Abstract:

Background and Aim: Faculty members are pillars of educational system .Their empowerment will positively affect their performance leading to higher levels of motivation and problem solving. The aim of this study was to determine the views of faculty members on effective strategies of empowerment and related factors in the Dental Branch of Islamic Azad University in 2014.

Materials and Methods: A descriptive study on 115 students of dental branch of Tehran Islamic Azad University in 2014 was designed using a standard 5-scale Likert questionnaire and the parameters were  academic status, work experience, academic interest in the job, employment status and type of service. The questionnaire was consisted of 28 options in nine fields. Seven options with respect to incentives, 4 options in relation to facilitating communication specialist, 3 options with regard to participation in the learning process, 2 options in terms of specialization, 3 options regarding the  environmental factors of education and vocational training and two options for job enrichment, self-control and being up to date. The chi-square test was used for data analysis.

Results: According to faculty members, the most important factor influencing their empowerment was availability of resources (education and research) with the highest point (14/4). Evaluation of faculty members by students and allocation of a strictly educational atmosphere had the lowest points of 2/84 and 2/38 respectively.

Conclusion: It seems that improving the motivation, updating and participation of faculty members in educational decision-making processes are three main aspects of their empowerment.