Middle leaders’ learning in a university context

Franken, Margaret; Penney, Dawn; Branson, Christopher M.

doi:10.1080/1360080x.2015.1019120

Cited by 26 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The English language literature surrounding heads of department in higher education is almost exclusively Western, concentrating on the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The role of the head of department may vary across institutions but typically, it may include providing a sense of direction/ strategic vision, allocating staff teaching time/workload, acting as a role model, creating a positive and collegial work atmosphere and advancing the departments cause internally and externally of the institution (Bryman, 2007), mentoring individual staff, undertaking staff performance reviews and responsibility for staff development (Franken, Penney, & Branson, 2015). However, it is also noted that the role is changing and increasingly becoming more complex (Floyd, 2012).…”

Section: The Challenges Facing Higher Education Heads Of Departmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Student intimidation, no pay and hunger strikes: the challenges facing Heads of Department in Bangladesh colleges

Gibson

2020

Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management

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The role of the Head of Department is at the heart of tertiary education; it is where institutional policy and procedure is predominately enacted. The extant literature on the nature and challenges of such roles is almost exclusively from the Western world. The research that this article reports on examined the leadership and management structures and staff progression routes in Bangladesh colleges. The project then explored the roles and challenges facing Heads of Department in the colleges. Four focus groups were held comprising of a total of 26 Heads of Department from Bangladesh colleges. Findings indicate that the Bangladesh higher education system is highly centralised, from the Ministry of Education and the National University. Participants report their role as primarily paper-based administration with little autonomy. The challenges they face involve dealing with acute staffing shortages, student political activists and no preparation and development in the form of training. These roles and challenges differ from roles in higher education in the literature.

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Section: The Challenges Facing Higher Education Heads Of Departmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Student intimidation, no pay and hunger strikes: the challenges facing Heads of Department in Bangladesh colleges

Gibson

2020

Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management

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“…Finally, with increase of time spent on working in a specific department an employee can develop greater organizational commitment that can increase proneness to knowledge sharing disregard of its sensitivity (Franken, Penney, & Branson, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work experience influence on the knowledge sharing barriers perceived significance by higher educational institutions administrative employees

Blagov¹,

Pleshkova

Begler³

2020

Knowl Process Manag

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The article describes the influence of the work experience of the administrative employees of the higher educational institutions on the perceived significance of knowledge sharing barriers faced by them in their work activities. The methodology suggests testing the relationship between the work experience and the 12 knowledge sharing barriers perceived significance (estimated from the positions of the respondent as a knowledge requester and a knowledge holder, thus giving 24 equations) by linear regression modeling. The equations with statistically significant work experience coefficient contain the perceived significance of the knowledge sharing barrier of requested knowledge sensitivity for its holder, both for the respondents' knowledge requester and holder position. On the basis of the educed results, recommendations are given to managers of the higher educational institutions administrative subdivisions regarding mitigating the influence of the barrier of the requested knowledge importance for its holder, especially considering its influence on the employees with smaller work experience. Several recommendations to business practitioners outside of the higher educational institutions are also given, regarding collaboration with such institutions' administrative subdivisions. This article develops the inquiry into the knowledge sharing barriers problem in the higher educational institutions administrative subdivisions, that have not been a specific object of research in knowledge sharing barriers before the research project including the research presented in the current article. A number of further research directions is also suggested.

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“…However, they can face serious and genuine challenges in becoming professional academic managers who can bring about the changes needed for institutions' sustained performance [22,23]. For one thing, there is an issue of role ambiguity and role conflict [11,12,[24][25][26][27][28][29] and blurring boundaries of authority and power [11,26,[29][30][31][32]. For another, there is an issue of training and professional development.…”

Section: Mid-level Academic Managers In a Developing Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For another, there is an issue of training and professional development. Different scholars have remarked on this lack of research into the professional qualities and professional development for heads of departments [13,26,27,29,33]. Nguyen [24] particularly points to the Western-biased nature of existing studies on mid-level academic managers, highlighting the need to understand mid-level academic leadership in a specific context and tradition.…”

Section: Mid-level Academic Managers In a Developing Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Key Competencies of Mid-Level Academic Managers in Higher Education in Vietnam

et al. 2019

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Vietnamese higher education has been subjected to constant pressures and major changes in the last few decades so as to meet the country's needs for socio-economic development and to better prepare graduates for employment and personal growth. There has been greater recognition for the role of mid-level academic managers as key contributors to effective institutional performance and success. However, an understanding of what constitutes a competent mid-level academic manager, who are heads of faculties, departments, academic offices and specialized centers, for the context of Vietnam is limited. This study employs an exploratory and mixed-method approach to identify the core competencies required for mid-level academic managers at Vietnamese higher education institutions. Findings from focus group discussions and a survey conclude five professional domains for effective mid-level academic management and sustainable development yet, in the meantime, reveal the gap between institutional expectations and the actual competencies of academic heads as perceived by academic heads themselves, their supervisors and their team members.

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Middle leaders’ learning in a university context

Cited by 26 publications

References 32 publications

Student intimidation, no pay and hunger strikes: the challenges facing Heads of Department in Bangladesh colleges

Student intimidation, no pay and hunger strikes: the challenges facing Heads of Department in Bangladesh colleges

Work experience influence on the knowledge sharing barriers perceived significance by higher educational institutions administrative employees

Exploring Key Competencies of Mid-Level Academic Managers in Higher Education in Vietnam

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