The perceived responsibilities of the departmental chairperson: A note of a preliminary study

A small survey in one department revealed surprising differences in perception amongst faculty and students of the role of the chairperson as departmental executive officer. Though styles of leadership vary, the role of the chairperson in higher education requires further investigation and clarification since the quality of a department is, it is claimed, a reflection of the qualities of the chairperson.     

The evolution of educational leadership preparation programmes

ABSTRACT

This article offers a review of extant literature specific to educational leadership preparation programmes. The author explains how leadership development and preparation programmes have evolved over time. Highlighted are: (1) historical contexts of educational leadership, (2) challenges faced when implementing quality graduate programmes in educational leadership, (3) a brief international perspective of educational leadership, and (4) reform efforts aimed at creating a new kind of graduate education in educational leadership. The authors conclude with final reflections.     

Back to the Faculty: Transition from University Department Leadership

This study examined the perceptions and concerns of current academic department chairs as they consider the transition to full responsibilities as a faculty member after the completion of a term in this leadership role. Currently, little research has focused on the dynamics of this transition process. Findings indicated that most department chairs planned to return to faculty positions and that a primary concern was reconstructing research agendas with minimal support. The discussion proposes ways in which institutions can support the return of former chairs to a faculty position that demands and rewards achievement in teaching, research, and service. These findings have implications for influencing policies and procedures relative to securing and continuing quality leadership and faculty productivity at the departmental level.     

Curriculum Balance,Curriculum Review and Curriculum‐led Staffing: A Response

There are an increasing number of research studies concerned with the realm of middle management in schools. However, few of these studies have adequately defined what might be considered middle management in schools, or have clarified which posts constitute those of middle managers. In addition, these studies have rarely considered the way in which different departmental cultures and structures affect leadership style and departmental performance. This article acknowledges the importance of the role of the head of department in secondary schools in school wide change and outlines some of tensions and dilemmas facing those who manage from the middle. It considers the leadership tensions facing heads of department in secondary schools and points towards the variety of departmental contexts, structures and cultures in which heads of department, or subject leaders operate. The article offers an analysis of the dynamic between leadership and culture within the departmental context. It concludes by suggesting that heads of department have a major contribution to play in managing cultural change at both the department and whole school level.     

On becoming an academic developer: A personal journey

Abstract

Academic Development is a diverse and complex profession that is becoming an increasingly important aspect of higher education, albeit that in general terms it is not necessarily highly enough valued at institutional and departmental levels. To raise the profile of the profession it may be tempting to provide a narrow definition of the nature of Academic Development and the appropriate credentials of the ‘Developers’. Such a move could stifle the creativity and the diversity of skills that exist within the profession and that render it problematic to define. However, to place value on our chosen field it is important for Developers to work towards a shared conception of Academic Development as a unique profession. The intention of this paper is to contribute to the dialogue and discussion of this issue through critical reflection on my personal journey into this profession. While some of the issues raised by Andresen (1996) relating to the nature of Academic Development, pathways to credibility within the profession and issues relating to accredited programmes for Academic Developers are addressed, it is important to state that this paper is limited to reflections on my own journey, which I consider to be neither unique nor ordinary, into the profession.     

Strategies for the Assessment of Competence

Abstract

The paper examines three different strategies for the assessment of competence. The strategies are different because they base their Judgements about competence on different forms and amounts of evidence and they adopt different procedures for obtaining this evidence. Each strategy is illustrated by means of an analysis of an assessment programme in operation. The programmes are drawn from an investigation of competency‐based training programmes in TAFE colleges, industry and various training institutions carried out in Australia and Great Britain during 1992. The analysis brings out the strengths and weaknesses of each strategy as well as the particular problems and difficulties associated with the assessment of competence and the procedures that must be followed to ensure that principles of sound assessment are adhered to.     

Qualified to lead? A comparative,contextual and cultural view of educational policy borrowing

Abstract

Background: Around the globe, education policy borrowing remains pervasive and prevalent. The strategies, interventions and innovations of education systems that perform well, in international assessments, are enthusiastically borrowed and copied in the anticipation of similar educational performance and outcomes.

Purpose: This purpose of the article is to highlight some of the implications and consequences of policy borrowing by comparing the preparation and development programmes for school leaders in various education systems. The article explores the way in which the leadership programmes and models are being adopted and developed by different countries.

Sources of evidence: The article draws upon findings from a contemporary, comparative study of leadership preparation and development across seven different education systems (Seven System Leadership Study). This large-scale, mixed-methods, comparative research study is collecting quantitative and qualitative data about the nature and impact of leadership development and preparation programmes in seven different education systems.

Main argument: The findings from the study reinforce how leadership preparation and development programmes are increasingly becoming standardised as a result of education systems borrowing and adapting from each other. This article also argues that in the contemporary policy discourse, important cultural and contextual influences that significantly affect subsequent implementation and outcomes are increasingly being side-lined and ignored.

Conclusions: This article highlights some of the limitations and unintended consequences of educational policy borrowing. It concludes that adopting some of the design features of effective interventions rather than simply borrowing policies or strategies, in part or in their entirety from very different contexts, may be a more productive way forward.     

Missions,Management and the Education of Adults in Australia

Abstract

In the present world of further education, is academic leadership in danger of being sidelined and undermined? Can further education make progress without a clear academic purpose? This paper argues that such a purpose is essential and that it is the ‘departmental head’ who is critical in protecting academic leadership. Boyer's work on scholarship (Boyer, 1990) and Rogers’ theory of innovation and change (Rogers, 1983) are used to explore the nature, boundaries and application of academic leadership.     

The use of assessment in the development of higher-order thinking skills

Abstract

In an increasingly complex and specialised society, it is imperative that individuals think critically and creatively. This kind of thinking is also required to achieve the critical outcomes as stated in the Revised National Curriculum Statement for South Africa. It seems, however, that higher-order thinking is unlikely to occur unless learners are engaged in activities that deliberately promote this kind of thinking. They should also be guided on how to engage in these complex thinking tasks. The aim of this article is to reflect on the use of assessment to promote learners' higher-order thinking skills. The role of assessment has implications for the nature of teacher training programmes. If lecturers model the way assessment can be done to develop higher-order thinking skills, it is hoped that teachers will have little difficulty in adapting it to their unique classroom situations. Examples from language modules of an in-service teacher training programme are used to show how assessment can be implemented to help learners develop higher-order thinking skills within the framework of outcomes-based education and the Revised National Curriculum Statement.     

The Social Work Student: Towards an Ideal Type

Abstract

This article analyses the changes which have occurred in the assessment of Management Development programmes and courses for educationalists.

The changes in the approaches to the design, development and assessment of these programmes and courses are analysed within a framework of epis‐temological issues and underpinning ideology. The shift towards a ‘new model of education and training’, with its emphasis on more specific knowledge and skill, is reviewed critically.

There is a consideration of wider implications such as the notion of assessment as part of political control. This involves an exploration of the extent to which the changes in assessment have a political dimension.

The analysis is based not only on a consideration of the literature, but also on small‐scale research which involves detailed interviews with a wide range of Management Development providers in Kent.

It is concluded that the change in the approach to assessment, with the greater emphasis on more technical forms of knowledge, is a means of ensuring that the functions of education correspond to the needs of industry. These developments are seen as part of a subtle process designed to increase the influence of industrialists at the expense of educationalists.     

美国大学系主任管理和领导角色探析

在美国,系是大学最基本的组成单位。因此,大学系主任几乎负责与教、学、研及向社会提供服务有关的各项活动,通常扮演管理和领导的双重角色。其主要的工作包括开发师资、组织管理本系的各项日常活动和事务、领导本系的整体发展以及从事教学科研工作。显而易见,美国高等教育能够达到今天的水准与系主任的贡献是分不开的。中国高校正在面临、或在不同程度上进行内部结构和职能的调整和重组。尤其是许多大学纷纷成立学院。因而,对系主任管理领导角色进行重新定位具有深远意义。相信了解和借鉴国外的成功经验定有裨益。     

How performance assessment for leaders (PAL) influences preparation program quality and effectiveness

The Performance Assessment for Leaders (PAL) is a four-task evaluation system designed to improve the quality of initial school leaders in Massachusetts by evaluating candidate readiness using a rigorous, standard assessment system. By design, it is signalling leadership quality expectations to preparation programmes. Through two years of survey research with leadership preparation faculty (n?=?12) and candidates (n?=?53) who completed PAL, we explored faculty understanding the PAL assessment, assessment alignment task to programme content, candidate preparedness, and impact on programmes. Results show that faculty used PAL to improve their preparation programmes and provide high-quality learning experiences for candidates.     

Lernen an zwei Orten: das Problem des ‘Dualen System’ in der lehrerausbildung

On the basis of a study of the literature and of empirical research, the article puts forward suggestions for the improvement of teacher training programmes within a dual system.

A consecutive approach to training implies that a student spends a part of the training period in an educational institution and a part in a practical situation (i.e. on teaching practice). However, the consecutive system presents considerable problems in respect both of organisation and of the psychology of learning. Organisationally, there is the question of sequence to be faced, if the elements of theory and practice are to be brought together.

On the basis of a study of the literature of other forms of professional training, the following suggestions are made:

1. students’ activities in the school must re‐inforce their learning and be integrated with their work in the training institution;

2. their educational studies must support the acquisition of the competences needed by the teacher at the outset of his/her professional career;

3. attention must be paid to the learning needs and the potential of each student.

The article describes how a teacher training programme may follow these guidelines, leading to a ‘concurrent’ set of cycles bringing together elements of theory, practice and reflection upon practice, and in which a student may alternate between the academic institution and school practice.

After giving an overview of possible models of training the author focuses upon a specific example and provides a model of the institution‐practice link. What is important is that the learning style of the student be taken into account. Each student selects from four alternative programmes, namely: instructional variants, reflection variants, selfstudy variants, and practice variants. The contents of these four programmes are explained, and the learning outcomes of students from these differentiated programmes compared with those of students from undifferentiated, ‘normal’ programs. In summary, it is claimed that in the research project described there are positive indications for a theory‐practice link which gives students a choice of approaches and a better integration of their learning into the practical classroom situation.     

Research and Learning Information Resources

Abstract

The purpose of this non‐experimental, qualitative dissertation study was threefold: (1) to analyze leadership behavioral competencies of twenty‐one key administrators at Miami‐Dade Community College, a college selected by a national panel of experts as the best community college in the country; (2) to determine the type of organizational climate as perceived by a random sample of employees associated with these leadership qualities; and (3) to explore general connections appearing to exist between the identified leadership competencies and the perceived climate.

Research methodology utilized the Behavioral Event Interview Technique (BEIT), an operant assessment procedure, to analyze reported behavior. Data were collected through an open‐ended questionnaire, the Leadership Qualities Questionnaire (LQQ); through structured interviews; and through the Profile of College Characteristics (PCC) climate instrument, an adaptation of Likert's Profile of Organizational Characteristics which measures climate factors and leadership style.

Results of the study profiled leadership behavior coexisting with an extremely positive college environment at a large multi‐campus urban community college as indicated by the climate ratings of the four groups of employees. The six factors rated were: (1) leadership, (2) motivation, (3) communication, (4) decision‐making, (5) reward, and (6) overall climate.

A leadership competency model was formulated and translated into the form of a code book which was used to measure the degree to which each administrator possessed the twelve behavioral leadership competencies included in the model. These competencies were classified into the following categories: (1) Sense of Direction, (2) Structure for Implementation, and (3) Sense of Personal Commitment. Relatively even demonstration of each competency by the administrators suggested a balance among task‐structure and people‐orientation. Seventeen of the eighty‐four leadership behavioral indicators suggested a core of common behaviors exhibited to a large degree by the group as a whole.

Results indicated that top administrators consistently demonstrated the strongest competence in the areas measured followed by the deans and associate deans respectively. Ten of the twelve competencies appeared to be predictive of administrative position level. The three competencies which appeared most predictive were: (1) thinks globally, (2) possesses a bias for action, and (3) uses appropriate power and authority.

The significance of this study is fourfold: (1) it advances knowledge about the impact of multiple leadership behavior on employees’ satisfaction, on perceived college climate, and on institutional excellence as indicated by student achievement; (2) it has potential for influencing the training, selecting, evaluating, and developing of future and current community college administrators; (3) it has generated hypotheses for further research regarding leadership behavioral variables, their value for predicting hierarchical level of administration, and their causal influence on organizational climate; and (4) the methodology employed in the study appears to be an effective research procedure and has helped to validate further leadership theory founded on behavioral analysis.     

Improving teaching quality and the learning organisation

Abstract

This study applied a learning organisation framework to understand academic departments’ efforts to improve teaching quality. The theoretical framework was generated from literature on learning organisations, organisations devoted to continuous improvement through continuous learning. Research questions addressed relationships among departments’ vision, leadership, knowledge management, communication, learning culture, and teaching improvement. Using survey data collected from department chairs, this study found a positive association between learning organisation behaviours and the improvement of teaching.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Transnational higher education in Uzbekistan

ABSTRACT

As marketisation, stratification and performance measurement besiege Higher Education, managing change becomes a critical leadership and administrative skill. Managing the student experience and organisational reputation take on renewed significance. Yet whilst much attention is paid to quality assurance and validation processes as Higher Education seeks to develop programmes that address stakeholder demands, little work has been done that looks at course closure. It is suggested that fresh perspectives drawn from change communications scholarship, can provide practical value to university leadership teams. In particular, by recognising course closure as a form of trauma, then universities might be better placed to communicate with and support students on closing courses.     

Education and Training for Millions: Pedagogical challenges for distance education

Open learning through distance education has come to be accepted as a well-recognised mode of education and training relevant to, and necessary for, meeting the emerging demands of Indian society. Areas hitherto unreached by the conventional education system are now gradually being taken care of by the open learning system in India. One such area is the education and training of local self-government functionaries. Since their number runs in millions, it poses a pedagogical challenge for distance education. This paper argues that education and training programmes offered through the distance mode can effectively meet the training needs of a large number of functionaries, if such programmes are needs-based and give due recognition to the learning styles and preferences of the target group. The author builds his argument around the outcomes of his project in this area of training.     

ROLE AND PROBLEMS OF HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS IN PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

The formalisation of reviews of academic performance, whether it be during probation, for promotion, or for feedback to tenured staff, has put a formidable burden on heads of departments who tend to be involved in all review processes concerning staff in their department.

This paper will present and discuss some data from a current study on the role and functions of heads of departments in Australian universities. Information obtained from heads as well as from staff highlight the difficulties of heads who have to make evaluative statements on departmental staff which may further or slow down their career. Regular performance appraisal of tenured staff pose particular problems as heads have few resources at their sole disposal to reward in any tangible way excellent performance, and indeed also command few, if any, measures to ensure adequate performance. Heads may have positional authority, but academic conventions often prevent heads from exercising it. Clearly heads need leadership qualities and the ability to create a positive departmental climate so that performance reviews are experienced as constructive and rewarding.     

Training imams in the Netherlands: the failure of a post-secular endeavour

ABSTRACT

What are the reasons behind the failure of the Islamic theology and imam-training programmes at the Dutch universities? To address this question, we employed qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews (N = 38) conducted between July 2016 and January 2017. The sample consists of stakeholders such as academics teaching in the programmes, imams, Qur’an teachers, chairs of the largest Islamic organisations, and Dutch ministry and municipality officials. We analysed the establishment of the state-funded Islamic theology and imam-training programmes in the Netherlands in the light of the different theoretical accounts about the evolution of Dutch secularism after the de-pillarisation of the Dutch society. The findings suggest that the failure of the programmes stemmed from distrust in the intentions of the funding by the Dutch government, lack of confidence in the expertise of the non-Muslim academics teaching the programmes and refusal by the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), to cooperate with the universities for the set-up of the programmes. This study shows that future attempts for Islamic theology programmes in the Dutch universities will need to establish better connections with the grassroots of the Dutch Muslim communities.