The Impact of Teacher Professional Development Programs on Teaching Quality in Local Undergraduate Universities: A Case Study of Curriculum-Based Training

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摘要

Local undergraduate universities (LUGs) in China play a critical role in cultivating application-oriented talents, but they often face challenges in improving teaching quality due to limited resources and uneven teacher professional competence. This study explores how curriculum-based teacher professional development (TPD) programs—focused on aligning training content with actual teaching needs (e.g., curriculum design, active learning methods)—influence teaching quality in LUGs. Using a mixed-methods approach (pre-post teaching evaluations and in-depth interviews) with 52 full-time teachers from Xuzhou University of Technology (a typical LUG), we find that: (1) curriculum-based TPD significantly improves teaching quality, as reflected in higher student satisfaction scores (increasing from 3.6 to 4.3 on a 5-point scale) and more frequent use of student-centered teaching strategies (e.g., case studies, group discussions); (2) the program’s effectiveness is driven by two key mechanisms: enhancing teachers’ curriculum design capabilities (e.g., integrating industry practices into courses) and boosting their confidence in adopting innovative teaching methods; (3) teachers with less than 5 years of teaching experience benefit more from the program, as they show greater improvements in classroom management and instructional flexibility. These findings provide practical insights for LUGs to design targeted TPD programs and narrow the gap between teacher training and teaching practice.

文献引用

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