University professors’ subjective theories about teaching roles

Abstract

The study of the subjective theories of university professors has become relevant due to the transformation that educational institutions are having and the effect they have on pedagogical practice. University professors are not necessarily prepared to face these changes, nor do they have enough spaces to reflect on the role they should play. Being subjective theories cognitions of hypothetical structure that guide behavior and are based on people’s experiences, this research aims to understand the subjective theories about their role in teaching of university professors of a management career. The participants were two expert university professors and two novice professors that were interviewed with a semi-standardized interview, and were observed on their classes, and, later, they were invited to express their degree of agreement to the formulated theories with the application of a structure generation technique. The main subjective theories about the teaching role addressed the role of the participants as teachers, researchers, tutors, advisors, counselors, and their role in social responsibility. The main conclusion was that the subjective theories of expert professors are based on the reflection of their life experiences in general, while that of novice teachers, on the replication or application of their school, university, or postgraduate experiences. This is because expert teachers have had the opportunity to make an important collection of experiences, reflect on their subjective theories, and make decisions that allow them to practically address the pedagogical challenges they encounter; while novice professors, not having had a broad teaching career, are based on their experiences as students and, from there, they direct their pedagogical action. Therefore, subjective theories contribute to understand the roles that expert and novice teachers have built when facing the new challenges that university teaching brings in the 21st century.