Creating "good" leaders : exploring the integration of leadership and ethics in Canadian post-secondary education

Abstract

An examination of leadership and ethics literature demonstrates that, given the theoretical and practical links between the two subjects, they should also be linked within the context of adult post-secondary education. However, very little documented information exists with regard to the ways in which such integration of subject areas is achieved, and there is scant documentation indicating the kinds of pedagogical approaches that are employed for such a purpose. This study examined how the subject areas of leadership and ethics are conceptualized and integrated within the context of undergraduate credit courses at the University of Saskatchewan. The methods used to collect original data for this study were content analysis and qualitative interviews. The data collected in this study demonstrated that the integration of leadership and ethics subject areas is occurring, both implicitly and explicitly, in a variety of undergraduate courses offered through professional colleges at the University of Saskatchewan. The subjects of leadership and ethics are conceptualized in many different ways by course instructors; however, instructors perceive links between the two subject areas and expect their students to demonstrate an understanding of those links. The findings of this study will serve as a program planning resource for instructors who practice, or who wish to practice, the integration of leadership and ethics subject areas in their post-secondary classroom settings. In addition, the researcher concluded with some broad-based recommendations for further study, and suggestions regarding approaches to integration of leadership and ethics education at the University of Saskatchewan.