Leading Teaching Excellence in Vocational and Professional Education

• In Event: Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: The Art and Practice of Leadership in Learning Organizations

Abstract

For professional and vocational education (PVE) to maintain relevance to industry and society, its instructors need to keep learning. Studies indicate that department chairs in PVE play an important role in supporting ongoing instructor learning. Drawing on literature on K-12 instructional leadership, and leadership of teaching in higher education, this paper explores how department chairs in institutes for post-secondary PVE conceptualize and enact their role as leaders of teaching excellence in their department. Seven interviews with chairs, staff meeting observation, and interviews with staff reveal how instructional leadership by department chairs is 1) constrained by institutional structures, and 2) deeply connected to the trade/profession taught in the program. These findings have implications for leadership development and instructional effectiveness in PVE.

Authors

• Annemarieke Hoekstra, NAIT Institute of Technology, Edmonton, Alberta

• Paul Newton, University of Saskatchewan