Leadership Competencies Based on Gender Differences Among Academic Leaders from the Perspectives of Faculty Members: A Scenario from Saudi Higher Education

Abstract

This study aims to identify the level of academic leadership competencies in selected Saudi higher education institutions (SSHEIs). It also seeks to investigate gender differences in academic leadership competencies (ALC) in SSHEIs. This study employed quantitative method to collect the data. The researchers used a questionnaire consisting of 29 items. The questionnaire was randomly distributed among faculty members in the SSHEIs in Jazan Province. There were 550 questionnaires distributed, 496 of them were received for analysis using SPSS (V.23). The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and an independent sample T-test. The findings indicated that academic leaders had a very high level of leadership competencies (LC) which reflect on the very high level of personal skills (PS) and high level of required skills (RS) of academic leaders. The findings also revealed that there is a significant gender difference in the mean score regarding the ALC in higher education. The findings implied that male academic leaders had more LC compared to female academic leaders. The current results are valuable for higher education in terms of providing evidence of the level of LC and gender differences of leadership competencies in the SSHEIs. Accordingly, the findings will contribute to the body of knowledge regarding leadership in higher education. The findings also will be beneficial for policymakers, academics leaders, and the officials of higher education. The theoretical and practical implications of the study as well as recommendations were also discussed.