Nurturing leadership qualities under COVID-19: Student perceptions of the qualities and effectiveness of online teaching and learning on leadership development

Because of the easy transmission of COVID-19 through social contact, university students in many parts of the world have joined online courses instead of face-to-face classes since early 2020. This change in teaching and learning mode poses difficulties, particularly for subjects requiring intensive interaction between the teacher and the students, which would eventually impair teacher and student well-being. In this paper, we examine the students' perceptions of an online course on leadership development at a university in Hong Kong, with 1,206 students taking the subject. Based on the post-lecture evaluation findings using the client satisfaction approach, results showed that students had high satisfaction with the lecture content and teachers. They also perceived that the lectures were effective in promoting their leadership qualities. Relative to traditional face-to-face approach, students generally welcomed online teaching and learning. The present findings suggest that with adequate preparation, coaching, facilitation, mutual support and empowerment for teachers, online teaching is a promising strategy to nurture leadership qualities in university students.