Evaluating leadership, wellbeing, engagement, and belonging across units in higher education: A quantitative pilot study

Abstract

Students are increasingly diverse, with traditional pedagogies and instructional approaches lacking effectiveness in engaging a variety of student cohorts. This study takes a behavioural approach to examining students in the classroom, seeking to better understand the relationships between authentic leadership, wellbeing, belonging, and engagement among students in an Australian Associate Degree program. This paper reports on a quantitative survey conducted at the beginning of a teaching period, with longitudinal data points expected as this cohort progresses. Preliminary findings are that while students' self-reported authentic leadership scores had associated gains in their psychological wellbeing, and classroom belongingness and engagement, their informal influence played the largest role. This could indicate that supporting students to develop deeper psychological behavioural capabilities (such as self-awareness and sincerity) would have the potential to strengthen the relationship between authentic leadership and student outcomes, by supporting a self-reinforcing effect among the authentic leader behaviours.

Loneliness, Belonging, and Mental Health in Australian University Students Pre- and Post-COVID-19

“…Most relevant among university students’ group identities is their university identity 1 . This sense of belonging at the university and connecting with fellow students is protective of student well-being (Knox, Crawford, Kelder, Carr, & Hawkins, 2020) and academic outcomes (Zumbrunn, McKim, Buhs, & Hawley, 2014). On the other hand, students who lack group memberships and have a weaker sense of belonging at the university are prone to loneliness, which is associated with poorer mental health outcomes such as increased anxiety, depression, and stress (Diehl et al, 2018).…”