The Views of Academic Staff on Administrative Services: A Case Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the opinions of academic staff on administrative services in details. This was a qualitative case study with a single holistic design. Data were collected via semi-structured interview forms. The sample of this study consisted of seven academic staff employed in the faculty of education in a state university based on purposive sampling method. Data were analyzed descriptively based on the data gathered via semi-structured interview forms. According to the findings of the study, there were two types of administrative services at the level of coordinating and management. The ways which academic staff was appointed to administrative services were done based on voluntarism, formally or informally. Administrative services affected administrative staff both positively and negatively. Positive effects of administrative duties were classified under gaining skill and knowledge of management, gaining skill and knowledge of training, self-consciousness and self-actualization. Negative effects of administrative duties were classified under psychological, administrative and academic themes. Academic staff put forwarded suggestions based on solutions for administrative services’ being carried out more effectively and formulated different metaphors under the category of human- mayor, demarche and student-, animals- donkey and spider- and plants- thorn and carob.