A framework to strengthen leadership at a South African public nursing college

𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 Leaders at higher education institutions around the globe face difficulties emanating from a myriad of challenges introduced by the 21st century. Nursing education is not exempt from these demands, especially considering expectations of nurses operating on the frontline with health conditions that continue to threaten human existence. Therefore, the dire need for quality nursing education and training in this era is indisputable. In the midst of these threats, South African public nursing colleges are transitioning from provincial departments of health to higher education to form part of a unified higher education system. The need for strong leadership was identified as a key determinant through which a specific public nursing college could survive these challenges. A lack of evidence regarding leadership strengthening at Nursing Education Institutions in the country prompted the following research question: “How can leadership at a South African public nursing college be strengthened?” Rooted in the social constructionism paradigm, a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, contextual, and collaborative research design was deemed the most appropriate to answer the research question. Having taken a strengths-based approach and assuming a dialectic stance, perspectives were obtained from the college leadership via an Appreciative Inquiry and from South African nursing education leadership experts by means of a modified Delphi. The data sets were separately analysed from which various themes and subthemes emerged. The findings were then synthesised and integrated to create a whole picture, which culminated in a framework that was validated by college stakeholders. The framework to strengthen leadership at a South African public nursing college offers transformational leadership approaches, leadership competency, and capacity development as its foundational aspects. Technology, research, and community engagement are supportive constructs, whilst governance, legislation, leadership, and policy together form the overarching element. With implementation and continuous research, each construct should be further developed. Although contextual, the findings could resonate with nursing education leadership elsewhere and be explored further by replicating the research. As the research product, the framework is considered to be a modest contribution to knowledge, and is presented in the belief that it could enable the college to successfully navigate its challenges and its transition into higher education. ___________________________________________________________________