Academic Socialization: an inter-university comparative study

The purpose of this research was to comparatively study academic socialization among university students in Ilam. This research was a causal-comparative type and its statistical population(N= 8541) included students studying at Ilam National University, Payam Noor University and Islamic Azad University- Ilam branch in the first semester of 2018-19.  The sample size was determined (n= 348) based on Cochranchr('39')s sampling formula and stratified sampling method. The instrument used was a researcher-made academic socialization questionnaire. In order to determine the appropriateness of questionnairechr('39')s items, confirmatory factor analysis and AMOS20 software were used. The SPSS22 software was applied for data analysis. Based on the results of factor analysis, academic socialization was identified in 5 dimensions including early socialization, educational socialization, environmental socialization, socialization affected by student engagement, and normal and ethical socialization at the university. Descriptive findings indicated that in general, the rate of academic sociability (total of five components) among the three studied universities was equal to 2.99 and at an average and desirable level. The results of variance analysis test showed that there was a significant difference between the academic socialization level and its dimensions among the three sample universities. The findings showed that performances of the three universities in Ilam were somewhat different depending on the type of academic tradition and mission and their ways to attract, educate and socialize students.