Seventeenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum

Abstract

The study explores how faculty members in the role of department chair at a publicly funded midwestern Canadian university experience leadership development. It also examines department heads’ perceptions about the efficacy of leadership development programs available to them. The epistemological stance that guides the study is constructionism, which recognizes that knowledge is uniquely constructed by each individual and that learning is contextual and occurs through creative experimentation. A case study design is being used and interviews with faculty members who are currently in the role of department chair will be conducted until saturation is reached. The findings of the study will inform the kinds of leadership development programs that would be most helpful to faculty aspiring to accept future department chair appointments. The research also seeks to gain insights and offer a top five set of recommendations for new leadership development programs, or adjustments to programs already available. The study will contribute to academic leadership literature by exploring the leadership development experiences of department chairs in a postsecondary context in a midwestern Canadian university.