The Service Leadership Knowledge Scale : norms and psychological correlates

Abstract

Guided by the Service Leadership Theory, substantial effort has been devoted to service leadership education in Hong Kong. In contrast, scientific instruments that assess the basic concepts of service leadership are non-existent. As such, we developed three scales pertinent to the notion of service leadership, including knowledge, attitude, and behavior scales. The present study reported the development of norms and psychological correlates of the Service Leadership Knowledge Scale consisting of 40 multiple-choice questions (i.e., SLK-SF-40). Based on a large and representative sample (N = 4,486) of university students recruited from the eight University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities in Hong Kong, the results showed that the female students had a significant higher level of service leadership knowledge than did the male students, resulting in the separate norms for the two groups. While age did not show significant influence on the students' knowledge score, the students' grade point average (GPA), leadership training experience, and experience of taking leadership roles in university organizations were all positively associated with their service leadership knowledge scores, but the effect size was small. The percentile norms of this knowledge scale developed in this study provides a useful tool for designing, implementing, and evaluating service leadership education programs.