South African Student Leadership Unrest and Unsettled Constructions: A CIBART Analysis

Abstract

Student leadership in South Africa is unsettled and characterised by unrest. The perturbing changes in the higher education system, including global shifts and crises, impact South African student leadership psychologically. Consequently, this article seeks to understand the system psychodynamics of South African student leadership. Data was collected during a social dream drawing (SDD) session with student leaders at a South African university before the onset of the Fees Must Fall movement. The SDD session aimed to understand the social construction of student leadership at a South African university and data was analysed through discourse analysis with a psychodynamic interpretation. For this article, a co-reflector was incorporated for secondary analysis after Fees Must Fall to reorganise, reinterpret the data and enhance the initial findings using a conflict, identity, boundaries, authority, role, task (CIBART) model. CIBART findings show that students have a need for a collective and shared vision, and find it unsettling when this need is not satisfied due to the complex environment. Thereby, their psychological safety is threatened, while anxiety is heightened in an environment characterised by transformation and decolonisation agendas. Substantial conflicts impact authority dynamics while, simultaneously, student leadership identity and boundaries are blurry and in crisis. Thus, the compromised clarity of student leadership elevates implications for the confidence that is required for the role and task of student leadership. Consequently, efforts to reduce the anxiety of student leadership ought to be a priority. Psychologists are indicated to play a crucial role in restoring the psychological safety and security of student leaders.

South African student leaders' role experience through social dream drawing: A driver of compassion

“…In addition, South African universities sought to invest in the development of students' graduate attributes and employability through student leadership development. Thus, various leadership programs such as the South African Washington International Program (SAWIP), the University of the Free State Leadership for Change Program, the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute at the University of South Africa (UNISA), the Future Health Leaders Program of the University of Cape Town, and others, became avenues for student leadership development (Getz and Roy, 2013 ; Pule, 2017 ). Students who partake in these programs are referred to as student leaders as they represent universities' efforts toward hands-on leadership and skills development that students can apply to universities' extracurricular agendas.…”