Discussion Committee:
Prof. Ghassan Hussein Al-Hilo/supervisor
Dr. Ahmad Feteahah/external examiner
Dr. Hasan Tayyem/internal examiner
Dr. Ali Barakat/internal examiner
Supervisors:
Prof. Ghassan Hussein Al-Hilo/supervisor
Authors:
Rose Jamal ' Jalal " Jameel Abu Jaish
Abstract:
This study aimed to identify the degree of academic freedom and professional development and the relationship between them among teachers in the UNRWA schools in the West Bank from the perspectives of principals and teachers. It also aimed to determine the effect of certain independent variables on the degree of academic freedom and professional development and the relationship among teachers in the UNRWA Schools in the West Bank from the perspectives of principals and teachers.
To achieve the objective of the study, the descriptive analysis method was used , where the random sampling was used to choose the study sample. The study population consisted of all principals and teachers in the UNRWA schools in the West Bank in the second semester of the academic year 2014-2015. The total number was (1958) persons, of whom (95) were principals and (1863) were teachers. The researcher distributed (475) questionnaires, of which (210) were retrieved and reviewed (% 44%).
The study was limited to a single measurement instrument, the questionnaire, which was specifically developed to meet the objectives of the study. The Cronbach's alpha was used to verify the internal consistency and reliability of the instrument; the value of reliability coefficient was ( 95.8%).
The study found out that the degree of academic freedom among the study sample was (4.01), with a standard deviation of (0.42) on the total score. This indicated that the degree of academic freedom was high among the study sample, and that the score of the professional development was moderate, with an average of (3.98) and a standard deviation of (0.50) on the total score. As a result, the degree of professional development among the study sample was very high. Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of (α = 0.05) in the degrees of academic freedom and professional development among the respondents due to the variables of sex and work experience. Finally, there were statistically significant differences at the significance level of (α = 0.05) among the respondents in the academic freedom and professional development among the teachers in the UNRWA schools in the West Bank from the perspectives of principals and teachers due to variable of profession in favour of the professional ranking (principal); there were also significant differences at the same significance level in favour of Master's degree and above.
The study recommended that Operationalize the concept of academic freedom among administrators, teachers and students more broadly, through their involvement in the evaluation of teaching performance, and activated within the local community through the school administration to involve teachers and parentsOf students in meetings, workshops and training courses. Evaluate programs and courses for professional development training after held, to make sure that they met for faculty training needs, in addition to teaching performance evaluation of faculty members in the light of specific criteria, and the granting of bonuses for distinguished teaching and school administration to stimulate the professional development they have. The need for the teaching staff to develop themselves in order to work on the development of performance and continue the educational qualification processes rather than stay in the crucible of traditional education