Perception gap: Academic leadership styles in Maldivian higher education institutes
Vol 9, Issue 3, 2024, Article identifier:
VIEWS - 441 (Abstract) 185 (PDF)
Abstract
Leadership stems from recognition and acceptance, surpassing the mere reliance on their title. Research indicates varying perceptions of relationship values between leaders and followers. A leader’s crucial awareness of these differences prevents harm to the institution through disagreements that expose poor style and self-knowledge. This study examines the perception difference of deans’ leadership styles in Maldives higher education institutes using self-rating and their lecturers’ perceptions using followers rating. In this study, a sequential explanatory mixed-method design was used. The first phase collected data via surveys from deans and lecturers (N = 190) from nine different HEI, with SPSS used for analysis. The second phase included qualitative interviews with deans and lecturers (N = 21), which were evaluated using template analysis. The independent sample t-test was used to assess the difference in averages between two independent groups, leaders and lecturers. According to the data, there was a slight statistically significant difference between deans’ self-assessments of their own current leadership styles and lecturers’ ratings of their leaders’ existing leadership styles. On the other side, it was discovered that both leaders and lecturers like the same leadership approaches. The findings of this research study suggest institutes to focus on developing academic deans’ leadership styles based on followers’ perception. Leadership measurement should consider both leaders’ and subordinates’ perceptions to avoid flawed conclusions. Also, this study calls for academic deans to reflect on their leadership, acknowledge limitations, and engage in developmental activities for growth.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
1. Birnbaum RR. How academic leadership works. Jossey-Bass; 1992.
2. Scott G, Coates H, Anderson M. Learning leaders in times of change: Academic leadership capabilities for Australian higher. Australian Council for Educational Research. 2008.
3. Karadağ N. The Senior Managers’ Opinions on the Academic Leadership Process. Acta Didactica Napocensia. 2017, 10(4): 79-92. doi: 10.24193/adn.10.4.9
4. Gmelch WH, Buller JL. Building academic leadership capacity: a guide to best practices. Jossey-Bass; 2015.
5. Zacher H, Bal PM. Professor age and research assistant ratings of passive-avoidant and proactive leadership: the role of age-related work concerns and age stereotypes. Studies in Higher Education. 2012, 37(7): 875-896. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2011.557829
6. Krintzline K. Examining university administrators’ leadership styles and their influence on the sense of belonging of adjunct instructors teaching online courses [PhD thesis]. Northcentral University; 2016.
7. Patton W. The many faces of leadership: leading people and change in Australian higher education. Journal of Educational Administration and History. 2021. 53(2): 121-131. doi: 10.1080/00220620.2020.1793740
8. Waheeda A. Being a dean in Maldives: Academic leadership challenges. Asian Journal of Research in Education and Social Sciences. 2019, 1(2): 1-9.
9. Anderson MH, Sun PYT. Reviewing Leadership Styles: Overlaps and the Need for a New ‘Full‐Range’ Theory. International Journal of Management Reviews. 2015, 19(1): 76-96. doi: 10.1111/ijmr.12082
10. Arntzen E. The changing role of deans in higher education—from leader to manager. Universal Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(9): 2068-2075. doi: 10.13189/ujer.2016.040918
11. Popovici V. Similarities and differences between management and leadership. Economy Series. 2012. 2: 126-135.
12. Kotter JP. A force for change: how leadership differs from management. Free Press; 1990.
13. Covey SR. The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change. Simon & Schuster; 1989.
14. Gedro J, Allain NM, De-Souza D, et al. Flattening the learning curve of leadership development: reflections of five women higher education leaders during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Human Resource Development International. 2020, 23(4): 395-405. doi: 10.1080/13678868.2020.1779911
15. Astin WA, Astin HS. Leadership Reconsidered: Engaging higher education in social change. 2000.
16. Beerkens M, van der Hoek M, Sarrico C, et al. Academic leaders and leadership in the changing higher education landscape. Edward Elgar Publishing; 2022. pp. 121-136.
17. Wood RD. Leadership behaviors of academic college deans in Mississippi’s eight state-supported universities [PhD thesis]. The University of Southern Mississippi; 2004.
18. Floyd A. Supporting Academic Middle Managers in Higher Education: Do We Care? Higher Education Policy. 2015, 29(2): 167-183. doi: 10.1057/hep.2015.11
19. Graham AT. Role of academic managers in workload and performance management of academic staff. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 2016, 44(6): 1042-1063. doi: 10.1177/1741143215587312
20. Meek VL, Goedegebuure L, Santiago R, Carvalho T. The changing dynamics of higher education middle management. Springer Science & Business Media; 2010.
21. Smith R. The Role of the University Head of Department. Educational Management & Administration. 2002, 30(3): 293-312. doi: 10.1177/0263211x020303004
22. Smith R. Departmental Leadership and Management in Chartered and Statutory Universities. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 2005, 33(4): 449-464. doi: 10.1177/1741143205056305
23. Waheeda A, Vasudevan, A, Hai ST et al. Nurturing academic leadership: A quest for the ideal academic leadership style for Maldives higher education. International Journal of Education and Practice. 2023, 11(4): 837-851.
24. De Boer H, Goedegebuure L. The changing nature of academic deanship. Leadership. 2009, 5(3): 347-364. doi: 10.1177/1742715009337765
25. Del Favero M. Disciplinary variation in preparation for the academic dean role. Higher Education Research & Development. 2006, 25(3): 277-292. doi: 10.1080/07294360600793069
26. Rosser VJ, Johnsrud LK, Heck RH. Academic Deans and Directors: Assessing Their Effectiveness from Individual and Institutional Perspectives. The Journal of Higher Education. 2003, 74(1): 1-25. doi: 10.1353/jhe.2003.0007
27. Jamali AR, Bhutto A, Khaskhely M, et al. Impact of leadership styles on faculty performance: Moderating role of organizational culture in higher education. Management Science Letters. 2022, 12(1): 1-20. doi: 10.5267/j.msl.2021.8.005
28. Burns JM. Leadership. Harper & Row; 1978.
29. Antonakis J, Avolio BJ, Sivasubramaniam N. Context and leadership: an examination of the nine-factor full-range leadership theory using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The Leadership Quarterly. 2003, 14(3): 261-295. doi: 10.1016/s1048-9843(03)00030-4
30. Bass BM. Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press; 1985.
31. Ngwama JC, Ogaga-Oghene JO. Leadership change and employee commitment. An empirical study of transformational and transnational leadership style in a university. International Journal of Economic Behavior. 2022, 12(1): 101-112. doi: 10.14276/2285-0430.3382
32. Lustik CM. Distance education leadership: Self-perceptions of effective leadership attributes [PhD thesis]. Capella University; 2008.
33. Rhodes C, Brundrett M, Nevill A. Leadership, Talent Identification and Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2008.
34. Avolio BJ. Promoting more integrative strategies for leadership theory-building. American Psychologist. 2007, 62(1): 25-33. doi: 10.1037/0003-066x.62.1.25
35. Farahnak LR, Ehrhart MG, Torres EM, et al. The influence of transformational leadership and leader attitudes on subordinate attitudes and implementation success. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. 2019, 27(1): 98-111. doi: 10.1177/1548051818824529
36. Avolio BJ, Bass BM. Individual consideration viewed at multiple levels of analysis: A multi-level framework for examining the diffusion of transformational leadership. The Leadership Quarterly. 1995, 6(2): 199-218. doi: 10.1016/1048-9843(95)90035-7
37. Bass BM, Riggio RE. Transformational leadership. Routledge; 2005.
38. Dundon JL. Nonprofit and for -profit leaders in higher education: An analysis of the differences in leadership dimensions [PhD thesis]. Capella University; 2008.
39. Odumeru JA, Ifeanyi GO. Transformational vs Transactional Leadership Theories: Evidence in Literature. 2013.
40. Hargis MB, Wyatt JD, Piotrowski C. Developing leaders: examining the role of transactional and transformational leadership across contexts business. Organization Development Journal. 2001, 29(3): 51-66.
41. Asrar-ul-Haq M, Kuchinke KP. Impact of leadership styles on employees’ attitude towards their leader and performance: Empirical evidence from Pakistani banks. Future Business Journal. 2016, 2(1): 54-64. doi: 10.1016/j.fbj.2016.05.002
42. Chukwusa J. Autocratic Leadership Style: Obstacle to Success in Academic Libraries. Library Philosophy and Practice (ejournal). 2018.
43. Maqsood S, Bilal H, Nazir S, Baig R. Manager’s leadership styles and employee’s job satisfaction. Human and Social Science Research. 2013. 1(2): 139-144.
44. Spillane J P, Diamond JB. Distributed leadership in practice. New York: Teachers College Press Stogdill, R. M. (1948). Personal factors associated with leadership: A survey of literature. Journal of Psychology. 2007, 25: 35–71.
45. Schlechty PC. Shaking up the schoolhouse. Nobel Yayınları. 2005.
46. Malloy JP. Effects of distributed leadership on teachers’ academic optimism and student achievement [PhD thesis]. The University of Toronto; 2012.
47. Penlington C, Kington A, Day C. Leadership in improving schools: a qualitative perspective. School Leadership & Management. 2008, 28(1): 65-82. doi: 10.1080/13632430701800086
48. Spillane JP. Distributed leadership, 1st ed. Jossey-Bass; 2006.
49. Halverson R. Systems of practice and professional community: The Adams Case. In: Spillane JP (editor). Distributed leadership in practice. Teachers College Press; 2007.
50. Northouse PG. Leadership: Theory and Practice, 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2007.
51. Idowu SA. Impact of leadership styles on employees’ work performance in some south-western Nigerian private universities. Economics Insights. 2020, 8(4): 27-46.
52. Waheeda A. Relationship between the existing and ideal academic leadership styles in Maldivian higher education institutes. International Journal of Social Research & Innovation. 2022, 6(2): 65-86. doi: 10.55712/ijsri.v6i2.60
53. Pahi MH, Hamid KA. The magic of destructive leadership: Laissez-faire leadership and commitment to service quality. International Journal of Economic Perspectives. 2016. 10(4): 602-609.
54. Avolio BJ. Full range leadership development. Sage Publications; 2011.
55. Mohamed R, Saeed S. Relationship between leadership style and job satisfaction among physicians working in Greater Male’ hospitals. International Journal of Social Research and Innovation. Published online June 24, 2022: 1-30. doi: 10.55712/ijsri.v6i1.52
56. Halpin AW. Theory and Research in Administration. Macmillan, NY; 1966.
57. Zopiatis A, Constanti P. Leadership styles and burnout: is there an association? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 2010, 22(3): 300-320. doi: 10.1108/09596111011035927
58. Otara A. Perception: A guide for managers and leaders. Journal of Management and Strategy. 2011, 2(3). doi: 10.5430/jms.v2n3p21
59. Sims RR, Quatro SA. Leadership: Succeeding in The Private, Public, and Not-For-Profit Sectors: Succeeding in The Private, Public, And Not-For-Profit Sectors. Routledge; 2015.
60. Williams KE. Examining the relationship between perceived full -range leadership behaviors of college faculty and student satisfaction [PhD thesis]. Northcentral University; 2016.
61. Jones D, Rudd R. Transactional, transformational, or laissez-faire leadership: An assessment of college of agriculture academic program leadersʼ (deans) leadership styles. Journal of Agricultural Education. 2008. 49(2): 88-97. doi: 10.5032/jae.2008.02088
62. Al-Husseini S, Elbeltagi I. Transformational leadership and innovation: a comparison study between Iraq’s public and private higher education. Studies in Higher Education. 2014, 41(1): 159-181. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2014.927848
63. Firestone DT. A study of leadership behaviors among chairpersons in allied health programs. Journal of Allied Health. 2010. 39(1): 34-42.
64. Creswell JW, Creswell JD. Mixed Methods Procedures. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approach, 5th ed. SAGE Publications, Inc; 2018. pp. 213-246.
65. Waheeda A, Shaheeda, F. Academic leaders’ leadership styles in higher education institutions in the Republic of Maldives. International Journal of Education, Psychology and Counseling. 2017, 3(10): 65-74.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54517/esp.v9i3.2153
(441 Abstract Views, 185 PDF Downloads)
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2024 Aishath Waheeda, Fathmath Nishan
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/