Examining the influence of leadership inputs in reflective learning on academics and students in a higher education environment

Academic leadership can generally be defined as a process of implying influences on an individual or a group of academics to achieve planned teaching, learning or research goals. This study discusses few theoretical concepts of leadership theory in higher education context using examples of universities while analyzing the effects of leadership guidance on reflective learning of an academic and its outcomes. The study has found that with the help of leadership, an academic is able to integrate many key learning attributes in reflective practices, such as a clear sense of direction, art of delegation, technics of providing feedback on performance and resources optimisation in addition to workloads management and critical decision-making issues. Reflective practices in STEM field of higher education at a university has been carried out and it is established that critical reflection is essential to ensure an inclusive learning experience for the students especially in STEM study field. Similarly, due to unique nature of STEM subject topics and their delivery, guidance from leadership is essential at times.