ABSTRACT Global metric-based reforms are reshaping professional academic programs in higher education, intensifying epistemological tensions within interdisciplinary fields like kinesiology. This study investigates these dynamics through the Italian case, where a recent national reform enforces bibliometric evaluation, potentially accelerating a biomedical drift. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with university curriculum leaders, three strategic responses were identified: biomedical hegemony – a pragmatic alignment with metrics; strategic syncretism – an attempt to reframe pedagogy through scientific language; and pedagogical resistance – a defense of humanistic values. Findings suggest that while intended to standardize quality, such reforms risk marginalizing pedagogical knowledge essential for professional practice. By framing the Italian context as a microcosm of a global debate, this research illustrates how academic agency navigates pressure to conform to an increasingly biomedical scientific paradigm, offering insights for scholars examining curriculum change and the legitimate body of knowledge in kinesiology.

From Vision to Action: A Principal's Curriculum Leadership, the Integration of ESG into School-Based Curricula, and Organizational Cultural Transformation—A Case Study of P Elementary School

We describe a novel curriculum designed to build capacity for public health and primary care collaboration. Since the Northwest Public Health & Primary Care Leadership Institute began in 2020, 119 participants have completed the seven-month hybrid curriculum. Application of knowledge and skills learned to workplace or community projects was reported by 84% of participants. Case-based learning and the critical friends group were valued learning methodologies. A cross-sectoral leadership curriculum can promote public health and primary care integration. (Am J Public Health. 2026;116(4):443-446. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308377).

ObjectivesEffective resuscitation leadership is essential for emergency physicians, yet formal training in this domain remains limited within emergency medicine (EM) residency programs. Generic healthcare teamwork frameworks do not fully address the unique demands of EM resuscitations, including diagnostic uncertainty, time pressure, and frequent interruptions. Without consensus on the key competencies or instructional strategies needed to teach these EM-specific resuscitation leadership skills, residency programs lack clear curricular guidance. We aimed to achieve expert consensus on the learning objectives and educational strategies for a longitudinal model resuscitation leadership curriculum for EM residents using a modified Delphi approach.MethodsWe conducted a three-round modified Delphi study from September 2024–March 2025. Panelists were selected based on expertise in resuscitation leadership education and scholarship. We conducted a PubMed literature review that identified 19 references encompassing 244 skills and synthesized them into 31 initial learning objectives. By consensus, 12 educational strategies were identified. Panelists rated the importance of proposed learning objectives and educational strategies derived from a review of the literature and existing assessments. Additional items were added and refined across rounds based on panelist feedback. Consensus thresholds were predefined as > 75% agreement for inclusion (rated as important/very important or agree/strongly agree).ResultsTwelve experts participated in the study, representing diverse institutions and training backgrounds. By Round 3, consensus was achieved for 28 learning objectives and 13 educational strategies. Items were thematically categorized, and supplemental resources were developed to guide curricular implementation. The final curriculum integrates cognitive, procedural, and non-technical competencies contextualized within resuscitation environments and sequenced to support longitudinal skill development.ConclusionThis study presents the first expert consensus-derived resuscitation leadership curriculum for EM residents. The resulting framework provides EM residency programs with adaptable, evidence-informed guidance to support structured, longitudinal resuscitation leadership training and improved resuscitation team performance.

BackgroundAlthough curiosity in medicine is associated with many benefits, the literature is generally sparse or anecdotal. We seek to contribute to the understanding of curiosity by exploring its perception in the context of undergraduate medical education.MethodsGiven its subjective and abstract concept, we utilised a qualitative approach in this research. Focus groups and one-to-one semi structured interviews with medical students, clinical teachers and senior curriculum leaders were undertaken. Data collected was thematically analysed using Braun and Clarke model.ResultsAll participants felt curiosity was important for learning and patient care. Curiosity was perceived to be a dynamic process – from the initial stage of knowledge acquisition to holistic practice. Teachers were identified as agents to nurture curiosity. Positive role modelling, enthusiasm in teaching and effective teaching styles were some ways to achieve this. Exams were deemed to hinder the development of curiosity. Participants felt curiosity could be nurtured through an ad-hoc basis during students’ day-to-day placement and structured learning activities.ConclusionsWe recommend that medical schools review their existing curriculum to identify more opportunities for curiosity development and eliminate potential barriers. Regular workshops for teachers could raise awareness on nurturing curiosity and to develop effective teaching skills.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-026-08783-x.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-026-08783-x.

IntroductionPersonality assessments have been widely used in business to identify leadership potential and enhance team performance; however, their integration into surgical education remains limited. This study evaluated surgeons' personality profiles using the PRISM assessment and compared them with those of other health care professionals to guide the design of leadership development curricula for surgical training.MethodsA total of 199 surgeons (residents, fellows, and faculty) across multiple academic medical centers completed the PRISM personality assessment as part of structured leadership development programs. Data were compared with a normative cohort of 5887 health care professionals from the SurePeople database. Primary and under-pressure personality profiles were analyzed using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, with significance set at P < .05.ResultsNo significant differences were found between surgeons and other health care professionals in primary personality distributions. Under-pressure profiles, however, revealed a greater proportion of surgeons classified as the Navigator type (22% vs 14%; P = .05), reflecting tendency towards higher decisiveness and structure in stressful conditions. Personality distributions were similar across residents, fellows, and attending surgeons.DiscussionAlthough surgeons' baseline personalities mirror those of other health care professionals, their stress-related behavioral tendencies demonstrate a unique shift toward structured, action-oriented responses. Incorporating personality assessments such as PRISM into leadership curricula may enhance self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and team performance.ConclusionIntegrating structured personality assessment into surgical leadership education provides valuable insight into behavioral responses under stress and supports the development of adaptive, emotionally intelligent leaders who foster effective and collaborative surgical teams.

Early leadership development is an increasing focus in both military and civilian undergraduate medical education, where physicians are expected to lead multidisciplinary teams and perform under complex, high-stakes conditions. Despite a growing number of leadership training programs, few studies have evaluated the longitudinal progression of leadership competencies across medical school using standardized, validated tools. The Uniformed Services University (USU) has implemented a longitudinal leadership curriculum grounded in the Leader-Follower (LF2) Framework, which includes 4 core elements: Character, Competence, Context, and Communication. This study aimed to determine whether leadership performance during a third-year immersive field practicum (Operation Gunpowder) correlates with and predicts subsequent performance in a fourth-year practicum (Operation Bushmaster) using the same standardized assessment approach. This observational cohort study included 151 students from USU's class of 2025 who completed both military field practicums (MFP). Both MFPs assessed students using a validated 5-item leadership evaluation tool aligned with the LF2 framework. Each element was rated on a 4-point Likert scale. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to assess associations between MFP leadership scores. Best subset regression was used to identify which Gunpowder leadership elements best predicted Bushmaster performance. The study was approved by the USU Institutional Review Board (Protocol Number: KM83XV). The total leadership score from Gunpowder was positively correlated with the total score from Bushmaster. Among individual elements, only Leadership Transcendent Skills (LTS) and Role-Specific Competence during Gunpowder showed positive correlations with their corresponding Bushmaster scores. LTS in Gunpowder was significantly correlated with all 5 leadership elements in Bushmaster, while Role-Specific Competence correlated with all Bushmaster elements except Communication. Regression analysis identified LTS as the strongest and most consistent predictor of Bushmaster performance across multiple domains, including Character, Communication, and LTS itself. In contrast, Role-Specific Competence from Gunpowder only predicted the same element in Bushmaster. The overall Gunpowder sum score was not a significant predictor of any individual Bushmaster element. This study demonstrates that specific leadership traits assessed early in medical school, particularly LTS, predict future leadership performance in operationally realistic environments. The cross-domain predictive power of LTS suggests it may serve as a transferable core skill analogous to Trait Emotional Intelligence (Trait EI), reinforcing its potential value in early leadership curricula. In contrast, Role-Specific Competence appeared to be context-bound and limited in broader predictive impact. A key strength of this study is its use of standardized, longitudinal, non-self-report assessment data within a single institution's evolving yet consistently framed leadership curriculum. Limitations include the single-institution design and lack of post-graduate performance data. Future studies should assess reproducibility across cohorts, examine long-term predictive value into residency, and explore generalizability to civilian training programs.

Although pondok pesantren play a strategic role in the Islamic education system in Indonesia, studies that comprehensively examine pesantren management from an educational management perspective remain relatively limited. This study aimed to analyze the management of pondok pesantren in Indonesia with a focus on leadership management, curriculum and instructional management, human resource management, and facilities, infrastructure, and financial management. A qualitative approach with a literature study method was employed. Data were collected through documentation of relevant scientific journal articles, academic books, and research reports published over the last ten years, then analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns and main themes related to pesantren management practices. The findings show that pesantren management in Indonesia is still strongly influenced by the central role of the kiai as the main leader with moral and spiritual legitimacy. In terms of curriculum, pesantren demonstrate adaptive capacity through the integration of pesantren and national curricula, although they continue to face challenges in maintaining a balance between deepening Islamic scholarship and developing modern competencies. Human resource management tends to be based on devotion and loyalty, while financial management generally relies on self-funding through student fees, community donations, and pesantren business units. This study provides a theoretical contribution to the development of Islamic education management studies by emphasizing the importance of value-based contextual management approaches, as well as a practical contribution as a reference for pesantren administrators and policymakers in strengthening sustainable pesantren governance.

This study aims to describe the optimization of curriculum leadership roles in improving the quality of English language teaching, focusing on the contributions of principals, vice principals, teachers, MGMP, and supervisors in curriculum management. The study emphasizes how these roles collectively influence the effectiveness of English learning in junior high schools. A descriptive qualitative design was employed, with data collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom and institutional observations, and document analysis. The participants consisted of one principal, one vice principal for curriculum affairs, and four English teachers at SMPN 11 Bengkulu City. Data were analyzed using Miles and Huberman’s interactive model, involving data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings revealed that school leaders and teachers focus more on administrative tasks than improving teaching. As a result, students remain passive learners, developing stronger academic skills than practical abilities. This study highlights a systemic culture of administrative compliance that constrains instructional leadership in English language education. Unlike much of the existing literature that focuses on curriculum design, this study addresses the overlooked dimension of curriculum implementation and management at the school level. The study proposes the development of an “Integrated Curriculum Leadership” model in which principals, vice principals, MGMP, and supervisors collaborate synergistically to foster instructional innovation, teacher professional growth, and student communicative competence. By mapping existing practices, identifying gaps, and proposing a collaborative framework, this study contributes both theoretically and practically to the discourse on curriculum leadership. It underscores the need for school leaders and policymakers to move beyond managerialism and create conditions that support sustainable, pedagogically oriented curriculum implementation for English learning.

Do Medical School Curricula Address Medical Students' Future Fertility?

Leadership and Communication Skills Used by Pediatric Residents in the First 5 Minutes of Simulated High-Acuity Events.

The various crises of recent years demonstrate that even large, long-established companies are increasingly facing major challenges. Managers must look far into the future and anticipate developments in order to align the company accordingly. As a field of strategic management, strategic thinking offers approaches for tackling the future and leveraging it for the benefit of the company. In this article, a semi-structured literature review was used to compile a catalogue of 19 different types of thinking subsumed under the concept of strategic thinking, which are creative, visionary, synthetic, divergent, intuitive, conceptual, systemic, critical, analytic, generative, panoramic, problem-solving, a-rational, non-linear, metaphoric, abstract, polarity, symbolic and innovative thinking. These types of thinking can serve as a basis for future research on leadership development and curriculum development to train strategically acting actors.

Curriculum design is an iterative process that medical schools undertake to assess, adapt, and improve existing curricula. Need assessments are a foundational component in this process because they help identify concerns requiring attention. However, needs assessments historically have focused on students, with minimal emphasis on faculty needs. During our institution's curricular design process, faculty participated in listening sessions that identified their concerns. Participants were recruited to participate in semistructured interviews via Zoom. Inductive and deductive processes were used to identify key thematic codes based on interview responses. Codes were then stratified to identify representative quotations within each theme. Twenty-four faculty members participated - 8 basic science faculty and 16 clinical faculty. Most expressed excitement about the potential of the new curriculum but also shared concerns about implementation. Time was the most significant concern, with faculty citing current workloads as a primary challenge. Uncertainty regarding roles and the implementation timeline was another concern. Other frequently discussed themes included clinical reasoning, critical thinking skills, facilitator availability, and experience with new teaching techniques. Semistructured interviews were effective for identifying faculty concerns that can inform future faculty development programs. Not surprisingly, concerns about time - particularly time for required faculty development - and uncertainty about roles were most prominent. These findings enabled the curricular leadership team to prioritize the development of efficient and targeted faculty development programs.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of education, traditional approaches to curriculum leadership and instructional coaching are no longer sufficient to meet the diverse and dynamic needs of today’s learners. The demand for transformative change requires educational leaders to rethink how curriculum is designed, implemented, and supported in schools. This paper explores innovative frameworks and practices that redefine curriculum leadership as a collaborative, adaptive, and data-informed process. It highlights the concept of curriculum leadership and instructional coaching, relationship between curriculum leadership and instructional coaching and the strategies for revolutionizing curriculum leadership and instructional coaching. The study adopts a conceptual review methodology, relying on secondary data from peer-reviewed journals and educational reports. Findings reveal that revolutionizing curriculum leadership fosters coherent instructional vision, while instructional coaching operationalizes that vision through teacher professional development and reflective practice. The paper concludes that revolutionizing curriculum leadership and instructional coaching will provide a sustainable pathway for improving teaching and learning outcomes. The paper recommends amongst others institutionalize professional learning Communities (PLCs) and Coaching into Teacher Appraisal Systems.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess existing knowledge on leadership paradigms that foster sustainable development, identify innovative pedagogical approaches that incorporate sustainability into curricula, compare the roles of academic leaders in driving educational transformation and examine obstacles and facilitators to comprehensive integration. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of 50 studies (published between 1996 and 2025) using qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods was undertaken, focusing on leadership models, curriculum development, pedagogical innovation, institutional support and stakeholder engagement. This systematic review synthesized insights from these studies that investigated the ways in which these elements could coalesce to promote sustainability education within higher education institutions (HEIs). Findings The review suggests that while transformational and participatory leadership styles have consistently emerged as key enabling conditions, they cannot be effective without mediating institutional conditions. Ultimately, successful integration is not simply a by-product of leadership style. Rather, successful integration is the result of a set of causally linked events in which leadership positions the institution to develop supportive policy, resource support and faculty development opportunities for the innovative use of pedagogy. The most successful initiatives in this review demonstrated a high degree of connectivity between the leader’s vision, the formal supports and structures provided by institutional formal supports and faculty agency to enact experiential and interdisciplinary pedagogies. The review examined critical institution factors identified in previous research, which influence success related to a supportive policy environment and cultural resistance. The synthesis of these studies indicates a need for stronger empirical evidence to identify and understand the sorts of leadership that best enable HEIs to transform curriculum and systematically scale pedagogical innovations. Importantly, the review contributed a degree of groundedness and complexity to how sustainability may be embedded within higher education, and the role that context is likely to play. Practical implications This review provides a guide for university leaders, showing that to be successful in integrating sustainability, they will need to first work on creating a supportive institutional context as the critical prerequisite to embed widespread curricular and pedagogical change. Originality/value This review’s primary contribution is its critical synthesis of the mechanisms by which leadership practices translate into widespread curricular and pedagogical change. Moving beyond a simple inventory of best practices, it dissects the causal pathways and mediating factors, such as institutional policy and faculty incentives, that determine whether leadership vision results in scaled and durable sustainability education. By mapping these interconnected dynamics, the paper offers a more nuanced model for understanding and overcoming the persistent gap between institutional sustainability goals and classroom reality.

This study investigates how educational management is practiced within Islamic institutions by integrating conceptual analysis with qualitative field data from selected madrasas and Islamic universities in Pakistan. Although educational management in Islamic institutions has been widely discussed theoretically, there remains a lack of empirical studies that examine how administrators and teachers actually implement Islamic values in day-to-day management practices, which creates an important gap in the literature. Drawing on qualitative multiple-case study, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with administrators (n = 12) and teachers (n = 18) and supported by a review of institutional documents. The study explores how values such as amanah, shūrā, and ihsan shape leadership behaviour, curriculum decisions, and responses to digital transformation. Thematic analysis reveals that management processes often rely on traditional authority structures and limited strategic planning, and that digital innovation is acknowledged as important yet constrained by inadequate resources. Participants also expressed the ongoing tension between preserving religious authenticity and meeting modern educational demands. Overall, the findings highlight the need for a professionalized and ethically grounded management model that reflects Islamic principles while responding effectively to contemporary educational challenges, and the study proposes an integrated leadership framework to support institutional sustainability and innovation.

Implementing the Merdeka Curriculum in Indonesia requires a strong collaborative culture among educational stakeholders to ensure effective learning outcomes. This study aims to analyse how leadership and teacher engagement shape collaborative curriculum implementation in senior high schools. Using a qualitative design with an interpretive approach, data were obtained from interviews with principals, vice-principals, teachers, and students, supported by observation and document analysis. Thematic analysis was applied to interpret the data. The findings indicate that collaborative leadership fosters curriculum effectiveness through open communication, shared responsibility, participatory decision-making, and collective problem-solving. Teacher engagement plays a pivotal role in strengthening collaboration and maintaining consistency in curriculum execution. Nonetheless, challenges such as differing perceptions, workload imbalance, and limited time allocation hinder optimal collaboration. The study concludes that leadership collaboration and teacher engagement are critical drivers of successful curriculum implementation. Theoretically, this research contributes to the understanding of collaborative leadership in educational reform, while practically, it provides insights for school leaders to develop sustainable professional collaboration frameworks within the Merdeka Curriculum.

This study analyzes the dynamics of institutional transformation in Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia in the face of the digital disruption era, which is characterized by rapid social, technological, and educational changes. Using a systematic literature review of 45 articles indexed in Scopus and SINTA 1-2 for the period 2018-2024, this study identifies three main structural problems that hinder the transformation of Islamic boarding schools: cultural resistance to innovation, limited institutional capacity, and dualism in the education system. The findings were analyzed through the triangulation of three theoretical frameworks: Talcott Parsons' structural-functional theory, Douglass North's institutional theory, and Jack Mezirow's Transformative Learning theory. The synthesis resulted in a holistic transformation model based on local wisdom that integrates five strategic dimensions: leadership transformation, curriculum, pedagogy, management, and external networks. This model emphasizes the importance of Kyai leadership as Norm Entrepreneurs, the integration of traditional values with modern innovation, and the continuous strengthening of organizational capacity.

Teacher competence management is a critical factor in sustaining Islamic-based vocational education, particularly within diverse institutional contexts. This study explores and compares the management of teacher competence development at MAN 1 Samarinda and MAN 1 Langsa, two madrasahs with contrasting structural and contextual conditions. Employing a comparative qualitative approach, data were gathered through in-depth interviews, observations, and document analysis involving madrasah leaders, vocational teachers, and relevant stakeholders. The findings reveal distinctive management patterns. MAN 1 Samarinda applies a structured and systemic model supported by adequate infrastructure, strong industry and university partnerships, and government involvement, enabling continuous professional development and industry-aligned vocational learning. Conversely, MAN 1 Langsa faces limitations in facilities, training access, and industry collaboration; however, it sustains teacher competence development through strong Islamic value orientation, leadership commitment, social capital, and community engagement. Across both contexts, Islamic values function as a foundational framework that shapes leadership practices, curriculum implementation, and teacher professional growth. Key challenges include infrastructural constraints, limited certification opportunities, and uneven industry involvement. Nevertheless, enabling factors—such as visionary and transformational leadership, alumni networks, and university partnerships—mediate these constraints and support adaptive competence development. Based on these findings, this study proposes an integrative management framework that connects Islamic values, leadership, and contextual strategies in developing pedagogical, professional, social, and personality competencies of vocational teachers. This study contributes a value-based and context-sensitive perspective on Islamic vocational education management and provides practical implications for madrasah leaders and policymakers in aligning employability demands with ethical and spiritual foundations.

Are we Growing Leaders? Exploring Leadership Training in Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship.