Published Article / It is required of higher education institutions in South Africa to provide for the development of general skills such as the ability to function in a team, and to apply group work as a method of instruction. After implementation of group work in the new five-year medical curriculum at the University of the Free State, it was realised that ineffective group dynamics and the inexperience of staff and students warranted clear and comprehensive guidelines for group work. For the development of these, opinions of students and staff involved, as well as inputs by experts on group work and literature findings, were evaluated. Their responses are reported and guidelines for effective group work are suggested.

Role theory is generally presented as a way of describing human interactions. Role dynamics describes the psychosocial phenomenon in terms of the various roles and role components being played and actively manipulated as a part of interpersonal interactions. The concept of role offers a general unit of interaction involving a complex of behaviour, expectation, and overt or covert consensual agreement. Therefore, roles can be thought of as expectations one has about social behaviour and as functions or positions. Groups are fundamental to human behaviour - without them individuals would have great difficulty surviving. People thrive on the interdependent relationships they find in groups. In some groups you participate as a leader, while in others you assume the role of follower. In many ways, the groups you have chosen to join reflect your interests and what motivates you. Group dynamics refers to the interactions within a group that characterize the group. The dynamics of the group can be fostered through good leadership as well, and the processes involved are most effective when they facilitate the group toward meeting its goal. The concept of leadership is a central building block of the conventional wisdom of organization and management. The definition of leadership leads to a variety of possibilities, which leads to the conclusion that the definition of leadership should depend on the purposes to be Served by the definition. One complex definition that has evolved, delineates effective leadership as the interaction among members of a group that initiates and maintains improved expectations and the competence of the group to solve problems or to attain goals. A general weakness of higher education has been its inability or unwillingness to make constructive and consistent use of student leadership as an advocate for the institution. From the perspective of student leadership, the fact that student advocacy is rarely utilized to its full potential represents a significant missed opportunity among our nation's universities. If the potential for leadership among these students were systematically cultivated, a new and powerful voice could be created that would go far in helping universities explain their missions and needs to lawmakers, the media and the voting public. Little research has been reported on student organizations. Literature involving student organizations dealt with the role organizations play in student involvement and student development. Reported research on the use of organization development in university student organizations described new practices, programmes and techniques for working with student organizations but did not reflect attempts to measure the effectiveness of interventions. This research provides readers with additional opportunities to explore the characteristics of effective groups and leaders and the leadership process. It is intended to move student leaders beyond the theory of leadership and closer to the world of practice and application. The major objectives of the study are: 0 How effectively and autonomously do student councils function as groups at tertiary institutions and how prepared are the members of the student councils to assume the leadership role? Are there statistical significant differences between biographical variables and the variables of group effectiveness, autonomy and leadership? Is there a relationship between group effectiveness, autonomy and leadership? The research study is divided into a theoretical and empirical framework. Various aspects of role theory, groups and leadership outline the theoretical basis. The empirical study is carried out by way of a questionnaire and the data is analysed according to specific statistical methods. The empirical study was conducted amongst members of student councils at different tertiary institutions in South Africa. The major findings of the study supported the set of research objectives and were the following: Group effectiveness It has been determined that most student councils at tertiary institutions in the study population are aware of their mission, are satisfied with achieving their goals, take possession, communicate openly and honest with members and have clear roles and norms. Autonomy Most of the student councils at tertiary institutions in the study population have satisfactory autonomy regarding work methods, work scheduling and work criteria. Leadership Student councils at tertiary institutions in the study population are prepared to assume their leadership roles. Differences between biographical variables and group effectiveness, autonomy and leadership Perceivable differences between gender and leadership in the student councils at tertiary institutions in the study population exist but are of no statistical significance. The relationship between the subvariables of group effectiveness, autonomy and leadership It has been determined that there is a relationship between the subvariables of group effectiveness and autonomy. No practical statistic significance relationships have been determined between leadership and autonomy for the study population. Further research on leadership as a process of group dynamics is recommended. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Role theory is generally presented as a way of describing human interactions. Role dynamics describes the psychosocial phenomenon in terms of the various roles and role components being played and actively manipulated as a part of interpersonal interactions. The concept of role offers a general unit of interaction involving a complex of behaviour, expectation, and overt or covert consensual agreement. Therefore, roles can be thought of as expectations one has about social behaviour and as functions or positions. Groups are fundamental to human behaviour - without them individuals would have great difficulty surviving. People thrive on the interdependent relationships they find in groups. In some groups you participate as a leader, while in others you assume the role of follower. In many ways, the groups you have chosen to join reflect your interests and what motivates you. Group dynamics refers to the interactions within a group that characterize the group. The dynamics of the group can be fostered through good leadership as well, and the processes involved are most effective when they facilitate the group toward meeting its goal. The concept of leadership is a central building block of the conventional wisdom of organization and management. The definition of leadership leads to a variety of possibilities, which leads to the conclusion that the definition of leadership should depend on the purposes to be Served by the definition. One complex definition that has evolved, delineates effective leadership as the interaction among members of a group that initiates and maintains improved expectations and the competence of the group to solve problems or to attain goals. A general weakness of higher education has been its inability or unwillingness to make constructive and consistent use of student leadership as an advocate for the institution. From the perspective of student leadership, the fact that student advocacy is rarely utilized to its full potential represents a significant missed opportunity among our nation's universities. If the potential for leadership among these students were systematically cultivated, a new and powerful voice could be created that would go far in helping universities explain their missions and needs to lawmakers, the media and the voting public. Little research has been reported on student organizations. Literature involving student organizations dealt with the role organizations play in student involvement and student development. Reported research on the use of organization development in university student organizations described new practices, programmes and techniques for working with student organizations but did not reflect attempts to measure the effectiveness of interventions. This research provides readers with additional opportunities to explore the characteristics of effective groups and leaders and the leadership process. It is intended to move student leaders beyond the theory of leadership and closer to the world of practice and application. The major objectives of the study are: 0 How effectively and autonomously do student councils function as groups at tertiary institutions and how prepared are the members of the student councils to assume the leadership role? Are there statistical significant differences between biographical variables and the variables of group effectiveness, autonomy and leadership? Is there a relationship between group effectiveness, autonomy and leadership? The research study is divided into a theoretical and empirical framework. Various aspects of role theory, groups and leadership outline the theoretical basis. The empirical study is carried out by way of a questionnaire and the data is analysed according to specific statistical methods. The empirical study was conducted amongst members of student councils at different tertiary institutions in South Africa. The major findings of the study supported the set of research objectives and were the following: Group effectiveness It has been determined that most student councils at tertiary institutions in the study population are aware of their mission, are satisfied with achieving their goals, take possession, communicate openly and honest with members and have clear roles and norms. Autonomy Most of the student councils at tertiary institutions in the study population have satisfactory autonomy regarding work methods, work scheduling and work criteria. Leadership Student councils at tertiary institutions in the study population are prepared to assume their leadership roles. Differences between biographical variables and group effectiveness, autonomy and leadership Perceivable differences between gender and leadership in the student councils at tertiary institutions in the study population exist but are of no statistical significance. The relationship between the subvariables of group effectiveness, autonomy and leadership It has been determined that there is a relationship between the subvariables of group effectiveness and autonomy. No practical statistic significance relationships have been determined between leadership and autonomy for the study population. Further research on leadership as a process of group dynamics is recommended. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.