Substitutes for Leadership in Learning Environments

Abstract

Although the literature evidences leadership’s many influences on followers’ outcomes, much less theory has been applied to leadership between instructors as leaders and students as followers, especially regarding what substitutes for such leadership in the classroom. In this theoretical paper, we argue that substitutes for organizational leadership operate in learning environments. Instructors (leaders) and students (followers) who interact in a learning environment (situation) create opportunities for learning leadership, defined as leadership that occurs when it moderates learning. In business organizations, various substitutes for leadership have been shown empirically to lessen and neutralize the influence of leadership. Drawing from leadership theory and research, substitutes for leadership in learning environments are discussed, along with practical implications regarding designing pedagogy at both classroom and program levels.