A Study on the Motivation and Characteristics of Faculty Participation in Teaching Reform in Research Universities-A Perspective Based on the Analysis of Symbolic Interaction Theory

To improve the teaching quality in universities requires continuous exploration of teaching reform, and the specific implementation of teaching reform depends on front-line teachers. And the motivation of faculty to participate is a key factor leading to the success of teaching reform. Based on qualitative research methods, this study used interview method, participatory observation method, physical collection method and other methods to collect data. In-depth interviews were conducted with 33 front-line teachers coming from 18 research universities and 11 first-level disciplines. The Nvivo software was used to complete the theoretical construction according to the operating procedures of three-level coding and the method of grounded theory. It is found in the study that the motivation of faculty to participate in teaching reform includes 32 types of dynamic factors, which were classified into 4 categories: the dominant factors of different subjects, the dominant factors of the practice process, the dominant factors of the target outcome and the dominant factors of the situational scenario. Based on the analysis of symbolic interaction theory, it is found that the motivation of faculty to participate in teaching reform is situational, dynamic and changeable, and the dynamic factors are multiple, contradictory and complicated. The dynamic factors are open interactive and symbiotic. Based on the above characteristics, the government, universities and teaching administrators of secondary colleges are suggested to build a positive culture for teaching reform, give full play to the positive effects of the teaching system, and provide support and guarantee for teaching.