Transformational Leadership in Higher Education Programs

Abstract

The current mixed-method study investigates transformational leadership qualities through higher education doctoral programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This study relies on three data points: interviews with graduate program directors of higher education doctoral programs (whether PhD or EdD), a program evaluation of programs, and Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x™) survey results from students within said programs. Data were collected from the five public universities that offer higher education doctoral programs within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Students completed a self-rating using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x™) and then were peer-rated by colleagues to strengthen the validity of the study. Additionally, themes surrounding the structures of these doctoral programs were collected. As researchers of higher education and leadership studies cite transformational leadership as a high competency for college and university presidents, coupled with a looming shortage of college and university presidents on the horizon, measuring the programs that train these potential future leaders is warranted.

Keywords

• doctoral higher education programs
• college/ university presidents
• leadership training
• transformational leadership
• multifactor leadership questionnaire (mlq-5x™)