lack of professional development and pedagogical efficacy. Subsequently, the paper evaluates global and regional models of faculty capacity building; suggesting a contextualized framework for faculty capacity building suited to the regulatory and cultural context of Pakistan. Based on the holistic outlook from both primary and secondary sources of data, regarding various facets of faculty training and development, the paper finally offers some proposals and recommendations to enhance the productivity and performance of teaching staff at Pakistan’s TNE institutions in order to warrant a progressive TNE sector.