Gap analysis

Purpose: The current research proposes a model for elite’s recruitment to Iranian educational organizations based on the ethics and specific cultural contexts of Iranian society. Methodology: This is a combination of two quantitative and qualitative approaches. This is also an applied descriptive-exploratory paper. The primary pattern of research is extracted from the theoretical background and consists of four dimensions (competencies definition, effective factors analysis, competitor’s analysis, and recruitment tools). The final model was extracted and verified through interviewing the experts and the coding process. The cultural components of each dimension are also extracted and clustered according to the experimental data and according to the experts in a 4-step Delphi process. Finally, the current and desired status of the elite recruitment system in educational organizations has been studied using the gap analysis method. Ten companies were selected as sample for the selection of the community by cluster sampling and the questionnaires were distributed among managers and their human resources experts. The GAMS software is used to analyze the data and determine the effectiveness of the coding model. Effectiveness in the current paper is to determine the optimal value of the dimensions. Findings: Based on the findings, the optimum model dimensions (competency definition, effective factors analysis, competitor’s analysis, and recruitment tools) have increased in optimal condition compared to the current situation. One of the most important reasons for this is the existence of cultural barriers to the recruitment process, which impedes the effectiveness of the process and chooses the right and proper. Removing these barriers is one of the essential requirements for optimizing the proposed model. Conclusion: The results showed that there is a significant difference between the current situation and the desired level, which necessitates serious attention to the factors affecting the elite’s recruitment and the development of appropriate mechanisms for their recruitment in educational organizations.

The design, implementation and outcomes of curriculums must be ongoingly evaluated. Using quantitative gap analysis, this study evaluated Iranian EFL teachers’ satisfaction with their pre-service education in developing their assessment literacy in reference to the perceived importance of knowledge and skills areas of classroom language assessment.  To this end, the study included 100 EFL teachers who graduated from state universities in Iran with at least a Bachelor’s degree and three to five years of teaching experience at public schools. Data were collected using a 44-item researcher-made semantic differential Likert scale. It involved two parts tapping into their perceptions of importance and the level of their pre-service preparation. Descriptive analysis and inferential statistics revealed that the teachers rated all the areas almost highly (M ≥ 4.67 out of 6). The participants attached the highest importance to the areas of "assessing different language skills and sub-skills". In contrast, the areas relating to "interpreting students’ test performance” and “making the appropriate decision about the students’ test results and test washback" were perceived to be the least significant in classroom assessment. The gap analysis also indicated that there was a significant difference between the teachers’ perception of the importance of assessment knowledge and skills areas and their level of pre-service education, construed as their under-preparedness for classroom assessment. Further, the gaps were perceived to be sharper in assessment skills areas.  The study discusses the implications of the findings in the context of teacher education and classroom assessment in Iran.