The preparation of faculty and administrators at the post-secondary level in Mexico

The issue of increasing the teaching and administrative skills of higher education faculty and administrators has been very much alive throughout the world. This was particularly so in the late 1970s when accountability was being emphasized. In Mexico the situation was particularly critical due to the sui generis structure of the educational system wherein schools of education at the postsecondary level were practically nonexistent. However, some programs seemed to be emerging, particularly for the training of teachers for.higher education. Statement of the Problem. There was a lack of data about the general state of preparation programs for faculty and administrators at the post-secondary level in Mexican institutions. Similarly, there was a need for a model or recommendations of possible courses of action to solve the problem of quality in teaching and administration. Therefore, the central purpose of this study was to describe objectively the state of programs and activities of Mexican higher education institutions for the preparation of faculty and administrators. A second important purpose was to design a model taking into account the idiosyncrasies and peculiarities of the environment. Procedures for the Study. A survey was conducted in 185 Mexican institutions of higher education, selected from the National Directory of Higher Education Institutions, published by the National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions (ANUIES). The population included not only all of the traditional universities, but also "Normal Superior" schools and technological institutes of the post-secondary level. The instrument which was utilized for the collection of data was a pilot-tested ad-hoc questionnaire designed by the researcher. From the total of 185 institutions surveyed in the study, 118 responded, constituting a response rate of 63.7 percent. The data were analyzed, reported and, on the basis of the survey results and the review of literature from the perspective of the author, a model was suggested. Such model was presented to six Mexican experts in higher education who were personally interviewed? their reactions and opinions were reported. [...]