A university’s climate and identity are shaped by its underlying norms, values, practices, beliefs, and tales that serve as its truth and are woven into the rich tapestry of its culture. These serve as the institution’s guiding principles and philosophies that help define its leadership and bring about stronger leadership approaches and better outcomes for its community. Similarly, a university’s culture is reflective of its mission, vision, and core values. These provide a clear direction and purpose and also serve to influence how the institution’s leadership approaches problem-solving and decision-making. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, is on the trajectory of a formidable institutional culture that has set itself apart from other higher educational circles in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa. In its seventy years of existence, the KNUST’s commitment to diversity, equal opportunity for all, a culture of excellence, innovation and technology, integrity, and resource stewardship have contributed to its distinction among its contemporaries in the academic sphere. This roadmap to excellence has been achieved, among others, by sound institutional leadership, as well as a unique culture and climate that foster progress in the field of higher educational institutions. In this paper, the authors seek to investigate how the institutional culture of their university influences its community output. The goal of the study is to explore members of the university’s perspective on institutional culture and climate and to pinpoint the key connections between the two and their impact on strategic planning and decision-making. The paper therefore looks at the elements that help create a supportive institutional culture and climate and how these elements can improve the efficiency of leadership in institutions of higher learning with KNUST as a case study.

Authors: Efua Arku, Christopher Addo

Published in: Canada International Conference on Education, 2024

• Date of Conference: 23-25 July, 2024
• DOI: 10.20533/CICE.2024.0063
• Electronic ISBN: 978-1-913572-65-5
• Conference Location: Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada