LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES FOR THE VOLATILE, UNCERTAIN, COMPLEX AND AMBIGUOUS (VUCA) ENVIRONMENT: CHALLENGES TO HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The coaster-roller situations that challenge contemporary educational systems have created a surge for investigating if modern education leaders possess the required leadership competencies that may empower them to function effectively and efficiently in a world of precariousness. Incessantly, the gravity of the challenges such as environmental volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) has reshaped where and how education activities should be done. Likewise, the challenges of leaders' self-confidence, tech-savviness have adversely impacted how leaders and teachers perform their pedagogical practices. It follows that leveraging from the COVID-19 pandemic which has autocratically forced education practices out of its traditional context and students’ learning trajectories, there is a need to explore how these precipitating environmental and social dichotomy trammeled school teaching strategies, and institutional challenges affecting the teaching and learning processes in higher education environments. The quantitative method, descriptive research design, and random sampling techniques were used as the compass to steer the study. The study findings showed that the leadership competency dimension of self-confidence had the highest overall mean score, whereas tech-savviness got the lowest overall mean score. However, based on the criterion variables, institutional teaching strategies had the highest mean score while institutional challenges encountered by teachers had the lowest mean score. Also, positive and significant relationships were found between self-confidence and institutional teaching strategies but not with institutional challenges encountered by teachers. The implication of the study findings is that higher education leaders need to be aware that epistemologically, it is not enough to have abstract knowledge of a cluster of leadership competencies or skills in leading today and future higher education institutions when linking VUCA challenges and pandemic crisis together. Consequently, synergizing and rethinking the demands of technology, teachers’ professional teaching strategies enhancement may help position leaders in fighting the present challenges of volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous economic, social, environmental, and political instability impacting higher education institutions.