Validation and Use of an Instrument to Assess University-level Psychosocial Environment in Australian Universities

Abstract

This article extends the field of learning environment research by reporting the validation and use of the University-Level Environment Questionnaire (ULEQ) which assesses institutional-level psychosocial environment in universities. The ULEQ has seven scales: Academic Freedom, Concern for Undergraduate Learning, Concern for Research and Scholarship, Empowerment, Affiliation, Mission Consensus and Work Pressure. The sample consisted of 489 academics from 52 departments in 28 Australian public universities. Validation data showed that scales of the ULEQ have satisfactory internal consistency, sensitivity to different department environments and minimal overlap. Results of three analyses conducted in this study illustrated the usefulness of the ULEQ. Significant differences between three types of universities were revealed for four scales: Academic Freedom, Concern for Research and Scholarship, Empowerment and Mission Consensus. No significant differences were found for comparisons of Education, Biology and English departments. A comparison of male and female academics' perceptions of the university-level environment found that females perceived their environment more positively than males. This study demonstrated the utility of the ULEQ in learning environment research in college and university settings.