Experience, skill and competence: boundary spanning capabilities for leadership and management of transnational education

Messenger, Hazel and Bloisi, Wendy (2020) Experience, skill and competence: boundary spanning capabilities for leadership and management of transnational education. In: Leadership Strategies for Promoting Social Responsibility in Higher Education. Emerald, pp. 141-160. ISBN 9781839094279

	Text (Peer reviewed book chapter) Messenger and Bloisi 2020 Emerald.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (1MB) | Request a copy
	Text html - Additional Metadata Download (55kB)

Abstract / Description

This chapter relates to identifying the experience, skills and competencies of those responsible for operationalizing and developing transnational education (TNE) partnerships. Despite the growth of TNE internationally, little detailed attention has been paid to these individuals, often called academic liaison (or link) tutors. They are good examples of “boundary spanners” (Williams, 2013, p. 17) or “third space professionals” (Whitchurch, 2008, p. 378). Using concepts associated with “distributed leadership” (Gronn, 2002, p. 423) to explain leadership in collaborative provision as distributed practice, the research represented in the chapter made use of activity theory (Engeström, 1987) to identify the range of contextual factors that an academic liaison tutor needs to take into account in developing a TNE partnership. Findings indicate that an academic liaison tutor needs experience of working in complex environments, in-depth understanding of organizational procedures, the ability to manage power differentials, sophisticated communication and interpersonal skills, the ability to create and lead a cultural context for learning and development, change management and the ability to resolve difficulties. These factors provide the foundation for suggestions for staff recruitment, development and training.
Keywords: activity theory; boundary spanning distributed leadership; partnerships; professional learning community; transnational education

Item Type:	Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords:	activity theory; boundary spanning distributed leadership; partnerships; professional learning community; transnational education
Subjects:	300 Social sciences > 370 Education
Department:	Guildhall School of Business and Law
Depositing User:	Hazel Messenger
Date Deposited:	10 Aug 2020 09:53
Last Modified:	10 Aug 2020 09:53
URI:	https://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/id/eprint/5946

Actions (login required)

View Item