Academic freedom is a concept said to be poorly defined and misunderstood. Much of the literature on academic freedom suggests that the presumed professorial right is threatened by a variety of internal and external forces. This study examines the theory and practice of academic freedom within the context of instruction in the university classroom.

The study attempts to determine if there is a difference between faculty perspectives about the theoretical constructs of academic freedom and its praxis in instructional practice. In other words, "this is what I believe academic freedom is and does, but here is what I have experienced."

This study involved tenured or tenure-track teaching faculty from four American Association of State Colleges and Universities institutions located in the Great Lakes region of the upper Mid-West. The sample consisted of 123 faculty with terminal degrees, teaching in one of the following departments: Biology/Life Sciences; English; History; Philosophy; Political Science; and Sociology. The Questionnaire of Faculty Perceptions about the Theory and Practice of Academic Freedom asked faculty to indicate their understanding of the theoretical constructs of academic freedom and their application when choosing course materials, topics of discussion, instructional methodologies, and student assignments. The questionnaire utilized Likert scale items (a range of 1-5), as well as open-ended items.

This result of this study was surprising in that it appeared to contradict the literature on academic freedom. The findings suggested that there was no significant difference between faculty perspectives about academic freedom theory and practice in the university classroom.