Learners’ Perceptions of Servant-Leadership In Classrooms

The term “servant-leadership” was coined by Robert Greenleaf (1970) through his collection of essays titled The Servant as Leader. His message is that the best leader is first a servant. Beazley (2003) described servant-leadership as an art, a calling, a way of being, and a philosophy of life. Hence, it is not modern theory of leadership and management technique but rather the process of serving, and the development of the led, who are being served. Omoh (2007) considered that the results of servant-leadership include follower-empowerment as well as mutual trust and collaboration between the servant-leader and the led. More specifically, Hays (2008) argued that the applications of servant-leadership principles can “make a profound difference on the impact of learning and in the learning experience of both students and teachers” (p.113). The researcher agrees with Hays that the belief of servant-leadership is in alignment with the purpose of education in school. The researcher’s position is that those teachers, who choose to be servant-leaders, serve the needs of learners in classrooms, and in partnership with learners, create a learner-centered community operating with servant-leadership principles. This study – Learners’ Perceptions of Servant-Leadership In Classrooms – seeks to explore the application of servant-leadership in meeting the cognitive, social, individual and motivational needs of learners in classrooms of a Hong Kong school.