Academic Stakeholders as creative agents; the missing elements of creativity cycle in Iranian higher education (Phenomenological study)

University as A Social Institution Is Responsible for The Development of Talents, Creativity, And the More Ability of Academic Staff, And Setting the Stage for The Embodiment of Each Individual's Agency in Society.

The purpose of this study was to reflection the experiences of academic stakeholders (faculty members) as creative agent, missing elements if creative cycle in the higher education system of Iran.

This research was designed in the interpretivism paradigm and qualitative approach using phenomenological method. The data collection tool was a deep, unstructured interview. Participants included 19 faculty members from Tehran Comprehensive Universities who were selected purposefully and using selective strategies with maximum diversity. The data were analyzed using unstructured deep interviews and the data were analyzed using a seven-stage Colaizzi’s strategy.

Analysis of interview data to create a main category of faculty creativity and two sub-categories that included "organizational and individual" factors. In organizational factors, what causes mental activity and lack of creativity; issues related to laws and infrastructures, organizational structure, organizational culture, and inefficient management, are in the domain of individual factors, mood, motivation, active mind, and knowledge and expertise.

The results of this study emphasize the underlying issues of neglecting the role of agency and position of the individual in the structure of higher education in Iran, which leads to the lack of creativity and prosperity of talents. The advent of creativity requires the existence of several interconnected factors such as decentralization, academic independence, change cultural politics in such a way that cultural, ethnic and gender diversity are considered as cultural capital.