Perceptions about Authentic Leadership Development: South African Occupational Therapy Students' Camp Experience.
Fatima Hendricks, Susan Toth-Cohen
PMID 29770106WHAT IT FOUND
Twelve South African OT students described leadership development as a journey of self-awareness and resilience.
They critiqued current leaders for corruption and inequality, viewing camps as spaces to build confidence and connect personal values with professional purpose.
Key findings
01Participants identified four main themes: perceptions of self as a leader, critiques of current leaders, goals for leadership development via camps, and the effect of leadership on the system.
02Students expressed frustration with current leadership, citing moral crises, corruption, and continued societal inequality as major challenges.
03Over 90% of participants demonstrated exploration or generativity levels in their understanding of authentic leadership concepts like self-regulation and moral perspective.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study involved only 12 students from six of the eight South African OT universities, limiting generalisability. The sample was purposive and small, typical of a pilot qualitative study, so findings reflect specific individual narratives rather than broad trends. The study focused on perceptions at a single time point, so it cannot track how these leadership views evolve over a career.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high percentage of students at the 'exploration' or 'generativity' levels as evidence that the camp improved their leadership capabilities. These were self-reported perceptions of understanding, not measured outcomes of behaviour or effectiveness.