The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the leadership attributes and motivation to lead (MTL) of undergraduates in Malaysia with their inclination to choose specific types of job characteristics or job attributes. Many researches has proven that personality is positively related to preferred job characteristics, but no research to the researchers' knowledge has been done on leadership attributes and motivation to lead with selected job characteristics. Data were collected from 711 undergraduates from Malaysian public universities. The results showed that leader attributes contributes a stronger predictive effect than the motivation or keenness to lead in determining the selection of specific job characteristics. This finding supports the research hypothesis that undergraduates who have been exposed to leadership training and development have gained greater emotional and cognitive maturity that enable them to be more open to a broader range of job characteristic types. No significant difference was observed between males and females, nor between Science and Humanity programs of study in the students' selection of specific job characteristics. Findings, implications and directions for research are discussed.

PurposeTo examine the knowledge strategies of school administrators and teachers in schools to acquire and use information for decision making in various areas of school development.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative correlational research design using survey questionnaire as the main instrument for data collection. The respondents were from 40 schools, and involved random selection of 282 school administrators and 500 teachers. The research was conducted using a 23 item questionnaire.FindingsPersonal knowledge strategies of school administrators and teachers are highly correlated to the perception of positive knowledge management environments in their schools (r = 0.57, p < 0.001); the quality of data kept within schools (r = 0.63 p < 0.001); and the extent decision making in schools was information‐driven. Personal strategies also tend to influence the knowledge culture within schools. Personal strategies can maneuver the way people seek and tolerate new knowledge, and how ideas are valued and used. Higher levels of personal knowledge strategies will also likely result in a stronger belief in the quality process of decision making in schools.Research limitations/implicationsThe knowledge strategies is not an exhaustive list.Practical implicationsSchool leaders need to cultivate competent knowledge strategies amongst their staff members to consolidate the knowledge culture in schools.Originality/valueThis paper identifies the need to actively create a school environment that enables teachers to actively and intensively utilize the information to create new knowledge and enhance the knowledge and information culture in their schools.

Despite the number of studies investigating the perceived effectiveness of campus-based leadership development programming among undergraduates, most have focused on programme outcomes and few have investigated the role of the campus environment in enhancing students' motivation to lead, particularly in non-Western contexts. To address these gaps, the current study investigated the relationship between perceived campus support for leadership development and both campus leadership involvement and undergraduate students' motivation to lead. Data were gathered from 368 undergraduates from Malaysian public institutions of higher learning. An instrument to measure perceived campus support for leadership was developed through extensive review of the related literature. Exploratory multiple stepwise regression results showed that extent of involvement in leadership on campus, perceived quality of leadership training, perceived leadership opportunities on campus, quality of staff support for leadership on campus and programme of study accounted for a significant amount of the variance in predicting motivation to lead. The results lend initial support for the need for more experiential learning opportunities, high-quality training and greater staff-student engagement to enhance student motivation to lead. The findings draw particular attention to current university leadership training approaches that focus solely on transfer of skills and knowledge, such as those still employed in many universities. Implications for improving undergraduate student motivation to lead are discussed.

Do students' experiences on university campuses cultivate motivation to lead or a sense of readiness to lead that does not necessarily translate to active leadership? To address this question, a study was conducted with 369 undergraduates from Malaysia. Campus experience was more predictive of leadership readiness than motivation. Student leadership opportunities, global leadership perspective development, leadership modeling, quality of staff support, and quality of leadership training programs contributed significantly more to leadership readiness than to motivation to lead.

In Nigeria, School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) aim to provide an opportunity for all stakeholders, particularly the vulnerable groups in the school’s host communities such as young people and women to partake in school governance. Research on the experiences of youth voice in the committees is scant, however, as much of the existing literature on SBMCs focuses on program outcomes. Using qualitative research interviews, observations, and document analysis, this study addressed this gap by exploring how youth participate and express themselves in two SBMCs in Niger State, Nigeria. The findings, which were derived from 19 youth and adult participants, were drawn from SBMC members out of which 12 were youth between the ages 13 and 25, while 7 were adults aged 40 and above. The participants revealed that youth committee members expressed their voice in the committees through participating in a number of committee activities. Specifically, the youth participated in decision-making during meetings, aided in the construction of committee projects, undertook administrative/managerial functions and monitored the committee’s projects. They also participated in revenue generation, planning, school visits and supervision, advocacy, and sensitization campaigns.