ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate leadership creation in group interactions in higher education. The study is based on three issues: “What does leadership creation show during lectures, seminars and group work?”, “Which strengths with leadership creation are made visible in group interactions in the three types of teaching?” and “What weaknesses with leadership creation are made visible in group interactions in the three types of teaching?”. The previous research based on scientific articles highlights themes such as group work and group leaders. The sociocultural perspective and its concepts of mediation, communication and the zone of proximal development were applied in the study's analysis, based on Lev S. Vygotsky and Roger Säljö. The empirical material was collected using the observation method, a pilot and 6 observations were performed. The study's results showed that leadership creation is made visible through the mediation of artifacts, different types of communication within group interactions, where a formal leader or an informal leader in the group applies these tools as tactics to create and maintain their role in the group. Strengths with leadership creation were that the group would work together and perform the tasks that were intended in the teaching. The weaknesses that turned out were conflicts in the groups because there were no leadership roles in the group or that the leadership role was not sufficiently strong. The societal and scientific relevance is presented through various newspaper articles and the discussion of scientific articles on leadership within the educational system.