Joanna Crossman

Conceptualising spiritual leadership in secular organizational contexts and its relation to transformational, servant and environmental leadership

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept and context of spiritual leadership in secular organizational contexts and to highlight some ways in which spiritual leadership relates to other existing value‐based theories such as transformational, servant and the emerging environmental leadership.Design/methodology/approach – A review of scholarly works on spiritual leadership is presented.Findings – The paper concludes that, while some synergies exist between spiritual leadership and other value‐based theories, a deepening of the theoretical understandings of spiritual leadership in relation to other leadership theories is necessary.Practical implications – Having identified the qualitative and quantitative benefits of spiritual leadership as well as some possible dangers in implementation strategies, a clarification of its nature in relation to other leadership theories will assist organizations considering its role and how it might be developed among personnel.Originality/value – The pap...

Conceptualising followership - a review of the literature

Despite growing attention in professional and academic literature, a commonly accepted definition of followership does not seem to have emerged. The authors nevertheless explore some of the implications of followership definitions to date and build on these to offer one of their own. A review of the literature ensues, highlighting descriptive and prescriptive behavioural typologies, and situational theories. The paper argues that understanding the concept of followership better is likely to improve training and organizational performance and concludes with suggestions for future research and some implications for leadership/followership development.

The role of relationships and emotions in student perceptions of learning and assessment

The paper addresses the way in which participants in a qualitative study drew upon accounts of relationships and emotions in sharing their perceptions of assessment. By first exploring ideas about emotions and relationships in learning and assessment through the literature and subsequently discussing an interpretation of participant narratives, the author suggests that emotions and relationships surrounding past learning and assessment contexts can influence current perceptions of assessment and learning in powerful ways. The study also reveals how students value opportunities to express their beliefs, feelings and emotions during the assessment process. They also expect teachers to balance objectivity in assessment with empathy for those parts of themselves shared in the process. The conclusion is drawn that there are important implications for learning in the emotional response of students to assessment and in the nature of teaching and learning relationships that are worthy of further investigation.

Secular Spiritual Development in Education from International and Global Perspectives

A number of significant international reports and journal articles have begun to refer to the importance of non-sectarian, spiritual values in educational planning (Carr, 1999; Rogers & Dantley, 2001). The writer firstly considers how the notion of secular spirituality might be understood and outlines some possible reasons for its upsurgeance. The potential for secular spiritual development from both global and international perspectives is explored with a particular focus upon cultural implications. The conclusion is drawn that communities need to be cautious about accepting at face value globalised notions of spirituality in educational development and that educators need to adopt an international perspective, characterised by ‘bottom-up’ community based initiatives.

Engaging international students: An analysis of the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) reports

Purpose – Australia has enjoyed two decades of growth in international student enrolments. This phenomenon, combined with the evolution of quality assurance policy frameworks, has stimulated interest in the social and academic experiences of international students and their educational outcomes. The Australian Universities Quality Agencys (AUQA) second round of quality audits assessed and reported on the performance of Australian universities in the area of “internationalisation”. AUQA findings and recommendations for required action send powerful messages to guide university priorities, practices and strategies in pursuit of quality enhancement in relation to student engagement. This paper seeks to address these issues.Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a thematic analysis approach to explore “internationalisation” in 14 AUQA audit reports published between 2006 and 2010.Findings – This paper identifies three key areas arising from AUQA audit reports that form a basis for discussion in this p...

Emerging Issues in International Education in Business Contexts

This paper identifies and explores some of the emerging research topics that assist in conceptualising and mapping the field of international education in business. The identified issues include the commercialisation of international education, the role of institutional promises in creating student expectations, student satisfaction, developing international and cultural leadership, cultural identity and adaptation in the new socio‐educational context as well as teaching with spirit and about spiritual issues. These diverse agendas illustrate the broad and inter‐disciplinary nature of the subject matter particularly where issues surrounding international education in business are approached holistically.

Checking the pulse

Purpose – Growing numbers of international students on Australian university campuses in the last decade have generated interest, change and quality challenges. Research suggests that the future success of Australian universities rests on their ability to meet the challenge of providing a stimulating and rewarding higher education experience for domestic and international students alike. The Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) has sought, through its second round of quality reviews, to focus on the performance of Australian universities with regard to international activities. Specifically, this paper seeks to establish the “pulse” in relation to the issues and strategies aimed at the social engagement of international students as part of their wider experience on campus.Design/methodology/approach – A thematic analysis approach was adopted to explore “internationalisation” in 14 AUQA audit reports published between 2006 and 2010.Findings – The findings of the study have led to first, the develo...

Breaking the Silence: Exploring Spirituality in Secular Professional Education in Australia

Spiritual approaches to both secular business practice and adult business education are under discussion in the literature. Drawing upon the notion of sustainable education in order to “situate” discussion, the author suggests some reasons why this may be so and explores the concept of “secular spirituality” as an appropriate paradigm for considering the implications of spiritual issues in learning and at work. Finally, some notions about possible characteristics that spiritually orientated learning organizations might have are raised by drawing upon the experience of American businesses that have trodden this path.

Eclecticism and commonality in employee constructions of spirituality

Determining how to manage spiritual diversity in a globalized Australia and developing organizational strategies to that end is a complex undertaking. As a starting point, the process requires empirical evidence around how employees and managers construct and perceive spirituality in Australian workplace contexts. Much of the literature around workplace spirituality and the theorizing about spirituality as a concept has been generated in the United States. Whilst this body of work provides rich insights, little is known about its transferability across cultures or more specifically, whether spirituality is perceived in working Australia in ways comparable to the United States. This paper reports on a grounded theory study that aimed to discover how participating managers and professionals constructed spirituality in the context of their workplace experience. The findings revealed a high level of individual spiritual eclecticism and dynamism in the way participants perceived and experienced spirituality. Common spiritual values were also identified across the data. The author concludes that spiritual eclecticism appears to be an under-researched and possibly under-appreciated concept and argues that common values may well provide the necessary “glue” for managing spiritual diversity and fostering spiritual inclusiveness in organizations.

New nurse transition: success through aligning multiple identities

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of new nurses in Singapore of their experiences of role transition and to examine the implications for managers in terms of employee training, development and retention. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH This qualitative study was conducted using a constructivist grounded theory approach. In total 26 novice nurses and five preceptors (n=31) from five different hospitals participated in the study. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and reflective journal entries and analysed using the constant comparative method. FINDINGS The findings revealed that novice nurses remained emotionally and physically challenged when experiencing role transition. Two major constructs appear to play an important part in the transition process; learning how to Fit in and aligning personal with professional and organisational identities. The findings highlight factors that facilitate or impede Fitting in and aligning these identities. ORIGINALITY/VALUE Although the concept of Fitting in and its relation to the attrition of novice nurses has been explored in global studies, that relationship has not yet been theorised as the dynamic alignment of multiple identities. Also, whilst most research around Fitting in, identity and retention has been conducted in western countries, little is known about these issues and their interrelationship in the context of Singapore. The study should inform decision making by healthcare organisations, nurse managers and nursing training institutions with respect to improving the transition experience of novice nurses.