Leadership Education and Global Studies: An International Leadership Initiative

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Short Description

Following a brief overview of their international leadership initiatives, including the constructivist theory under-girding the initiatives’ transformative practices and the results from three pilot projects, the presenters will demonstrate ways that assessment feedback on beliefs and values can be incorporated into training. Participants will: receive a brief overview of models regarding the acquisition of beliefs and values and the circumstances under which beliefs change (or not); learn about a model for exploring and teaching global issues; work through at least two exercises providing practice using experiential learning in the context of global content knowledge; and discuss their own reactions to the curriculum and exercises.

Detailed Abstract

In light of recent events that reflect growing levels of unease and misunderstanding across cultures and around the globe, the need for culturally competent, globally skilled leaders is pressing (Goldberg, Pasher, Levin-Sagi, 2006). Although models for training students to be thoughtful and effective global leaders have emerged (Arnett, 2008), current educational practice often focuses on skill building and knowledge acquisition as opposed to attempting to create an international and emergent worldview that embraces contradictions and uncertainty. The challenge for educators is to extend their practices to create intentional, developmentally-oriented processes that enable students to develop leadership approaches that will have fidelity for diverse communities. Such efforts require students to encounter complex systems that present contradictions rather than definitive answers, and to then integrate these experiences with extensive self- and other-knowledge.

Although leadership education per se has the potential to have dramatic, positive effects on an international scale, the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise (AAC&U, 2007) reported that many college graduates lack the skills they need to succeed in a global economy. Since that time, the urgent need for leaders who can adopt sustainable, culturally competent, and ethical responses to global concerns has become more pronounced. In fact, multiple researchers have cited the need for institutions of higher education to offer global and inter-cultural learning while creating opportunities for real-world application of such knowledge and skills (AAC&U, 2007, 2008; Kuh, 2008; Nolan & Jenkins, 2012; Pascarella, 2006; Tinto, 2006). Global learning, in particular, has been identified as a high-impact educational practice (Kuh, 2008) with the potential to have enduring effects on students’ leadership capacities.

In addition, global learning that is anchored within an educational approach that considers who learns what, why, and under what circumstances (Inkelas, et al., 2006; Knight, 2003; Upcraft, Gardner, & Barefoot, 2005; Shealy, 2016), offers a unique opportunity for students to become the authors of their knowledge, fusing their existing frames of reference and truth with new information and experiences in a sustainable and meaningful personal leadership model (Boes, Baxter Magolda, & Buckley, 2010; Kegan, 1982). Educators who adopt this approach avoid subtractive practices (Sloan, 2010), in which students are required to abandon existing beliefs or ways of knowing in order to gain new knowledge. Instead, students are invited to seek equilibration (Piaget, 1950) by bringing themselves and their current beliefs to the new situation, developing rich, personally relevant levels of understanding (Baxter Magolda, 2009)

In an effort to develop transformative leadership education approaches that help students create complex working models, the authors have crafted educational approaches that require construction of meaning within dynamic interactions. The driving force behind these approaches is to serve as a catalyst for deeper reflection and ethical action in international settings. This workshop is intended to offer a structure for educators hoping to enhance the depth and complexity of their global leadership education. To do so requires educators to enhance self- and other-awareness, foster critical thinking, and thoughtfully integrate assessment practices into their pedagogical practice. We believe these constructivist practices can create an overarching structure that enables leaders to acknowledge the ambiguity inherent in complex systems, hold contradictory thoughts regarding basic beliefs and values, and thereby deepen their comprehension and critical thought.

After providing an overview of our international leadership initiatives, including an explanation of the constructivist theory undergirding the transformative practices we employ, the presenters will demonstrate ways in which assessment feedback related to beliefs and values can be incorporated into training. We will then lead participants through a series of exercises designed to teach core leadership skills related to global sustainability, self- and other-awareness, and conflict resolution.

Through this workshop, participants will 1) receive a brief overview of models regarding the acquisition of beliefs and value and the circumstances under which beliefs change (or do not change); 2) learn about one model for exploring and teaching global issues; this model uses both content and process (e.g., exercises and assessments) to help students explore complex issues in a deeper, more meaningful fashion; 3) work through at least two exercises that are a part of the curriculum, thus providing practice using experiential learning in the context of global content knowledge; 4) learn results from three pilot projects (with both US and international students); and 5) discuss their own reactions to the curriculum and exercises. The workshop will include time for questions and discussion.

Sub Unit

• Leadership Education

Presenters

• Felix Wang, James Madison University

• Craig Shealy, James Madison University

• Renee Staton, James Madison University

• Lee Sternberger, James Madison University