Development of a Training Program for Enhancing Instructor Academic Leadership in Private Universities of Henan Province, China
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Abstract
In response to the evolving landscape of higher education in China, this research critically examined the need for robust academic leadership development initiatives within Henan’s private universities, focusing on equipping instructors with the necessary skills and competencies to navigate complex challenges and shape future directions. The research aimed to (1) explore the desirable instructor academic leadership; (2) assess the current level of instructor academic leadership; (3) determine to what degree, the instructor academic leadership is impacted by personal factors and organizational factors; (4) develop a training program for enhancing instructor academic leadership; (5) measure the effectiveness of the training program and compare the differences of the instructor academic leadership before and after they attended the designed training program. Based on the systematic literature review and preliminary interview, a questionnaire was developed to survey instructor academic leadership in private universities of Henan Province, China. Totally 493 full-time instructors from four private universities in Henan province were selected by convenience sampling as the target sample. Based on these qualitative and quantitative analysis, a training model for enhancing the instructor academic leadership was designed, and a training program was implemented for four months. The research findings showed that: (1) instructor academic leadership mainly consisted of three parts: instructor academic leadership, personal factors, and organizational factors; (2) instructor academic leadership was at a moderate level in this research; (3) The instructor’s personal factors and organizational factors had significant impact on the instructor academic leadership; (4) the training model was validated effective; (5) the instructor academic leadership after implementing the training program was improved. The training program was also recommended to be implemented in other private universities.
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