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This thesis examines the professional development needs and leadership development opportunities for New Zealand technical vocational education and training (TVET) leaders. It also considers the significant responsibilities placed on the shoulders of vocational trades leaders as they respond to the demands of their institutions, the external funding agency, industry training organisations and government policy makers. Whether in the public or private sector, it is assumed that the current state of technical vocational education and training (TVET) leadership development in New Zealand polytechnic institutions has been found to be wanting. The drive for efficiency has contributed to the development of a business focused middle management infrastructure. The gap between senior management and technical vocational education and training (TVET) leaders has widened. This gap effectively limits those leaders with potential to gain the experience of on the job training and career advancement into full management positions. This qualitative study investigated the perceptions of TVET leaders in relation to their professional development needs and leadership development opportunities in two New Zealand polytechnic institutions. Two focus groups of TVET lecturers were conducted to identity their perceptions with regards to their role, opportunities, challenges and barriers. Both groups were questioned for their professional development needs in relation to leadership progression in the future. Two data gathering methods were employed as six middle leaders and one senior leader were interviewed and two groups of TVET lectures were interviewed in focus groups. The findings of this research showed a number of difficulties faced by TVET leaders as they struggle to come to terms with the complexities of their roles. The research also indicated a number of inconsistencies in the vocational trades leader’s role, even though their contributions are becoming increasingly important. The study highlighted that vocational trades leaders were generally ill prepared and require support in order to fulfil their roles as managers, leaders and in many cases, educators. Hence, there is a need for institutions to organise leadership and prepare TVET leaders with the provision of opportunities for leadership development. Research Aims and Questions The overall objective of this research is to investigate the vocational trades professional development needs and leadership development opportunities for TVET leaders in two in New Zealand polytechnic institutions. This study aims to identify challenges faced by New Zealand TVET leaders and their professional development needs. This research should provide an insight into the work of vocational trades leaders and contribute to gaining a better understanding of their role,institutional requirements and development opportunities.

Despite the global popularity of leadership development there is an absence of literature on leadership development of middle level professional leaders in New Zealand polytechnics. This is in spite of research that suggests that the quality of leaders and leadership are crucial to producing enhanced learning outcomes for students. While most studies on leadership development in higher education have been focussed on academic leadership, literature available on leadership development of middle level professional leaders in higher education has tended to focus on middle management within the business, management and human resource literature. Hence, there is a gap in the literature regarding these non-academic middle leaders. A qualitative approach was adopted within a constructivist paradigm to explore the concept of leadership development, investigate institutional commitments and examine leadership development practices and experiences of middle level professional leaders in New Zealand polytechnics. Semi-structured interviews created the opportunity to hear the experiences and perceptions of six middle level professional leaders and three human resource managers on leadership development within the New Zealand polytechnics they work in. The findings revealed that the role of middle level professional leaders can be split into two categories: responsibilities related to people and responsibilities related to expertise. The findings also indicate that there is confusion in the use of the terms leader development and leadership development. The findings highlighted that there is a disparity between what middle level professional leaders want in terms of leadership development and what the institution offers. In addition, leadership development is not planned and is self-driven and highlights the importance of effective performance appraisals and professional development planning. A conclusion of the study relates to the importance of nurturing aspiring and emergent leaders within the institution. It is apparent that existing leadership development opportunities provided are inadequate, underfunded and are not preparing these middle level professional leaders with the skills and knowledge they need. An implication for practice is the need for a leadership development programme that is tailor-made and supportive of middle level professional leaders in New Zealand polytechnics.

Academic staff in New Zealand polytechnics are mostly industry professionals who have been recruited directly into higher education with little or no background in academia. They have effectively immigrated to a new profession and often struggle to adapt to the culture of their new working environment. Academic immigrant leaders, who share strong identity bonds derived from their shared work histories with their staff, are positioned in the centre of relationships between themselves, their olleagues, and the organisations in which they are employed. Their identity is a complex hybrid amalgam of industry professional, academic and academic leader. The study examined theories of identity focusing on how individuals construct and adapt their identities in changing circumstances. Acculturation to new working environments was explored using an ‘immigrant’ metaphor. Prior studies have examined professional and academic identities of teachers, however, few have explored relationships between academic leaders and staff who share non-academic professional identities. This research employed an interpretive lens, within a constructivist paradigm to examine the personal experiences of sixteen academic leaders who identified as academic immigrants. Individual and group interviews illuminated personal experiences of embracing an academic identity, becoming an academic leader and sharing a professional identity with colleagues. Findings demonstrated that academic immigrants do not identify with traditional notions of academic identity, rather they frame their understanding of being an academic through the filter of their previous professional identity. They are deeply socialised in their professional identity and their loyalty lies with their discipline, rather than with the institution. This enables them to operate in discipline ‘silos’ which link strongly to professional values and practices and which can provide validation for behaviours that result in disconnection and tension with the institution. Academic immigrant leaders, who share these strong identity bonds with their staff, can contribute to this siloed behaviour by acting as ‘gatekeepers’ and choosing to prioritise their staff and discipline over the needs of the institution. Academic immigrant staff are attracted to polytechnics because of the applied and practice based learning, rather than ‘hard core’ academic processes. Institutions need to recognise the differences between their ‘old’ and ‘new’ profession and plan induction and socialisation processes that will support complex identity transition. Academic immigrant leaders are well placed to mitigate the identity-divide because they are in the middle of relationships between the institution and their staff with whom they hold a strong values bond based on their shared professional identity.

Despite increasing numbers of students embarking on tertiary studies in New Zealand, the proportion of students completing a qualification is low compared to other OECD countries and Ministry of Education data shows that completion rates are low for students at Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) compared to other tertiary organisations within New Zealand. This dissertation examines the reasons why students at a polytechnic stay on or withdraw from their courses. A qualitative methodology was employed for this research, focusing on a course with a low success rate at Unitec New Zealand. The primary sources of data were student pre- and post-course questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with three students. This research project found that polytechnic students face a number of issues including finances and the time and cost of having to commute daily to the institution. This research project also found that the youngest students had the highest risk of withdrawing from the course prior to its completion. Additionally, this research project found that the main factors that put ITP students at risk of not successfully completing their course could be identified prior to, and in the early stages of, their courses. These findings imply that early intervention by academic and support staff may lead to improved retention rates among this demographic of student. The interventions include: interviewing the students prior to the course to ensure they are aware of the costs involved in full-time study; having the students identify issues that may lead to having to withdraw and putting support in place to mitigate the effects of these issues; making a greater effort to socially and academically integrate the students and ensuring that students who struggle to pass early formative assessments are given extra support.

This research explores the pre-course expectations of a cohort of Confucian-heritage international students from China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan who were attending a 10-week Certificate of Intensive English (CIE) course in one New Zealand polytechnic (pseudonym Kia ora Polytechnic). The study also investigates factors influencing pre-course expectations, and whether the students’ subsequent experiences in New Zealand match their pre-course expectations. The research uses a qualitative-interpretivist methodology. The study involves face-to-face interviews with the participants and uses semi-structured questions to elicit in-depth narratives. Interview data are analysed, similar responses are categorised and reported as themes of the findings. Research findings reveal that parents paid the tuition fees and living costs of most of the participants. Most participants had not travelled out of their home countries and they expected New Zealand to be like information from tourist brochures: a country that is clean, green, safe and friendly, and they expected to be happy living and studying here They also expected quality education, good teachers, good English learning outcomes, and making friends with Kiwi people. All the participants reported that their English proficiency had progressed to a level that far exceeded their pre-course expectations. Most participants had positive experiences but were unable to make friends with Kiwi people. Coming to New Zealand entailed a lot of planning. Parents and education agents influenced participants’ pre-course expectations and they indirectly shaped participants’ subsequent experiences. Unexpectedly, most participants rejected the role of Confucianism even though the participants themselves displayed many Confucian traits. This finding implies that to assume ‘all things Confucius’ was probably inappropriate and more research needs to be done with students from East Asian heritage.