The Conceptual Model of Professional Excellent for University Professors: A Meta-Synthesis Study

Faculty professional advancement constitutes a multifaceted process that not only strengthens universities' human capacity development and enhances organizational performance but also fosters a culture of lifelong learning, facilitates adaptation to scientific and technological transformations, promotes educational equity, deepens organizational commitment, and enables strategic investment in sustainable higher education development. Employing a qualitative paradigm with a meta-synthesis methodology, this research systematically extracted and analyzed the components of faculty professional advancement in academia. The study implemented Sandelowski and Barroso's (2006) seven-step framework through a systematic search across Iranian databases (IranDoc, Noormags, Magiran) and international repositories (Scopus, ERIC, Web of Science) spanning the period 2014-2024 (1393-1403). From an initial corpus of 702 identified publications, a rigorous three-stage screening process based on explicit inclusion criteria (qualitative/mixed-methods studies, focus on academic faculty, full-text accessibility) and exclusion criteria (duplicates, methodologically obscure studies, ambiguous findings) yielded a final sample of 41 articles (27 English, 14 Persian). Data analysis proceeded through two phases: first, thematic analysis identified 105 basic codes, 28 organizing themes, and 9 overarching themes; second, secondary interpretive analysis utilizing a systematic levels framework structured these themes into a coherent conceptual model. The findings revealed that faculty professional advancement can be effectively conceptualized through a three-level model (macro, meso, micro): at the macro level, governance system enhancement, university culture development, and organizational support establish policy frameworks; at the meso level, dynamic innovative teaching and learning, technology-based empowerment, scientific networking development, and program alignment with professional needs define implementation mechanisms; and at the micro level, professional skill enhancement and evaluation systems manifest individual outcomes. This model conceptualizes professional advancement as a dynamic, recursive, and interactive process wherein changes at any level reciprocally influence other levels, thereby providing both theoretical grounding and practical applications for higher education policymakers and administrators.