Thesis (M.A.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-33).

Literature suggests that developing leadership in learners benefits them and their schools in general. Learners are prepared as future leaders and they gain leadership skills and democratic values and principles. Learner leaders therefore contribute to transformation in their schools. However, research on the same topic has also found that learners have limited leadership development opportunities, as they are not authentically and democratically involved in leadership in many schools. Informed by the distributed perspective of leadership, this study investigates how leadership can be developed within a group of class monitors in a Namibian secondary school. Its overarching goal was to develop leadership and build transformative agency within class monitors. The study was designed as an interventionist study, theoretically and analytically framed by Engestrom’s second generation of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). Multiple methods were used for data collection, including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and Change Laboratory workshops. Data analysis took the form of content analysis and coding, as well as using the CHAT lens to surface contradictions. The findings of the study revealed that there was conceptual awareness on what learner leadership and leadership development meant among participants. However, little was being done to develop leadership in class monitors. Traditional leadership practices and cultural belief that learners are mere children, as well as confinement to formal leadership structures and policies were the main hindering inner contradictions within the research school. A formative intervention was instituted through the Change Laboratory workshop process and it resulted in leadership training to capacitate and empower class monitors, as well as enhance their transformative agency. The study thus recommends for a shift from traditional autocratic leadership practices to a contemporary distributed perspective of leadership that recognises the need to develop leadership in learners.

Before independence, Namibia inherited a system of Bantu education which was hierarchical, authoritarian and non-democratic. Upon independence, the educational sector went through numerous reforms which were meant to transform education and to make it more democratic, whereby all stakeholders can broadly participate. In spite of these reforms, leadership of schools has remained a hierarchical system, where a principal who, as an individual, runs the school without recognition of the potential leadership of others. Recent studies on leadership have called for shared leadership, whereby leadership is a practice, permeable to learner leaders and not associated with individuals. This research study aims to explore learner leadership development in the Learner Representative Council (LRC) structure at a secondary school in Namibia. The motivation of this research study was twofold - firstly, my personal interest in learner leadership was aroused by my teaching experience. The second reason was due to my realisation that the area was under-researched in Namibia, hence I wanted to fill the existing gap on learner leadership. The study critically engaged learners and teachers to help me get an understanding of learner leadership and the factors enabling learner leadership development. I also found that challenges which resulted in contradictions, hampered leadership development. The study took an interventionist approach and second generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used to surface tensions and contradictions affecting learner leadership development. Change Laboratory workshops enabled the expansive learning process with the 12 LRC members. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation, document analysis and journaling. The study found that learner leadership was understood more in terms of traditional views of leadership, whereby a learner needed to possess certain qualities in order to lead. The findings further pointed out that the LRC members were mainly involved in managerial roles and not really leadership roles, as such, and they were not involved in decision-making at the school. Although provision for the LRC body is made in an Educational Act, historical and cultural forces account for teachers’ reluctance to support the LRC members, as well as for silence of learner voice. I hope that findings from this research study strengthen learner leadership structures in schools and contribute to the creation of knowledge on learner leadership in Namibia.

Learners in Namibian primary schools are seemingly not brave enough to stand and raise their voice on issues that concern them. This is what Shekupakela-Nelulu (2008) wrote after a study she conducted on the Learners’ Representative Council (LRC) of a school in Namibia. She refers to a time when “the involvement of students in school affairs was seen by the regime as a political act and attempts by student leaders to involve themselves in educational issues were often quashed” (ibid., p. i). This situation will be all too familiar to South African readers, where a public holiday, Youth Day, was declared to mark the apartheid regime’s brutal treatment of learner protestors on June 16, 1976. While Namibia has not experienced events of such magnitude, the notion of learner voice is equally problematic and worthy of investigation. The absence of leadership development opportunities for learners has led to this research study which seeks to answer the central research question: How can learner leadership be developed in a LRC? I used an interpretive paradigm, adopting a qualitative approach in the study. Concurrently, the study was framed and guided by the second generation of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as an analytical tool to achieve my research goal. The following questions guided the study in two phases. Phase one: What were the perceived causes for the nonsustainability of the learner leadership (LL) club at the school? Phase two: How is the notion of learner leadership understood in the school? How is leadership developed on the LRC? What enables and constrains leadership development of learners on the LRC? The research participants were thirty LRC members from grades 6 and 7 and15 teachers who teach the LRC members. The principal and three HOD’s were also research participants being part of the Senior Management team. One of the HOD’s also fulfils the role of the guardian teacher to the LRC. A school board chairperson also participated in the Change Laboratory Workshop. Data was generated through multiple data sources such as questionnaires, individual interviews, a focus group interview and observation. The findings from phase one of the study revealed that the learner leadership club’s intervention was a success during the 2014 academic year, but the absence of the learner leadership club as an extra-mural activity affected the sustainability of the club into the next academic year 2015. Findings from phase two revealed that leadership opportunities did exist at the school for learner leadership development. However, a few challenges emerged relating to traditional views of leadership and constraining factors that could affect learner leadership development at the school. Thus, Change Laboratory workshops were held to find solutions to the challenges, in order to promote and enhance learner leadership development, hopefully for the future of the Namibian child.

The question of the role of students in the governance of educational institutions has been an issue for decades in South Africa. It arose out of the desire and struggle by black students for a better sociopolitical environment in general and in education in particular. This demand gained momentum in the years 1976,1980 and 1985. The result was the establishment of Student Representative Councils, Parent-teacher-Student's Associations at schools, Broad Transformation Forums and Governing Councils at tertiary institutions. After 1994 the government of South Africa started the major task of reconstructing the country particularly education and its governance. Democratic governance was accepted as one of the fundamentals of education by the new department of education. The Schools' Act and the Higher Education Act were passed to give effect to this new spirit in 1996 and 1997 respectively. Students had a statutory right to be involved in all matters of governance in educational institutions. However, in the past two years i.e. 1997 and 1998 the issue of student participation has become controversial with tensions erupting amongst stakeholders particularly management and students. The bone of contention this time has not been whether students have to participate or not but how far should they be involved. The National Education Policy Investigation task team had recommended as early as 1992 for the systematic analysis of the roles of the various stakeholders within the governing structures to avoid the present situation to no avail. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate students' perceptions of their role within the governing structures and to assess the implications of such a role for the management of educational institutions. Central to this largely fact finding mission was an attempt to make a contribution engaging students in this debate and get to know them afresh, thereby understand their position, what their perception is about their role in the governance of their institutions. For this purpose the study used phenomenology as the method of research. The reason for that I wanted a methodology which will enable me to produce a report which would not be contaminated with my preconceived ideas about the phenomenon. The tool used for data-gathering was the interview. In-depth interviews were conducted with four student leaders. They were selected purposely due to the fact that they were involved in the governance of their various institutions. The study revealed the complexity of this phenomenon. It indicates that student involvement is crucial for harmonious relations to prevail and the creation of a climate of learning and teaching at educational institutions. Students saw their role as that of legitimising the process of decision-making. This is coupled with enforcing the management to be transparent, bringing back the rule of law, making sure that educational institutions are transformed, that students are empowered and capacitated and looking at the welfare of students. A recommendation that emerge from the study is that much investigation is needed on student participation. Areas which needed much attention are specified in the study.

M.Ed. (Educational Guidance) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

College student government organizations (SGOs) have the important responsibility for achievement of purposes that serve students and the college community. They are also the student voice in higher education governance. Effective student leadership is vital to the effective fulfillment of these purposes, as is the role of the student government advisor in ensuring the success of student leadership and leadership development. Transformational leadership (Bass, 1985) is seen as a way of reaching higher levels of leadership effectiveness and organizational performance, and it has been advanced for use in SGOs. This study examined the extent to which community college student government advisors who exhibited transformational leadership qualities had an influence on the organizational outcomes of community college student governments. Several research questions were formulated to guide this examination. Surveys which included an instrument to measure the effectiveness of reaching organizational outcomes and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire for Research (MLQ 5X) (Bass & Avolio, 1995, 2000) were given to Florida community college student government executive board members and their respective student government advisors. Anticipated findings included increased levels of organizational outcomes in those community college SGOs in which advisors exhibit greater levels of transformational leadership qualities. Analysis of the data yielded advisor and student government member demographics, and a strong level of fulfillment of organizational outcomes. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between student reported transformational leadership qualities of advisors and student ratings of achievement and importance of organizational outcomes. A statistically significant correlation was also found between student ratings of importance of organizational outcomes and student ratings of the achievement of organizational outcomes. This indicates the existence of a relationship between the transformational leadership qualities of Florida community college student government advisors and the perceived importance and achievement of student government organizational outcomes. Secondary results were also given. Results of this study suggest that Florida community college student government advisors who exhibited higher levels of transformational leadership qualities engendered higher levels of organizational outcomes in Florida community college student governments. Implications were discussed for the study findings, and recommendations for future research were made.

The development of interpersonal competence cannot be underestimated for college students. Indeed, it could be the single, most important element that a student can develop. Equipped with interpersonal competence, a student is able to solve problems, lead a group to achieve a common task, and interact successfully in social environments and sensitive situations. In essence, a student has the ability to develop into a productive worker and citizen. Without it, a student may literally fail no matter how valid the student's endeavor or how sincere the effort. The primary purpose of this study was to examine if participation in student government at University of the Pacific (UOP) influences the development of interpersonal competence. Research on interpersonal competence was examined. Skills related to interpersonal competence were clustered together in themes, forming four different scales: Communication Scale, Perceptual Scale, Relational Scale, and Goal Achievement Scale. In conjunction with this literature-based research, studies were completed using student survey instruments, assessing those who participated in student government at UOP over a six-year period. Nine areas of statistical significance were found within the four scales. The data clearly exhibit that participation in student government at UOP positively influences students' interpersonal competence, and that the student government is successfully achieving its anticipated learning outcomes. The student government leadership program is a place where participants gain valuable skill-building traits and significant learning.

Student involvement in the management and operation of the institution of higher education is perhaps one of the most controversial issues on college and university campuses resulting from the campus unrest in the 1960's. Many university officials, faculty and administrators have ceded long standing and exclusive controls of governance to students. The purpose of this study was to determine if student participation in campus governance activities was significantly related to student development. The study was important in approaching identification of the characteristics of students who participate in the governance process and to identify specific activities in the campus environment which enable students to master the developmental tasks isolated as factors of student development. The Student Development Task Inventory (SDTI) is a measure of a student's mastery of nine (9) developmental tasks. The Inventory was completed by sixteen (16) students who participate in campus governance activities at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) in Washington, D.C. and twenty-one (21) students who do not so participate, before and after one semester at UDC. The students were matched on the bases of sex, age, marital status, classification and major. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to compute Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of the dependent variable (development as measured by the post-test scores of the SDTI) by each of the independent variables (sex, age, major, classification, previous experience in decision-making, and participation in governance activities at UDC) with each dependent variable pre-test score as a covariable. Since norm data were not provided on the SDTI, a Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) procedure was used to produce a grand mean score for the dependent variable with covariables and the independent variables. The ANCOVA procedure showed that differences in the two groups existed prior to the analysis. The correlation did account for a significant relationship between the dependent and independent variables in three (3) developmental tasks: Developing Instrumental Autonomy, Developing Intimate Relationships with the Opposite Sex, and Developing Mature Life-Style Plans. The students who participate in governance activities showed more development than their counterparts on only four (4) of the nine (9) tasks: Emotional Autonomy, Appropriate Educational Plans, Instrumental Autonomy, and Mature Career Plans. The data strongly suggest that the characteristics of the urban, non-traditional student may make the SDTI invalid for use with this population. The Inventory was validated on a traditional student population (campus residents, 18-23 years of age, predominantly suburban or rural, single, dependent upon parents for financial support). The UDC student profile (Spring 1979) indicates its students are distinct from traditional students (they dwell in the city, are 24 and older, predominantly urban, 61 percent are single, 20 percent are married, they are employed full- or part-time and are self-supporting). The principal finding of the study was that student participation in campus governance activities is significantly related to student development on some developmental tasks, and not significantly related on others. Though the treatment of black liquor to remove lignin and production of carboxylated lignin for copolymerization seem practical, the microbial treatment of lignin in general is economically unattractive at present. / Ed. D.

In Namibian schools, learner voice and leadership are being promoted through the policy document entitled the Education Act 16 of2001 which provides an opportunity to establish Learner Representative Councils (LRCs) in secondary schools. However, recent studies have found that this body of learner leaders do not function all that effectively and sometimes exist for the sake of adhering to the policy. This prompted me to conduct an activity theoretical interventionist case- study within the critical paradigm, to develop LRC voice and leadership in a newly established Namibian school. Framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the study was divided into two phases to answer the over-arching question: How can LRC voice and leadership be developed in a school? Phase one was largely interpretive, the contextual profiling phase, where document analysis, individual interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to generate data to answer the following research sub-questions: How is learner leadership understood in the school? What leadership development opportunities for the LRC currently exist in the school? What underlying factors constrain the development of LRC voice and leadership in the newly established school? Phase two of the study was the expansive learning phase, which consisted of three intervention workshops. The Change Laboratory method and a focus group interview were used to generate data in response to the last research sub-question: In what ways can LRC participation in a Change Laboratory process contribute to their leadership development? Data generated were inductively and deductively analysed, using the activity theoretical principles of contradictions and double stimulation. Data revealed that learner leadership was largely understood as managerial roles carried out by the LRC in the school. Unlike many schools in Namibia, this case-study school offered numerous leadership development opportunities for the LRC. The community networking events such as: School Exchange Programmes, Town Council breakfast and Junior Regional Council, were opportunities offered to the LRC to solicit information, exchange ideas and discuss matters of common interest with the LRCs of the fully established schools. However, there were a number of challenges that constrained LRC voice and leadership development, the major one being the fact that this was a newly established school. Of significance was that LRC participation in the Change Laboratory process contributed positively to the development of voice and leadership in learners. During this Change Laboratory process, the LRC developed a new artefact - the vision and mission statement of the school - this signified that the learners expansively transformed the object of their activity. Recommendations emerging out of the study included that the School Management Team see the ‘newly established’ status of the school as an opportunity for development, rather than a limitation, and therefore invite the LRC to participate in the different leadership practices as the school becomes established. A significant recommendation for school leadership research is to use the third generation of CHAT to expand the unit of analysis, in order to understand the leadership relations and power dynamics between multiple activity systems in schools as complex organisations.