An Investigation Into the Feasibility and Significance of Identifying Potential Moral Leadership Capability in Adolescence

University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2015 An investigation into the feasibility and significance of identifying potential moral leadership capability in adolescence Rosemary Cathcart University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. 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For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] An investigation into the feasibility and significance of identifying potential moral leadership capability in adolescence Student: Rosemary Cathcart Student No: 3755526 University: University of Wollongong Degree sought: Doctor of Philosophy Supervisors: Professor Wilma Vialle Dr Steven Howard Date submitted: 28.9.2015 Whaia Te Maramatanga – Seek Enlightenment - Maori proverb 1 Abstract This research took as its starting point the view expressed by various writers that humanity urgently needs renewed positive moral leadership if current world problems are to be addressed, and that therefore there is a need to identify and nurture individuals with the potential to take such a leadership role. However, Renzulli (2002) has argued that at the present time, while we can recognise such individuals in maturity, we have no understanding of how they develop into that role, and are therefore unable to identify and nurture those young individuals who might have that potential. This study began by exploring Renzulli’s contention through a review of the literature in the field. Theories of moral development were examined, reflecting two main schools of thought, one focussing on moral reasoning and the other seeing empathy as necessary to translate moral reasoning into moral behaviour. Examination of Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration led to a possible extension to the theory to be investigated in the proposed research. Various attempts by researchers in the field to translate theories into practical tools for measuring moral development were reviewed. Gaps in the existing theory and research as it relates to the emergence of moral leadership were identified and discussed, and the conclusion was reached that Renzulli’s contention appeared to be correct. Renzulli’s own theory was that there existed a set of ‘co-cognitive factors’ which were indicators of moral leadership capability, and which could therefore be used to indicate potential for such development in young people. This theory had been the subject of a survey of high school students in the US, known as the ‘Houndstooth’ survey and carried out by Sytsma, one of Renzulli’s associates. Sytsma (2003) had concluded that the results of the survey were suggestive of support for Renzulli’s theory but inconclusive, and had recommended further research incorporating qualitative as well as the quantitative strategies she had used. This research thus took a mixed-method approach to explore moral leadership. First it asked whether the co-cognitive factors could be shown to be present in individuals who had already demonstrated moral leadership in their adult lives, and whether there were other factors which appeared to be equally or even more significant in their development into these moral leadership roles. It was hoped that the answers to these questions would provide some evidential as well as theoretical criteria to support the identification of moral 2 leadership potential in young people. To examine these questions, three case studies were carried out involving three very different individuals, now in their seventies, all of whom could be shown to have exercised moral leadership in their communities. The co-cognitive factors were found to be present in each individual. Several other factors were also found to have played a critical role in the moral development of each of the case study participants, and a theoretical proposition emerged which linked Dabrowski’s higher developmental potential and his theory of positive disintegration to aspects of childhood development and experience. In the second phase of the study, the focus shifted to young people in three quite different settings. Firstly, a group interview was undertaken with three second-year university students who had been actively involved in helping the community after the two major earthquakes in Christchurch. Their perceptions of this experience and of its potential impact on their future values and actions were explored. They appeared to be going through a transitional phase, in one student particularly clearly, where the traumatic nature of their experiences was prompting the revision of their values which Dabrowski had suggested as a potential outcome of such a situation. Secondly, after reviewing Sytsma’s (2003) report of her results, her survey of high school students was adapted and extended, firstly to make it contextually appropriate for students in New Zealand, but also in an effort to probe more deeply into the students’ values and philosophy in the hope that this would yield more complete information than had the original survey. The latter changes were made to reflect Sytsma’s own comment that the inclusion of questions of a more qualitative nature might be productive of more conclusive results than her own survey had achieved. Statistical analysis of the results of the adapted survey indicated that a group of students showing both the co- cognitive traits and also other evidence of moral leadership potential, including extensive involvement in various social causes, could clearly be identified. Lastly, the story of a young girl who became politically active at a national level and involved in protesting against child abuse at an international level at the age of ten, and who had sustained this involvement through to her present age of sixteen, was explored through administration of the adapted survey complemented by a limited case history approach to obtain background information about her development. Finally, the findings emerging from these various processes were reviewed in relation to the initial research questions. It was suggested that the case study findings supported the 3 suggested extension to Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration. A number of conclusions were suggested relevant to identifying potential for advanced moral development. The presence of such potential in childhood was found to be evident in the case studies. Experiences during those earlier years had been shown to be highly significant for each of the case study participants and for the young woman whose history was explored in the final section of the research. The theoretical proposition which emerged from the first case study was reviewed as a possible way of unifying the research findings to provide a comprehensive set of indicators of potential for advanced moral development and moral leadership capability. The feasibility of using Renzulli’s co-cognitive traits to indicate such potential in young people was also reviewed in the light of the research findings. A number of queries were generated about the terminology used by Renzulli in naming and describing these factors, and some amendments were suggested. The adapted survey appeared to have been effective as an indicator of such potential, but it was noted that it would be desirable to repeat this research using a larger number of participants. Possible uses for the research findings were identified, and suggestions for further research were discussed. NB: As the researcher is a New Zealander and the research has been carried out in New Zealand, New Zealand spelling conventions have been used throughout this document, except where material cited from other documents used US or UK spelling conventions. In those instances the original spelling has been maintained. 4 Dedication This research is dedicated with love to my late husband Chris Cathcart. In all his life and in his leadership role in his profession, he demonstrated exactly the qualities I have written about here. His wisdom and

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