Theoretical Frameworks

Social change model of leadership (taken from A social change model of leadership)

• Understanding this model requires assumption that a leadership group has been formed to engage in change-action project.

• Basic Premises
  • Inclusive - designed to enhance the development of leadership qualities in all participants
  • Leadership is a process 
  • The model promotes the values of equity, social justice, self-knowledge, personal empowerment, collaboration, citizenship, and service

• Primary Goals
  • To enhance student learning and development; more specifically , to develop in each student greater:
    • Self knowledge: understanding of one's talents, values, and interests, especially as they relate to the student's capacity to provide effective leadership
    • Leadership and competence: the capacity to mobilize oneself and others to serve and to work collaboratively

• • To facilitate positive social change at the institution or in the community

• Examines leadership from three perspectives
  • Individual
  • Group
  • Community/society

• The core is comprised of seven values divided by subgroup
  • Individual Values
    • Consciousness of Self means being aware of the beliefs, values, attitudes, and emotions that motivate one to take action
    • Congruence refers to thinking, feeling, and behaving with consistency, genuineness, authenticity, and honesty towards others.
    • Commitment is the psychic energy that motivates the individual to serve and that drives the collective effort

• •  Group Process Values
    • Collaboration is to work with others in a common effort.
    • Common Purpose means to work with shared aims and values.
    • Controversy with Civility recognizes two fundamental realities of any creative group effort: that differences in viewpoint are inevitable, and that such differences must be aired openly but with civility

• • Community/Societal Values
    • Citizenship is the process whereby the individual and the collaborative group become responsibly connected to the community and the society through the leadership development activity
    • CHANGE, of course, is the value "hub" which gives meaning and purpose to the 7 C's.  It is the ultimate goal

 

 

Experiential Learning: David Kolb (Evans, Forney, & DiBrito (1998)

• Goal is to obtain a "fully integrated personality" (Merriam et al.)

•  Six Propositions
  • Learning should be regarded as a process, not a set of outcomes
  • All learning is re-learning
  • The learning process is driven by conflict, differences, and disagreements
  • Learning should not only involve cognition, but thinking, feeling, perceiving, and behaving
  • Learning occurs from the transaction of the individual and the environment
  • Learning is the process of constructing knowledge

• Learning is a 4-stage/step cycle
  • Concrete Experience (CE) - a feeling dimension
  • Reflective observation (RO) - a watching dimension
  • Abstract conceptualization (AC) - a thinking dimension
  • Active experimentation (AE) - a doing dimension

• Learning Styles based upon polar opposite stages i.e. CE/AC & RO/AE
  • Accommodator (feeling): (CE + AE)
    • Action oriented and at ease with people, prefers trial and error problem solving
    • Good at carrying out plans, is open to new experiences, adapts easily to change

• • Diverger (feeling): (CE+RO)
    • People and feeling oriented
    • Imaginative and aware of meaning and values, is good at generating and analyzing alternatives

• • Converger (thinking): (AC+AE)
    • Prefers technical tasks over social or interpersonal settings
    • Excels at problem solving, decision making, and practical applications

• • Assimilator (thinking): (AC+RO)
    • Emphasizes ideas rather than people
    • Good at inductive reasoning, creating theoretical models, and integrating observations

 

 

Possible Student Learning Goals (University of Cal. State, Long Beach: Service Learning Curriculum Development Resource Guide for Faculty)

•    Awareness of Community
  • Increase students' knowledge of community issues, needs, strengths, problems and resources
  • Increase sensitivity to major aspects and characteristics of issues, causal, and correlative factors, associated issues, and the nature of public and private organizations addressing the issues
  • Understand relationships among democracy politics, and civic participation
  • Identify community-based public and private programs that provide assistance and advocacy

• Involvement with Community
  • Increase quantity and quality of student interactions
  • Improve reciprocity and interdependence between community and students

• Commitment to Service
  • Make a life-long commitment to social responsibility, especially when holding future leadership positions
  • Remove barriers to future service
  • Learn to value personal involvement in community
  • Demonstrate concern for welfare of others in broader community

• Career Development
  • Expose students to career opportunities
  • Develop professional skills related to prospective careers
  • Use leadership skills
  • Develop personal leadership style
  • Improve self-esteem, sense of personal worth, competence and confidence in one's ability to make a difference

• Self Awareness
  • Improve students' awareness of individual strengths
  • Help students set limits and goals, and decrease fears
  • Help them to change preconceived understandings
  • Expose them to options and points of view rather than their own
  • Understand their own values and skills
  • Take responsibility for consequences of one's own actions

• Sensitivity to Diversity
  • Improve students' attitudes
  • Improve understanding of diversity
  • Increase students' knowledge of diverse communities
  • Increase students self confidence and comfort levels with new communities
  • Respect and appreciate different perspective and people
  • Identify similarities and differences within diverse populations
  • Understand social construct\equity and their relationship with US and world societies

• Sense of Ownership
  • Help students develop autonomy and independence
  • Have students assume responsibility for community projects
  • Help students develop a sense of their own role in the community partnership
  • Develop commitment to life-long learning
  • Explore altruistic and social justice motivations for community partnerships

• Communication
  • Develop a students' oral and/or written communication skills
  • Improve student recognition of importance of communication
  • Use variety of ways to articulate information: written, verbal, artistic, media, etc.
  • Learn to collaborate and negotiate to resolve conflict