Timothy Scott

 Wenyu Guan

 Humin Han

 Xiaolie Zou

 Yanzhu Chen

A group of Ph.D. students in Educational Administration and Leadership program, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Assumption University of Thailand (AU), conducted a research article under the name "The Impact of Academic Optimism, Institutional Policy and Support, and Self-Efficacy on University Instructors’ Continuous Professional Development in Mainland China" written by Timothy Scott, Wenyu Guan, Humin Han, Xiaolie Zou, and Yanzhu Chen, and published in SAGE Journals (SAGE Open) which is indexed in Scopus and SSCI.

Research Aim: Recent reform policies enacted by the Chinese government have mandated educational bodies to focus on talent development and improving students' overall academic achievements. Research has indicated that the K12 level has experienced positive growth; however, examination of the impact on higher education institutions has been minimal. This study sought to understand the relationship between academic optimism, institutional policy and support, and self-efficacy in Chinese university instructors' continuous professional development through a mediated structural equation model.

Findings: A study of 456 Chinese university instructors found that academic optimism and institutional policy and support significantly positively affect instructors' continuous professional development. Findings also found that instructor self-efficacy was not a significant predictor of instructor CPD. The implications of the findings indicate that institutional leadership is crucial in developing an academic culture that promotes and supports continuous professional development; however, individual drive to pursue CPD is limited.

“The findings from this study suggest that university leadership must develop trust in policies through clear communication, as policy and support are significantly linked to academic optimism.”

Article Type: Original Research – Structural Equation Modeling

Journal Index: SCOPUS / SSCI

Citation:

Scott, T., Guan, W., Han, H., Zou, X., & Chen, Y. (2023). The impact of academic optimism, institutional policy and           
          support, and self-efficacy on university instructors’ continuous professional development in Mainland China.
          Sage Open, 13(1), 1-19. http://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231153339

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