Higher Education Managers/Executives/Administrators
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this research was investigate King Saud University’s heads of departments’ perceptions regarding their leadership practices, including an analysis of gender differences.
METHODOLOGY The population of the study included 191 departments heads at King Saud University (Saudi Arabia), of which 150 (81% response rate) participated by completing the LPI and providing demographic information. Two-thirds of the sample was men, and 53 percent had served as department head for 5+ years. Over half of the respondents were assistant professors, 25 percent were associate professors and the remainder full professors. The reliability coefficients for the LPI include: 0.65 Model, 0.80 Inspire, 0.74 Challenge, 0.68 Enable, and 0.74 Encourage.
KEY FINDINGS The most frequently engaged in leadership practices were Enable and Encourage, followed by Model and Inspire, and then Challenge. Significant differences were not found on any of the five leadership practices between male and female respondents, nor were differences found based upon years of experience as a department head or academic rank.