The Attitude of Academic Experts to the University Interaction with Society

Attention to the university's interaction with society, along with the two main functions of the higher education system, namely; Education and research implies the social role of universities in responding to the needs and expectations of society at different levels. Based on this, the current research aims to identify and categorize the attitude of university experts regarding the upcoming challenges of the university's interaction with society; using a mixed approach and Q method. The statistical population of the research consists of 18 experts and professors from different universities and higher education centers in the country, who were selected as sample members using the purposeful sampling method and based on the principle of theoretical adequacy. The main reason for this choice is expertise, academic experience, and the writings of experts in the field of higher education. In the qualitative part of the research, by using 18 interviews, the space of discourse was obtained, and by using their opinions and views, Q options were obtained, and in continuation, the Q group was obtained. Also, in the quantitative section, the data obtained in the qualitative section were analyzed using SPSS software, and finally, seven main attitudes were identified in this field.