The Measurement of Socially Responsible Leadership: Considerations in Establishing Psychometric Rigor

Abstract

As educational institutions increase attention toward the preparation of future citizen leaders, the assessment of the efficacy of these interventions must increase in sophistication as well. Socially responsible leadership, and the social change model of leadership development from which it is derived, are among the most applied conceptual frameworks informing leadership education. Educational gains associated with this approach are typically assessed using the «Socially Responsible Leadership Scale» (SRLS), an instrument that has been used widely in educational research in the United States. This paper extends the psychometric understanding of the SRLS using findings from the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL), an international research program examining developmental and educational influences on socially responsible leadership. To date, MSL has collected data in five countries at over 300 institutions of higher education with over 300,000 participants. Implications from this paper explore how the psychometric rigor of the SRLS can continue to evolve as well as considerations for the theoretical evolution of the social change model and socially responsible leadership.