Universities, Leadership of

Leadership became a ubiquitous term in education policy during the 1990s, substituting for concepts of management or administration, when governments devolved greater responsibility down to educational institutions. Despite the radical reform of higher education globally since the 1980s as nation-states sought to harness universities to national or regional economic priorities, leadership has been, until recently in higher education, relatively under-researched and under-theorised. Nevertheless, the field of research agrees that leadership requires management of people and resources but those in management are not necessarily leaders.

Leadership in universities is often equated to professorial positions (chairs) or located in middle and senior management (heads of schools, departments, deans, and above such as provosts, rectors, presidents, and vice chancellors). Consequently, leadership practice primarily drew from management theory and practice. ...