Student Leadership Development Models South African Federation of Student Affairs and ServicesBirgit Schreiber, PhDTonia Overmeyer, MBA
Policy Context
• National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) places higher education in a “pivotal role in political, economic and cultural reconstruction and development of South Africa” (DoE, 1997, p. 1)
• Student Affairs support for student governance (DoE, 1996, p. 12)
• “Student Service Council with policy advisory functions” which includes student leadership (DoE, 1996, p. 12)
• higher education to contribute towards developing “enlightened, responsible and constructively critical citizens” (DoE, 1997, section 1.3)
• White Paper 3 (1997) and Green Paper for PSET (2012): explicit demand to develop student leadership
Discursive Context
Graduate Attributes
- core competencies, sustainable outcomes and generic, transferable orkey skills and capabilities
- creative and critical thinking; global perspectives; and work‐integrated learning. (ACER, 2010; Kuh, 2001; EHEA, 2006)
Student Engagement
- active citizenship (students and institutions work together to enable challenges to social beliefs and practices) (Kuh, 2001)
“Student Affairs includes developing frameworks for graduate attributes and active citizenship, including ethics, social justice, equity, accessibility, environmental sustainability and internationalisation” (Trowler & Trowler, 2010)
Tensions btw individualistic and participatory notions of leadership
- Historical changes around leadership theory - related cultural changes in positionality, merit and participation
Background to the ProgrammeKelly, 2009
University
Social Justice
Leadership
Agency
MDG
NDP
Global Citizenship
UWC a fertile space for leadership development
PMP
GEURESLIFE
Sport
Faculty
SocietiesCommunity Engagement
Religious Organisations
LSR
Background to the Programme
Leadership Development
Student Organisational Development
Social Responsibility
Entrepreneurship Enactus
Leadership theories and the history of development of theory
CONCEPT - Leadership – loaded interpretation based on interpreter’s encounters, experience, context.
• internalised identity • shared processes • civic engagement • developmental
mentors • positive group
experiences
• abuses of power • positionality• impersonal focus
on end goals• marginalisation
Contrasting perspectives and tensions find expression in evolution of leadership theory
Make sense – inform development approach and practise
Contrasting Leadership Paradigms
Development and
empowerment of follower
Contemporary
Mobilise motivate influenceEffective
management
Leadercentric
Authority focus
Hierarchy Achieveme
nt Individualist
ic
Conventional
MEMe
influences them
Development of us
Contrasting Leadership Paradigms
Development and
empowerment of follower
Contemporary
Mobilise motivate influenceEffective
management
Leadercentric
Authority focus
Hierarchy Achieveme
nt Individualist
ic
Conventional
MEMe
influences them
Development of us
STUCK
Conventional vs Contemporary LeadershipContrasting Leadership Paradigms
Conventional Contemporary
Hierarchical Orientation Systems Orientation
Multidirectional nature of leadership – leading up down, sideways and outMultidimensional nature of leadership - influencers, contextCoaching, Curriculum
Leader role – authority, deciderFollowers to be ledLeader – led
Leader role – facilitator, meaning makerFollowers as leaders, non-positional leadershipLeaderful
Qualities and Competencies – Development of Leadership Identity collaboration, empathy, self-awareness Applicability of this approach to active citizenshipAgency
Change initiated from the top
Change initiated from anywhere
Conventional vs Contemporary Leadership
Contrasting Leadership ParadigmsConventional ContemporaryPower over Power with
Building Sustainable support networks, competition versus collaboration, connecting with personal power
Personal Vision Shared VisionAlignment – must find expression and alignment in organisations.
Efficiency and Effective Socially JustAlignment of Efficiency and Effective action in the cause of Socially Just. Underline good intentions with practical project skills and action that will bring it to fruition. Policy and Implementation crisis.
Share informationProviders
Create knowledgePartners
This is not only applicable to Leaders, but to the way we connect with our students. Relational and not transactional. Content heavy vs applicability.
Linear Causality Adaptive solutions
Entrepreneurial mindset, creativity. Steering towards ? and not . What is next right answer?
Example
Conventional Contemporary
Hierarchy – top down Systems - multidirectional
Who do we work with? Positions
Potential change makers, merit, talent
Change - top Change - from anywhere
Passive Participatory and agency
Drive to Efficiency Drive to Social justice
Alignment of Efficiency and Effective action in the cause of Socially Just. Underline good intentions with practical project skills and action that will bring it to fruition. Policy and Implementation crisis.
Contemporary Leadership Theories
Transformative Leadership • Bernard Bass 1985 - what is the dynamic between the leader
and the followers that elevates the follower to become leaders themselves?
Relational, Collaborative and Shared Leadership theories• Interdependence and relational – Pearce and Congers’ shared
leadership• Susan R. Komives, Nance Lucas, and Timothy R. McMahon’s
(2007)Advocated for leadership as an ethical and relational process of people working together for positive change. Viewing the group as a community, roles (both positional leaders and members) fluctuated, reflecting a shared leadership when working together toward outcomes.
In these models, individuals in positional roles engage infacilitative, distributive leadership, diminishing power differentialsto build collegial systems.
Social Change Model for Leadership Development
Social Change Model for Leadership Development
Building Sustainable Support Networks
Self Development
General Leadership
PPSSocial Responsibility
Grounded Theory Model of High-QualityLeadership Programs
Cluster I: Participants Engaged in Buildingand Sustaining a Learning Community1. Diverse Students2.Experienced Practitioners3.Modeling Educators4.Small Groups5.Supportive Culture6.One-on-One Relationships
Grounded Theory Model of High-QualityLeadership Programs
Cluster II: Student-CenteredExperiential Learning Experiences7. Leadership Practice8. Reflection Activities9. Application in Meetings10. Meaningful Discussions11. Episodes of Difference12. Civic Service13. Discovery Retreats
Grounded Theory Model of High-QualityLeadership Programs
Cluster III: Research-Grounded Continuous Program Development14. Flexible Design15. Values Content16. Systems Thinking
Common themes within contemporary leadership theories, implications for programme development.
• Importance of self development• Social Responsibility• Power and Shared Responsibility• Acknowledgement of the complexity of
leadership• Theory-building is continuously
developing process – in line with continuous improvement and action learning of the reflective practitioner
• Although common themes – there is a general lack of definitional clarity both within and between theories.
What stage is next?
THANK YOU