Contributing factors to student leadership identity formation in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract

Although various studies have explored student leadership identity formation, no study to date has focused on the post-apartheid South African context and the potential impact of apartheid on their student leadership identity formation. This study investigated the potential factors contributing to the leadership identify formation of a selected group of student leaders in post-apartheid South Africa at a historically white Afrikaans university (HWAU). The qualitative study, with a three-phased triangulation process, utilised a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten student leaders, followed by two focus groups with student leaders and senior Student Affairs practitioners at five South African higher education institutions. As part of the investigation, the participants explored their life stories through the identification of major factors contributing to their identity, leadership identity and, finally, the historical South African context as potential contributing factors to their leadership identity formation. Through the selected qualitative research design, various subthemes were explored, including intersectionality, group identity, role identity and social identity, which further contributed to the participants’ understanding of their leadership identity. The overall conclusion of this study is that identity formation factors were a strong underlying factor for leadership identity formation. In this, the country’s history and intergenerational dialogue, and the impact of apartheid on their families, evidently played a significant role in the selected students’ understanding of their role as “born-free” student leaders in post-apartheid South Africa. Identity salience and malleability permeated in the social context, further informed their leadership identity, group identity, social identity and role identity. This study contributes to two disciplines: firstly, to social psychology – as it explored the leadership identity development model (Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella and Osteen, 2005) within the broader “identity” theoretical framework and, secondly, to a social constructivism approach to leadership studies – as it explored the social identity theory of leadership. The study contributes to the leadership studies literature as a reference for South African Student Affairs practitioners.