Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' Speech as a Tool for Teaching Transformational Leadership and Vision

Jeffrey L. Godwin; Jeffery D. Houghton; Christopher P. Neck; Eric C. Mohan

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech as a Tool for Teaching Transformational Leadership and Vision

Jeffrey L. Godwin

Saint Vincent College, USA

Jeffery D. Houghton

West Virginia University, USA

Christopher P. Neck

Arizona State University, USA

Eric C. Mohan

Group, Inc., USA

Volume 4: 2011, pp. 23-42; ABSTRACT

This paper examines Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech as an effective tool for teaching transformational leadership. Dr. King's speech provides an outstanding example of the transformational leadership process of identifying and articulating a vision. The speech and its historical context may help students to understand the importance of a strategic vision and its effective communication to followers. The paper provides an overview of the historical context of the speech along with an analysis of speech within the context of the transformational leadership model. Finally, we provide specific suggestions for using the speech as an effective teaching tool.

ORDER ARTICLE PERMISSIONS/REPRINTS/OFFPRINTS

To order permissions to include this article in textbooks, edited volumes, course booklets, online/digital course packs, etc., and/or to order multiple individual hard copies for classroom use, please contact the publishing editor Peter Neilson at pneilson@neilsonjournals.com. You may also pay online for digital copies using the secure online payment facility on the left menu.