Faculty Attitudes Toward University Role and Governance: A Factor Analytic Approach.
Despite the changing role of the university faculty member (7), little inquiry has been made in to faculty perceptions concerning university role and governance. Utilizing a 29-item instrument devised by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), this study sought (1) to determine what faculty members regard as some of the issues and (2) to identify any existing patterns of opinion. The sample consisted of 132 interviews with faculty members of a large Midwestern university. R-analysis isolated four dimensions of concern. Two centered on aspects of freedom and control within the university: the teaching versus research dichotomy, and university involvement in societal concerns. Q-analysis yielded three basic opinion types. These included concerns for academic freedom and control, social activism of the university, and research versus teaching. Multiple linear regression indicated that predominant demographic characteristics associated with opinion types were political orientation, type of job, and length of t...