Int J Adolesc Med Health 2017; 29(1): 83–89 *Corresponding author: Daniel T.L. Shek, PhD, Associate Vice President (Undergraduate Programme) and Chair Professor of Applied Social Sciences, Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Hong Kong, P.R. China E-mail: daniel.shek@polyu.edu.hk; Centre for Innovative Programmes for Adolescents and Families, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, P.R. China; Department of Social Work, East China Normal University, Shanghai, P.R. China; Kiang Wu Nursing College of Macau, Macau, P.R. China; and Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Kentucky Children’s Hospital, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA Lu Yu and Qiu Zhi Xie: Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, P.R. China Daniel T.L. Shek*, Lu Yu and Qiu Zhi Xie Student feedback on a pioneer subject on leadership and intrapersonal development in Hong Kong DOI 10.1515/ijamh-2017-3011 Received January 17, 2015; accepted February 25, 2015; previously published online June 14, 2016 Abstract: To promote leadership and intrapersonal devel- opment in university students, a subject entitled “Tomor- row’s Leaders” was developed and offered at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. To assess the perceived effectiveness of this subject, 647 students completed the student feedback questionnaire (SFQ). Results showed that the feedback questionnaire had very good psycho- metric properties, including internal consistency reliabil- ity and construct validity. Regarding students’ views of the subject, results showed that students generally had good evaluation of the content of the subject, teaching quality, and perceived benefits of the subject. The present findings have implications for the teaching of general edu- cation regarding leadership development. Keywords: construct validity; general education; student feedback questionnaire; subjective outcome evaluation; university students. Introduction In the global world of today, the economy in many places such as Hong Kong has gradually transformed from product orientation to service orientation. Product- oriented economy emphasizes logistics and products, and thus often requires obedience of followers to leaders’ demands (1, 2). In contrast, a service-oriented economy emphasizes services as well as the benefits of all partici- pating parties in economic exchange. Several leadership concepts, such as servant leadership (3, 4) and service leadership (5) have been put forward to address the impor- tant leadership issues in the service-oriented economy. These leadership concepts emphasize the importance of shared leadership and leadership qualities involving a variety of interpersonal and intrapersonal competences (4, 5). To cultivate qualified graduates who will become the pillars of tomorrow’s society, universities have an urgent need to develop validated programs/subjects that can foster leadership qualities in students. Globalization also brings other changes to the society, which requires the development of new thinking and new skills. For example, the economy in China has been growing vigorously and the Chinese market has become increasingly important for business in the world. In this context, more and more Hong Kong people may work for mainland China’s market and they will encounter the chal- lenges of mastering the Mandarin Chinese language (6). Facing such changes, life-long learning should be empha- sized for university students where they need to enhance self-learning along with the acquisition of more knowledge (6). In the context of Hong Kong, Shek pointed out that because of limited tertiary education resources admission to government funded universities is highly competitive. As a result, students and schools tend to pay great attention to the academic performance of the students (6). As higher education in Hong Kong tends to be utilitarian with a strong emphasis on attaining employment after graduation, sense of purpose and self-fulfillment are largely neglected. As a result, although the development of intellectual compe- tence may be rather successful in Hong Kong, other com- petences of university graduates such as social, emotional, and interpersonal competences are largely ignored by both educators and students themselves (6). Over-emphasis on examinations and the related demands also create a lot stress for the students. Indeed, several studies sug- gested that there are psychological problems in Hong Kong Brought to you by | University of Hong Kong Libraries Authenticated Download Date | 3/26/17 12:34 PM