The Role of Palestinian Universities in the Southern Governorates of Palestine in Shaping Public Opinion

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the most influential role players in Palestinian universities in the southern governorates in directing public opinion, as well as to determine the degree to which faculty members perceive the role of their universities in shaping public opinion. To achieve this, the study adopted the descriptive-analytical approach through the application of a questionnaire consisting of (34) items distributed across four domains: directing public opinion toward political issues, directing public opinion toward social issues, directing public opinion toward health issues, and directing public opinion toward educational issues. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of (460) participants. The findings revealed that faculty members were the most influential actors within Palestinian universities in directing public opinion. The overall degree of participants’ assessment of the role of universities in directing public opinion was moderate, with a relative weight of (62.6%). The domain of directing public opinion toward educational issues ranked first, with a relative weight of (63.1%), while the domain of directing public opinion toward political issues ranked fourth (last), with a relative weight of (62.0%), also at a moderate level. The results also indicated that there were no statistically significant differences among the mean scores of participants’ assessments attributed to the variables of gender and university across all domains. The study recommended establishing dedicated media channels for universities (such as magazines or podcasts) to address complex public opinion issues based on scientific studies and the findings of survey research.