Competencies which shape leadership

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 514-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Delia Davila Quintana ◽  
Jose-Gines Mora Ruiz ◽  
Luis E. Vila

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse three dimensions of leadership behaviour in professional environments by disclosing the specific competency profile developed by those who actually lead in work organizations. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from a graduate survey oriented to provide evidence on the transition from higher education to labour market, a structural equations model (SEM) is specified and estimated to explain leadership behaviour at work in terms of the competency profile developed by individuals and its determinants. The competency profile behind leadership behaviour is the combination of two elements: the competency accumulated through professional experience and the competency profile of individuals five years before, which was partially a result of higher education. The relationships are tested on two subsamples of graduates from engineering and business/economics fields, and on a sample of graduates from all study fields. Findings – Estimates show evidence of significant direct and indirect effects of a specific competency profile on three connected dimensions of leadership behaviour at work: tasks, relations and change. The results show direct effects of competency profiles at the time of graduation on competency profiles five years later, and of specific higher education ways of teaching and learning on competency profiles at the time of graduation. The effects are also significant by field of study with slight differences on estimates size and on the composition of effects. Originality/value – The analysis brings together leadership behaviour, competency development and education production literatures to help scholars and managers to better understand the relationships between the process of competency development and individual leadership behaviour in working environments.

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Etse ◽  
Coral Ingley

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of attention to and the nature of sustainability issues in the curriculum of the Higher National Diploma (HND) Purchasing and Supply Management programme of Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – Documentary research is the approach used to analyse the curriculum document for the programme of study. Findings – Findings of this study reveal a low presence of sustainability in the curriculum, and most of the sustainability sub-topics address issues of social justice, while economic sustainability issues feature the least. Practical implications – Deliberate and greater efforts should be made to integrate sustainability in the curriculum; all three dimensions of sustainability need to be well represented in the teaching and learning experiences; and there should be training and sensitisation of all relevant stakeholders in issues of sustainability. Originality/value – This study provides an analysis of a higher education curriculum in terms of attention given to sustainability and the nature of sustainability issues addressed therein. It sets the research agenda for the study of curricula of other programmes for sustainability, as research literature on higher education curricula for sustainability in Africa, especially Ghana, is scarce (GUNi et al., 2011).


2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 1634-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis E. Vila ◽  
Pedro J. Perez ◽  
Francisco G. Morillas

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the production function nexus between higher education practice and the development of innovation‐related competencies by university graduates in Spain. The research hypothesis is the presence of statistically significant relationships between the development of innovational competencies and the modes of teaching and learning used in higher education practice.Design/methodology/approachThe relationships are modeled through a set of stochastic frontier and variance component equations with the development of each competency as the dependent variable. The main explanatory variables capture the prevalence of diverse teaching/learning modes and the behavior of graduates during their studies. Controls for individual and study programs are also included. Data comes from the European graduate survey REFLEX and includes about 5,500 records.FindingsEstimates show evidence of significant marginal effects of the teaching and learning modes and the development of specific competencies by graduates. Proactive methods in general, and problem‐based learning in particular, appear as the most effective classroom practices to develop the competencies required to innovate in the workplace.Research limitations/implicationsTo guide the implementation of reforms in higher education, more must be learned about possible trade‐offs between the diverse types of resources involved and the outcomes obtained. Resources should be examined in terms of their relative costs and the results interpreted with regard to their value to individuals and society.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to explore quantitatively the influence of higher education practice on the development of the capabilities required to innovate in the workplace.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Barton Essel ◽  
Dimitrios Vlachopoulos ◽  
Dickson Adom ◽  
Akosua Tachie-Menson

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone. In addition, the study aims to identify the associations between the audio teleconferencing and video teleconferencing in a 12-week postgraduate course. Design/methodology/approach The study is a cross-sectional survey conducted at the Department of Educational Innovations at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology from March to June 2020. The purposive sampling technique was used to sample 100 postgraduate students who registered for a course in the department. The data for the study were collected using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and 17-item self-administered eQuestionnaire. Multiple Linear Regression analysis, ANOVA, Independent sample T-test and Mann–Whitney U-test were used to estimate the differences in course achievements of students who experienced education through audio teleconferencing and those who experienced education through video teleconferencing. Findings In total, 59% of the participating postgraduate students chose to attend the synchronous online lectures via audio teleconferencing (dial-in). The participants gave a high SUS score (SUS > 80.3; Grade A; Excellent) for audio conferencing service. Among the students in the audio teleconferencing cohort, the results evidenced a strong positive linear correlation, (r (57) = 0.79, p < 0.05), between the individual adjective ratings and the SUS scores. There was marginal significance among demography of students in the audio teleconference (AT) cohort with regards to their perception about the dial-in lecture. There was no statistically significant difference, (t (98) = 1.88, p = 0.063), in the achievement test for AT students and video teleconference (VT) students. The instructors and the students were satisfied with the AT. Practical implications Based on the students’ preference, AT offers equal benefit as VT with regards to system satisfaction and perceived quality of online teaching. AT, as teaching modality, should be an option for students who reside in communities with high latency internet connectivity. It is recommended that instructors are trained on how to engage and motivate students via AT. Originality/value Higher education institutions in Ghana are facing decisions about how to continue learning and teaching through flexible pedagogy, while keeping their faculty members and students protected from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these institutions have canceled the brick-and-mortar education and other conventional learning practices and have instructed faculty to adopt online teaching through synchronous video teleconferencing platforms. However, the learning experience is not the same for students who reside in remote or rural communities with low bandwidth. There is very little research in this topic, especially in developing countries like Ghana, and the present study aims to bridge the gap in the literature by exploring the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone, in the context of a 12-week postgraduate course.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Deshmukh

PurposeThe pandemic-induced global shift to remote learning calls for rethinking the foundations of design for higher education. This watershed moment in global health and human interaction has accelerated changes in higher education that were long emergent and amplified specific deficiencies and strengths in pedagogical models, causing institutions to reevaluate current structures and operations of learning and campus life as they question their vision and purpose. Since physical space has largely been taken out of the equation of university life, it is evident that fresh design research related to this new normal is required.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research study speculates on new possibilities for the future of campus, based upon insights and inferences gained from one-on-one interviews with faculty and students in multiple countries about their personal experiences with the sudden shift to the virtual classroom. The longer the mode of physical distancing stretched through Spring 2020, these phone and web-enabled dialogues – first with faculty (teachers) and then with students (learners) – lead to a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how the notion of the campus for higher education was itself morphing in ways expected and unexpected.FindingsAt the heart of this study lies the question – Has COVID-19 killed the campus? This study suggests that it has not. However, campuses are now on a path of uneven evolution, and risk shedding the good with the extraneous without eyes-wide-open rethinking and responsive planning. This two-part qualitative analysis details the experiments and strategies followed by educators and students as the pandemic changed their ways of teaching and learning. It then speculates out-of-the-norm possibilities which campuses could explore as they navigate the uncertainty of future terms and address paradigm shifts questioning what defines a post-secondary education.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper draws inferences from discussions limited to the first 100 days of the pandemic. This on-the-ground aspect as the pandemic continues is its strength and its limitation. As Fall 2020 progresses across global campuses, new ideas and perspectives are already reinforcing or upending some of this paper's speculations. This researcher is already engaged in new, currently-ongoing research, following up with interviewees from Spring 2020, as well as bringing in new voices to delve deeper into the possibilities discussed in this paper. This follow-up research is shaping new thinking which is not reflected in this paper.Originality/valueDesign practitioners have long-shaped campuses on the belief that the built “environment is the third teacher” and that architecture fosters learning and shapes collective experience. Educators recognize that a multiplicity of formal and informal interactions occur frequently and naturally across campus, supporting cognitive and social development, collegiality and well-being. Even today's digital-native-students perceive the inherent value of real interpersonal engagement for meaningful experiences. This research study offers new planning and design perspectives as institutional responses to the pandemic continue to evolve, to discover how design can support what lies at the core of the campus experience.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaw Owusu-Agyeman ◽  
Enna Moroeroe

PurposeScholarly studies on student engagement are mostly focused on the perceptions of students and academic staff of higher education institutions (HEIs) with a few studies concentrating on the perspectives of professional staff. To address this knowledge gap, this paper aims to examine how professional staff who are members of a professional community perceive their contributions to enhancing student engagement in a university.Design/methodology/approachData for the current study were gathered using semi-structured face-to-face interviews among 41 professional staff who were purposively sampled from a public university in South Africa. The data gathered were analysed using thematic analysis that involved a process of identifying, analysing, organising, describing and reporting the themes that emerged from the data set.FindingsAn analysis of the narrative data revealed that when professional staff provide students with prompt feedback, support the development of their social and cultural capital and provide professional services in the area of teaching and learning, they foster student engagement in the university. However, the results showed that poor communication flow and delays in addressing students’ concerns could lead to student disengagement. The study further argues that through continuous interaction and shared norms and values among members of a professional community, a service culture can be developed to address possible professional knowledge and skills gaps that constrain quality service delivery.Originality/valueThe current paper contributes to the scholarly discourse on student engagement and professional community by showing that a service culture of engagement is developed among professional staff when they share ideas, collaborate and build competencies to enhance student engagement. Furthermore, the collaboration between professional staff and academics is important to addressing the academic issues that confront students in the university.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dóra Horváth ◽  
Tamás Csordás ◽  
Katalin Ásványi ◽  
Julianna Faludi ◽  
Attila Cosovan ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue for the sustained need for the physical workplace and real-life encounters in higher education even in the digital age despite being seemingly transformable into the virtual sphere as seen during the COVID-19 situation. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a collaborative autoethnography by a group of seven higher educators with an overall 2,134 student encounters during the study’s time span. The authors then connect these practitioner observations with relevant COVID-19-related studies thereby adding to research on higher education as a workplace. Findings The data suggest that the physical workplace strongly bolsters the personal experience and effectiveness of higher education through contributing to its dynamics. Spaces predetermine the scope and levels of human interaction of teaching and learning. In a physical setting, all senses serve as mediators, whereas, online, only two senses are involved: vision and hearing. The two-dimensional screen becomes a mediator of communications. In the physical space, actors are free to adjust the working space, whereas the online working space is limited and defined by platforms. Practical implications Although higher education institutions may indeed fully substitute most practices formerly in a physical setting with online solutions, real-time encounters in the physical working space belong to its deeper raisons d'être. Originality/value This paper highlights the necessity of the physical workplace in higher education and describes the depriving potential of the exclusively online higher education teaching setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Mee Thien ◽  
Mi-Chelle Leong ◽  
Fei Ping Por

PurposeThis study aims to examine the relationship between undergraduates' course experience and their deep learning approach and to identify areas of improvement to facilitate students' deep learning in the private higher education context.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 844 Malaysian undergraduate students who studied in six private higher education institutions (HEIs) in Penang and Selangor. This study used partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) for data analysis.FindingsThe findings revealed that good teaching and appropriate assessment have no significant relationship with deep learning. Generic skills, clear goals and standards, appropriate workload and emphasis on independence are positively related to deep learning. Generic skills and emphasis on independence are two domains that deserve attention to enhance deep learning among undergraduates.Practical implicationsLecturers need to focus on to the cultivation of generic skills to facilitate students' deep learning. Student autonomy and student-centred teaching approaches should be empowered and prioritised in teaching and learning.Originality/valueThe current study has its originality in providing empirical findings to inform the significant relationship between dimensions of course experience and deep learning in Malaysian private HEIs. Besides, it also identifies the areas of improvement concerning teaching and learning at the private HEIs using importance-performance matrix analysis (IPMA) in a non-Western context.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dayananda P ◽  
Mrityunjaya V. Latte ◽  
Mahesh S. Raisinghani ◽  
Sowmyarani CN

PurposeStandard quality is very highly important parameter in the education sector. Accreditation is a process where standard quality of education is given and the process of continuous improvement is defined. Emphasizing quality of student education is achieved through outcome-based education system (OBE). Program outcomes signify the comprehension, skills and attitude the students should have at the end of the program. At the end of each course, course outcomes signify the knowledge acquired by the students. Course outcomes assessment is one of the key aspects of the OBE model. In this research, the following four factors: subject quality, number of times subject handled by faculty members, faculty experience and student quality with different weightage, are used for analysis of the target setting for individual courses, used for higher education accreditation. This new approach for target setting will improve the teaching and learning process.Design/methodology/approachFour factors: subject quality, number of times subject handled by faculty members, faculty experience and student quality with different weightage, are used for analysis of the target setting for individual courses, used for higher education accreditation.Practical implicationsUsing proposed approach, higher targets can be achieved in teaching and learning.FindingsNew approach for target setting will improve the teaching and learning process.Research limitations/implicationsProposed approach for target setting will improve the teaching and learning process; it should be implemented across all engineering colleges or universities.Social implicationsAll engineering colleges will have impact on teaching and learning process.Originality/valueThe following four factors: subject quality, number of times subject handled by faculty members, faculty experience and student quality with different weightage, are used for analysis of the target setting for individual courses, used for higher education accreditation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1237-1258
Author(s):  
Caroline Lacroix ◽  
Lova Rajaobelina ◽  
Anik St-Onge

PurposeThis article proposes two studies to demonstrate the impact of three dimensions of perceived experiential advertising – cognitive/affective/sensory advertising, relate advertising and behavioural advertising – on consumer behaviour (brand credibility, affective commitment and emotions) in the banking sector.Design/methodology/approachFor study 1, a total of 506 online panellists of a recognized Canadian research firm were asked to evaluate a local bank advertisement using an online self-reported questionnaire. For study 2, a total of 65 Canadian respondents recruited through Facebook and Google adverts were asked to watch two video advertisements (one more experiential and the other less experiential). After viewing the advertisements on a computer equipped with FaceReader software by Noldus, participants completed a short online questionnaire.FindingsUsing structural equations modelling, the first study shows that brand credibility explains the positive impact of perceived cognitive/affective/sensory advertising (complementary mediation) and perceived behavioural advertising (indirect mediation only) on affective commitment. The second study illustrates that the cognitive/affective/sensory dimension is more important for experiential advertising than experiential advertising. Employing FaceReader facial expression recognition software results indicate that the bank advertisement with a higher score of perceived cognitive/affective/sensory advertising produces a higher level of happiness among respondents.Originality/valueBoth studies provide new insights into perceived experiential advertising and the impact of the latter on consumers. Benefits to scholars and practitioners include an enhanced understanding of advertising effectiveness in the banking sector.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 235-250
Author(s):  
Samar Aad Makhoul

Purpose This paper aims to study the relationship between higher education accreditation and teaching and learning enhancements in academic institutions. Higher education institutions are now looking at satisfying the standard by standard list assigned by internationally recognized accreditation agencies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether outside quality confirmation can truly influence the inward life of higher education institutions. Will accreditation implementation have an impact on teaching and learning enhancement and drive institution change? Design/methodology/approach This study was based on an explanatory qualitative design whereby individual faculty members who are tenured or in tenure-track positions in business schools in Lebanese universities were interviewed. The latter universities from which interviewees were questioned are either the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited or currently pursuing accreditation. The sample included 30 faculty members from four different higher education Lebanese institutions. Findings Following thorough review of previous literature, and building on the outcomes of the interviews conducted for the purpose of this research, the author deduced that AACSB serves as the optimal guiding mechanism that incorporates effective evaluation criteria for learning quality and universities. There also exist a lack of commonality and shared standards among accrediting agencies. The researchers also highlight the need to introduce further quantification into the accrediting measures adopted including faculty retention and student attrition rates. Research limitations/implications Ranking agencies were not considered in this study. Those can be used to assess the effectiveness of higher education institutions and will provide fair quality assurance of learning. It is encouraged to incorporate the ranking agencies variable within the scope of future studies for further analysis. Practical implications The paper includes the need to introduce further quantification into the accrediting measures adopted including faculty retention and student attrition rates. Originality/value The focus of this study will be of particular interest to Business school seeking or maintaining accreditation. It will also be of interest to the Lebanese government if they want to look at having a regional accreditation. Future research could possibly explore the need to have a regional accreditation especially with the emerging numbers of higher education institutions in Lebanon.


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