Developing an Academic Leadership Self-Development Model

The purpose of this study was to develop a self-development model for academic leaders. The research method was qualitative and meta-synthesis and to confirm the model interviews were used. The research population consisted of 2670 scientific papers (including articles, books, dissertations and work reports), from which 70 were selected as sample. The research population in the interview section were experts in academic leadership at public universities in Tehran, 13 of whom were selected through purposeful sampling. A meta-synthesis questionnaire and a structured interview were used to collect data. In order to validate the research findings, the critical tool of Glynn (2006) and the structured process of writing and analyzing the findings were used. The meta-synthesis findings led to the identification of five key dimensions of self-development of academic leaders including individual and organizational contextual factors of self-development, self-development process and strategies, and ultimately self-development achievements, which were also confirmed in the interviews. Finally, self-development models of academic leaders were designed in five key dimensions, 24 components and 49 sub-components.