Research Projects

The University of Western Sydney, in collaboration with ACER and in partnership with up to ten Australian Universities, conducted a project to identify the distinctive capabilities of leaders in different roles directly and indirectly concerned with effective quality and change management for learning and teaching in our universities.

The empirical results from this research identified systems, typically not generated directly from higher education research, that were being used across Australian Higher Education for leadership performance management and development. It served to validate what is identified in the capability statements in different higher education leadership position descriptions, assess the quality of approaches to leadership development in higher education learning and teaching and identify enhancements to recruitment and promotion processes.

The project outcomes will comprise findings and resources that will help advance the development of learning and teaching leaders in Australian higher education:

a comprehensive evidence-based profile of effective academic leadership in different learning and teaching roles;

an empirically-validated leadership capability framework;

a suite of resources and strategies that institutions can use to develop leadership; and

a methodology for linking the framework with leadership recruitment, development and review.