Transformational leadership in student training: Prospects and challenges

Abstract

Transformational leadership has emerged as a key model for training university students, promoting essential competencies for personal, academic, and professional development within transforming educational contexts. This study analyzed research published in indexed journals between 2019 and 2024 to identify perspectives and challenges associated with transformational leadership's influence on student education. A documentary-type methodology with a descriptive qualitative approach was used under the PRISMA 2020 protocol to analyze articles extracted from databases such as Scopus, SciELO, and Redalyc. The results reveal that transformational leadership positively impacts self-efficacy, teamwork, social responsibility, and gender equality, while promoting academic commitment and motivation. Mexico, Spain, and China have the greatest scientific production, reflecting different educational priorities. Likewise, Scopus concentrates most of the high-impact publications, while SciELO and Redalyc provide significant regional context. There is a high prevalence of transformational leadership, with consistent effects in different educational contexts. However, limitations such as the impostor phenomenon in STEM fields were also identified. In conclusion, transformational leadership is an effective tool for comprehensive student training. However, its implementation requires contextual adaptation, complementary strategies such as coaching, and an approach that considers individual psychosocial factors. Promoting it consistently can contribute to educational transformation toward more inclusive, innovative, and sustainable models.