Academic Freedom in Palestinian Universities: Challenges and Perspectives

The study aimed to investigate reality of academic freedom in Palestinian universities, and examined the role of variables gender, Educational institution, place of residence, Years of experience, and Academic rank. The descriptive approach used. A questionnaire consisting of (14) used. The population confessed of all faculty members at the universities under study, totaling 1,488 male and female employees (Al-Aqsa University 459, Khadouri University 363, Birzeit University 436, and Bethlehem University 203) for the 2021/2022 academic year, and was selected a random sample of 366 male and female employees, representing 25% of the total study population, The results showed that the reality of academic freedom in Palestinian universities was high. The result also revealed that there were no statistically significant differences due to place of residence, however, it shows that there were statistically significant differences due to gender variable, in favor of females; academic institution with differences between the responses of Al-Aqsa and Bethlehem in favor of Bethlehem, Khadouri and Bethlehem in favor of Bethlehem, and Birzeit and Bethlehem in favor of Bethlehem; academic degree variable, in favor of a bachelor's degree; the academic rank variable, with differences between the responses of instructors and lecturers in favor of lecturers; between the responses of instructors and assistant professors in favor of assistant professors; between the responses of lecturers and associate professors in favor of associate professors; and between the responses of assistant professors and associate professors in favor of associate professors. In light of the study result the researcher recommend including enhancing awareness programs on academic freedom, supporting research autonomy, developing curricula that encourage critical thinking, protecting academics’ rights, addressing disparities related to gender and academic levels, and promoting collaboration among Palestinian universities to strengthen a culture of academic freedom.