scholarly journals Does Service Leadership Education Contribute to Student Well-Being? A Quasi-Experimental Study Based on Hong Kong University Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1147-1163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Lin ◽  
Daniel T. L. Shek
Author(s):  
Xiaoqin Zhu ◽  
Daniel T. L. Shek

AbstractService leadership education initiatives have been launched in Hong Kong to meet the emerging demand for service leaders and enhance university students’ well-being through nurturing not only competence but also good character and caring disposition. However, rigorous evaluation work based on validated assessment tools has not been adequately carried out to examine whether student well-being and service leadership qualities would increase after the learning process. Using a one-group pretest-posttest design, this study investigated the effectiveness of a credit-bearing subject entitled “Service Leadership” implemented in one university in Hong Kong. Based on the responses of 114 participants (49.1% boys, Age = 20.21 ± 2.96 years), it was found that students showed improvement in service leadership knowledge, attitude, and behavior after taking the subject. In addition, their life satisfaction and positive youth development attributes as indicators of well-being also significantly increased. Furthermore, the increase in well-being among students was closely associated with their attitudinal and behavioral changes but not knowledge acquisition. The present findings imply that a formal curriculum-based leadership course can be a promising way to promote student service leadership qualities and well-being.


Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Li Lin

AbstractWhen the concept of social entrepreneurship becomes more popular, many universities explicitly claim that they wish to nurture social entrepreneurs. In this paper, the concept of social entrepreneurship and the successful attributes of social entrepreneurs are outlined. With reference to the question of how university students can be nurtured to be social entrepreneurs, it is suggested that the service leadership model proposed by the Hong Kong Institute of Service Leadership and Management is a good framework to be considered. In the framework, it is asserted that there are three attributes of a successful service leader – leadership competence, moral character, and caring dispositions. In this study, the experience of implementing a credit-bearing subject based on the service leadership model at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is highlighted.


Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Li Lin ◽  
Ting Ting Liu ◽  
Moon Y.M. Law

AbstractThis study examined the perceptions of students taking a subject entitled “Service Leadership” at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University which was developed using the model proposed by the Hong Kong Institute of Service Leadership and Management (HKI-SLAM). After taking this subject, students were invited to participate in a qualitative study where they used three descriptors and a metaphor to describe their experiences about the subject. Based on the reflections of 50 students, results showed that 96.1% of the descriptors and 90% of the metaphors used by the students were positive. In conjunction with the objective outcome evaluation, subjective outcome evaluation and process evaluation findings, the present study suggests that “Service Leadership” is a subject that can promote holistic development in Chinese university students in Hong Kong.


Author(s):  
Xiang Li ◽  
Daniel T. L. Shek ◽  
Esther Y. W. Shek

Although mental health problems among Hong Kong university students are serious, there is a lack of studies examining the psychometric properties of related assessment scales and correlates. This study attempted to validate the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) in Hong Kong university students and examine the demographic (gender), time (cohort), and well-being correlates (positive youth development attributes and life satisfaction) of psychological morbidity. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the factor structure of the DASS (n = 6704). Gender and cohort invariance were further established using a multigroup CFA. The three-factor model of the DASS showed a superior fit and factorial invariance across gender and five different cohorts. Regarding gender and cohort correlates of psychological morbidity, males exhibited more depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms than their female counterparts. The intensity of psychological distress also escalated after the Umbrella Movement in 2014. Furthermore, well-being measures (positive youth development and life satisfaction) were negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. In short, the Chinese DASS demonstrated good psychometric properties. This study also showed that gender, cohort (occurrence of political events), and well-being were associated with psychological morbidity indexed by the DASS measures.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. L. Shek ◽  
Rachel C. F. Sun ◽  
Y. H. Chui ◽  
S. W. Lit ◽  
Walter W. Yuen ◽  
...  

With higher education, university graduates are important elements of the labor force in knowledge-based economies. With reference to the mental health and developmental problems in university students, there is a need to review university’s role in nurturing holistic development of students. Based on the positive youth development approach, it is argued that promoting intrapersonal competencies is an important strategy to facilitate holistic development of young people in Hong Kong. In The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a course entitled Tomorrow’s Leader focusing on positive youth development constructs to promote student well-being will be offered on a compulsory basis starting from 2012/13 academic year under the new undergraduate curriculum structure. The proposed course was piloted in 2010/11 school year. Different evaluation strategies, including objective outcome evaluation, subjective outcome evaluation, process evaluation, and qualitative evaluation, are being carried out to evaluate the developed course. Preliminary evaluation findings based on the piloting experience in 2010/11 academic year are presented in this paper.


Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Li Lin ◽  
Ting Ting Liu ◽  
Moon Y.M. Law

AbstractTo promote the holistic development of university students under the knowledge economy, a subject entitled “Service Leadership” was developed and piloted at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Process evaluation was carried out for 10 lectures, with each lecture observed by two independent observers who were registered social workers. Inter-rater reliability across the two observers was high, suggesting the observations were reliable. Results showed that program adherence was high in these lectures (mean=97.8%) and ratings on the implementation quality of the subject were also high. Some of the qualities of program implementation were significant predictors of the overall quality and success of the program. Consistent with other findings, the present study suggests that the implementation quality of “Service Leadership” was high.


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