Senior university teacher: job description, duties and features of work

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

If you were a student, the words "rector", "dean", "professor", "docent" are guaranteed to make you nostalgic and awe. And it is very difficult to explain these terms to a “non-student person”. However, many people forget about one more position, which is in every university - a senior lecturer. Understanding its functions is not easy. What is the difference between a senior lecturer and a lecturer? And how is he related to the assistant professor? Let's try to answer all these questions.

Who are we taking?

The position of a senior teacher can be taken by a person with a higher professional education and 3 or more years of scientific and pedagogical work experience. If the applicant already has a PhD, the experience may be less - 1 year.

Any senior university lecturer is attached to a certain department, depending on their specialization. Accordingly, all his activities are related to her work.

Theoretical knowledge and preparation of the senior teacher

1. Like any governmentan employee, a teacher must be guided by the Constitution of their country, the basic laws and regulations related to education and upbringing.
2. Know the theory and practice of managing education systems (as a potential dean or even rector); state standards of secondary vocational and higher education.
3. The teacher must have knowledge of planning and maintaining educational documentation, organizing methodological and scientific work.
4. Each educator should be aware of the current state of the scientific industry of his department, study innovations and current theories.
5. Knowledge and practical application of the methods of pedagogy, psychology and culture of communication is mandatory for a senior teacher.
6. Possession of basic information on physiology, first aid and hygiene is necessary for everyone who communicates with a large number of people in the process of work. Senior Lecturer is one such position.
7. The basics of administrative legislation, fire safety and labor protection rules are an integral part of what any conscientious employee, including a university employee, should never forget.

Thus, in his professional activities, a senior teacher of a university is guided by the legislation of his country, the law on education, educational standards and curricula in the subject. The university charter and the collective agreement directly affect its official positions.responsibilities. Any regulations on the faculty and department, as well as the orders of the rector and vice-rectors, also determine the activities of the senior teacher.

Service hierarchy

The senior lecturer of the department in his position is between the teacher and the associate professor. This is where his duties come from - coordinating the work of teachers, their consultation on educational and scientific issues, the distribution of minor duties and assignments. At the same time, he is the closest assistant to the head of the department, takes responsibility for solving organizational issues, scientific work and organization of students' practice. What the assistant professor offers, the senior lecturer is authorized to develop and deepen.

Main job responsibilities

They are determined by the job descriptions of the senior teacher in each particular university. However, there are general requirements for all specialists, regardless of their place of work.

• The senior teacher is obliged to organize and conduct educational and methodological work in accordance with an individual plan.
• Actively participate in the research work of your department.
• Create and develop curricula and programs for the department.
• Ensure the formation of all the necessary competencies of students, ensuring their high level as specialists.
• Teach material at the proper level and control the quality of classes conducted by teachers of the department.
• Deal with student internships.
• Control the quality of methodological support at the department, develop their own manuals.
• Conduct active research work, supervise students writing term papers and theses on the basis of the department.
• Participate in career guidance for applicants.
• Advise and provide methodological assistance to young teachers of the department.

• Ensure the work of the scientific and methodological commission for a particular specialization.
• Improve and update the material and technical base of the department.
• Promote all-round education, the acquisition of scientific and technical, general social, humanitarian, economic and legal knowledge.
• Supervise students' homework, laboratory and practical work.
• Supervise students' compliance with the rules of conduct and fire safety.
• To conduct educational activities among students.
• Take an active part in the preparation of educational, teaching aids, work programs.

If a senior lecturer has created an object of intellectual property (textbook, monograph) as part of his official duties, the university has the full right to use it. The fruits of mental labor are always appreciated.

What is the head teacher en titled to?

Experience and a sufficient amount of scientific and pedagogical work allow the teacher to run for the Academic Council of the universityor a separate faculty.

He can also propose to the head of the department amendments to the work plan of the department, changes in educational documentation and manuals.

Improvement of all types of work of the department (from teaching to research) is also among the rights of this specialist.

In the event of conflict situations, a senior teacher, like any employee, can request from managers or other authorities documents governing his rights and obligations. Protecting one's ideas and interests is an essential feature of working at any university.

The senior teacher is free to choose the best teaching methods, teaching aids and materials, methods for assessing knowledge. However, all this must be approved by the dean's office and the administration of the university.

Of course, the use of all library funds serving the departments of the university is also the right of any teacher.

With good reasons and the ability to back up their point of view with facts, a senior teacher can challenge the order or order of the head of the department, dean or rector of the university.

Cargo of responsibility

The variety of duties brings on the head teacher a great responsibility on several points:

• Insufficient level of organization and implementation of educational and methodological work at the department.
• Less volume of classes delivered compared to planning.
• Insufficiently high requirements for the preparation of students when they perform control, course and diploma thesesworks.
• Inconsistency of training sessions with the schedule approved by the rector's office.
• Administrative and criminal offenses within the limits of the current legislation.
• Causing material damage to both the department and students.
• Failure to fulfill the obligations prescribed in the Charter of the university, current legal acts and the teacher's job description.

Prospects for development

With active work and a serious attitude to his difficult work, a senior teacher may well count on the position of associate professor. To take it, the employee must have the necessary qualifications, confirmed by scientific publications, experience of scientific and pedagogical work at the university, recommendations of the department staff. The issue of such an appointment is decided by the head of the department - he recommends the candidate to the Academic Council and the administration. The meeting of the Academic Council of the university decides whether it is worth moving the senior teacher up the difficult career ladder.

Senior trainer-teacher

Difficult and multifaceted position in different institutions has its own specifics. In institutions of education, physical culture and sports, the main activity of a senior teacher is combined with his coaching duties. The organization of the educational process is inextricably linked with the organization of fruitful training. For a senior trainer-teacher, professional education and at least two years of experience are required. Also, the list of requirements includes legal capacity, no criminal record and he alth problems.

The senior trainer-teacher should know the method of presenting the material, as well as the features of the physical development of different age groups of students. He should also be aware of the latest methods of sports training, diagnostics of conflict situations. Justifying your position and working with the parents of pupils is an important skill of a successful trainer-teacher.

Main responsibilities include:

• Selection of the most promising pupils.
• Their further sports improvement.
• Training and educational work.
• Conducting theoretical classes.
• Analysis of the achievements of each pupil.
• Ensuring an increase in the level of general physical, theoretical, moral, volitional and technical training of pupils.
• Preventive work against doping.
• Ensuring the protection of life and he alth during the educational and training process.
• General coordination of the work of trainers-teachers, consultations and methodological assistance.

The rights of the senior trainer-teacher are the same as those noted earlier.

How are they?

In Western European countries, the analogue of the position of senior lecturer is Senior Lecturer (senior lecturer). In the US, this position is called Associate Professor. In general, the rights and obligations of the senior lecturer are the same as those described earlier. Many Western universities emphasize the creative nature of the work of a senior lecturer, his active service to society as a whole.

Briefly about the main things

Mentor, educator, curator, supervisor - a senior teacher really should be a jack of all trades. The talent for teaching should be combined in such a person with great enthusiasm and hard work. That senior teacher is bad, who in his dreams does not have the item “become an assistant professor”, and then “become a professor”.