Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Master's student in educational management, Department of Educational Management and Human Resource Development, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Educational Management and Human Resource Development, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Iran
3 Associate Professor, Department of Educational Management and Human Resources Development, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Iran
Abstract
Introduction
The main aim of this study is to describe the lived experiences of academic freedom members of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
Method
The qualitative research method used descriptive phenomenology to reach this aim. All Ferdowsi University of Mashhad faculty members formed the study sample, and 18 people were selected as key informants by purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the required data, and Strauss and Corbin's analysis method was used to analyzing the data obtained from the interviews. Also, four criteria of Lincoln and Guba were used to validate the findings.
Results
Based on the findings, five main themes of academic freedom, including educational freedom, research freedom, individual freedom, cultural freedom, and organizational freedom, were extracted as the experiences of faculty members of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. In the theme of educational and research freedom, the results obtained indicate the different experiences of faculty members regarding freedom and limitations in these two themes. The categories related to the individual and the perception of faculty members of academic freedom were placed under the theme of individual freedom. The theme of cultural freedom also expresses the link between social, political and societal culture and academic freedom. Finally, the theme of organizational freedom refers to the categories related to the organization and structure of the university.
Discussion
In the theme of educational and research freedom, the obtained results indicate the different experiences of faculty members regarding freedom and restrictions in these two themes. The categories related to the individual and faculty members’ perception of academic freedom were placed under the theme of individual freedom. Also, the theme of cultural freedom expresses the link between social, political and society culture with academic freedom, and at the end, the theme of organizational freedom refers to the organization and structure of the university.
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