An exploration of higher education leadership competencies: knowledge, skills and attitudes

Purpose: Competencies for leadership in higher education have begun to emerge in the literature. Yet to better equip future leaders in higher education, the use of a learning taxonomy may serve as a framework to understand necessary learning for leaders in higher education. The aim of this study is to explore the competencies of higher education leadership through Bloom’s knowledge, skills and attitudes framework. Design/methodology/approach: An explanatory case study qualitative methodology was used to explore the experiences of senior leaders within a singular university to determine the necessary competencies of leadership in higher education. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants who served in Dean-level or higher positions. Eligible participants participated in a semi-structured interview. Findings: Each of Bloom’s domains had a variety of themes emerge: knowledge (2), skills (6) and attitude (2). Research limitations/implications: Sample size was limited by the availability of senior leaders and may not represent the experience of leaders at all institutions. Practical implications: Findings from this study may allow future researchers to investigate the outcomes of a combination of competencies. Findings from this study will hopefully be able to be extrapolated to better understand the learning required of those who aspire to be future leaders in similar university structures. Originality/value: Available studies fail to explore the process by which one learns the skills necessary to become a leader in higher education. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to map higher education leadership competencies through a learning taxonomy.