University faculty members' organizational commitment has been undermined facing with the increasing managerialist pressure. Against the backdrop, this study examined the effects of departmental-level academic leaders' transformational and contingent reward leaderships on university faculty's organizational commitment through the mediating role of…

Actions of academic chairs can dramatically affect a university's effectiveness and productivity, yet many department heads move into their roles without having experienced any training on many key aspects of the job. Within one multi-campus university system, it became evident that the system lacked a consistent tool, resource, or experience…

The academic department is a key administrative unit in universities, and so heading, or chairing, a department is a key role. However, it is also known to be a challenging role and academics are often reluctant assume this position. Despite its importance, the head's role has not received sufficient academic attention and needs further…

Higher education institutions embed a large variety of organizational practices regarding how to organize, plan, and implement managerial decisions and processes. This variation is amongst others related to the multiple relationships the institutions, disciplines and professions have in their networks, formal agreements, and practical cooperation…

Reforms and changing ideas about what higher education institutions are and should be have put pressure on academic identity. The present paper explores the way academics in Danish universities make sense of their changing circumstances, and how this affects their perceptions of their organization, their leaders and of themselves. The study…

Management is one of the most studied phenomena in higher education. Most of these studies are conducted in the framework of higher education policy, academic work and quality of education and research. The management is often seen as an independent variable explaining the changes in higher education in the context of New Public Management and…

Academic values and norms have as a consequence of the wave of European higher education reforms been put under pressure by the increasing expectations and demands of flexibility, entrepreneurialism and accountability. This article examines how these changes affect identity construction processes at department head level in the case of Danish…

The preparation and induction of Early Career Academics (ECAs) in Ghana has been investigated using a qualitative study that employed an enumerative-ethnographic approach. The study combined reviews of policy documents, interviews of 50 Deans and Heads of Departments and surveys of ECAs in five purposively selected universities in Ghana to capture…

Although it has been decades since gender inequality in academe was first highlighted, institutions around the world continue to struggle with how best to address the problem. Policies and procedures intended to increase women's representation appear to have had limited impact in many departments, especially those in science, technology,…

Contemporary changes in higher education in Sweden are characterised by two educational discourses: marketisation and academisation. Demands to meet market requirements, as well as to make education more scientific, have created tensions between and within institutional cultures. Using interviews with 16 heads of departments, the authors…

Examined ways in which department heads and subject coordinators of large first-year subjects experience the leadership of teaching. Explored empirical relations between coordinators' conceptions of leadership and teachers' perceptions of leadership, and between teachers' perceptions of coordinators' leadership and teachers' approaches to…

The activities of professorial department heads and the expectations surrounding their activities in British universities are examined, based on staff interviews. Variations in the way department heads adhere to or divert from departmental policy are discussed. (LBH)

The professional development and accountability of new staff are discussed, and the University of New South Wales' department-based plan for new staff development is described. The program involves planning sessions and record keeping of responsibilities, achievements, needs for professional development, and the resources provided to assist staff.…

The results of a survey of department chairmen in nine British university-level institutions concerning the system of external evaluation, especially the duties and approaches of examiners, are discussed. (MSE)

Little empirical research has focused specifically on the process of identifying comprehensive training needs for department chairs and school directors in public universities. A case study is presented to demonstrate the systematic design and implementation of a program to comprehensively assess the training needs of department chairs and school…