Adrian B. Popa

A Quantitative Analysis of Perceived Leadership Practices in Child Welfare Organizations

This quantitative study contributes to leadership knowledge in the field of child welfare organizations by investigating the perceived leadership in the Division of Child and Family Services. Findings indicated significant difference in leadership practice ratings between caseworkers and administrators and also that perceptions of all five leadership practices were different between caseworkers and organizational leaders. The greatest difference between leaders and followers was in the perception of encouraging the heart. Encouraging the heart also presented the greatest variability among caseworkers, indicating a wide variance in how encouragement is experienced and perceived by caseworkers. These findings contribute to implications for social work education and child welfare practice.

Developing Moral Imagination in Leadership Students

Imagination is the exercise of generating new and novel mental images. Because of its utility for the arts, it is primarily thought of as a purely aesthetic tool. And yet, as a cognitive orientation to the world, imagination has much to offer business leaders. Imagination shifts leaders away from ingrained ways of thinking; it emphasizes reframing existing situations, moving beyond constraining mental models, and formulating innovative responses. In short, imagination is the critical cognitive link connection between what is and what might be. This application brief describes a module designed to develop moral imagination in leadership students in Gonzaga University’s Masters in Organizational Leadership Program. It outlines the use of popular film ‐ in this case, the classic Woody Allen (1989) film, Crimes and Misdemeanors ‐ to help students identify ethical events, assess various viewpoints concerning these events, and then practice reframing the events using moral imagination.

Form Follows Function: A Backward Design To Develop Leadership Ethics Curriculum

The purpose of this paper is to describe a backward design model implemented to develop a leadership ethics course taught in a graduate leadership program. Backward design was implemented to deeply embed the construct of applied ethics within the fabric of leadership curriculum while capturing intended course competencies. Course curriculum integrates a servant leadership theoretical framework and pedagogy that serves to shape and develop moral imagination in leadership students. Backwards design contributed to clarity, integrity, and alignment of course curriculum with program objectives and university mission.