Leadership in vocational education and training: leadership by design, not by default

This report describes a research study into leadership in vocational education and training (VET)organisations. It seeks to generate new information, theory and knowledge in an area of VET leadership and to gain insight into the conditions for and characteristics of effective leadership in VET now and in the future. The study focusses on the processes of leadership, as well as the characteristics of individual leaders, and draws on literature from a wide range of leadership studies. The theory of 'enabling leadership', which suggests that the effectiveness of leadership in VET depends...  [+] Show more

This report describes a research study into leadership in vocational education and training (VET)organisations. It seeks to generate new information, theory and knowledge in an area of VET leadership and to gain insight into the conditions for and characteristics of effective leadership in VET now and in the future. The study focusses on the processes of leadership, as well as the characteristics of individual leaders, and draws on literature from a wide range of leadership studies. The theory of 'enabling leadership', which suggests that the effectiveness of leadership in VET depends largely on the contexts in which the leadership is exercised, is used as a framework for the study. Five main findings are offered: (1) the effectiveness of VET leadership depends on how the leaders process ongoing change; (2) the effectiveness of leadership in VET consists of the relationship between internal organisational roles and responsibilities, the external environment and the characteristics and contribution of individuals who carry out leadership roles; (3) the effectiveness of leadership in problem solving VET is a collective and continuous process; (4) the effectiveness of leadership in VET occurs consistently when the contextual factors are analysed and the required leadership profile is designed accordingly; and (5) as a factor in the effectiveness of leadership in VET, generic skills are only as useful and transferable as contextual knowledge permits. The study highlights the importance of context in identifying VET leadership processes.