Purpose, Mission, and Context: The Call for Educating Future Leaders

Abstract

This chapter calls on higher education to reclaim its role in leadership education. Specifically it examines higher education's purpose, context, and mission as clarion calls to embed leadership education throughout higher education institutions and focuses on why this is important.

The Role of Mentoring, Coaching, and Advising in Developing Leadership Identity

“…As authors, this is a question we ask ourselves on a regular basis. Having played multiple roles within our university and community (e.g., administrators, faculty, organizers), we agree with what scholars have articulated as collective, guiding purposes of higher education: preparing people for professional roles (career readiness) and responsible citizenship (civic engagement; Magolda, ; Chunoo & Osteen, ). As educators, we are called to develop leaders with the maturity, creativity, and critical thinking skills needed to fully engage the complexities of a rapidly changing, “VUCA” (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world (van der Steege, ).…”

Leadership Learning Partnerships: Self‐Authored Leadership through the Learning Partnerships Model

“…Fulfilling higher education' s purpose of creating leaders (Chunoo & Osteen, 2016) is perhaps best accomplished by integrating learning partnerships with leadership learning. The learning partnerships model has clear connections to models of leader identity, theoretical leadership frameworks, and approaches to learning leadership.…”

The Role of Academic Disciplines in Leadership Education

“…Indeed, as contemporary institutions have examined their mission and purpose statements, they have frequently included leadership or language that expects their graduates to be engaged, proactive citizens for a democracy in a complex, global world. Chunoo and Osteen () observe

The powerful alignment of leadership education to higher education's missions lies in the fact that across three guiding purposes of higher education (economic development and career readiness, critical thinking and a liberal education, citizenship and an engaged democracy), leadership education is ever‐present as relevant and necessary. (p. 10)

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“…“Mission statements call for student leadership, and yet campuses often assume that proficiency in a discipline automatically translates into effective and efficient leadership training” (Chunoo & Osteen, , p. 13). Certainly this logic is “misleading” (p. 13); fortunately, leadership is increasingly expected as a college outcome by both the institution and by its academic disciplines.…”