Empirically studying university faculty caring intelligence

Abstract

Purpose

In a previous study of authentic university academic caring (AUAC) at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), students perceived teaching faculty as the primary provider of academic caring and caregiving. This paper presents a research study on university faculty caring intelligence. University faculty caring intelligence is faculty's capacity to recognize the meaning and realities of caring within their performance, relationships and work environment.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive exploratory correlational research design was used to examine university faculty caring intelligence. A university academic caring framework and a faculty version of the Caring About Academic Care Inventory (CAACI) were employed. The university academic caring framework was used to guide the research. The faculty version of the CAACI assessed university faculty's discernments of AUAC within identified interfacing university academic caregiving points (institutional, instructional, academic management and academic counseling). The study sample consisted of 76 UVI faculty.

Findings

Factor score correlation completed in this work revealed strong relationships between the identified features university academic caring based on faculty perceptions.

Research limitations/implications

Though the study is limited due to the sampling, UVI faculty's perception of AUAC was significantly evaluated. A model of UVI faculty caring intelligence was constructed from empirical evidence.

Originality/value

Studying caring intelligence of university faculty offered something new: a means to assess how faculty recognize the meaning of caring within themselves, their function, relationships and work environment. Caring intelligence can be used to predict faculty performance and their relationships within the university academic environment.

Citation

Hendrickson, K.A. and Francis, K.A. (2024), "Empirically studying university faculty caring intelligence", Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. 16 No. 5, pp. 1584-1595. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-03-2023-0094