A Study of Teachers' Experiences and Perceptions of Research-Teaching Nexus in HEI (Higher Education Institutions)

Abstract

Due to institutional accreditation requirements, the linkage between research and teaching has become increasingly important for higher education institutions in Oman over the past few years. This study describes teachers' experiences and perceptions of the research and teaching nexus in Oman's higher education college. Staff at International Maritime College Oman (IMCO) were taken as samples to confirm the study's themes. This paper aims to study the views of faculty about integrating research into teaching and the factors that strengthen or weaken the nexus. Primary data was collected via survey questionnaires and focus group discussions. The finding indicates that staff perception of integrating research into teaching is diverse. However, the majority confirmed the positive contributions of integrating research into teaching. The study also finds that student engagement in research will improve undergraduate education. Hence, integrating research as part of the staff load, allocating some budget and training staff on how to conduct research will help improve staff and students' research engagement, which improves teaching quality. This study contributes to the debate around the research-teaching nexus in Oman's colleges and universities of higher education.

Received: 26 April 2022 / Accepted: 30 June 2022 / Published: 5 July 2022