Perspective of Professional Integrity in University Teachers: A Qualitative Study

Introduction. Teachers play a vital role in our education system. It is important for teachers to have integrity and ethical standards. The present study was conducted to unveil the perception of Professional Integrity in university teachers. Method. Purposive sample of hundred and four university teachers (n = 104) belonging to different departments were drawn from four public sector universities of Lahore and Islamabad. Their age of university teachers ranged from 25 to 62 years. Open ended questionnaire was constructed keeping in view the previous literature and model about integrity. The questionnaire was administered online due to the outburst of pandemic (Covid-19). Results. The responses were analyzed by using thematic analysis. Eight themes were derived namely professionalism, honesty, positive attributes, negative attributes, attitude with colleagues, attitude with students, quality of teaching, morality, institutional factors and research integrity. Conclusion. The study revealed various factors that influence teachers’ integrity. This study has implications for the universities to enhance professional integrity in teachers. Teachers can be trained incorporate professional integrity in their academic journey.