Academic Freedom of University Staff Members as Perceived by University Students as an Indicator of Excellence in a Changing Academic World

Academic freedom is a crucial concept that is closely associated with university life. Academic freedom is a distinctive feature of the university environment. It encompasses the ability of university staff members to teach, conduct research, publish findings, and engage in academic discussions freely. Academic freedom is essential for fostering a supportive environment that encourages sincere efforts and serves the institution. This study focuses on the Faculty of Education for Boys at Al-Azhar University in Cairo and includes a sample of 541 students. The main objective is to assess the dimensions of academic freedom among university staff members using a developed Academic Freedom for University Staff Members Scale. The findings of the study reveal the relative importance of different dimensions within the academic freedom scale. The dimension of encouraging intellectual freedom ranked first, with a mean score of 18.656 and a relative importance of 88.84. The dimension of personal interest in students ranked second, with a mean score of 10.620 and a relative importance of 88.50. The dimension of academic autonomy ranked third, with a mean score of 15.726 and a relative importance of 87.37. The dimension of encouraging students' academic engagement ranked fourth, with a mean score of 23.263 and a relative importance of 86.16. The dimension of commitment to academic responsibility ranked fifth, with a mean score of 28.241 and a relative importance of 85.58. Finally, the dimension of academic freedom of expression ranked sixth, with a mean score of 15.370 and a relative importance of 85.39.