Understanding the Learning Journeys of Academic Heads of Departments Preparations and Access to Their Roles: The Case of a Selected University in Ghana

Leadership training for educational leaders in academia has been considered paramount to empower them for both leadership and management skills necessary to bring about quality in teaching and learning. Majority of academic leaders in higher educational institutions in the world are appointed without formal preparation for their roles. Most studies carried out on academic leaders in Africa focus mainly on challenges, roles and theories of leadership. This study, however, explores factors accounting for academics’ movement into the HoD’s position, description and understanding of HoDs’ work, preparations HoDs have for the role and preparations HoDs would have liked for their roles. The case study approach was used to study the journeys involved in the preparations of 16 academic HoDs in a selected university in Ghana, focusing on how they assess their roles, their understanding about the roles, preparations they have had on the roles and the preparations they would have wished for the roles. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen university Head of Departments. Documentary evidence was also used in the study. Using thematic analysis, the study revealed, among others, different degrees of preparations which were mainly informal and were not directly linked to the roles of the HoDs, resonates with the literature that majority of academic HoDs did not receive preparations for their roles and tended to use their experiences to play their roles. Based on these findings, it was recommended that formal training on the HoD’s duties and their implementations for all newly appointed HoDs be make effective and efficient to enrich them with the necessary skills and knowledge. There should be a succession plan to prepare incoming HoDs. It is hoped that the findings will contribute to effective preparations of the academic HoDs. More importantly, it may inform policies to identify areas for effective preparations of the academic HoDs.