The paper is a product of an analysis of two higher education leadership frameworks by Martin Trow and Bolman and Deal, and internationalisation of higher education literature. The analysis was conducted to establish the flexible leadership framework for the complex and everchanging higher-education and multifaced and diversified internationalisation environment. The study used an interpretive and descriptive approach. Qualitative data was generated through document analysis. Thematic analysis and qualitative analysis were deployed to identify emerging and dominating themes as a focus for interpretation. The spike on the discourse on internationalization of higher education has stimulated higher education institutions to actively straddle between responding to national needs and international demands with all its significance and ramifications. The university institutions and systems are now large and complex organisations requiring skilled management, innovative leadership, and effective frameworks for decision-making. The developed five-dimensional higher education leadership framework is emerged from the reflections on Bolman and Deal and Trow higher education frameworks and insights into leadership activities relating to the internationalisation of higher education. The framework addresses clear and specific activities, and has broader coverage, and recognises the academic, structural, and managerial imperatives. The leadership framework represents a continuous sequence in the organisation’s operation. All the leadership dimensions are at the same level of importance, and the sequence of operation has no direction because the sequence is based on appropriate tasks rather than direction. The leadership framework introduces leaders to flexibility on appropriate leadership approaches in a complex higher-education and diversified internationalisation environment.
References
[1]
Altbach, P. G. (2014). The Emergence of a Field: Research and Training in Higher Education. Studies in Higher Education, 39, 1306-1320. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.949541
[2]
Avolio, B. J., Walumbwa, F. O., & Weber, T. J. (2009). Leadership: Current Theories, Research, and Future Directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 421-449. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163621
[3]
Avolio, B. J., Zhu, W., Koh, W., & Bhatia, P. (2004). Transformational Leadership and Organizational Commitment: Mediating Role of Psychological Empowerment and Moderating Role of Structural Distance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 951-968. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.283
[4]
Bennett, R., & Kane, S. (2011). Internationalization of U.K. University Business Schools: A Survey of Current Practice. Journal of Studies in International Education, 15, 351-373. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315309348736
[5]
Bloom, D., Canning, D., & Chan, K. (2005). Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa. The World Bank.
[6]
Bolden, R., Petrov, G., & Gosling, J. (2008). Tensions in Higher Education Leadership: Towards a Multi‐level Model of Leadership Practice. Higher Education Quarterly, 62, 358-376. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2273.2008.00398.x
[7]
Bolman, L., & Deal, T. (2008). Reframing Organisations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership. John Wiley and Sons.
[8]
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9, 27-40. https://doi.org/10.3316/qrj0902027
[9]
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
[10]
Bryman, A. (2007). Effective Leadership in Higher Education: A Literature Review. Studies in Higher Education, 32, 693-710. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070701685114
[11]
Chan, R., Brown, G. T., & Ludlow, L. (2014). What Is the Purpose of Higher Education? A Comparison of Institutional and Student Perspectives on the Goals and Purposes of Completing a Bachelor’s Degree in the 21st Century. In the Annual American Education Research Association (AERA) Conference.
[12]
De Wit, H. (2013). An Introduction to Higher Education Internationalisation. Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
[13]
Engberg, D., & Green, M. F. (2002). Promising Practices: Spotlighting Excellence in Comprehensive Internationalization. American Council on Education.
[14]
Fullan, M., & Scott, G. (2009). Turnaround Leadership for Higher Education. Jossey Bass/Wiley.
[15]
Fulton-Calkins, P., & Milling, C. (2005). Community-College Leadership: An Art to Be Practiced: 2010 and Beyond. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 29, 233-250. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668920590901176
[16]
Heyl, J. D., & Tullbane, J. (2012). Leadership in International Higher Education. In D. K. Deardorff, H. De Wit, J. D. Heyl, & T. Adams (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of International Higher Education (pp. 113-130). SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452218397.n7
[17]
Kehm, B. M., & Teichler, U. (2007). Research on Internationalisation in Higher Education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11, 260-273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315307303534
[18]
Kezar, A. J., Carducci, R., & Contreras-McGavin, M. (2006). Rethinking the “L” Word in Higher Education: The Revolution of Research on Leadership. ASHE Higher Education Report, Volume 31, Number 6. Jossey-Bass.
[19]
Knight, J. (2008). The Internationalization of Higher Education: Complexities and Realities. In D. Teferra, & J. Knight (Eds.), Higher Education in Africa: The International Dimension. AAU/CIHE.
[20]
Knight, J. (2015). International Universities: Misunderstandings and Emerging Models? Journal of Studies in International Education, 19, 107-121. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315315572899
[21]
Lipman-Blumen, J. (2006). Individual and Organizational Achieving Styles: A Conceptual Handbook for Researchers and Human Resource Professionals. The Achieving Styles Institute.
[22]
McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2014). Research in Education: Evidence Based Inquiry (7th ed.). Pearson International Edition.
[23]
Mestenhauser, J. A., & Ellingboe, B. J. (2005). Leadership Knowledge and International Education. International Educator, 14, 36-43.
[24]
Muchiri, M. K. (2011). Leadership in Context: A Review and Research Agenda for Sub‐ Saharan Africa. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84, 440-452. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8325.2011.02018.x
[25]
Rumbley, L. E., Altbach, P. G., & Reisberg, L. (2012). Internationalization within the Higher Education Context. In D. K. Deardorff, H. De Wit, J. D. Heyl, & T. Adams (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of International Higher Education (pp. 3-26). SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452218397.n1
[26]
Sehoole, C., & De Wit, H. (2014). The Regionalisation, Internationalisation, and Globalisation of African Higher Education. International Journal of African Higher Education, 1, 217-241. https://doi.org/10.6017/ijahe.v1i1.5648
[27]
Teferra, D., & Knight, J. (2008) Introduction. In D. Teferra, & J. Knight (Eds.), Higher Education in Africa: The International Dimension. AAU/CIHE.
[28]
Tight, M. (2002). What Does It Mean to Be a Professor? Higher Education Review, 34, 15-31.
[29]
Tight, M. (2022). Research into Leadership in Higher Education: A Systematic Review. In A. Blair, D. Evans, C. Hughes, & M. Tight (Eds.), International Perspectives on Higher Education Research (pp. 5-22). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/s1479-362820220000015001
[30]
Trow, M. (1985). Comparative Reflections on Leadership in Higher Education. European Journal of Education, 20, 143-159. https://doi.org/10.2307/1502944
[31]
Xu, X. (2021). A Policy Trajectory Analysis of the Internationalisation of Chinese Humanities and Social Sciences Research (1978-2020). International Journal of Educational Development, 84, Article ID: 102425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102425
[32]
Xu, X. (2022). Epistemic Diversity and Cross-Cultural Comparative Research: Ontology, Challenges, and Outcomes. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 20, 36-48. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2021.1932438
[33]
Xu, X. (2023). Towards a Chinese Definition of Higher Education Internationalisation? A Systematic Review of the Chinese and English Literature. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 44, 364-388. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2023.2200075
[34]
Yukl, G. (2006). Leadership in Organizations. Prentice Hall.
[35]
Zeleza, P. T. (2012). Internationalisation in Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges for the Knowledge Project in the Global South. SARUA Leadership Dialogue Series, 4, 4-27.
