A relatively small number of research articles have been written about one of the most challenging positions in higher education, that of a department chair. Chairs must wear many hats and assume many tasks including management and oversight, budget and financial management, teaching, research, working with students and faculty, evaluations, community relations, and legal issues, to name a few. This qualitative descriptive study aspires to ascertain the perspectives of department chairs on what they believe constitutes their effectiveness as leaders in higher education. Attempting to identify and analyze requisite personality traits, skills and behaviors of department chairs is vital for understanding the nuances that influence and shape their abilities to become accomplished leaders in their field.
Surveys containing 12 open-ended questions were electronically distributed to department chairs at a private college in central Florida. Analysis of the data collected resulted in the development of four themes, supported by three styles of leadership. The themes were correlated with their corresponding research questions and the correlation process was used to draw several conclusions. First, department chairs incorporate a variety of skills and a combination of leadership styles that best fit their abilities and personalities, into their work performance. Second, department chairs in higher education require specific skills and tools to help them achieve their strategic vision they set for their departments. Some of these tools are learned and acquired through experience, while others inherent, grounded within instinctive and innate personality traits and values they already possess. Third, personal and interpersonal skills, knowledge, and competencies form the cornerstones of a leaders’ abilities, successes and failures. Building upon the foundation established in this study, future researchers could expand upon the scope of this research to include a larger sample size, more diverse participants, private vs. public educational institutions, gender, race and ethnic specific sampling, national and international sampling, and more in-depth research questions that include personal and environmental influence. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_82089 |
| Contributors | Baroody, Ramzy (author), Shockley, Robert (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 183 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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