University students’ socially responsible values and capacities for service leadership

Abstract

Historically, leadership theories tend to identify leadership as innate traits or the behaviour of an individual holding a position or a title. The post-industrial approaches to leadership, like the SLAM framework of service leadership (HKI-SLAM, 2013) or the social change model of socially responsible leadership (Dugan & Komives, 2007), conceive leadership as a process of development that can be learned and is accessible to all people. The new approaches also associate leadership with ethically-oriented values, service competency, multi-directional relationships, community involvement, and transformational change. In essence, leadership is a relational way to effect positive change for self, others and the community. While the ultimate goal of leadership is change, service is the vehicle, and education is the cornerstone of leadership development. Critically, all educational programs and leadership training are value-based. The SLAM framework of service leadership and the social change model of socially responsible leadership, for example, both embrace common civic values such as self-awareness, morality, righteousness, commitment, care and respect for others, collaborative relationships, and social responsibility for the common good (HERI, 1996; HKI-SLAM, 2014). This paper discusses the socially responsible values of CityU’s students and analyses the influence of university life and education on students’ capacities to engage in leadership development. Conceptually, the study adopts the social change model of leadership, a framework for leadership development which is widely used in American higher education (HERI, 1996; Dugan & Komives, 2010; Association of American Colleges and Universities [AACU], 2007). The social change model of leadership௜ development is congruent with SLAM’s definition of leadership, both of which define leadership as a value-based process for the purpose of self-enhancement (individual), service to others (group), collaborative actions (community) and positive social change (HERI, 1996; HKI-SLAM, 2013). Moreover, both approaches are specifically designated for use in university students’ leadership training and development. The survey instrument used in this study aims to capture data related to students’ (1) demographic characteristics, (2) experience and involvement in university life, (3) knowledge about service leadership and social entrepreneurship, (4) socially responsible values (including consciousness of self, congruence, commitment, collaboration, common purpose, controversy with civility, citizenship), (5) attitude toward change, and (6) leadership efficacy. The main focus is to examine the correlations, if any, among these variables and to analyse the influence of education and university experience on the outcomes – that is, students’ capacity to engage in socially responsible or service leadership. The findings will make a contribution to the existing literature and leadership training programs in Hong Kong’s higher education sector.