Distributed leadership in the construction of a new higher education campus and community

Abstract

This study examines a teaching-oriented higher education community which undertook a major change effort when planning a new campus and redesigning their pedagogics. This paper suggests that instead of merely being a rhetorical tool of senior management, distributed leadership can be practiced in higher education communities for the benefit of the learners, the teaching and administrative staff and the local community. The study emphasises how important the joint sense making of the pedagogical approach was in the creation of distributed leadership practices in a teaching-oriented higher education community. It also highlights how higher education students may take an active role in a work system characterised by distributed leadership and how the infrastructure of a campus building may support distributed leadership.