Leadership in Higher Education: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The study reports and documents an analysis of responses of three leaders in a tertiary institution in Australia. An interview schedule was prepared to obtain responses from the leaders on various aspects of leadership, which were exam­ined in the context of RAMSDEN's conceptual framework of leadership in higher education. The study finds that the responses of the three leaders were close to the theoretical model of RAMSDEN in many respects. However, some differences were found in the style of leadership of the three leaders. The study finds that academic leadership poses problems that are distinctly different than leadership in business or government agencies. Academic leaders need to stay close to teaching, learning, research and scholarship to bring out the best among academics. The study could help leaders in tertiary institutions to reflect on their own qualities as academic leaders and such reflection may help improve their leadership style to achieve positive outcomes. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0403266