Abstract

This paper explores the experiences of a group of eight Programme Leaders at
a ‘modern’ or ‘post-1992’ university which was formed following the amalgamation of
several technical colleges after the introduction of the Further and Higher Education
Act (1992).1 The primary research sources were drawn from a Leadership
Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE) funded project. The original, larger project
comprised a case study evaluation of a pilot support initiative for Programme
Leaders (Sanderson, Crawford & Pepper, 2017) and a subset of findings from the
qualitative data were worthy of further consideration. These findings relate
specifically to an area of interest in contemporary higher education research:
academic leadership. This paper considers these findings in the context of
contemporary literature on academics’ experiences of leadership within Higher
Education institutions in the UK and further afield, seeking to establish a greater
understanding of this little studied but influential academic community and their
experiences of leadership within a 21st century HE institution.