Reflection on Current Status of Job Enrichment of Faculty Members Working in Universities of Ministry of Science Research and Technology (Case Study: Universities in West of Iran)

The purpose of this research was to examine the present situation of job abundance for faculty members at public institutions in the western part of the country by developing and validating a valid and reliable instrument. This study is an exploratory blend of qualitative and quantitative methods. Twenty-five experts and key informants were selected and interviewed in a targeted and snowball fashion for the qualitative component of the participants. We coded the data in this part at the open and axial levels to determine the symptoms and dimensions of job enrichment. Self-review, acceptance criteria assessment, and control by members (qualitative validation verified by the identified location). The signs were then transformed into questions for a 24-item questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale, whose content validity was determined via expert validation. In the quantitative phase, 324 faculty members from western institutions (Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and Hamedan) were chosen to use a stratified random selection approach and asked to answer a questionnaire developed in the qualitative section. We assessed the results in this section to establish the questionnaire’s construct validity (quantitative validation) by confirmatory factor analysis and its reliability via the internal consistency method (Cronbach’s alpha). We then evaluated the data using a one-sample t-test to determine the present situation of affairs. Job enrichment as educational, research, specialized, individual and organizational services was discovered and verified in the qualitative component of the symptom set (24 markers). Experts also validated the questionnaire’s content validity. We validated the validity and reliability of the questionnaire in the quantitative section, and the results of the present situation assessment revealed that the job enrichment of faculty members is not in good condition. While this research presents a new tool for academics interested in the work's topic enrichment of faculty members, it also has the potential to change the perspectives of stakeholders, decision-makers, and higher education management to promote the job enrichment of faculty members.