Conflict is inevitable in every part of life and institutions of higher education are not immune to experiencing interpersonal conflict. Department chairs hold a key position between upper administration and the rest of the faculty and staff within the department, all while still teaching classes. The purpose of this research study is to explore…

There is a gap in the research on the relationship between secondary school subject departments, particularly where, as in the case of science and religious education (RE), there is not the traditional relationship that may be seen in science and maths or across humanities subjects. More awareness of content taught in other departments is…

Faculty members are entrusted with great power to decide who deserves space within the academic profession. Given that the profession's central mission is knowledge production, such decisions inevitably concern epistemic matters, and specifically, what constitutes legitimate knowledge. From this perspective, faculty hiring is not only a matter of…

This paper provides a small-scale exploration of the evolvement of leadership roles in higher education academic units (AUs), namely Departments, Schools & Faculties. A literature review provides theoretical examples of the evolution of professional services (PS) staff. Changes in PS leadership roles are also explored alongside the emergence…

Scholarly disciplines are historical reservoirs riven with contradictions. Often unaware of their own history, the humanities lead in complications, with English departments outpacing other fields of study. Both writing and English language and literature studies exhibit long-standing omissions and conflicts. This essay explores their similarities…

Navigating departmental and organizational conflict is an essential function and responsibility of an academic unit leader (dean, associate dean, director, or chair) in higher education institutions (HEIs). During periods of organizational change, conflict tends to increase in complexity and difficulty--in part due to resistance to change--making…

In Turkey, foreign students are studying in most of the universities. On July 15, 2016, these students faced a treacherous coup attempt against democracy and were able to witness the Turkish people's reaction to the coup attempt. The aim of this study is to examine the views of foreign students studying at Mustafa Kemal University on democracy. In…

In this article, we seek to expand our understanding of the micropolitics of school life by drawing on data generated from a one-year ethnographic study of a physical education (PE) department at a high school in the North of England. Specific attention is given to the structured demands placed upon the Departmental Head in the face of an imminent…

Guided by identity theory, this study investigated how a college biology professor's early career experiences contributed to the transformation of his identity as a college science teacher. This study showcases the four components of identity as described by Gee as a lens and it specifically focuses on the emergent role of institutional identity…

Professor James Wang was chosen by his department colleagues to chair the university department, but he soon realized that leading his colleagues and driving departmental growth were more difficult than teaching and conducting research. Departmental student enrollment had been unsatisfactory in the past few years. Professor Wang met various…

This report, prepared by the Association's staff, concerns the case of Dr. Jane Harty, a part-time faculty member with forty years of service in the Department of Music at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU). In November 2018, Dr. Harty was suspended from her teaching responsibilities for the remainder of her one-year contract and informed that she…

The competitive university has brought about changes in structural conditions and created contradictions which are embedded in institutions. The present study is based on interviews with 42 early career researchers in the field of education sciences in Sweden. We analyse how members of this group handle career possibilities and limitations in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate various strategies used to manage and resolve conflict between teachers and school leaders in government primary schools of Wolaita zone. The study employed a descriptive survey design where both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to correct and analyze data, concurrently. From six…

The department chair is a complex middle-management position located at the organizational fulcrum between faculty and senior administration. This qualitative study sought to develop a deeper understanding of chairs' experiences when enacting their dual roles as managers and scholars. Using a basic interpretative study design, we interviewed 10…

The paper is informed by a research study exploring middle leadership as experienced by Chairpersons of Departments within one faculty in a university in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is argued that middle leadership in higher education needs to be understood as a highly complex relational endeavour, characterised by compromises that are negotiated…