Enhancing Psychology Students' Experiences: The Development of an Undergraduate Leadership Programme

Abstract

Leadership is a practical skill that should be incorporated into psychology training. Graduates who show leadership in the workplace are highly valued for this attribute. In Australia, however, the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) which oversees the accreditation of all psychology degrees specifically does not permit practical, workplacerelated experiences to be part of the undergraduate psychology curriculum. Instead, a psychology degree from an Australian university is based on the scientist-practitioner model and involves much theoretical knowledge being taught throughout the three years of the degree. Hence, a consequence of this approach is that when our students enter the workforce, they may not immediately demonstrate their leadership potential. It is against this background that the Edith Cowan University (ECU) School of Psychology and Social Science developed a programme aimed at addressing the lack of leadership training. The programme was designed to provide 12 months of theoretical and practical experience in leadership that was over and above students' normal course requirements. We designed the programme which included a series of workshops and seminars to consist of three curricular components:Leadership Knowledge, Leadership Skills, and Leadership in Action. The curriculum included understanding the theoretical components underpinning leadership such as management theories, participative theories, and relationship theories. Students were then provided with the opportunity to develop and practice their leadership skills by participating in a series of expert-driven seminars, through role-playing, perspective taking, and management of groups. Finally, students worked with local industry-leaders to provide strategic leadership in developing and implementing a community project. This paper outlines the components of the programme and a qualitative evaluation of the students' experiences, the development of their leadership capacity, and their participation in respective community projects. Enhancing psychology students' experiences: The development of an undergraduate leadership programme Psychology, as a science and profession, is typically located within a dominant Western paradigm, emphasising a 'scientist-practitioner' model of training, the goal of which is to apply psychology knowledge in the workplace and society. The development of an undergraduate leadership programme described in this paper was motivated directly by gaps in the teaching of psychology where students gain little experience in the practical application of psychological principles during their undergraduate studies. The main focus of the undergraduate programmes, therefore, is to understand the theories and gain professional knowledge of psychology, but with little 'hands on' or practical experience. In Australia, the teaching of psychological science and the training of psychologists are controlled under a strict accreditation system by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). All stude...

Developing leadership skills among adolescents and young adults: a review of leadership programmes

“…In terms of geographical spread three studies were conducted in Australia, two in Hong Kong, one in the USA, one in Malaysia, one in Israel and one in Taiwan. The duration of the leadership programmes ranged from 1 day (Chen, Chou, & Lee, 2009) to one year (Cohen, Chang, Hendricks, Cope, & Harman, 2011). In two studies the duration was not specified (Gregoric & Owens, 2008;Hendricks, Cope, & Harris, 2010;).…”

“…In three studies (Cohen et al, 2011;Hendricks et al, 2010;Hoyt & Kennedy, 2008) students volunteered and then were chosen by the researchers and their selection was based on some form of standardized assessment procedure. As a selection tool they used both written essays and interviews and participants were selected on the basis that they were both willing and could complete the programme.…”

“…In Cohen et al (2011) the programme was developed to reflect trait theories which proposed that leadership characteristics are rooted in the personalities of leaders. They utilized the work of Bennis and considered leadership to comprise personal characteristics such as self awareness, developing trust when cooperating with others, being able to communicate in an effective way your vision to others and being conscious of one's leadership strengths.…”

“…The activities were designed to enhance students' organizational capabilities, problem-solving skills, team building techniques, fostering of care and concern towards others, sharing of successful experiences and build up expertise on activity design among the programme participants. In Cohen et al (2011) the programme offered both theoretical sessions and practical experience where they included workshops and seminars that entailed three curricular components: leadership knowledge, leadership skills and leadership in action. The curriculum included coming to terms with the theoretical knowledge and students were then given the chance to practise their leadership skills by taking part in a series of expert-driven seminars, via role-playing, perspective taking and management of groups.…”

“…In Cohen et al (2011) participants reported the change in their leadership knowledge and skills. As the results indicated, prior to the programme students were not aware of leadership knowledge or the required skills to be an effective leader.…”