Enhancing Socially Responsible Leadership for Undergraduate Students in Thailand: A Quantitative Model

Abstract

Background and Aims: With the need for social profits and benefits in social development, Thailand needs to train their future leaders to possess leadership value-based, participated, purposed, and non-authoritative to resolve emerging social issues like social inequity, environmental pollution, democratic development, etc.; consequently, socially responsible leadership is a sort of tool can solve the problems and make better for society in Thailand; the research would conduct the five objectives in the researcher to propose a suitable model for enhancing socially responsible leadership for undergraduate students in Thailand: 1) to find what levels of socially responsible leadership are for university students in Thailand; 2) to find what levels of involvement frequency in activities can advance socially responsible leadership for university students in Thailand; 3) to determine whether there is a significant difference between student demographics and socially responsible leadership for university students in Thailand; 4) to determine whether there is a significant relationship between leadership activities and socially responsible leadership for university students in Thailand; 5) to propose a suitable model for developing socially responsible leadership for university students in Thailand. Materials and Methods: The researcher conducted the three theories: the social change model of leadership, the four types of leadership activities that can enhance socially responsible leadership for undergraduate students, and demographics of students; the research quantitative analysis and modeling; the duration of collecting data was in 6 months; there were 600 valid data from five representative universities in Bangkok, Thailand; then, the researcher would conduct model validation by five scholars from the universities in Bangkok, Thailand and an evaluation model as the CIPP. Results: The research includes the following findings: 1) there were eight dimensions of socially responsible leadership in higher education context in Thailand: commitment, controversy with civility, congruence, change, consciousness of self, collaboration, common purpose, citizenship; 2) there were the four types of leadership activities can enhance socially responsible leadership in higher education in Thailand: game related activities, student organizational and interesting club activities, classroom activities and leadership workshops; 3) there were three types of students who need to enhance the leadership: males, aged less than 18, and first-year level; 4) the researcher found almost the four types of leadership activities can be associated with the eight dimensions of socially responsible leadership (p<.05) ; 5) according to the results of model validation, the five scholars approved the model has possibilities to enhance socially responsible leadership for undergraduates in Thailand by given scores (≥0.60). Conclusions: The model advises enhancing socially responsible leadership for undergraduates, males aged under 18, and first-year students in higher education in Thailand and higher education institutions in Thailand, which could lead to the four types of leadership activities appropriately. Furthermore, the model can provide practical paradigms for developing socially responsible leadership for related stakeholders concerned with student development in higher education in Thailand.