Sustainable leadership of senior students: The case study of Madeira

Abstract

Secondary education plays a key role in developing sustainable leadership skills in students. This research analyses the characteristics of sustainable leadership of students at 2 secondary schools in Madeira Island (Portugal) in order to determine whether the type of school or gender of the students affect eight distinct domains: 1) self management; 2) interpersonal relations; 3) problem solving/decision making; 4) cognitive critical development/analysis; 5) organization and planning; 6) self-confidence; 7) diversity awareness; 8) technology. The Student Leadership Outcomes Inventory (SLOI) (Vann, 2000) was used to measure the leadership experiences of 158 senior students in these eight areas. Participants revealed moderate levels of sustainable leadership in the eight sub-scales. The findings show that students of Madeira Island who finish secondary education possess several well-developed sustainable leadership skills.