Portraits of higher education leaders: a narrative of the life stories of private university presidents in Brazil.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20193635

This study aimed to provide a window into the life stories of presidents of private higher education institutions in Brazil as they reflected upon the experiences that they believed influenced their leadership. In this study, four themes and eight sub themes emerged related to the experiences in their lifetime that influenced their leadership (a) Society, (b) Journeys, (c) Wisdom and Knowledge, and (d) Character Traits. Theme A, Society, encompassed two major sub themes that further detailed the nature of the involvements and experiences within society: Family and social systems. Theme B, Journeys, included physical journeys to other lands and transitions in their lives with motherhood or fatherhood. Theme C, Wisdom and Knowledge, included experiential knowledge and knowledge acquired thought education and/or advice. Hard work and determination were major sub themes within Theme D, Character Traits. Examples from the data collected illustrated these themes and identified sub themes. This study is valuable for a range of international higher education audiences and higher education leadership purposes, providing theoretical, methodological and practical significance to the fields of international higher education, narrative studies, South America studies and leadership studies. Implications of this study's findings, conclusions, as well as future research suggestions are presented in the concluding chapter of this study.