Faculty productivity at the University of Zambia: exploring research and publication
Date
2016
Authors
Kulyambanino, Cecilia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Zambia
Abstract
This study examined the faculty productivity at the University of Zambia (UNZA) with specific focus on research and publication. This was done by investigating the extent to which faculties were involved in Research, Publication and the Challenges faculty members faced when conducting Research and Publication at UNZA. The study was guided by Nonaka (1994)’s knowledge creation theory which says that knowledge creation and the successful implementation of it rely on the members sharing different behavioural assumption conducive for knowledge sharing and collaboration and that its creation depend a lot on the members’ willingness and capability to participate in the activities.
The research design used in this study was a convergent parallel mixed-methods design; an approach to inquiry that combines both qualitative and quantitative methods concurrently both methods carrying equal weight. For qualitative method; interview guides were used for interviewees and for quantitative method questionnaires were distributed to respondents. The sample size was 251 participants; 242 lecturers were subjected to questionnaires and 8 Assistant Deans (Research) were interviewed. Assistant Deans (Research) were central to the study because they were the custodians of research activities at the University. Interviews were also used to collect data from Directorate of Research and Graduate Studies. Qualitative data was analysed according to emerging themes while quantitative data was analysed using SPSS and Excel spreadsheet.
The findings of this study suggested that faculties are involved in both applied and basic research recording 75%, but their publication output is significantly low. Only about 19.5% of respondents published books in 2 years and 39% published articles annually. The publication output was poor, below the expected standard of a normal functioning University. This could have been due to poor writing skills to compose good manuscript, poor publication culture and generally lack of publication platforms. The research also established that faculty members faced a number of challenges when conducting research at UNZA namely; insufficient funding, poor infrastructure and teaching loads. The study recommends that UNZA should allocate more money towards research. Secondly, if UNZA was to be relevant to the community it, should strive to publish its findings and also conduct developmental research. Schools should also encourage co-teaching to lessen on high teaching loads which also take away time for research activities. Finally, provide capacity building training in research and report writing skills
Description
Master of Education in Education and Development
Keywords
College teaching--Zambia--Evaluation , Universities and colleges--Zambia--Faculty—Statistics