Date of Conferral

9-5-2025

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Katherine Kingston

Abstract

The problem that was addressed through this study is that academic leaders receive limited preparation and support at a Jamaican university, which poses challenges to effective leadership, teaching quality, and institutional success. Based on Katz’s three-skilled model, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore academic leaders’ perceptions of their preparation and support to carry out their leadership roles in a Jamaican university. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight purposefully selected academic leaders with a minimum of 4 years of experience. Through axial and thematic coding, the following nine themes emerged: (a) leaders rely on different pathways for their leadership preparation, (b) leaders taking personal initiative for leadership development, (c) leaders response to gaps in the institutional leadership workshop, (d) identifying core competencies for effective leadership and operation, (e) leaders call for tailored and ongoing leadership development, (f) institutional support for leadership development, (g) challenges of operational and resource constraints, (h) collaborative and cross-functional support, and (i) framework for leadership preparation and support. The findings underscore the collective call for a more intentional framework for leadership development and a structured support system that recognizes the challenges and intricacies of academic leadership. The potential implications for positive social change are the opportunity for the Jamaican university to provide the support that has been requested in an effort to strengthen academic leaders’ competencies to navigate their roles effectively, foster departmental excellence, and contribute to incremental institutional improvement. In turn, students at this university could benefit.

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