Unveiling the antecedents of faculty engagement in outreach activities based on the theory of planned behavior

Abstract

Given the low faculty engagement in university outreach activities, attracting professors to operationalize this mission is one of the current challenges faced by higher education institutions. In this study, the decision of higher education faculty to participate in outreach activities was defined as extensionist behavior. The objective of this research was to identify the antecedents of extensionist behavior based on the assumptions of the theory of planned behavior. This is an explanatory research study with a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interview techniques and Bardin's content analysis method for data collection and analysis, respectively. Thirty-seven interviews were conducted with higher education faculty members and two interviews with educational affairs technicians between December 2022 and January 2023. The results identified 269 antecedents present in behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs, distributed across four categories. Identifying the antecedents of extensionist behavior enables higher education institutions to analyze and adjust their institutional policies regarding university outreach. For the effective operationalization and institutionalization of this mission, it is imperative to reconfigure current educational practices and policies.