Graduate Students' Perceptions of Servant Leadership at a Private Christian University

Servant leadership is gaining recognition as a viable model for addressing challenges in higher education. The literature highlights how servant leadership is implemented, practiced in various settings, and embraced by people of different faiths and institutions across various organizations. Multiple studies have explored the influence of servant leadership in higher education settings from the perspectives of administrators, staff, faculty, and undergraduate students. However, studies investigating the impact of servant leadership from the perspectives of graduate students still need to be included in the literature. This qualitative descriptive single case study sought to address this gap in the literature and advance knowledge about the influence of servant leadership in higher education settings by exploring graduate students' perceptions of the impact of servant leadership at a private Christian university in the Southeastern region of the United States. Greenleaf's servant leadership theory was utilized as the guiding theoretical framework for this study. Thirteen participants who met the eligibility criteria were recruited for the study through purposive sampling. The thematic analysis of the study's one-on-one interviews and focus group data, using NVivo 14, identified four themes. The study's findings indicated that servant leadership is relevant and practical within the context and culture of a private Christian university. The results showed that graduate students possessed varied perceptions about the servant leadership behaviors exhibited by their campus leaders. They perceived servant leadership as Christ-centered leadership, a student-focused approach, and a community-based approach. Future research should broaden the sample to include graduate students from Christian colleges and universities nationwide, overcoming the limitations of a small purposive sample