Educational leadership in nursing: supporting cultural change to develop research capacity in novice nurse academics

The question of leadership in nursing education is one that has been examined extensively in the literature. In this paper, the authors will initially provide a vignette written in the first person aimed at illustrating the ethos of the university in which they work. This vignette will then be followed by an analysis of actions and strategies used in a capacity building project aimed at developing novice nurse academics' research skills. Theories of transformational leadership, and contingency theory of leadership are discussed in relation to the processes used, thus illustrating the application of theory to the practice of nursing leadership in the academy