Developing critical and analytical thinking in academic middle leadership: Reflective practice and longitudinal learning among department chairs

This longitudinal qualitative study examines how reflective practice may support the development and enactment of critical and analytical thinking in academic middle leadership. Focusing on academic department chairs, it addresses the gap between identifying leadership competencies and understanding how they are learned and enacted in practice. The intervention was delivered in two applications using the same core content and activities. Data comprised structured written reflections from 18 participants, semi-structured interviews with 7 participants approximately 3 months later, and an 8-month longitudinal follow-up of 5 department chairs. Reflexive thematic analysis, within- and cross-case longitudinal analysis, and integration across sources generated four themes: reflective practice as a space for pausing and reframing; structured examination of evidence, assumptions, and problems; integration of critical and analytical thinking in evaluating alternatives and forming judgement; and differentiated developmental trajectories requiring different forms of support. The findings suggest that academic leadership development may be strengthened when authentic leadership problems are repeatedly connected with reflection, analysis, evidence appraisal, and judgement over time. Rather than demonstrating causal effectiveness, the study offers an interpretive account of how experience may be converted into more deliberate leadership judgement and why sustained, differentiated support matters for academic middle leaders across varied leadership situations.