Leading across borders: a scoping review of leadership experience in international academics

This scoping review aimed to map the literature to explore the experiences of international academics in relation to leadership. Underpinned by best practice standards in the conduct and reporting of scoping reviews, four academic databases (ERIC, A+ Education, and Scopus) and grey literature (Google, Google Scholar) were systematically searched. Two independent reviewers completed a two-stage screening to identify eligible studies with data on any barriers, opportunities, strategies, or success experienced by international academics in leadership. A customised data extraction sheet was developed for this process. Given the nature of the review topic, descriptive data synthesis was used to summarise the data. A total of 4228 records were identified, 296 full texts were screened, and 26 studies met the eligibility criteria. The findings suggest that international academics have faced numerous barriers not only to gain leadership positions but also to perform their leadership roles to the best of their ability. However, few studies reported on the opportunities and strategies for overcoming barriers relating to gaining leadership positions and performing their roles effectively. Only a handful of studies explored the leadership success experienced by international academics. Institutional support and mentoring may be key to bridging the gap and overcoming these barriers.