E-Leadership Literacies for Technology-Enhanced Learning in Higher Education: a Mixed Methods Research Design and Preliminary Framework

Abstract

This paper presents the design of a research method for a doctoral thesis in three main phases which entails developing and validating a framework of e-leadership literacies for technology-enhanced learning in higher education (TEL-eLL), applying this framework in three Mixed Methods case studies and finally formulating and validating recommendations for leadership development programmes. In addition to the research design, the paper also presents the results of phase 1 of the research, in the form of the preliminary TEL-eLL framework resulting from an online Delphi study conducted with 31 international experts. The rationale behind the overall study is anchored in the still unsatisfactory integration of technology for teaching and learning in higher education and the hypothesis that one of the reasons for this is a lack of strategic thinking and leadership. The aim is thus to explore the attitudes, mindsets, understandings and behaviours of higher education decision-makers in relation to teaching and learning supported by technology, as well as their wider views on the societal and environmental impact of technology. The voices of teachers with respect to such leadership are also addressed, as is the complex political, hierarchical and cultural environment in which this leadership operates.