Reform of Higher Education and the Return of ‘Heroic’ Leadership: The Case of Denmark

Abstract

Denmark is experiencing a comprehensive package of educational reform aimed at enabling that country to recalibrate itself to the demands of the so-called 'global knowledge economy.' In relation to the higher education sector, a new system of university governance is being implemented where boards are appointed by the State and comprised of a majority of members external to the institution. To facilitate this process a new concept of leadership is invoiced. The paper explores different understandings of leadership, both in the literature and 'in action' via the perspectives of university leaders and decision-makers in the Danish case, before considering whether the current reforms make necessary such models of control and if the scope of action of such leaders is seriously curtailed by contemporary education policy.