Student Nurses’ Leadership Experiences: Attribution Theory, Locus of Control and Ubuntu in South Africa

Leadership is a core nursing competency, yet student nurses in South Africa often enter practice psychologically underprepared due to hierarchical training environments, limited autonomy, and historical inequities. Research has focused largely on qualified nurses, with limited attention to how students interpret responsibility, control, and failure during training. Guided by Attribution Theory, locus of control, and Ubuntu, this study explored how student nurses explain clinical success and setbacks and how these explanations influence leadership identity, accountability, and resilience. A qualitative interpretivist design was used. Seventeen third- and fourth-year student nurses from two South African nursing education institutions participated in in-depth face-to-face interviews. Data analysis used reflexive thematic analysis. Trustworthiness was established through member checking, reflexive journaling, triangulation, and audit trails. Two themes emerged: (1) psychological constructs in leadership identity formation, sub-themes: Internal locus of control and proactive leadership; external locus of control and leadership avoidance; reflective learning and Ubuntu as relational moderator; leadership as relational and identity-forming. (2) Contextual and emotional influences on attributional reasoning and leadership development, sub-themes: Transition from theory to practice; systematic and environmental barriers; emotional regulation and leadership self-efficacy; attributional resilience and leadership development across participant groups. Internal locus of control was associated with accountability, confidence, and proactive leadership behaviours, whereas external attributions contributed to anxiety, avoidance, and reduced self-efficacy. Ubuntu strengthened resilience, shared accountability, and relational leadership development. Attributional interpretations of control in clinical environments shape leadership identity. Integrating attributional awareness and Ubuntu-informed mentorship may enhance accountability, psychological preparedness, and resilient leadership development among student nurses.