Political orientations and personal values among university lecturers in Europe

Abstract

Why are university lecturers more leftwing than other professionals? Existing explanations point to differences in social background, knowledge production, and self-selection. This paper proposes an additional explanation for the phenomenon: the role of personal values. By applying the Schwartz human values scale to the 2002–2020 European Social Survey, I show that personal values are a highly significant predictor of political views, almost exceeding all other factors combined. Moreover, values are more important in moulding political views among lecturers than for almost every other major profession. The findings also provide suggestive evidence that individuals with specific value goals choose a university career, but that socialization also occurs from mid-career onwards. These results provide a better understanding of the political views of university lecturers and what drives them.