A needs analysis study on technological pedagogical content knowledge of faculty members

Abstract

The primary aim of this study is to determine the current state in education faculties and faculty members' needs for a professional training program that would be prepared for their TPACK development. Case study design, a qualitative research method, was employed, and semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 faculty members. The data were analysed through the content analysis method. The faculty members' views were grouped into four themes that are prior knowledge and perceptions of TPACK, instructional practices, professional characteristics, and needs of self-development. According to the results, the faculty members perceived themselves incompetent in terms of TPACK because they thought they had limited knowledge of technology. Although they emphasised that they had sufficient pedagogical knowledge, they were found to use mainly teacher-centred instructional methods by means of PowerPoint presentations. In conclusion, students are positioned as passive recipients of knowledge, there is no interaction outside the classroom and assessment is carried out through traditional methods, and thus faculty members need a professional training program towards TPACK. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.