“A suggestive Perspective of Developing the Roles of Academic Leaders in the Egyptian Universities Using Transformational Leadership Approach

Research Abstract

Summary of the study Introduction Improving university performance is considered one of the most important development strategies and changing priorities in universities through helping administrative leaders and motivate them to learn knowledge, skills and attitudes which enhance their abilities to perform and be creative leaders with vision able to do required changes that suit developments which university education faces. The relationship between the leader and work he performs needs activation and renewal, because if it exists as it is, this may lead to inability of university to meet modern developments. Leadership plays a main part in managing change process in different organizations. This ensures the necessity of turning leaders to be able to renew in their organizations successfully by finding new vision to change and achieves it. The process of change needs aware leadership that realizes its significance and knows how to plan and implement it effectively. This requires searching for a new model of leadership because of changes and challenges that educational institutions face. Managers of educational institutions should be leaders in a different way. The problem of the study Administrative leadership is considered the basic motive and important pillar on which different activities depend in any organization .Hence, those leaderships should be parallel to challenges that face them .In this competitive environment, they are required to reconsider traditional leadership styles, and greatly interested in modern administrative concepts which urge to invention and innovation in order to be able to changes and transformational leadership, because if those organizations-specially university education institutions-want to last and flourish ,they should be in a dynamic and fast developmental case in a time in which accelerated change and increasing complexity are two qualities of the new century. Higher education has achieved many achievements in the previous years: establishing many universities and higher institutions, increasing the number of students, faculty members and graduates, widening in higher education…etc. But it suffers from many problems that affect its inner quality. Quantitative growth isn't accompanied by qualitative development. Many reform attempts are often traditional that are dominated by copying, and borrowing, not innovation, invention and suitability for Arab environment. By revising local, regional and international conferences and symposia, we find a consensus that university education faces several problems and challenges that are relevant to its basic functions in teaching , scientific research and community service which limit its results and make it unable to cope with rapid progress of science and information and communication technology that are more applicable in the field of university education day after the other. The reason for that is the hard and traditional university education as well as its low efficacy and quality which appear from its inability to respond to administrative, political, cultural, economical and social requirements of development. This leads to increase of gap between the tremendous changes in education and what university presents, in addition to increase of the gap between community demands and university education products. Egyptian universities follow unified strict regime that doesn't cope with development and doesn't match surrounding local community as centralization masters performance in a way that prevents leaders from freedom of initiatives and development .In addition to instability of organizational skeletons and defects in functional relations as a result of conflict for authority .This ensures the need for programmed, developed and administrative system to greatly benefit from it. As for selecting university leaders, it is often traditional, and it is sometimes unclear. On the department level, item 56 of organizing universities law states that department's head is the eldest professor in the department, and its selection is by chairman of the university after taking dean's opinion for three years once renewable. The position of " vice-dean" is determined in item "47" of the same law. He must be one of the professors of the university or institution based on the nomination of the dean for three years once renewable. In the light of the abovementioned items of the law, we observe that selecting university leaders isn't conditioned with having any preparation or previous training for position. Some studies prove that some leaders have not had any training courses before or after being educational leaders especially in university. The process of qualifying leaders isn't more than giving issuing decisions, the others do not meet university leaders needs, in addition to lack of innovation, but it is often characterized by severe traditionalism which is based on reception and passivity of targeted leaders, in addition to shortage of evaluation processes of rehabilitation programs in which only attending them is enough without looking at its achieved aims. Thus the extent of the importance of preparing university leaders appears crystally to cope with modern administrative approaches. Transformational leadership is the most important approach in a way that helps university leaders to do their responsibilities with high efficacy to be able to compete at a time the basic criterion of university success is the distinguished performance of leaders to achieve vision and mission of university and future roles. The main question of this study is: How can you develop roles of academic leaders at Egyptian universities in the light of transformational leadership? It is branched off the following sub-questions: 1. What is transformational leadership, its dimensions, models, reasons of application at Egyptian universities? 2. What are academic leaders at universities in the light of transformational leadership, and what are styles and criteria for which leaders selected? 3. What are the roles of academic leaders at Egyptian universities and what are the obstacles that face those leaders while performing their duties? 4. What is the suggested vision to develop roles of academic leaders at Egyptian universities in light of transformational leadership? The objectives of the Study: The study attempted to use transformational leadership at Egyptian universities for helping university leaders to do required change in universities by creating a list of the newest tasks and responsibilities of university leaders on different levels to overcome the problems that face Egyptian universities and achieve the best possible results as follows: 1. Studying and analyzing transformational leadership as a modern administrative Theory can benefit Egyptian universities. 2. Studying and analyzing roles of academic leaders at Egyptian universities as well as recognizing styles and criteria for which those leaders selected. 3. Monitoring reality of the roles of academic leaders at Egyptian universities and obstacles that face them. 4. Providing a suggestion of the roles of academic leaders at Egyptian universities by using transformational leadership Theory. The Significance of the Study The current study is useful in the following aspects: 1. Increasing interest of researchers in transformational leaders as it is effective in enhancing university performance in comprehensive universities. 2. Insufficiency and traditionalism which university administration suffers from at Egyptian universities which are a result of weakness of leaders' performance as it's the main engine and backbone on which work is based at Egyptian universities. 3. Using transformational leadership at Egyptian universities and attempting to benefit from it in suggesting a vision to develop the roles of university leaders. 4. Transformational leadership hasn't been studied well either in the educational field in general or in university educational establishments in particular. 5. The study is synchronized with some attempts and exerted efforts to achieve the highest standard of productivity. Methodology of the Study The study relies on using descriptive method as it is considered the more methods that can be used to study topics related to educational research .It has been used to describe transformational leadership approach and analyze it, collecting data and information about the factors of academic leaders' roles at Egyptian universities and suitable skills necessary to do those skills and roles, categorizing data, organizing it and expressing it qualitatively and quantitatively .Accordingly concluding results or assumptions of the targeted phenomenon. Tools &Sample of the Study A questionnaire was designed to recognize opinions of exerts of the suggested roles of academic leaders at Egyptian universities. It was administered at a representative sample of educational experts of professors of educational administration at the faculties of education and a group of field experts represented by a sample of heads of departments, vice deans and deans at Egyptian universities. Limitations of the Study Limitations of the study represent in: 1. Spatial limits Population of the study represents in the universities of Banha, Cairo, Aim Shams, Azhar, Beni-Suef, Fayoum, Minia, and Aswan; as they are representative of geographical distribution of Arab Republic of Egypt 2. Human Limits Population of the current study is limited to a sample of academic leaders at those universities in addition to a sample of professors of educational administration at the faculties of education and Business Administration at the faculties of commerce at those universities. Procedures of the Study: The steps of the study represented in the following: The first step: determination of the general frame of the study which included: introduction, problem of the study, Objectives, significance, methodology, tools, limitations, terminology, related studies and commentary upon them. The second step: included an analyzing theoretical framework of transformational leadership approach as for concept, its relation with other administrative approaches, objectives of the approach and its principles, stages of its application, tasks of the transformational leader, challenges facing transformational leaders and steps of applying transformational leadership. The third step: Analyzing and studying the reality of the roles of academic leaders at Egyptian universities and attempting to decide on the most important points of weakness and strength, chances and threats that face leaders. The fourth step: Experts' poll about the suggested vision of academic leaders' roles at Egyptian universities in the light of transformational leadership through a field study and its procedures. The fifth step: Presenting the suggested vision of the academic leaders' roles at Egyptian universities by using transformational leadership in the light of what theoretical studies and field study reached, then giving results and recommendations. Results of the study: The study found a set of results which are as follows: (1) As for the roles of academic leaders as transformational leaders: Academic leaders in the Egyptian universities in order to be transformational leaders, they should do several roles; which are as follows: A. Idealized influence of the leader: the transformational leaders to impact on individuals to achieve the desired goals, he must do a set of practices; as follows:  Use his ability to persuade the unit members of change.  work on the adoption of a positive trend towards the vision and mission of the unit.  inculcate the spirit of fair competition among individuals.  recruitment his skills in the management of personal the conflict between individuals.  Honest expression of the views and opinions of the unit members in the various councils.  communicate effectively with individuals inside the unit. B. Inspirational encouragement: the transformational leader should encourage individuals in creative ways through a set of practices; as follows:  encourage individuals to disseminate their research through refereed journals.  encourage individuals to use modern techniques to achieve the quality of the teaching process.  cooperate with individuals to develop alternative strategies to cope with the problems.  provide a database to identify individuals to various competitive projects.  engage with individuals in the preparation of future research map of the unit.  encourage individuals to develop an annual plan for professional development. C. Intellectual stimulation: the transformational leader to raise efforts of individuals toward change and development, he must do set of practices; as follows:.  provide financial incentives to encourage individual studies and scientific and research projects through local and international teams.  design a database about professional development opportunities, available within and outside the unit.  encourage individuals to look for opportunities to projects funded by different bodies.  provide the proper climate for more opportunities for cultural cooperation and research at home and abroad. D. Individual considerations: the transformational leader to take into account individual differences among individuals, he must do a set of practices; as follows:  database design the training needs of the members of the unit.  individuals involved in scientific research and literature and books.  coordination with the competent authorities to put mechanisms to save the intellectual property rights of individual books.  preparation of a second row of leaders by giving individuals confidence.  delegate part of its powers to some individuals, each according to his abilities and potential.  offers financial incentives to undertake studies and scientific projects and innovative research. (2) Obstacles the application of transformational leadership at Egyptian universities: The study found that there are several obstacles to apply Transformational leadership in the Egyptian universities;, as follows: A. There are many burdens and pressures placed on academic leaders in universities B. Individuals' resistance to change. C. The presence of permanent conflicts between some university units each other. D. The absence of a functional description cards for academic leaders in the Egyptian universities. E. Choosing academic leaders in the Egyptian universities without taking into account the principle of efficiency. F. The lack of opportunities for leaders to develop themselves professionally. G. Providing individuals their personal interests to the public interest. H. the ambiguity of the roles and functions of university academic leaders. (3) Requirements of applying transformational leadership in the Egyptian universities: The study found that the applying transformational leadership in the Egyptian universities requires the following: A - legislative requirements: Transformational leadership applying at Egyptian universities requires some changes in laws and regulations include the following:  the need to pass a training program for transformational leadership as a condition to appoint in any leadership position.  committing academic leaders attend annual training courses to develop their technical skills.  issuing cards characterization and functional academic leaders include transformational leadership practices.  pass a law determines the budget to provide the necessary resources for professional development programs.  pass a law specifying the budget to provide the necessary resources for professional development. B - Human requirements: Transformational leadership applying at Egyptian universities requires availability of several leadership requirements; as follows:  support the principle of work in a team to increase the ability of individuals to cope with the problems.  rehabilitation of a second row of leaders to reduce the pressure placed on the leaders.  create a climate that helps individuals commander on creativity and innovation.  delegate some of his powers commander of the members of his staff with a view to their leadership development.  into account the commander of the individual differences between the individuals involved. C - Material requirements: Transformational leadership applying at the Egyptian universities requires the availability of several material requirements; as follows:  the provision of financial resources for conferences, seminars, workshops and professional development programs.  facilitate the procedures for obtaining financial support for courses and conferences, among others.  propose alternative sources of funding.  adopt programs for financial self-support. Increase the financial resources allocated to provide the necessary material resources.

Research Keywords

Transformational leadership- leaders roles