Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Table of Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
Background to the Program ............................................................................. 1
A Note on Terminology .................................................................................... 1
Learning Outcomes ......................................................................................... 2
Module Topics ................................................................................................. 2
Program Overview ........................................................................................... 2
Survey of Fieldwork Coordinators .......................................................................... 4
Why Fieldwork Coordinators Are Academic Leaders....................................... 4
Program Philosophy and Learning Experiences ...................................................... 9
Practical Activity............................................................................................. 11
Required Reading .......................................................................................... 12
Additional Resources ............................................................................................ 12
Websites .............................................................................................................. 12
Readings ............................................................................................................. 12
References .................................................................................................... 12
Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Introduction
Hello and welcome to Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
In this first module of the Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader you will become familiar with
the program and broad learning outcomes, be introduced to the leadership development strategy and
more specifically the experiential learning model, which includes: peer coaching, reflection on your
leadership based on a 360° survey and the development and completion of an action learning
project. Most importantly, however, you will have the opportunity to engage in a critical discussion on
your perceptions of academic leadership within the changing university context and how this fits with
broader leadership theory. Furthermore, you will be able to discuss the leadership of Work Integrated
Learning (WIL) within the context of the changing tertiary environment and the relevance of building
the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in fieldwork education. In the first module of the
Academic Leadership for Fieldwork Coordinators Program you will have an opportunity to meet other
participants as well as the Program Facilitators.
Background to the Program
This academic leadership program for fieldwork coordinators recognizes the crucial role of fieldwork
coordinators in building good relationships with fieldwork partners, maintaining the university’s
reputation, delivering well designed and effective fieldwork programs and providing excellent WIL
opportunities for students. The program was developed from an Australian Learning and Teaching
Council (ALTC) funded project for Leadership and Excellence in Learning and Teaching,
commissioned in 2010. The program was designed based on a survey of fieldwork coordinators at
the partner universities involved in the project (Curtin and Charles Sturt) (see page 3) and piloted in
2011 at both. The program and its resources have now been made available to the sector with the
intention of supporting the development of fieldwork coordinators as academic leaders. Feedback
from the pilots at Curtin and Charles Sturt Universities was excellent. The program presented here
incorporates minor changes based on the pilot participants’ feedback. The project team would like to
thank and acknowledge the pilot participants for their feedback and involvement in the project. For
more information on the associated ALTC project please see the final report Leading Fieldwork:
Fieldwork coordinators as academic leaders (http://academicleadership.curtin.edu.au/ALFCP/)
A Note on Terminology
Due to the varying nomenclature used to describe the same or similar roles within the university, it is
necessary to define what is meant by fieldwork and fieldwork coordinator in this leadership
development program. Fieldwork, described here, allows students to learn through direct
implementation of their professional roles in real workplace settings. Workplaces, in this definition of
fieldwork, are on or off-campus facilities. Fieldwork learning, a form of WIL, involves supervision to
provide safeguards to ensure duty of care for clients and students. Fieldwork is also known as
practicum, professional experience, internships, extra-mural placements, field education, sandwich
course, service learning or clinical placements. A fieldwork coordinator, therefore, is an academic
staff member who is responsible for the management and coordination of a fieldwork learning
program which supports high quality student learning experiences. An important element of fieldwork
coordination is fostering productive and reciprocal partnerships between fieldwork learning partners,
the university and students.
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Cooper et al. (2010, pp. 37-38) suggest that work integrated learning is characterised by seven key
dimensions:
1. purpose which defines the model used
2. context (or where the WIL occurs)
3. nature of the integration of theory and practice
4. design of the curriculum, learning outcomes, experiences and assessment
5. how student learning is conceptualised and supported
6. fostering of strong partnerships between the university and the workplace
7. the supports provided to students and the workplace before, during and after learning
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module participants will:



Understand the role of the fieldwork coordinator as an academic leader.
Understand the concept of academic leadership in the context of fieldwork education.
Recognise the importance of building the scholarship of teaching and learning in fieldwork
education.
Module Topics
This module gives a general overview of the program and introduces the need for effective academic
leadership and the importance of experiential learning as part of leadership development.
Specifically, the module discusses why fieldwork coordinators are academic leaders, and the
optimum means to assist learning in academic leaders with peer coaching, reflection and action
learning projects as tools to enhance leadership capacity.
We will examine academic leadership and the role of fieldwork coordinators in the changing higher
educational environment and introduce some concepts for aiding leadership development.
This program for fieldwork coordinators is about improving your effectiveness in your role and to
become more self-aware that much of what you do can be considered leadership. In order to do this,
you need to learn about various administrative processes, educational principles as well as
leadership concepts and how these influence the people around you.
Program Overview
Some of you will find this exciting and quite invigorating, others will find it a bit confronting because
you may realise you need to change some of your leadership behaviours. Change can be
challenging, however, you will find the development strategies in this program, and the peer learning
enabled through interacting with colleagues in the same role, helpful in easing you through the
process. In the end, you will gain considerably by having a closer look at the following:
 academic leadership and its relationship to fieldwork coordination
 interpersonal and intrapersonal communication
 team building
 change management and innovation in fieldwork
 conflict management
 coaching, mentoring and the development of students, staff and industry partners for
fieldwork
 influencing the performance of your colleagues and industry partners
 managing upwards
 fieldwork renewal and development
 academic policies and procedures, including risk management for fieldwork
 evaluating teaching and learning in fieldwork
 best practice in fieldwork assessment and moderation.
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Significantly, the Academic Leadership for Fieldwork Coordinators Program is structured around six
operational roles—Deliverer, Monitor, Developer, Broker, Innovator and Integrator—identified in the
Integrated Competing Values Framework (ICVF) and each module explores one of these roles in
relation to fieldwork coordination.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Deliverer - Delivering an effective fieldwork program.
Monitor - The role of quality in fieldwork programs.
Developer - Developing fieldwork partners for student learning.
Broker - Creating and sustaining fieldwork partners.
Innovator - Innovation in fieldwork and managing change.
Integrator - Personal leadership capabilities and their development.
The ICVF is the leadership framework that underpins the 360° leadership survey used in the
program, which has been contextualised to reflect the fieldwork coordinator role and is widely used
within Australian universities for leadership development. These operational roles, their interrelation,
and the ICVF are discussed in detail later (page 6). An action learning project is part of the program,
which provides an opportunity to apply the knowledge learnt in the program to your role and is
developed in module seven that explores your 360° leadership survey results. An outline of the
program components and their objective is provided below in Figure1.
Figure 1: Academic Leadership for Fieldwork Coordinators Program Structure
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Survey of Fieldwork Coordinators
The project team involved in developing this program surveyed fieldwork coordinators at Curtin and
Charles Sturt Universities based on the survey used by Scott et al. (2008). The data collected
informed the design and development of the Academic Leadership for Fieldwork Coordinators
Program. The online survey contained 22 overarching questions covering demographic information,
major areas of focus, judging effective performance, influences shaping their role, leadership
capabilities and support for their leadership development. 82 responses were recorded. Of those 82
responses, 67 were full responses to every question in the survey.
The majority of respondents were women (58.5%), from education and health science disciplines,
and were employees of Curtin University (63%, and 37% from CSU). Significantly, most of the survey
respondents had between 1-3 years of experience as a FC (31.7%), however, there was
considerable experience in the group as 51% had 4 or more years experience. Furthermore, the
majority of respondents were involved in undergraduate fieldwork (54.3%) and most estimated they
spent between 10-20% of their time in fieldwork coordination.
The data provided a profile of fieldwork coordinators that is consistent with the literature on academic
leadership and the realities of academic work in the 21st Century. Fieldwork coordinators are
dedicated academic staff members who enjoy seeing their students grow and develop and the
successful delivery of their fieldwork program. However, fieldwork coordinators find slow
administrative processes, bureaucracy, a lack of recognition, reward and institutional support and the
general workload a burden. Many also commented on the struggle to attain a work/life balance. Other
issues that emerged for fieldwork coordinators were: competition for placements, the number of
placements required and managing partnerships, which reflect the specific challenges of fieldwork
coordination. Similarly, and consistent with the realities of fieldwork coordination, fieldwork
coordinators also commented that managing student diversity, general student issues and student
incivility were some of the most challenging aspects of the role.
Overall, there was evidence that fieldwork coordinators tended to focus on the operational aspects of
their leadership role above strategic issues. Fieldwork coordinators welcomed the prospect of a
tailored leadership development program and clearly recognised the need for, and importance of, a
more integrated approach to their differing functions. It was clear from responses that there was a
dearth of professional development opportunities for academic staff in this role. The majority of
respondents (regardless of their level of experience) had not been exposed to any of the typical
professional development opportunities provided to academic leaders. The priorities they identified
for their own professional development were time management, leadership development, networking,
assessment and moderation, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
As the role of fieldwork coordinator has less direct authority or control over resources and industry
partners, people in these positions need to be particularly deft at ‘leading through influence’.
Therefore their personal and interpersonal skills, networking, relationship management and conflict
management are critical.
Why Fieldwork Coordinators Are Academic Leaders
Academic programs with fieldwork components involve a complex web of partnerships with diverse
groups. Effective partnerships involve employers, students, academics, higher education managers,
professional bodies and broker agencies such as career offices and external placement groups
(Orrell, 2004). The management of such programs requires both transactional and transformative
leadership skills which emphasise learning and optimal outcomes for all parties involved
(transformative and transactional leadership will be explored in the module titled “Delivering an
Effective Fieldwork Program.”
The requirement of leadership for fieldwork coordinators is strongly supported by Patrick et al. (2009)
in a national scoping study of WIL. They identified that effective fieldwork practices are critical to
ensure worthwhile learning experiences for students and a ‘stakeholder integrated approach’ to the
planning and conduct of fieldwork. Further, effective practices are based on formalised, sustainable
relations and a common understanding of the procedures and commitment required by all parties
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
involved in high quality fieldwork placements. This outcome stems from strong WIL design as an
integral part of the curriculum. Patrick et al. (2009) also note that good fieldwork education programs
are underpinned by sound pedagogy, the use of valid and reliable assessment methods and
processes, and evaluation of and management for quality fieldwork experiences. It is clear that
effective fieldwork coordinators must communicate and coordinate effectively with industry partners
to support and develop models of industry engagement that produce efficient fieldwork processes for
students.
There has been little written on academic leadership particularly in relation to fieldwork coordinators.
There is much debate in the higher education sector about the extent to which broader management
and leadership theory is applicable to the higher education context and in recent years there has
been increasing research into what constitutes academic leadership (see, for example, the special
issue of Leadership 5(3), 2009). Generally speaking academic leadership is seen to be similar to
general leadership, however, the specificities of academic work culture demands and an
understanding of academic ways of working (for example, academic research promotes autonomous
work practices and academic loyalty is often discipline based) for successful leadership in higher
education. Work undertaken by the UK Leadership Foundation for Higher Education aligns with
findings of an Australian report by Scott et al. (2008). Scott’s team identified a leadership succession
crisis in Australian higher education, and an urgent need to improve the leadership development at
many levels of universities. This report was timely and suggests the core focus of leadership in the
current, volatile context of higher education needs to be on achieving effective change management
and implementation (Scott et al., 2008, p. v).
The study identified a number of change forces in higher education which dictate the need for good
academic leadership including:
 opening up of access and a resulting diversified student body
 changes in funding
 pressure to generate new sources of income
 a trend towards user-pays
 rapid growth in the higher education export market
 growing competition
 the challenge of maintaining standards with the changing nature of the student cohort
 students seeing themselves as consumers
 paid employment patterns of students for survival (average student works 14.8 hrs per week)
 changing characteristics of students, for example, Generation Y.
For universities to remain competitive they need excellent leadership at all levels of the organisation.
Fieldwork coordinators have been the least well recognised for their role in determining whether
change is effected. Fieldwork coordinators are critical to engage with the change agenda, as they
focus efforts and work with industry partners and staff to make the desired change work in practice
(Scott et al., 2008, p. xvii). With the employment sector requiring greater graduate employability
(Oliver, 2008), there has been an increased emphasis on work integrated learning, and more
specifically fieldwork, within curricula as a mechanism to provide increased employability skills.
Some of the challenges to being an effective leader in higher education are related to working within
a collegial context where academic freedom is highly prized. Some of the comments from participants
in the leadership capability project demonstrate these tensions:
“In universities, as a result of the academic value of collegiality, you have to operate more
from moral authority than in business where positional authority has weight. So a lot of
fine leadership is about winning followers and leading through influence.” (Scott et al.,
2008, p. 6)
“An academic culture is a difficult environment to work within initiating and implementing
change. Some will push consensus – something which can be a force for no change –
whereas others will push academic independence and say ‘I’m not obliged to get on the
change bus.’ As a leader, this makes engaging staff with required change, a major
challenge.” (Scott et al., 2008, p. 42)
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Many of the same challenges apply to working with industry partners as fieldwork coordinators do not
have line management authority over partners, yet desperately need their support to provide
placements for students. The role, therefore, requires leadership to influence and negotiate with
partners.
Fieldwork coordinators were not surveyed by Scott et al. (2008) (possibly an indication of their lack of
visibility as academic leaders!). However, the ten most important influences (ranked in order) on the
roles of course coordinators or program heads (which is the most closely aligned role and also impact
on fieldwork coordinators) identified in the study were:
1. Decreased government funding.
2. Balancing work and family life.
3. Managing pressure for continuous change.
4. Slow administrative processes.
5. Handling unexpected events.
6. Finding and retaining high quality staff.
7. Growing pressure to generate new income.
8. Rapid changes in technology.
9. Dealing with local university cultures.
10. Greater government reporting and scrutiny.
With the exception of clarifying strategic directions, these influences were the same for all key
university leadership roles (Course Coordinator, Head of School, Dean of Teaching and Learning,
Director of Teaching and Learning, PVC/DVC Academic/Education). The fieldwork coordinator has
an additional layer to deal with in that almost all of the influences which affect the higher education
environment can be applied to industry partners, thereby creating a very complex environment in
which to lead.
Leadership Models
In this program, we conceptualise leadership from two perspectives: the Academic Leadership
Capability Framework (Scott et al., 2008) which considers the capabilities required for effective
leadership and the Integrated Competing Values Framework (ICVF) (Vilkinas & Cartans, 2009) which
considers the various roles needed for effective leadership and the integrations between each of the
roles. There are many different theories on leadership, models and styles. Daniel Goleman, an
international expert on leadership, has found that the more leadership styles a leader demonstrates,
the more likely they are to create a positive climate and a high performance group (Goleman, 2000).
Academic Leadership Capability Framework
Scott et al. (2008) identified key capabilities and competencies required for effective academic
leadership in a conceptual framework as shown in the figure below. Competence includes: relevant
skills and knowledge that are delivered to a set standard in a specific context; ability to
deliver/perform; performance; ability to deliver set tasks in specific and relatively predictable
situations; a focus on the present; and working productively and efficiently in situations that are
stable. Capability, however, includes: the ability to figure out when and when not to deploy these
competencies and a capacity to refine, update and develop them; ability to learn; creativity; ability to
deliver new approaches in complex, uncertain situations; a focus on the future; working productively
with instability and change.
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Figure 2: Academic Leadership Capability Framework
Scott et al. (2008) suggests all five dimensions are necessary for effective leadership performance.
Personal and interpersonal capabilities focus around emotional intelligence and being able to
manage one’s emotional reactions to uncertainty and discomfort.
Personal Capabilities include; commitment to teaching and learning excellence and wanting to
achieve the best outcome (leading by example and taking responsibility for fieldwork activities and
outcomes, being determined, pitching in when things are not working out as anticipated); self
regulation (deferring judgement and not jumping in too quickly to resolve a problem, understanding
one’s personal strengths and limitations, being willing to learn from mistakes, bouncing back from
adversity, maintaining a good work-life balance, remaining calm under pressure, and decisiveness
(being willing to take hard decisions, confident to take calculated risks, tolerating ambiguity and
having integrity).
Interpersonal Capabilities include; attributes of empathising and working productively with students,
staff and industry partners from a wide range of backgrounds, listening to differing points of view
before making a decision, developing and contributing positively to teams, being transparent and
honest in dealings with others, and influencing people’s behaviour and decisions in effective ways
(working with very senior people including internal and external stakeholders without being
intimidated, motivating others to achieve positive outcomes, working constructively with people who
are ‘resistors’ or are over enthusiastic, developing and using networks of colleagues to solve
problems, and giving and receiving constructive feedback to/from work colleagues and others).
Cognitive Capabilities include; a leader’s capacity to diagnose accurately what is happening and
taking action, recognising how seemingly unconnected activities are linked, recognising patterns in
complex situations, identifying from a mass of information the core issue or opportunity in any
situation, developing strategy (identifying and acting on an opportunity for a new direction, assessing
consequences of alternative courses of action, using previous experience to figure out what’s going
on when the unexpected occurs, thinking creatively and laterally, having clear, justified and
achievable directions, seeing the best way to respond to a difficult situation, identifying what the
human as well as technical or administrative dimensions are, setting and justifying daily work
priorities, determining whether the problem is worth addressing in detail and then having the ability to
match an appropriate course of action to this diagnosis), flexibility and responsiveness (making sense
of and learning from experience, adjusting a plan of action in response to issues which arise during
implementation of a course of action, knowing that there is never a fixed set of steps for solving
workplace problems).
Generic and Role-specific Competencies include; learning and teaching knowledge
(understanding how to develop an effective fieldwork program, having a high level of current
knowledge of what engages university students in productive learning, understanding how to design
and conduct an evaluation of fieldwork programs, understanding how to successfully implement a
new fieldwork initiative, being on top of current developments in teaching and learning, knowing how
to identify and disseminate good learning and management practice across the area); understanding
university operations (risk management and litigation, industrial relations issues and processes,
helping staff learn to deliver necessary changes effectively, chairing meetings effectively, sound
administrative and resource management skills), good self organisation skills (managing one’s own
professional learning and development, using IT effectively to communicate and perform key work
functions, organise work and effective time management, present effectively to a range of different
groups).
Integrated Competing Values Framework (ICVF)
The ICVF (Vilkinas & Cartans 2001, 2006) is shown in Figure 3, illustrates the behavioural complexity
of the fieldwork coordinator role. Tension between a people and task focus is always present in the
fieldwork coordinator role as is tension between an internal and external focus. As a result of these
pressures, five of the six operational roles emerge which are necessary for effective leadership
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
(Deliverer, Monitor, Developer, Broker and Innovator) and the leader needs to determine how and
when to use a given role and the extent to which each of the roles is used and competes with other
roles (this is the behavioural complexity of the model). Central to the model is the Integrator role,
which involves critical thinking and reflective practice in order to monitor movement and application of
the five operational roles; the Integrator function has been described as the “control room.” For
example, fieldwork coordinators need to manage the competing priorities of caring for and dealing
with students with personal difficulties (Developer) whilst trying to ensure that students complete their
fieldwork placements in a timely manner (Deliverer) due to the pressure of limited placements and
competition for placements. In subsequent modules, the ICVF is contextualised to the role of the
fieldwork coordinator to allow exploration of the leadership responsibilities of this role. Participants
will have an opportunity to assess their leadership profile using the ICVF (through an online 360°
leadership survey) and develop further their strengths and reduce weaknesses.
Figure 3: The Integrated Competing Values Framework and the Fieldwork Coordinator
In exploring the ICVF further, in relation to the fieldwork coordinator role, a variety of key
responsibilities can be applied to each operational role. These responsibilities will inform the
leadership development program’s structure and are utilised to build case studies to engage
participants in exploring their role, thereby contextualising the model to fieldwork coordination. For
example:
1. Deliverer - requires the development of a system to manage student fieldwork placements,
managing paperwork and compliance issues, unit outlines, and communication strategies to
ensure the program runs efficiently. It also requires initiatives to manage the risk and legal
issues associated with a fieldwork program.
2. Monitor - involves collecting and collating relevant fieldwork data to continuously improve the
quality of work integrated learning, for example, placement numbers, monitoring trends in
numbers, placement availability, collecting feedback on students, educators, placement quality,
evaluating the fieldwork program and models of education, moderation of fieldwork assessment
and ensuring inter-rater reliability and understanding competency based evaluation.
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
3. Developer - will include issues such as providing training and support for educators in the field
around coaching, supervision and fair and equitable assessment of students, alignment of
assessment practices of student learning on placements between university and industry.
4. Broker - requires development of strategic partnerships with agencies, accreditation and
professional bodies, fieldwork educators, and Head of School/Department. The interplay of
these key stakeholders requires negotiation and networking skills to build and sustain the
fieldwork program.
5. Innovator - will focus on considering changes to professional practice and how this influences
fieldwork education. These changes, along with increasing enrolments and competition for
placements require innovative and new approaches to models of fieldwork education.
6. Integrator - involves reflecting on practice, taking a critical perspective on one's own leadership
role and one’s movement between the operational roles, and involving others such as peer
coaches, critical friends or colleagues in one's ongoing development as a fieldwork coordinator.
Some of the underlying concepts that will be explored in the program to support these operational
roles include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The ICVF as a leadership model to inform practice.
Communicating with emotional intelligence.
Managing performance and coaching.
Understanding individuals and teams and managing change.
Conflict management and negotiation.
Understanding key relationships and networking.
The pedagogy of WIL.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Fieldwork
Education
In order to provide high quality fieldwork programs and to improve the level of recognition for
fieldwork coordinators within higher education, it is important to adopt a scholarly approach to
fieldwork education. This not only provides the basis for a strong rationale for any fieldwork initiative,
but it provides a clear mechanism for evaluating interventions and disseminating and communicating
the success or otherwise of initiatives to the broader community. Vardi and Quin (2011) argue that
the scholarship of teaching and learning provides a mechanism for demonstrating scope of influence
and responsibility (local, national and international), levels of performance, outputs, quality and
impact of work and thereby reputation and recognition. These factors, combined with publications
and grants arising from the scholarship of teaching and learning in fieldwork are important in the
context of being competitive for promotion.
Fieldwork is an increasingly important element of the design of curricula. Therefore, an evidencebased approach to designing, implementing and evaluating the models, processes and outcomes of
fieldwork are critical to ensuring the pedagogical robustness of fieldwork programs and to provide the
evidence of their effectiveness. Fieldwork coordinators are ideally positioned to lead the scholarship
of teaching and learning in relation to their programs.
Journals where research into fieldwork initiatives—and the leadership of fieldwork—might be
published can be found on the Curtin University Building Academic Leadership Capability website.
Support to publish on the scholarship of teaching and learning may be available. As a starting point
contact the area within your university responsible for teaching and learning for advice.
Program Philosophy and Learning Experiences
The approach used in this program is grounded in leadership development theory and practice. Scott
et al. (2008) identified that academic leaders have a preference for practice based learning.
Academic leaders expressed a preference for the following:



learning on the job
being involved in informal mentoring/coaching
undertaking self-guided reading on leadership
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader




participating in higher education leadership seminars
participating in leadership development programs which are custom-tailored to their needs
participating in annual performance reviews
participating in 360° feedback based on known leadership capabilities.
This program utilises all of these concepts (with the exception of higher education leadership
seminars) and will provide you with an opportunity to embed experiential learning principles in your
leadership development journey. Throughout the program, a case-based and problem-based learning
approach is used which will allow you to critically reflect on the issues and apply the theory
underpinning leadership development. By reflecting on learning experiences, making conclusions,
and incorporating the learning outcomes into your daily work practice you will hopefully find the
development experience rewarding. In other words, this learning will assist you to create new
applications in your role as fieldwork coordinator. This will be accomplished, in part, by goal setting,
group discussions, and working closely with strategic learning partners or 'peer coaches.' These
peers will be responsible for providing coaching or learning support for you as you work towards
implementing some of the key learning materials within this module. You will 'coach and provide
learning support' in return, thus gaining some valuable skills in coaching and mentoring.
Why involve others in your leadership development journey? The importance of learning
independently and with others is best described by these two quotations:
"Learning is the essential fuel for the leader, the source of high octane energy that
keeps up the momentum by continually sparking new understanding, new ideas, and
new challenges. It is absolutely indispensable under today's conditions of rapid
change and complexity. Very simply, those who do not learn do not long survive as
leaders" (Bennis & Nanus, 1985).
"Leaders are not made by corporate courses, any more than they are made by their
college courses, but by experience. Therefore, it is not devices, such as 'career path
planning' or training courses, that are needed, but an organization's commitment to
providing its potential leaders with opportunities to learn through experience in an
environment that permits growth and change" (Bennis, 1989).
The importance of learning through experience, reflected in the above comments, can be reinforced
by examining experiential learning theory. Kolb (1984) describes an experiential learning cycle that
can help one to understand how to get the most out of one's learning. This model serves as a
framework for the learning that one will experience in this program.
The Experiential Learning Model is a four-stage cycle that involves:
1. Having an experience.
2. Reflecting upon that experience.
3. Making conclusions from the reflection and the experience.
4. Creating a new application for subsequent experiences.
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Experience
Application
Debriefing
Concluding
Figure 3: The Experiential Learning Model
It is a useful model that to follow to help you maximise your learning in this program and your ongoing
development as a leader. As you work through the experiences in this program and apply them to
your work setting, take time to reflect on them. This can be done more strategically by noting
key learning outcomes and questions in a reflective journal or personal blog. It is recommended that
you identify a colleague who has the potential to act as a peer coach or critical friend unless there is
a formal mentoring program at your university. The information you gather in you reflective journal
can be used in consultation with your peer coach to help you deepen your understanding of
administrative, leadership or management issues. The conclusions that are derived from this process
can then be applied back into the workplace. For information on peer coaching please see the
Required Reading for this module.
Gaither (2004) in his review of academic leadership asserts that experience and observation is
critical for learning about leadership. He views leadership development as a continuous
learning experience requiring ample opportunities to practice with the 'right to fail' as part of
the development process.
We trust that you will take on board these principles of the experiential learning cycle with your peer
coach/es. By implementing the learning process from this program with reflective practice and peer
coaching, you can expect positive changes in your leadership and management style.
Practical Activity
1. Consider your role as FC and identify three things which are great about your role
and three things which you find challenging. Discuss these with three other people
in the group.
2. Work in groups of 5. Each one of you is to select one of the roles within the
Integrated Competing Values Framework. List the variety of tasks which you
believe the FC would undertake for each role. Share these with each other and add
other suggestions. Discuss the proportion of your time that is spent in each of the
roles and whether you believe this needs reviewing.
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Required Reading
Bryman, A. (2007). Effective leadership in higher education: a literature review. Studies
in Higher Education. 32 (6): 693-710.
Ladyshewsky, R. (2003). Peer coaching and professional development: A learning
support strategy for students at the Graduate School of Business, Curtin
University.
Ladyshewsky, R. (2006). Peer coaching: a constructivist methodology for enhancing
critical thinking in post-graduate business education. Higher Education Research
and Development, 25, 67-84.
Scott, G., Coates, H., & Anderson, M. (2008). Learning leaders in times of change:
Academic leadership capabilities for Australian higher education. University of
Western Sydney and the Australian Council for Educational Research. (Executive
Summary)
Additional Resources
Websites
HERDSA Guides (http://www.herdsa.org.au/index.php?page_id=139) provide useful ideas and
information on many aspects of teaching and learning. Written by experts in specific fields, they are
short, inexpensive and easy to read.
Readings
Scott, G. (2003). Learning principals: Leadership capability and learning research in the NSW
Department of Education and Training. University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) Quality
Development Unit.
Bell, M. (2005). Peer observation partnerships in higher education. The Higher Education Research
and Development Society of Australasia, Milperra, NSW.
Peer observation of teaching is a truly effective process for ongoing change and development in
higher education teaching. This guide aims to support higher education teachers through a
program of skills, knowledge and ideas development to meet their own developmental aims
within their immediate teaching environment. The guide explains how peer observation
partnerships work, explores theoretical frameworks and related concepts and provides a guide
to the whole process of peer observation of teaching including observation techniques, post
observation discussion, feedback and critical reflection.
References
Bennis, W. (1989). On becoming a leader. Reading, UK: Addison-Wesley.
Bennis, W., & Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: The strategies for taking charge. New York, NY: Perennial
Library.
Cooper, L., Orrell, J., & Bowden, M. (2010). Work integrated learning: A guide to effective practice.
Oxon, UK: Routledge
Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, (Mar-Apr), 78-90.
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Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development.
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Gaither, G. (2004). Developing leadership skills in academia. Academic Leadership 2(1).
http://www.academicleadership.org/authors/Gerald_H_Gaither.shtml
Oliver, B. (2008). Graduate employability as a standard of success in teaching and learning.
Proceedings of the Australian Universities Quality Forum, 86-91.
Orrell, J. (2004). Work-integrated learning programmes: Management and educational quality.
Proceedings the Australian Universities Quality Forum 2004, Flinders University, Adelaide. (pp.
76-80).
Patrick, C., Peach, D., Pocknee, C., Webb, F., Fletcher, M., & Pretto, G. (2009). The WIL [Work
integrated learning] report: A national scoping study. Australian Learning and Teaching Council
(ALTC) Final Report. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology. Available online at:
www.altc.edu.au and www.acen.edu.au
Scott, G., Coates, H., & Anderson, M. (2008). Learning leaders in times of change: Academic
leadership capabilities for Australian higher education. University of Western Sydney and
Australian Council for Educational Research.
Vardi, I., & Quin, R. (2011). Promotion and the scholarship of teaching and learning, Higher
Education Research & Development, 30(1), 39-49.
Vilkinas, T., & Cartan, G. (2006). The integrated competing values framework: Its special
configuration. Journal of Management Development 25, 505-185.
Vilkinas, T., & Cartan, G. (2001). The behavioural control room for managers: The integrator role.
Leadership and Organisation Development Journal 22(4), 175-185.
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