Priorities and Obstacles to Theorization at Universities; Investigating the Viewpoints of the Faculty Members of Islamic Azad University, Islamshahr Branch

The aim of this study is to identify the obstacles to theorization, criticism and academic debate at universities and their prioritization from the view point of the faculty members of Islamic Azad University, Islamshahr branch. The population sample of this survey which uses a descriptive method, consists of all the faculty members of Islamic Azad University, Islamshahr Branch, 174 of whom were randomly chosen by using stratified sampling. The required data were collected from a researcher-developed questionnaire with a reliability of 0.89 based on the five-level Likert rating scale. In addition to the descriptive statistics, group inferential statistics were also used for analyzing the data. The results show that unconventionality of scientific debates in academia, unnecessary bureaucracy in the approval of the proposed theories, low value of creative and critical thinking in academic culture , lack of support for the proposed theories, feeling lack of proper culture of acceptance, disrespect to expert's opinions, not benefitting from professionals’ expertise for solving organizational problems, emphasis on education rather than on research, lack of understanding the purposes and structure of theorization and lack of facilities are respectively the most important obstacles. Lack of self-confidence in working on scientific theories and a vague sense of politicization in testing the theories are, respectively, among the least serious obstacles. The results show that theorization at universities requires the development of cultural and managerial infrastructure more than anything else.