This thesis is a baseline, population study, designed to create historical and contemporary contexts for and to inform current understanding of the department chair function in Canadian universities. Chairs are explored from five discrete yet dependent perspectives to discern distinctions and associations among institutions, disciplines/fields of study and individuals: What is the job? Who holds the job? Does formal position prescription match practice? Has the job changed over time? What makes department chairs job ready and effective? Canvassing 43 predominantly English-language public universities in 10 provinces, the inquiry encompasses four data sources: (1) 58 university policy documents and faculty association collective agreements; (2) a national electronic survey in two versions – for incumbent chairs, which generated replies from 511 email recipients, representing 38 per cent of the 1,333 individuals in the population approached; and for incumbent deans, sought for their views of the chair function, which drew the participation of 79 email recipients of 269 prospective contributors, signifying a 29 per cent response rate; (3) telephone interviews with 30 chairs and 15 deans (active, former and retired); and (4) curricula vitae of 134 chairs and deans (active, former and retired). The findings confirm the longstanding tradition of the job’s temporary nature, irrespective of institution and discipline. Candidates are usually drawn from tenured faculty ranks, primarily from the immediate unit. The notion of non-academic professionals from outside the university setting occupying the role is viewed by chairs and deans with disdain and is not evident in practice, either in hard pure and applied fields of study such as science, engineering and medicine, or in the soft pure and applied areas such as arts, business and education. The notion of a business-oriented approach to departmental administration appears to be largely a function of an institution’s size and its culture shaped by senior management rather than its location, age and type or a specific discipline with the exception of medicine and engineering. Chairs remain members of the collective bargaining unit in unionized faculty associations during their term of office and typically deem their ability to lead professorial peers with authority constrained as an equal.

This thesis is a baseline, population study, designed to create historical and contemporary contexts for and to inform current understanding of the department chair function in Canadian universities. Chairs are explored from five discrete yet dependent perspectives to discern distinctions and associations among institutions, disciplines/fields of study and individuals: What is the job? Who holds the job? Does formal position prescription match practice? Has the job changed over time? What makes department chairs job ready and effective? Canvassing 43 predominantly English-language public universities in 10 provinces, the inquiry encompasses four data sources: (1) 58 university policy documents and faculty association collective agreements; (2) a national electronic survey in two versions – for incumbent chairs, which generated replies from 511 email recipients, representing 38 per cent of the 1,333 individuals in the population approached; and for incumbent deans, sought for their views of the chair function, which drew the participation of 79 email recipients of 269 prospective contributors, signifying a 29 per cent response rate; (3) telephone interviews with 30 chairs and 15 deans (active, former and retired); and (4) curricula vitae of 134 chairs and deans (active, former and retired). The findings confirm the longstanding tradition of the job’s temporary nature, irrespective of institution and discipline. Candidates are usually drawn from tenured faculty ranks, primarily from the immediate unit. The notion of non-academic professionals from outside the university setting occupying the role is viewed by chairs and deans with disdain and is not evident in practice, either in hard pure and applied fields of study such as science, engineering and medicine, or in the soft pure and applied areas such as arts, business and education. The notion of a business-oriented approach to departmental administration appears to be largely a function of an institution’s size and its culture shaped by senior management rather than its location, age and type or a specific discipline with the exception of medicine and engineering. Chairs remain members of the collective bargaining unit in unionized faculty associations during their term of office and typically deem their ability to lead professorial peers with authority constrained as an equal.

The purpose of this study was to investigate demographic variables and doctoral coursework of music department chairs from NASM-accredited programs and compare these to administrative preparation. The researcher used a questionnaire that assessed administrative preparation on a Likert scale from Very Unprepared to Very Prepared. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests. The participants were 408 music department chairs who held at least one doctoral degree and who served in U. S. colleges and universities with NASM-accredited departments. The average administrator was a male "department chair," aged 51, who had not planned on becoming an administrator. He had been in his present position between one and five years and had been selected because of his administrative skills; he had participated in at least one administrative development workshop. The majority had a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree that did not include administrative coursework. The majority stated that there were no classes during their doctoral studies that were beneficial in preparing them for music administration, although most listed at least one course that would have been beneficial and felt that administrative skills should be the most important criterion in selecting a music administrator. Other experiences that helped prepare them for music administration included teaching and ensemble directing. Most administrators indicated a moderate degree of administrative preparation from doctoral coursework, although many scored in the lower range for administrative preparation. Very few indicated a high degree of administrative preparation. The gender and age of the participants did not appear significantly related to the chairs' administrative preparation. The type of doctoral degree, however, was related to administrative preparation for many of the categories. The doctoral emphasis and doctoral degree dates were also significant for some of the variables. The factors chairs considered most important in their administrative preparation were whether the participants took administration courses or planned on being administrators during their doctoral studies. One of the main recommendations of this study was that music doctoral students should include some administrative courses in their curriculum in the probable event they should later become department chairs in higher education. Future study recommendations include designing a curriculum for music administrators and exploring the relationship between effective administrative performance and types of administrative preparation.

In the corporate world, leaders typically plan for succession, carefully grooming their heir apparent. In academia, however, it is rare for such planning to occur at the institutional level, much less the departmental level. This multiple case study explores how twelve department chairs in one public research university think about leadership development for their departments. While succession planning - as defined in traditional management literature - does not occur in academic departments, current chairs are active in promoting leadership continuity - purposefully preparing and cultivating potential leaders who have the skills and knowledge to most readily step in as chair so that departments can maintain momentum even during times of leadership transition. There are three dimensions that have been derived from the analysis: context, process, and person. This study describes how these three dimensions influence the ways in which chairs seek to enhance leadership capacity in their departments, provides policy and practice recommendations for institutions and departments to support these activities, and offers suggestions for future research in this critical area of academic leadership.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to explore how university department chairs, or equivalent, perceive leadership as it relates to the context of online curriculum delivery in higher education. Three research areas guided the study: (a) nature and context of online environment and how it impacts the leadership, (b) the ways in which leaders conceptualize leadership, and (c) challenges and tensions for leadership. The sample included four participants (chair, director, coordinator, and associate dean) from three Western-Canadian universities. Findings in this study revealed four salient themes and sub-themes: (a) Context The Setting (technology, model of learning, faculty categories, cost-recovery versus cost-sharing); (b) Leadership Preparation (removing barriers and improving leadership preparation); (c) Leadership in General (relational-oriented, vision and direction setting, organizational culture and cultural diversity, ethics); and (d) Challenges and Tensions (past, present, future, organizational realities). The study concludes with a discussion of the implications for practice that include: balance between administrator and scholar, leadership preparation, and degree proposals. Implications for theory include: leadership in the context of online curriculum delivery, cost-recovery, technology, cultural diversity, ethics and equity, as well as organizational change. Finally, based on the findings, conclusions, and implications, several questions that warrant future research into the phenomenon of leadership in higher education are shared. / Educational Administration and Leadership

No description available.

Teacher-student relationships are a critical component to every classroom. Little is known about how department chairs support these relationships. Department chairs provide a special and underrepresented perspective, as they are often still teachers with administrative knowledge and responsibilities. This qualitative study investigated ten department chairs' beliefs about the teacher-student relationship and their role in supporting this relationship. Participants were from five content areas (science, social studies, English, special education, and career and technical education) in four public high school districts in Massachusetts and New York. Data were collected through two sixty-minute semi-structured interviews and one day of "shadowing" with each department chair. Analyses show that department chairs expect teachers to instruct from an ethic of care by enacting three relationship development behaviors: establishing relationship boundaries, knowing students as people and as learners, and building a safe and dependable environment. These department chairs supported teachers' relationship development with students primarily through modeling these same behaviors in their relationships with teachers. Department chairs' own experiences with developing relationships with students informed how they developed supervisory relationships with teachers, and they claimed this positively influenced teacher practice. However, when faced with resistant teachers and time constraints, department chairs' ability to apply their expertise as caring and effective educators was severely limited, resulting in dysfunctional supervisory relationships and limited teacher growth. Department chairs are in need of professional development targeted to their special situation, especially as it relates to their ability to influence the learning experiences of teachers and students.

The purpose of this study was to examine academic department chair perceptions about the future influence of web-based distance education on departmental operations and their changing role as academic leader. Using a rating, modified-policy Delphi method, the researcher worked with 22 department chairs employed at public, urban universities in the United States to develop 76 factor statements about the opportunities, pressures, changing relationships, and role of the chair. In a three-step process, the chairs reduced the 76 factors into 29 predictive statements. Furthermore, the researcher merged the predictions into six themes covering topics such as the importance of external agencies to the successful implementation of web-based education and concerns about future funding. Based on the findings, the researcher argued that the most efficient strategies to promote web-based distance education are through the efforts of the department chair due to the closer proximity of the department to external markets.

Limited existing research indicates that high school department chairs may not be prepared to fulfill their duties because of varying role descriptions and training. This qualitative comparative layered case study examined the alignment of high school department chairs' contextual intelligence in an eastern seaboard region of the United States from 3 perspectives: (a) school districts' role descriptions, (b) local universities' leadership courses, and (c) a state's education department's licensure requirements. Sternberg's contextual intelligence, the learned skill of decision-making based on past experiences, present settings, and future ideals, conceptually framed this study. The primary research question explored the extent to which conceptual similarities existed amongst those perspectives. Purposeful, chain, and stratified sampling techniques were used. Institutions' public email addresses were used to request participation from 10 education professors, 21 high school department chairs, and 41 school departments. Three education professors and 4 department chairs participated in semistructured interviews. The education department's website and 6 school districts provided artifact data. Inductive and deductive content analysis strategies were used to identify, compare, and triangulate themes. Findings suggest that state department's licensure requirements for supervisor/director align with local universities' leadership courses but may not align with local school districts' department chair role descriptions. Thus, participating school districts may need to revisit role descriptions. These findings may promote positive social change by influencing school districts, universities, and a state's education department to continue to recognize and develop high school department chairs' contextual intelligence.