The Role and Responsibilities of Academic Leaders in Effectuating Quality, Impact, and Excellence by Innovation in Higher Education
Abstract
Innovation is critical for higher education in the 21st century. It can improve teaching and learning, increase research quality and impact, solve social problems, and bring more funding and collaboration. It can also boost the happiness and creativity of staff and students, who can follow their interests, try new things, and work with different people. But innovation is not simple. It requires a positive and supportive culture, a clear and shared vision, a strong and effective leadership, and a regular and systematic evaluation. This seeks to review the existing research on innovation in higher education, analyze and discuss how academic leaders can encourage and enable innovation in higher education, and to further provide some helpful and evidence-based suggestions for academic leaders and practitioners who want to innovate in higher education.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Amabile, T. M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J., & Herron, M. (1996). Assessing the Work Environment for Creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 39(5), 1154–1184. https://doi.org/10.2307/256995
Barger, A. P., Leffel, K. G., & Lott, M. (2021). Plotting Academic Innovation: A Content Analysis of Twenty Institutional Websites. Innovative Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-021-09568-4
Blass, E., & Hayward, P. (2014). Innovation in higher education; will there be a role for “the academe/university” in 2025?. European Journal of Futures Research, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40309-014-0041-x
Bryson, J. M., Crosby, B. C., & Stone, M. M. (2015). Designing and Implementing Cross-Sector Collaborations: Needed and Challenging. Public Administration Review, 75(5), 647–663. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12432
Debowski, S., & Blake, V. (2007). Collective capacity building of academic leaders: a university model of leadership and learning in context. International Journal of Learning and Change, 2(3), 307. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijlc.2007.017116
do Adro, F., & Fernandes, C. I. (2019). Social innovation: a systematic literature review and future agenda research. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-019-00241-3
Geschwind, L., Aarrevaara, T., Berg, L. N., & Lind, J. K. (2019). The Changing Roles of Academic Leaders: Decision-Making, Power, and Performance. Reforms, Organizational Change and Performance in Higher Education, 181–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11738-2_6
Herodotou, C., Sharples, M., Gaved, M., Kukulska-Hulme, A., Rienties, B., Scanlon, E., & Whitelock, D. (2019). Innovative Pedagogies of the Future: An Evidence-Based Selection. Frontiers in Education, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00113
Hoffecker, E. (2019). Understanding Innovation Ecosystems: A Framework for Joint Analysis and Action. Cambridge: MIT D-Lab.
Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Major, J., Tait-McCutcheon, S. L., Averill, R., Gilbert, A., Knewstubb, B., Mortlock, A., & Jones, L. (2020). Pedagogical Innovation in Higher Education. International Journal of Innovative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 1(3), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijitlhe.2020070101
OECD (2012). A Guiding Framework for Entrepreneurial Universities. Paris: OECD Publishing.
Özkul, T. (2012). Jump Starting Innovation in University Education. Yükseköğretim Dergisi, 2(1), 20–27. https://doi.org/10.2399/yod.12.007
Ruben, B. D., & Gigliotti, R. A. (2016). Leadership as social influence: An expanded view of leadership communication theory and practice. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 23(4), 467–479. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051816641876
Sauphayana, S. (2021). Innovation in Higher Education Management and Leadership. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 11(6), 163. https://doi.org/10.36941/jesr-2021-0137
Serdyukov, P. (2017). Innovation in education: what works, what doesn’t, and what to do about it? Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, 10(1), 4–33. https://doi.org/10.1108/jrit-10-2016-0007
Sharma, M. K., & Sharma, R. C. (2021). Innovation Framework for Excellence in Higher Education Institutions. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 22(2), 141–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40171-021-00265-x
Sugrue, C., Englund, T., Solbrekke, T. D., & Fossland, T. (2017). Trends in the practices of academic developers: trajectories of higher education? Studies in Higher Education, 43(12), 2336–2353. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1326026
Sultan, P. (2023). The Roles of Innovation, Leadership, and Governance in Higher Education for the Covid-19 Recovery: A Review. 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7299-7_1
Tierney, W. G., & Lanford, M. (2016). Conceptualizing Innovation in Higher Education. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 1–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26829-3_1
Top Hat. (2023, May 25). The Ultimate Guide to Academic Leadership in Higher Ed. Top Hat. https://tophat.com/blog/academic-leadership/
Whittaker, J. A., & Montgomery, B. L. (2022). Advancing a cultural change agenda in higher education: issues and values related to reimagining academic leadership. Discover Sustainability, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-022-00079-6
Wolff, J. (2021). How Is Technology Changing the World, and How Should the World Change Technology? Global Perspectives, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1525/gp.2021.27353
