Can academic leadership competencies have effect on students' cognitive, skill and affective learning outcomes? Higher education perspective

Abstract

PurposeThe main purpose is to analyse the effect of academic leadership competencies (LCs) on student learning outcomes (SLOs) in terms of cognitive, skill and affective aspects.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilised quantitative research that focussed on correlation design by randomly distributing questionnaires containing 53 items to a total of 496 faculty members in Saudi Arabia public higher education institutions (HEIs). The data was analysed using SPSS (V.24) and SEM-AMOS.FindingsResults show a direct and significant effect of academic LC on students' cognitive, skill and affective learning outcomes in public HEIs.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation was that the participants of public HEIs were from Saudi Arabia. However, the findings have provided valuable understandings and a comprehensive conclusion about the impact of academic LC on SLOs in terms of cognitive, skill and affective aspects. The study recommended that different LC should be further developed. Future studies proposed to investigate the factors that support academic leaders to affect SLOs directly in HEIs.Originality/valueThe findings contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the significant and direct effect of academic LC on SLOs in HEIs. The findings have the potential to reflect positively on the academic leaders in public HEIs. The findings act as a guide for HEIs in terms of the importance of academic LC for having desirable SLOs. This study is crucial for educational policymakers and practitioners of academic leadership as the academic leaders' effort will greatly contribute to the HEIs as well as the nation's development in general.