Section 3: Content


 

Content

 

The third section seeks to provide leadership program developers with a set of topical areas and respective questions to use as they begin to conceptualize the content of their specific programs. These topical areas are meant as potential foundational curricula to include when developing a comprehensive program. While the diversity of academic programs precludes the development of an exhaustive set of topical areas, the ones listed below are meant to help educators create the foundations of their programs. The bulleted questions included in each area represent broad points for consideration within each topic.

 

The content may include formal declarative knowledge (facts, theories) as well as procedural (skills) and affective (attitudinal) knowledge. The choice of these will be a balance of these three types of knowledge driven by the context, conceptual framework and outcomes for the program.

 

General Questions

•           How do conceptual and contextual elements (see previous sections) influence the program content?

•           How does the level of development of the program’s students (e.g., freshman, graduate students) in your program influence the course content? 

•           How does the choice of program outcomes (see section 5) impact the course content? 

•           How is the content of the program sequenced and connected?

•           What materials (e.g., textbooks, articles etc.) will support student learning in the course?

 

Questions on Foundations of Leadership

•           What are the theories and definitions of leadership being taught in the program?

•           What are the philosophical approaches taught in the program?

•           What are the historical perspectives presented in the program?

•           What are the disciplines that inform the study of leadership in your program?

•           What is the theoretical and empirical basis of the content taught?

 

Questions on Strategic Leadership

The following are content areas that each program should include in its teaching. The content areas ensure that students understand the way leadership works. Key terms should help students understand their key content areas.

•           How does the program help students understand leadership concepts and terms?

•           How does the program help students master key concepts in strategic leadership such as (vision, purpose/mission, needs assessment, planning, change management, problem-solving, conflict, decision-making, motivation, building a culture; cultural analysis)?

 

Questions on Personal Development

•           How does the program promote personal development in way that leads to increased capacities for individual and collective leadership?

•           How does the program help students explore the following areas of individual and collective leadership: self-awareness (inside-out), personal growth/change, renewal, spirituality, self in relation to others?

 

Questions on Organizational Leadership

•           How does the program advance a student’s understanding of organizational context and structures of leadership? 

•           How does the program include aspects of interpersonal skill development necessary in a leadership context? 

•           How does the program help students comprehend the following organizational context and structure for action and results: organizational design and structure, interpersonal skills, communication, resource allocation and management, technology, group dynamics, and law and policy?

 

Questions on Ethical Leadership

•           How does the program define ‘ethical leadership’? 

•           What concepts underlie the notion of ethical leadership in this program (e.g., virtue, justice, efficiency, moral reasoning, and constitutional rights)?