Developing and Validating a Professional Competency Model for Faculty Members in the Faculties of Islamic Education: A Mixed-Methods Approach

This study aimed to develop and validate a professional competency model for faculty members of Colleges of Islamic Education during the 1404–1405 academic year. In terms of purpose, the study was applied in nature and employed a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, a basic qualitative research design was adopted, and participants were selected from faculty members of the Colleges of Islamic Education at Islamic Azad University in West Azerbaijan Province using criterion-based purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, with sampling continuing until data saturation was reached after 19 interviews. The data were analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase thematic analysis framework, and the trustworthiness of the qualitative findings was established based on Lincoln and Guba’s criteria. In the quantitative phase, the same 19 faculty members participated after their eligibility against the predefined expertise criteria had been reassessed and confirmed. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) was employed to determine the interrelationships and hierarchical levels among the identified components, while MICMAC analysis was used to assess their driving power and dependence. The qualitative analysis yielded 15 overarching themes organized into two domains: “general professional competencies of faculty members,” comprising nine components, and “context-specific and identity-forming competencies of Islamic education,” comprising six components. ISM organized the components into five hierarchical levels, with “cognitive competence” occupying the most fundamental level of the model. MICMAC analysis further identified “cognitive competence” as a key driving component and “information and digital literacy” as a dependent component, while the majority of components exhibited linkage characteristics. Overall, the findings suggest that professional competence among faculty members in Islamic education emerges from the integration of general academic professional capabilities with the epistemological, ethical, pedagogical, identity-related, and civilizational capacities specific to this field.