Effective factors on faculty participation in higher education policy making and university planning

Planning in higher education in Iran has a centralized, pyramidal and vertical structure. Government's institutions have taken a self-role charge in a maximized intervention model. However, the proper and legitimate power to lead higher education is cognitive, scientific and specialization power, rather than political and hieratical power. The aim of this article was to identify effective factors on quality and quantity of faculty participation in higher education policy making and university planning in order to provide policy recommendations. The research was conducted in three comprehensive universities in Tehran The Universities of Tehran, Shahid Beheshti University and Tarbeiat Modarres University via 9 hypotheses testing utilizing survey method. The statistical population, according to the latest data in the academic year 2011-12, was 2929 individuals. Using multistage stratified sampling 360 individuals were selected. A construct based researcher made questionnaire with six likered scale was developed. The validity of questionnaire was determined by an expert panel and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha (α =0.905). According to the research hypothesis testing, there was a correlation between faculty members' attitude about their university leadership's styles and their self-efficacy. In addition, a significant difference by gender, rank and position was observed. In the university field there are three forces with three distinct resources and boundaries from context and outskirt around political and administrative power, academic power and population and socio-cultural power. Although outskirts of university for their intellectual power and eliteness have a high self-efficacy feelings and causal thinking, but they are sensitive to the planning, especially to the leadership style in the university.