Middle Level Leadership in Chinese Universities in a Time of Change

This study explored leadership in higher education based on the researchers’ interpretation of the perspectives of a specific group of participants, which refers to middle level academic leaders (MLL) and an interrogation of leadership literature. There are 32 respondents in total including, deans of faculties, associated deans, heads of schools, associated heads and teachers. The major findings of the research are the multiple conceptions of leadership and educational reforms influence on leadership, which have been identified by examining the importance of the roles and current status of MLLs within the university, the activities undertaken by MLLs and the relative importance of those activities, the ambiguities, conflicts and pressures to which MLLs are subject. A key outcome of the investigation is the tension it revealed between how these academic middle level leaders perceive their management roles against their perceptions of their roles as academics. The research also indicated that the multiple conception of leadership from respondents was strongly influenced by traditional Chinese culture. Meanwhile, the recent higher education reforms affected the leadership styles of MLLs, i.e. the potentially further development of collective leadership.