Training College Professors: A Pending Matter at Colombian Institutions of Higher Education

Abstract

This article presents the results of a nationwide study on the structures, methods, strategies and procedures involved in the different approaches to training college professors at Colombian institutions of higher education. The objective is to know how private universities prepare their teachers and to propose general criteria and guidelines for the design of teacher-training curricula. The study is descriptive-explanatory in nature and takes a qualitative approach. It was conducted at 44 Colombian colleges and universities. The findings show a generalized acceptance of the belief that the quality of the teaching staff is a determining factor in the recognition afforded to colleges and universities in terms of the quality of the education they provide. However, this is not reflected adequately at the micro-policy level of these institutions. The policies are insufficient and not all of them pertain to the way teachers are trained. Accordingly, the conclusion is that training their own teachers is a pending task for private universities in Colombia.