Social work leadership: reflections on a student-led conference

ABSTRACT

Servant leadership encompassing collaborative mentorship, empowerment and a faculty/student partnership approach contributed to the success of an international social work conference led by undergraduate students and supported by faculty members. Using a retrospective case study design, data were collected from social work undergraduate students on the conference planning committee, reflections of faculty, and documentation from conference evaluations. This paper explores the findings of the conference planning experience and considers how social work principles can foster student engagement and build capacity for undergraduate students to practice leadership skills within higher educational settings.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work
• servant leadership
• collaborative mentorship
• student/faculty collaboration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Darrell James Fox

Darrell James Fox is a Social Worker and Academic. His research interests include independent advocacy approaches for children and young people involved in the welfare and justice system, along with developing participative and mindful leadership approaches within the practice of social work.

Lucki Kang

Lucki Kang is a registered Social Worker, Educator, and Co-Director of CREATE, a community development company that addresses system wide concerns. She leads field education in undergraduate and graduate social work programs and has research interests of social work leadership and interdisciplinary practice.