Higher School Professors’ Needs for the Development of Qualification: the Facet of Academic Activity

The professor’s academic activities remain most important in their work, but in Lithuania they acquire and develop this kind of competences in a rather spontaneous way, paying little attention to which competences should be expanded, the needs of the development of their academic work are not stressed. The aim of the research is to determine demands of professional development of higher school professors referring to their opinions about the areas they lack knowledge and skills. The following research methods have been employed: analysis of scientific sources, focus group discussion, statistical data analysis. During the research 197 university and college lecturers were interviewed. The analysis of the findings enabled to distinguish the following groups of lecturers’ andragogic skills according the areas of activities. That is: individual and group support for students, supervision; organizing lecturing activities, stimulation of students’ study activities; application of new technologies in the study process; creation and development of study programs; analysis of study programs and their revision; administrative and managerial; nurturing of personal culture and professional development. It has been established that university lecturers under the investigation admit a considerable demand to perfect academic skills which are directly linked to their work with students. To be more precise, referring to the respondents, they need more knowledge and skills that would be helpful to organize lecturing activities and stimulate students learning activities. They feel a lesser need for knowledge and skills how to organize individual or group support for students, manage them, partially apply internet technologies, create and develop study programs, to properly implement administrative and managerial activities, expand personal culture and professional development. It should be noted that lecturers are aware of the lack of speciality knowledge and skills. Keywords: professors’ academic activity, higher school, the development of professors’ Qualification. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.15823/p.2017.19