STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES AND POLYTECHNICS

Higher education institutions increasingly operate within complex and competitive environments characterized by technological change, funding constraints, and increasing expectations for academic excellence and institutional accountability. Within such environments, strategic leadership plays a critical role in determining institutional effectiveness, yet empirical evidence on the relationship between leadership practices and institutional performance in many developing higher education systems remains limited. This study therefore examined the influence of strategic leadership practices on institutional effectiveness in Nigerian universities and polytechnics. The study adopted a descriptive correlational research design involving 198 academic administrators and senior faculty members selected through stratified sampling from selected universities and polytechnics. Data were collected using the Strategic Leadership Effectiveness Scale and Institutional Performance Assessment Index with reliability coefficients of 0.88 and 0.86 respectively. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, Pearson product–moment correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression modelling. The results revealed a strong positive relationship between strategic leadership practices and institutional effectiveness (r = 0.74, p < 0.01). Regression analysis further showed that visionary leadership significantly predicts institutional performance (β = 0.41, p = 0.004), while participatory governance structures also significantly influence institutional effectiveness (β = 0.39, p = 0.007), explaining approximately 68% of the variation in institutional performance across the sampled institutions (R² = 0.68). The study recommends the adoption of strategic leadership development programmes for higher education administrators and the institutionalization of participatory governance frameworks within universities and polytechnics. The study concludes that strategic leadership significantly enhances institutional effectiveness and plays a critical role in improving governance, academic performance, and organizational sustainability within higher education institutions.