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- Title
LEADING UNDER LOCKDOWN: THE CASE OF THE RHODES UNIVERSITY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.
- Authors
Westaway, Lise; Grant, Carolyn Callie; Songqwaru, Zintle
- Abstract
Leading an academic department in a university context is complex. Heads of departments (HoDs) are at the centre of multifaceted relational interfaces comprising faculty, students, curricula, resources, central administration, external entities and support agencies. Their role has been made more difficult as a result of massification, student diversity and increasing managerialism. However, the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic is unprecedented, and it challenged customary ways of leading and managing departments. It required that HoDs rethink their work and adopt new practices and strategies. This article takes as its case the leadership practices of the Rhodes University Education Department, from the perspective of the HoD team at the time of this research project (2019-2020) and demonstrates how these practices have dramatically changed since the onset of the pandemic. Drawing on documents and focus group discussions for its data, the article examines the practice architectures that conditioned the HoD team's leadership under lockdown. Overall, the findings indicate the emergence of dispersed distributed leadership practices, particularly because of the material-economic arrangements of RUConnected and the weekly Friday check-ins. Practices included: i) volunteerism and the take-up of lecturer leadership, ii) greater communication about teaching and learning, iii) sharing of course outlines and resources, and iv) collaboration.
- Subjects
HIGH school department heads; COVID-19 pandemic; TEACHER development; COURSE outlines (Education); UNIVERSITY &; college administration
- Publication
Journal of Educational Studies, 2022, p18
- ISSN
1680-7456
- Publication type
Article