Contextualizing distributed leadership in higher education

This case study of development in a technical university situates distributed leadership in higher education in an organizational perspective. Analysis of documentation from development programs and interviews with 10 faculty members showed that leadership practices were related to different institutional logics prominent in four key activities in this specific university: education, research, formal organization and boundary-spanning cross-scientific environments. A shared understanding of these logics was accompanied with a reported increase in organizational understanding and leadership awareness that helped establish collaboration and sensemaking. Furthermore, we show that the theory of logic multiplicity provides a way to analyze previously neglected aspects of power, tensions, context and the practical relevance of the concept of distributed leadership.     

Leadership development programming in higher education: an exploration of perceptions of transformational leadership across gender and role types

Tertiary Education and Management - Transformational leadership, a type of leadership commonly promoted within higher education, has been shown to positively affect performance, collaborative...     

Evaluating the effect of transformational leadership on knowledge sharing using structural equation modelling: the case of Iraqi higher education

Leadership style has been suggested as an important factor affecting knowledge management in organizations. Transformational leadership has been acknowledged as having a positive general influence on knowledge management. However, there is a lack of empirical studies examining the relationship between transformational leadership and knowledge sharing in higher education within developing countries such as Iraq. This research seeks to evaluate the impact of the four components of transformational leadership, namely idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration, on knowledge sharing (both donating and collecting). Two hundred and fifty usable questionnaires were collected from public higher education institutions in Iraq. Structural equation modelling with AMOS 22 confirms the importance of transformational leadership in encouraging knowledge-sharing culture in higher education. The results reveal that, of the four components of transformational leadership, intellectual stimulation has the strongest effect on both the donating and collecting of knowledge. Guidelines are developed for academics as well as leaders, and evidence is provided in support of the use of transformational leadership to promote knowledge sharing within higher education in developing countries, particularly Iraq. The implications of the findings, along with some potential applications and suggestions for future research, are discussed.     

Hybrid configurations of leadership in higher education employer engagement

Recent literature has emphasised the distributed nature of leadership in higher education (HE) and the multitude of actors and factors that contribute towards organisational outcomes. Gronn suggests, however, that rather than using such evidence to provide broad, normative accounts of leadership practice, greater attention should be directed to mapping the ‘hybrid configurations’ through which leadership practice emerges. This article responds to this call through an analysis of employer engagement activities in UK HE. Using a qualitative case study approach, it illustrates the complex, interdependent and contested nature of leadership practice in cross-boundary environments. The article concludes by suggesting how a hybrid perspective may enhance leadership theory and practice in tertiary education.     

Towards leadingful leadership literacies for higher education management

This paper locates ‘leadingful leadership literacies’ as a lens for considering changing contexts for leadership and work in higher education management. It makes a contribution to higher education leadership studies by offering an empirical account of expanded notions of leadership. These extend the field beyond those unwilling to critique managerialist knowledge claims. I will argue that not only managerialist practices per se are of concern as we face discontinuous change in the sector – changes which move well beyond rationalist truth claims – but that these remain largely unchallenged and have moved into spaces that should be (re)claimed by leadership.     

Facilitating team learning through transformational leadership

This article investigates when and how teams engage in team learning behaviours (TLB). More specifically, it looks into how different leadership styles facilitate TLB by influencing the social conditions that proceed them. 498 healthcare workers from 28 nursery teams filled out a questionnaire measuring the concepts leadership style, TLB, social cohesion and team psychological safety. Analysis was performed using structural equation modelling. The results of this cross-sectional study show that transformational leadership predicts TLB better then laissez-faire leadership, because transformational leadership is primarily related to team psychological safety and only secondarily to social cohesion while for laissez-faire leadership it works the other way around. Transformational leadership matters because it facilitates psychological safety in the team.     

Action learning in virtual higher education: applying leadership theory

This paper reports the historical foundation of Northeastern University’s course, LDR 6100: Developing Your Leadership Capability, a partial literature review of action learning (AL) and virtual action learning (VAL), a course methodology of LDR 6100 requiring students to apply leadership perspectives using VAL as instructed by the author, questionnaire and survey results of students who evaluated the effectiveness of their application of leadership theories using VAL and insights believed to have been gained by the author administering VAL. Findings indicate most students thought applying leadership perspectives using AL was better than considering leadership perspectives not using AL. In addition as implemented in LDR 6100, more students evaluated VAL positively than did those who assessed VAL negatively.     

以工作过程为导向,培养高职学生英语语用能力

培养学生英语语用能力在高职英语教学中的重要性不言而喻,而以工作过程为导向的职业教育理念始终贯穿高职英语教育中的专业英语(ESP)教学。本文将这一先进的职业教育理念与学生语用能力培养结合起来,探索在高职ESP教学中,以工作过程为导向培养学生英语语用能力的有效途径。     

Issues and challenges in higher education leadership: Engaging for change

It is proposed from this study that engaging productively with others to achieve change has never been more critical in educational environments, such as universities. Via semi-structured interviews with a cohort of senior leaders from one Australian university, this paper explores their perceptions of the key issues and challenges facing them in their work. The study found that the most significant challenges centred around the need for strategic leadership, flexibility, creativity and change-capability; responding to competing tensions and remaining relevant; maintaining academic quality; and managing fiscal and people resources. Sound interpersonal engagement, particularly in terms of change leadership capability, was found to be critical to meeting the key challenges identified by most participants. In light of the findings from the sample studied some tentative implications for leadership and leadership development in university environments are proposed, along with suggestions for further empirical exploration.     

Green management practices in higher education: the status of sustainable leadership

Tertiary Education and Management - The present study investigated the level of sustainable leadership among a random sample of 170 faculty members employed by one public university in Jordan. The...     

Financial challenges in higher education: community college leadership style and ranking

A large number of new community college presidents will be hired in the next 5 years due to vacancies. New leaders must be prepared to lead their institutions through the challenges facing community colleges. Forty-one community college presidents in North Carolina participated in our research (70.7% response rate). We found that community college presidents’ perceptions of their management styles all fall within the “team management” orientation according to the Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid (Blake & Mouton, 1964). We then examined the financial management challenges faced by community college presidents and found empirical evidence regarding how community college presidents rank six of the most critical financial challenges identified in the literature. Presidents’ rankings of the six most critical financial challenges showed that the three most pressing concerns are maintaining student access during times of increasing educational costs, managing enrollment during times of decreasing state funding, and lowering costs without damaging academic quality.     

Attitudes of higher education faculty toward distance education: A national survey

Abstract

Although distance education is growing in importance in the United States, little research has focused on the attitudes of American college and university teachers toward college‐level distance education and toward the use of specific media in distance education provision. The attitudes of both participating and nonparticipating faculty toward distance education need further examination, since teaching innovations cannot succeed without their support. This study examines the receptivity to college‐credit distance education of faculty members in two‐ and four‐year higher education institutions. The research questions focused on general receptivity to distance education, the relationship between professional characteristics and attitude toward distance education, the connection between previous distance education experiences/ familiarity and receptivity, and on attitudes toward different distance education media and methods.     

Organisation and leadership in higher education. Learning from experiences in the Netherlands

Similar to several other Western European countries, a ‘managerial revolution’ has swept through Dutch higher education. Partly in response to the new Act to Modernise the Structure of University Governance, many universities have set up education institutes.Purpose of the investigation was to find out whether the establishment of education institutes serves to improve education quality. A suitable framework for analysing the information gathered was obtained by applying Ernst Marx's analytical model of the university administrative organisation. The application of this framework isolated four factors critical for the success of education institutes. In four out of the eight institutes the organisation of education is having a beneficial influence upon education quality. The director of the education institute plays an important role due to either demonstrable educational or transformative leadership qualities or by allowing teachers to take initiatives and above all making teaching teams responsible for parts of the curriculum.     

学校变革型领导行为效能的多维测度研究

自1978年巴斯提出变革型领导以来,变革型领导逐渐在行政管理、工商管理和教育管理等领域引了起广泛关注.本研究自编问卷并在江苏、湖北、重庆3省(市)展开调查,对学校变革型领导行为效能展开多维测度.研究发现:学校变革型领导行为水平相对较高,但行为效能水平相对较低;学校变革型领导行为效能差异相对较大,但整体效能水平相对稳定;学校变革型领导行为效能影响因素相对较多,但可预测性相对可靠,逐步多元回归模型的联合解释变异量达52.8％.因此,学校领导者要转变领导方式,以提高学校领导行为的效能.