Purpose: The primary aim of this study is to delve into the causes of occupational stress and burnout amongst administrative staff members in Pakistani universities. It does so by employing a qualitative research strategy, offering a comprehensive understanding of the issue. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a qualitative research…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how Hispanic female administrators describe their experiences with discrimination at work, and how those experiences may have played a role in their career progression as community college leaders in the United States. The theoretical foundation of the study was critical race theory…

This qualitative narrative study is the first attempt to examine the experiences, motivations, and career pathways of foreign-born academic leaders who serve as deans at U.S. research universities. We interviewed 13 foreign-born deans from 10 different countries representing six disciplines. Participants in our study did not follow a predetermined…

Decades of established research have focused on the attrition, workplace trauma, and career burnout of student affairs (SA) professionals working at colleges and universities (see N. J. Evans, 1988; Herr & Strange, 1985; Perez & Bettencourt, 2024; Walterbusch, 2019). The purpose of this generic qualitative research study (Khalke, 2016) was…

Brain drain poses a substantial challenge to Nigerian higher education, impacting faculty retention and educational standards. Guided by SET and PPFT theories, this basic qualitative study explored administrative strategies to mitigate brain drain. Ten people, including deans and faculty members, participated in virtual interviews for the study.…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate in the context of quality assurance (QA), how stakeholders define quality education and its connections to maximize value for the stakeholder using a grounded theory approach. Design/methodology/approach: A four-stage research design using grounded theory methodology was used to develop and…

The higher education (HE) landscape continues to grow in complexity; thus, there is a need to improve the understanding of leadership in this context. This action research (AR) study was undertaken in a multi-disciplinary context of an Australian university to develop and evaluate an action learning (AL) project promoting leadership practice. An…

The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of workplace stress and its impact on the performance of faculty members working in Pakistani universities. Data were collected from five public and private sector universities in two phases based on mixed method design. In the interview phase, 10 university teachers were asked open ended…

Studies in the literature have demonstrated underrepresentation of women in higher education leadership. Nonetheless, women leaders have achieved success when they received strong institutional support. However, even with supportive institutional policies like family leave, there was a need for mapping a more defined career pathway for aspiring…

This narrative study explored the personal and professional experiences of eight African American women vice presidents for student affairs (VPSA) employed at predominately White institutions (PWIs) and the persistence strategies they used while working at a PWI. Through the use of narrative inquiry methods, I utilized a purposeful sample of eight…

Much has been written about the glass ceiling and pay differentials in higher and further education (HE, FE) for women academics (McTavish and Miller 2009, Rees 2007) but very little about discrepancies for women "professional managers" within UK higher education. Professional managers as a term needs to be defined as universities call…

The purpose of this study was to explore the performance appraisal experience of 14 mid-level women in student affairs administration at four-year colleges and universities in Northern Illinois using a qualitative research approach involving personal interviews. Previous research on career development and advancement of mid-level women in student…

Drawing from their varied experiences, the authors of this helpful guide, now in its second edition, offer firsthand advice on the skills and attitude needed to succeed as a community college leader. Topics include: (1) Making the right career choices; (2) Thriving and surviving on the job; (3) Navigating institutional politics; (4) Taking the…

Some conceptual frameworks guide the work of university administrators, informing effective hiring, planning, and budgeting.

This collection contains 14 papers that focus on the work and workers in higher education (HE) from a British perspective for the purpose of encouraging further research, study and debate in the exploration of the dynamics within HE. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 addresses the workers, part 2 the work, and part 3 the work context.…