The Study of Social Factors Influencing Cultural Participation at University Space

Cultural participation is one of the main components of cultural development that has been emphasized by many scholars in the field of culture and development in recent years. Cultural participation has a special position among educational and cultural institutions such as universities objectively and practically and has been used as a criterion for measuring development-oriented social action. This article addresses the theoretical and empirical role of some social factors on the level of cultural participation of students and professors. The theoretical topics of this research have been based on the theoretical issues of this research in terms of Ronald Inglehart’s theory of modernization and cultural change, Mark Poster’s second media age theory, Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural capital theory, Corey Keyes’ social health theory and Bhikhu Parekh’s cultural diversity theory. The main objectives of the present research, in addition to assessing the level of cultural participation of the university and the impact of some of the most important social and cultural factors on it, have been the empirical comparisons between students and professors’ participation in cultural activities.
The research method is social survey (using a questionnaire) and the statistical population is the students and professors of Kashan University in the academic year 2014-2015. The sample size is estimated as n=300 by Cochran formula which includes 250 students and 50 professors. The applied sampling method is quota and the validity of the measurement tool, the face validity method, is devised and Cronbach's alpha method is applied to estimate the reliability of the questionnaire. Since the obtained coefficients for all variables are above 0.7, it can be concluded that the questionnaire has a good validity and reliability.
Discussion of Results & The results obtained in the experimental part of this study indicate that the average cultural participation of students is 41.30 and the average cultural participation among professors is equal to 45.62, which indicates the higher participation of professors in cultural activities than students (the average variable range of participation is between 18 and 90). Accordingly, the results of the correlation test of the research hypotheses show that there is a significant difference between the two groups of students and professors in terms of “duration and extent of use of the Modern Mass Media”, “scientific use of the internet”, “social health”, “satisfaction with supportive policies of university” and “cultural participation” variables. Examination of other hypotheses among students shows that the “scientific use of the internet”, “the use of satellite TV programs”, “cultural capital”, “satisfaction with supportive policies of university”, “duration and extent of use of the Modern Mass Media” and “social health” variables have direct and significant relationship with "cultural participation”. Testing hypotheses among professors also shows that the “scientific use of the internet”, "cultural capital", “satisfaction with supportive policies of university” variables have direct and significant relationship with "cultural participation”. Also, the results of the regression analysis in the student’s section bespeaks of the direct effect of “scientific use of the internet”, “satisfaction with supportive policies of university” on "cultural participation of students" and in the professor’s section the direct effect of “scientific use of the internet”, "cultural capital" and “satisfaction with supportive policies of university” on "cultural participation of professors" are highlighted. Generally, the variables introduced into the regression equation could predict or explain 23% of the variance of “student's cultural participation” and 59% of the variance of the "professors’ cultural participation".
In general, the obtained experimental data confirmed most of the hypotheses. In particular, these data showed that modern socio-cultural mass media (such as the Internet and satellite TV) and cultural capital affect university level participatory activities through redefining social and cultural values ​​of participation. At the individual level, the social health of the individual, with its various dimensions prepares them for participation in cultural affairs while preparing people for the acceptance of individual values ​​of participation. Also, the university’s supportive policies in the scientific and cultural sectors, in addition to satisfaction and creating the motivation for participation, can provide grounds for the presence of academics in the field of cultural activities.