This article reports a mixed-methods study examining 29 academic middle leaders' viewpoints on supporting educational change in higher educational institutions in Poland. Following a three-dimensional conceptual framework emphasizing support at the individual, collegial, and environmental levels, Q methodology was adopted to collect and analyze…

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to explore the experience of student learning outcomes assessment among four midlevel student affairs managers to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of change readiness to engage in assessment practices. This study sought to address the theory-practice gap in student affairs…

This study examined perspectives among mid-level administrators in higher education of essential competencies and skills deemed essential for leading effective change efforts. The success of change management has implications throughout an institution and driving forward initiatives in student services, as well as employee engagement and…

Department heads are central in the university setting as an important buffer between university leadership and academic staff. However, taking on a middle management role can lead to significant disruptions in academic careers. To investigate the career trajectories of 31 academics in middle management roles, two waves of semi-structured…

Heads of department (HoDs) are commonly made responsible for implementing gender balance change in academia. Research has found that they are often reluctant to take ownership of this problem. Our study found that department heads in Norway did take on a lot of ownership for gender balance change and we divided their leadership approaches with…

This study considers the extent to which a professional development programme for educational leaders in a research-intensive university contributes to participants' adaptive expertise in the domain of leading educational change. We evaluated the programme by asking participants to execute an authentic task at the beginning and end of the…

Purpose: This study addresses a gap in the knowledge on how longitudinal engagement in a school improvement initiative influences change in middle leaders' (MLs') interactions and assesses how school-university partnerships around school improvement can support teachers with formal leadership roles (i.e. MLs') leadership development.…

This article examines the experiences and coping strategies of four university middle-managers during the unprecedented time of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We use the research approach of autoethnography to reflect on our experiences and decision-making processes. To reflect on how we managed the rapid change and moved from…

This case illustrates Professor Saitoh's struggles in a middle-management position leading an education committee called the Assurance of Learning (AOL) Committee at a business school in Japan. The committee assessed students' learning outcomes and provided suggestions for curriculum improvement. The school was accredited by the Association to…

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was consequential for higher education (Crawford et al., 2020). As cases of the virus spread across the country in March 2020, colleges and universities faced the reality that continuing normal operations was no longer possible (Binkley, 2020). When schools closed and/or minimized on-ground…

This chapter describes research on a four-year National Science Foundation grant project that supported instructional, organizational, and professional change made by geoscience faculty change agents. The faculty change agents participated in sustained professional development, led regional workshops, and engaged in college-, program-, and…

American higher education is in crisis. Persistent opportunity and achievement gaps limit college access and completion for low-income and underrepresented students. Fewer students are completing their studies on-time, thus prolonging their entry into better paying, career-focused employment. Meanwhile, the cost of attending college and related…

The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) launched Leading from the Middle (LFM) in 2013 to develop and support middle leaders in community colleges across California. Each year LFM produces an internal evaluation report that presents participants' perspectives about what they learned from their experience and…

This is the executive summary for "Middle Leaders in College Redesign: Leading from the Middle 2019." The report focuses on the roles middle leaders play in Guided Pathways. This summary is organized by the three overarching outcomes of Leading from the Middle (LFM), moving from the broadest institutional level to the individual…

Technological changes have seemingly become inexorable rather than the exception for academic institutions. It has been argued that an organisation's ability to adapt to a changing environment depends on its preparedness for change. This article delineates the extent of preparedness for managing technological changes in teaching and learning among…