Abstract:

Educational innovations are becoming more important globally as higher education institutions are recognizing the importance of offering high-quality, high-engagement learning experiences (Hubball, Pearson and Clarke, 2013). More and more universities are focusing on strategic leadership in terms of curriculum, pedagogy and scholarship in order to enhance and positively affect student learning (Burt and Hubball, 2014). Managing and leading these educational innovations then becomes extremely relevant if they are to be implemented and sustained. The main purpose of this enquiry is to employ the theoretical framework on the change process as proposed by Bolman and Deal (2003) as a guide to evaluate and analyse the progress and outcomes of an educational innovation in which mobile technology was infused into curriculum practices in order to enhance pedagogic strategies in an Arabian-Gulf university.

The results of this exploratory analysis, suggest that, the main areas of leading and managing this innovation, through Bolman and Deal’s four frames, was effectively centred around the human and structural frames and less affected by the political and symbolic frames. However, the four frames model was limited in the assessment of leading and managing such an innovation if one were to consider the effects of the influence of societal culture within the context of this institution. Such considerations on the impact of cultural congruence are pertinent when aiming to fully understand educational leadership and management, especially in the framework of diverse international settings. Having a better understanding of the cultural characteristic of any institution and by extension, that of the external society will be beneficial in providing an alternative lens to educational leaders in assisting them to get a more holistic picture on how to lead and manage educational innovations in multicultural and diverse tertiary settings.

Keywords:

Leading and managing, educational innovation, Arabian Gulf, mobile technology.