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National Association of Colleges and Employers 2002. Job outlook 2000 – What employers want
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Osborne, E. W., Dyer, J. E. 2000. Attitudes of Illinois agriscience students and their parents toward agriculture and agricultural education programs.
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3, 50-59.
Raven, M. R., Barrick, R. K. 1992. The academic preparation of rural and non-rural students prior to enrollment in a College of Agriculture. Journal of
Agricultural Education, 33 2, 10-18.
Reisch, K. W. 1984. Recruiting and retention. The National Association of College Teachers of Agriculture Journal, 28
3, 27-31. Rutherford, T. A., Townsend, C. D., Briers, G. E., Cummins, R., Conrad, C. R.
2002. Leadership self-perceptions of WLC participants. Journal of Agricultural Education, 43
2, 22-33. Shertzer, J. E., Schuh, J. H. 2004. College student perceptions of leadership:
Empowering and constraining beliefs. National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Journal, 42
1, 111-131. Seemiller, C. 2006. Impacting social change through service learning in an
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van Linden, J. A., Fertman, C. I. 1998. Youth leadership: A guide to understanding leadership development in adolescents.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
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Biographies
John C. Ewing is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education at Pennsylvania State University. In this position, Dr. Ewing
provides leadership for the departmental teacher education program. He has research interests in experiential learning, teaching and learning and laboratory
instruction and management. Jacklyn A. Bruce is an Assistant Professor of Youth and Adult Leadership
Development at Pennsylvania State University in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education. In this position, Dr. Bruce provides
leadership for a variety of state level leadership development programming for the Pennsylvania 4-H program, maintains a rigorous research program in the area of
transfer of leadership training and skills, and an outreach program on working with teens for Pennsylvania’s 4-H Youth Development Extension Agents.
Kristina G. Ricketts is an Assistant Extension Professor of Leadership Development at the University of Kentucky, with an appointment of 75
Extension and 25 teaching. As an Extension Professor, Dr. Ricketts develops and presents effective leadership programming across the state to both Extension
personnel and community leaders. In addition, Dr. Ricketts is responsible for assisting with the departmental leadership major by teaching several courses.
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Predicting the Individual Values of the Social Change Model of Leadership Development: The Role of
College Students’ Leadership and Involvement
Experiences
Paige Haber Adjunct Lecturer
Department of Leadership Studies University of San Diego
San Diego, CA phabersandiego.edu
Susan R. Komives Professor
Counseling and Personnel Services University of Maryland
College Park, MD komivesumd.edu
Abstract
This study explored the extent to which co-curricular involvement, holding formal leadership roles, and participating in leadership programs contributed to female
and male college students’ capacity for socially responsible leadership. It focused specifically on the individual values of the Social Change Model of Leadership
Development. An adapted version of Astin’s Input-Environment-Outcome Model was the conceptual framework and the Social Change Model individual values
including consciousness of self, congruence, and commitment served as the theoretical framework. Data were collected from a random sample of 3,410
undergraduates at one institution through the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership. Participants completed a web-based survey including the Socially
Responsible Leadership Scale-Revised2. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression to identify the extent to which the environmental variables
contributed to outcomes. Involvement in student organizations was the most significant environmental variable and community involvement emerged as
significant for women. A discussion of findings and implications is presented.
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Introduction and Framework
As is reflected in institutional mission statements, many colleges and universities emphasize outcomes related to student leadership development and reaching
higher levels of developmental maturity in the area of leadership skills, knowledge, and competence Council for the Advancement of Standards in
Higher Education, 2006; Roberts Ullom, 1990. Leadership education has become increasingly more prominent nationally and globally, with many venues
to deliver leadership education and training Huber, 2002. The leadership development of college students has increasingly become a strong focus of
student affairs work, and the academic study of leadership has also become more prominent Komives, Dugan, Owen, Slack, Wagner, 2006; Roberts, 1997.
There are an infinite number of leadership definitions, and a review of scholarly literature demonstrates that there are a variety of competencies, skills, values, and
behaviors identified as key to leadership capacity. One of the key areas of leadership development, particularly found in leadership models developed for
college students, is a focus on self. More specifically, models tend to focus on an understanding of oneself, the ability to manage oneself, acting in accordance with
one’s values, being a person of character, developing a sense of purpose, and demonstrating commitment Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee, 2002; Higher
Education Research Institute, 1996; Komives, Lucas, McMahon, 2007; Shankman Allen, 2008. These areas of development also tend to be identified
as the foundational aspects of leadership; a strong sense of self contributes to one’s ability to understand others and work with others toward change, which
requires more complex developmental capacity Bennis, 1989; Goleman, et al.; Kegan, 1982; Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, Osteen, 2005. The
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education’s CAS Standards for Student Leadership Programs includes the category of personal
development
to capture some of these leadership areas focused on self CAS, 2006; these competencies are identified by CAS as an important component
college student leadership programs. College Student Leadership Development
Through examining literature and research on college students’ development of leadership outcomes, three environmental variables consistently emerged as
experiences contributing to the development of personal development aspects of leadership Astin 1993; Cooper, Healy Simpson, 1994; Dugan 2006b; Kezar
Moriarty, 2000; Pascarella Terenzini, 2005. These experiences include co- curricular involvement, holding formal leadership roles, and participating in
leadership training and education programs. Within the context of this study these terms are defined as:
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• Co-curricular involvement: A form of involvement that occurs outside of the classroom and contributes to designated learning and developmental
outcomes. The term co-curricular has been chosen to reflect a cooperative rather than a supplementary form of activity that includes organized
involvement in campus as well as community groups or organizations.
• Formal leadership role: A leadership position in a campus or community organization, such as a president, treasurer, co-chair, committee head, or
team captain. • Leadership training and education program: “Any program or activity
intentionally designed with the purpose of developing or enhancing the leadership skills, knowledge, or abilities of college students” Haber,
2006, p. 29. These programs can include the components of leadership training, education, and development through such means as seminars and
workshops, mentoring, guest speakers, service and volunteer placement, leadership courses, outdoor education, and conferences Zimmerman-
Oster Burkhardt, 1999.
Co-curricular Involvement and Formal Leadership Roles Co-curricular involvement was identified in Astin’s 1993 classic longitudinal
study as a significant variable for leadership as a personality and self-concept outcome. Of the eight significant involvement measures, five reflect aspects of
co-curricular involvement. Student-student interaction, which is often evident in student organizations or other student activities, had the strongest effect on
leadership. Student-faculty interaction, although not always characteristic of co- curricular involvement, can exist in organization advising or other out-of-class
involvement that includes faculty. Fraternitysorority membership, intramural sports, and volunteer work each emerged as significant and reflect different types
of co-curricular involvement. Additionally, student clubs and organizations, fraternity and sorority membership, and diversity activities, which reflect co-
curricular involvement, were significant variables contributing to growth in leadership abilities. Amount of time spent engaging in co-curricular involvement,
such as hours spent in student clubs or organizations, was also emphasized as positively contributing to the outcomes.
In a study examining men’s fraternity and student governance involvement, a common theme emerged that these experiences contributed to their leadership
skills and development of self Byer, 1998. These skills included public speaking, effective goal setting, goal accomplishment, goal reassessment, a
greater sense of responsibility, time management skills, interpersonal skills, and general leadership skills. In a three-year longitudinal study, Cooper et al. 1994
found similar findings in a study comparing students involved in student organizations to those who were not involved. The study found significant
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differences between the two groups. When controlling for input variables, the involved students scored higher on the sub-tasks of developing purpose F=36.3,
p.001, lifestyle planning F=21.04, p.001, and life management F-17.26, p.001. These outcomes reflect personal development aspects of leadership.
Cooper et al. 1994 also examined the experience of holding a leadership role by comparing leadership outcomes of those who held positional roles to those who
did not hold positional roles. The sub-tasks of developing purpose F=25.7, p.001, lifestyle planning F=10.33, p.05, and life management F=10.70,
p.01, which reflect personal development aspects of leadership, emerged as significant with those who held positions scoring significantly higher than those
who did not have formal positions. The researchers concluded “leadership roles appear to provide the opportunity to sustain and further develop developmental
skills” p. 101. Personal development outcomes of leadership were also identified in a qualitative
study of 15 female student leaders, each of who were presidents of coed, campus wide student organizations Romano, 1996. The women noted a number of
outcomes as a result of their leadership experiences. Some of these outcomes include developing public speaking, interpersonal communication skills, conflict
management skills, increased self-awareness, and increased self-confidence. Student Leadership Programs
In addition to co-curricular involvement and holding a formal leadership role, literature also focuses on the role of student leadership programs in developing
leadership outcomes. Student leadership programs continue to become important elements of institutions. In the early 2000s it was estimated that there were over
800 student leadership programs present on college campuses across the country Cress, Astin, Zimmerman-Oster, Burkhardt, 2001; DiPaolo, 2002. These
programs involve diverse pedagogical approaches to teaching leadership including a broad range of experiential learning opportunities. One study reports
the most frequent leadership program activities to be seminars, workshops, mentors, and guest speakers along with service and volunteerism Zimmerman
Burkhardt, 1999. The recent Handbook for Student Leadership Programs addresses an array of pedagogical practices and learning outcomes Komives, et
al., 2006. Research on 31 leadership programs funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation
report perceived student leadership learning growth in several areas of personal development: civic, social, and political awareness and efficacy 93 of
programs, commitment to service 85 of programs, communication skills 85 of programs, personal and social responsibility 79 of programs, self
esteem 74 of programs, vision 57 of programs, and ethics 44 of
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programs Zimmerman Burkhardt, 1999. Because of the nature of the perceived growth per institution and different forms of assessment utilized to
determine this growth, it is hard to draw strong conclusions. Directly addressing the outcomes of the program and students’ identification of
their outcomes as a result of participation, DiPaolo 2002 conducted in-depth interviews with six male participants in a five-day leadership education program.
The participants identified gaining a strong sense of values and core belief system through the leadership program. Similarly, a study of 12 students who participated
in a two-week outdoor leadership and stewardship course resulted in significant findings from a pre- and post-test of speech communication skills and character-
building skills Hobbs Spencer, 2002. Comparing Environmental Variables
Examining the influence of multiple environmental variables simultaneously could expand our understanding of how different experiences contribute to
different leadership outcomes. There is a lack of research that addresses concurrently the multiple environmental variables of student organization
involvement, holding a formal leadership role, and participation in student leadership programs. Cooper et al. 1994 and Astin 1993, highlighted above,
studied different experiences but did not examine them concurrently in order to draw comparisons.
Two additional studies examined multiple experiences simultaneously with some experiences emerging as more significant than others. The first study examined
the environmental variables of leadership classes, being elected to office, and active participation in student organizations for African American and Caucasian
men and women Kezar Moriarty, 2000. The significant environmental predictors of leadership ability differed by groups. For Caucasian men the
strongest predictor was enrollment in leadership courses
β=.13, for African American men it was participation in racial or cultural awareness workshops
β=.16, for Caucasian women it was taking leadership courses β=.13, and for African American women it was being elected to student office
β=.17. Overall, taking leadership courses was the experience that served as a positive predictor of
leadership ability for all four groups. Other significant predictors included student organization involvement, intramural sports, volunteer work, ROTC, serving as a
Resident Advisor, and membership in a sorority. A second study examined the influence of the involvement measures of
community service, positional leadership roles, student organization membership, and formal leadership programming on outcomes of the Social Change Model of
Leadership Dugan, 2006b; HERI, 1996. Three of the outcome measures reflect
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the individual values of the model consciousness of self, congruence, and commitment. For consciousness of self t=-2.56, p .05 and congruence t=-2.31,
p .05, community service was a significant variable with those involved in community service scoring significantly higher in both measures than those who
did not. For commitment, community service t=-2.87, p .05 and positional leadership roles t= -2.11, p .05 emerged as significant variables. The
environmental variables of student organization membership and formal leadership programming did not emerge as significant for these individual values
of the model. Additional research on the influence of multiple college environmental variables
can add to a greater understanding of how different experiences contribute to college students’ personal development aspects of leadership.
Theoretical Framework One limitation in the study of college student leadership development is the lack
of theoretical framework on how leadership is viewed in most studies. Although there are some studies based on Kouzes and Posner’s 2007 The Leadership
Challenge
using the Student Leadership Practices Inventory as a measure Binard Brungardt, 1997; Komives, 1994; Posner Brodsky, 1995, most studies are
not based on any leadership theory or framework Dugan, 2006a. The Social Change Model SCM HERI, 1996, which was used in Dugan’s
2006b study and serves as the foundation of the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership Dugan Komives, 2007, is a model of leadership development that
identifies three groups of leadership values individual, group, and communitysociety with a total of eight leadership values. The three outcomes in
the individual level of the model, which are the outcomes explored in this study, are consciousness of self, congruence, and commitment. The outcomes of
common purpose, collaboration, and controversy with civility exist at the group level and the outcome of citizenship comprises the communitysocietal level of
the model. The overall goal of the model is the eighth outcome, change. This approach to leadership is a purposeful, collaborative, values-based process that
results in positive social change HERI, 1996. The terms socially responsible leadership
have been adopted to describe the philosophy of leadership presented by the SCM Tyree, 1998.
SCM is regarded as the most widely used model of student leadership development in higher education. Indeed, “the social change model of leadership
development and seven Cs of social change have played a prominent role in shaping the curricula and formats of undergraduate leadership education
initiatives in colleges and universities throughout the country” Kezar, Carducci, Contreras-McGavin, 2006, p. 142. SCM has been used to frame a variety of
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co-curricular student leadership programs and has been used as a framework for leadership courses Haber, 2006; Martinez, 2006; Seemiller, 2006.
The individual level of the SCM serves as the theoretical frame of this research study. The Socially Responsible Leadership Scale SRLS was developed as a
way to measure the values and outcomes of the SCM Tyree, 1997, 2001. This model was chosen due to the context and focus of the research study; the model
was created specifically for college students, and it reflects the emerging paradigm of leadership as a relational, change-directed, learned, and
transformative process Rost, 1993. The individual level is explored in order to focus on some of the foundational aspects of leadership development. The
individual values of the model tend to be the most developed, resulting in higher means Ricketts, Bruce, Ewing, 2008; Dugan, 2006b. Through exploring these
values, the researchers attempted to provide insight to what experiences contribute to the development of these foundational values.
There are very few published research studies that use the SCM as a focus or theoretical frame. In addition to Dugan’s 2006b aforementioned study, the
SRLS was also used in comparing gender differences in SCM outcomes Dugan, 2006a and in a study examining the mean SRLS scores of students in a College
of Agricultural Sciences Ricketts et al., 2008. A revised version of the SRLS, the SRLS-R2, was used in a study exploring socially responsible leadership and
spirituality Gehrke, 2008. Considering the widespread use of the SCM, there is need for additional research on the SCM outcomes.
Purpose
This study sought to address gaps in current literature and add to the research on leadership development by examining experiences that contribute to students’
individual dimensions of leadership development. The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which co-curricular involvement, formal leadership roles,
and leadership education and training programs independently and collectively contribute to college students’ individual outcomes of socially responsible
leadership.
Methods and Procedures
Design Data for this study were obtained through the Multi-Institutional Study of
Leadership MSL, a quantitative national leadership study sponsored by the National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs and the University of Maryland.
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MSL was a national study with 52 participating institutions. This study uses the data from one participating campus.
This study was designed using Astin’s 1991 input-environment-outcome I-E-O college impact model. This conceptual framework was chosen because the
environmental variables are of the most interest in the study. By controlling for input characteristics, the I-E-O framework helps assess the extent to which the
environmental variables, as opposed to input characteristics, contribute to the leadership outcomes. This study included a modified version of the model. Data
were collected at one point in time so that participants retrospectively assessed inputs or pre-college variables at the time of this study rather than at a point in
time prior to college. This cross-sectional method varies from the longitudinal model that is
characteristic of the I-E-O model. Some research has shown that this “then-post” design of assessment can provide more accurate and significant change over time
than a true pre and post-test design wherein there may be a response shift bias in the assessment Rohs, 2002. Additionally, due to length restrictions, a quasi-pre-
test was used; only one question per outcome was included in the pre-test as opposed to the six to nine questions identified per construct. Despite this
deviation from the model, the pre-test measures used in the design of this study helped control for input characteristics when assessing the outcomes of the study.
The design of the study also differs from the I-E-O model in that it expands the environmental variables to include off-campus experiences, such as involvement
in community organizations, rather than just campus-based experiences. This allows for a greater understanding of environmental variables contributing to
students’ leadership outcomes. The independent and dependent variables of the study framed in the I-E-O model
are presented in Table 1. The variables include a variety of pre-college and college experiences including service, student organization involvement,
community involvement, holding leadership roles, and involvement in leadership training and education programs. This last category is broken into three types of
programs based on amount of time and intensity – short-term, moderate-term, and long-term experiences. Short-term experiences are individual or one-time
leadership lectures, workshops, or conferences; moderate-term experiences are multiple or ongoing trainings, retreats, and workshops or a single leadership
course; and, long-term experiences are multi-semester leadership programs, multiple leadership courses, such as through a leadership minor or major, or a
leadership living-learning program.
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Population and Sample Participants in the study were undergraduate students at a four-year, public
Research I institution in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The random sample size for the study was 3,410 students. The total number of usable partial
and complete responses in the study was 1,407. This reflected a 41 return rate. After the removal of some cases that were statistical outliers or were classified as
graduate student
or other for class standing, 1,206 participants were deemed usable.
Table 1 Input, Environment, and Outcome Measures of the Study
Inputs Environments
Outcomes
Race Ethnicity Class Standing
Pre-college Involvement • student clubs groups
• varsity sports • community organizations
Pre-college Formal Leadership Role
• student clubs groups sports
• community organizations Pre-college Leadership
Training • participation in training
SRLS-R2 Quasi-Pretest Measures
• questions that correspond to outcome measures
Involvement during college • college organization
• community organization
• breadth of involvement
Formal Leadership Role during college
• college organization • community
organization Leadership Training
Education during college • short-term
experience • moderate-term
experience • long-term experience
Consciousness of Self Congruence
Commitment
Instrumentation The instrument used in this study was the MSL instrument, which included the
SRLS-R2, demographic and pre-college variables, environmental variables, and the additional outcome variables such as leadership self-efficacy, cognitive
development, and diversity appreciation NCLP, 2006. The SRLS-R2 is a revised version of Tyree’s 1998 SRLS, which is a self-reporting instrument that
measures the eight constructs of the SCM with 68 items. Each of the three constructs in this study is comprised of six to nine items. Scale reliabilities ranged
from 0.78 to 0.81. A description of each variable, a sample item from the scale, number of questions in the scale, and Cronbach Alpha scores of reliability are
presented in Table 2.
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Data Collection and Analysis Participants’ self-reported data scores were collected between February 17 and
March 20, 2006 via a web survey. Participants were contacted via email to participate in the study and they were sent up to three email reminders inviting
them to join the study if they had not yet completed it. The email invitations included a link to the web survey and an individual code. When entered into the
survey the individual code was separated from the response so no identification could be made to link the responder with that response.
Table 2 SRLS-R2 Sample Questions and Scale Reliabilities
Construct Description
of Questions
Sample Question
Cronbach Alpha
Consciousness of Self
Being aware of the beliefs, values,
attitudes, and emotions that
motivate a person to take action
9 I can describe
how I am similar to other
people. 0.78
Congruence Thinking, feeling,
and behaving with consistency,
genuineness, authenticity, and
honesty toward others
7 My behaviors
are congruent with my beliefs.
0.80
Commitment Having the energy
that motivates an individual to serve
and drives the collective effort
6 I hold myself
accountable for responsibilities
I agree to. 0.81
Note: Descriptions from Designing an instrument to measure socially responsible leadership using the social change model of leadership development,
by T. M. Tyree, 1998, unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland, College
Park, MD. Modified hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted for each of the
three outcome measures for both men and women. Each regression included six to nine blocks of input, environmental, and outcome variables. For the first six
blocks in the regression, a number of input variables were entered as the first blocks of the analysis including pre-college involvement and pre-college
leadership positions. The input blocks were followed by and the quasi pre-test outcome measure and subsequently the environmental variables of co-curricular
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involvement, holding a formal leadership role, and participation in leadership training programs.
After the input variables were entered into the regression analysis, the hierarchical model was modified in that the remaining environmental variables were entered
through stepwise regression to explore which of the environmental variables contributed to the most variance in outcome scores. This method was chosen to
determine which of the environmental variables were significant for each outcome variable and the extent to which the input and environmental variables contributed
to the variance in outcome scores. This allowed for a clearer understanding of the effect of the environmental variables as well as practical implications. Using
multiple regression analyses in this study enabled the researchers to determine how much of the variance of the outcome scores are explained by the input and
environmental variables for each gender.
Results
A demographic description of the respondents of the study and the demographic characteristics of the random sample are presented in Table 3. In comparing the
respondent characteristics to that of the larger sample, women appeared to be slightly over represented. Additionally, seniors and juniors appeared to be over
represented while freshmen seemed to be slightly under represented. It is difficult to determine the comparison of the sample and respondents for the racial
breakdown because the current study utilized the variable of Multiracial and the institutional data for the sample did not. It does appear that White students are
slightly over represented in the respondent group, but it is difficult to make other conclusions because of the different categorization techniques. Bias weights were
not calculated for this analysis. The study examined to what extent co-curricular involvement, holding a formal
leadership role, and participating in leadership education and training programs independently and collectively contributed to undergraduate men and women
college students’ individual outcomes of socially responsible leadership. Findings on the significant environmental variables from each of the three outcomes are
presented below. The means and standard deviations of the environmental variables by gender are presented in Table 4, and outcome scores by gender are
presented in Table 5.
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Table 3 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
Respondent Demographics N=1206
Sample Demographics N=3410
Female 686 56.9
1690 49.6 Male
520 43.1 1720 50.4
White Caucasian 774 61.7
1972 57.8 Black African
American 108 9.0
439 12.9 Asian American
Pacific Islander 168 13.9
477 14.0 Latino Hispanic
45 3.7 212 6.2
Multiracial Multiethnic 107 8.9 na
Other Not Reported 34 2.8
300 8.8 American Indian
included in other not rep 10 0.3
Freshman 205 17
732 21.5 Sophomore
285 23.6 851 25.0
Junior 355 29.4
863 25.3 Senior
361 29.9 920 27.0
Post Bachelor not included
44 1.3 Average Age
20.56 SD=2.74
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Table 4 Mean and Standard Deviations of Environmental Measures by Gender
Total Female
Male
Involvement- Student Organizations
a
3.00 1.35 3.09 1.35
2.88 1.34
Involvement- Community
Organizations
a
1.82 1.20 1.80 1.19
1.85 1.23
Breadth of Involvement
b
3.11 2.60 3.07 2.42
3.15 2.83
Leadership Role- Student Organizations
a
1.99 1.37 2.00 1.39
1.98 1.34
Leadership Role- Community
Organizations
a
1.51 1.03 1.48 1.00
1.56 1.08
Short-term Leadership Education Training
c
1.91 0.94 1.93 0.95
1.88 0.93
Moderate-term Leadership Education
Training
c
1.60 0.86 1.61 0.87
1.58 0.86
Long-term Leadership Education Training
c
1.43 0.86 1.43 0.87
1.42 0.85
a: Scale range is 1-5 never to much of the time b: Total number of different kinds of student groups involved in, ranging from 0-21
c: Scale range is 1-4 never to many
Table 5 Mean and Standard Deviations of Outcome Measures by Gender
Consciousness of Self
Congruence Commitment
Total 3.91 0.51
4.14 0.46 4.21 0.46
Female 3.93 0.49
4.17 0.43 4.24 0.43
Male 3.89 0.54
4.10 0.50 4.16 0.50
Note: Response choices range from strongly disagree 1 to strongly agree 5
Consciousness of Self For the outcome of consciousness of self, multiple regression analysis explained
33.7 of the variance of women’s scores and 24.5 of the variance in men’s scores see Table 6. For women, the first six blocks of input variables entered
into the regression analysis using hierarchical multiple regression, that emerged as significant p 0.05 were race, class standing, pre-college involvement, pre-
college formal leadership role, pre-college leadership training, and the
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consciousness of self pretest measure. The block of pre-college involvement was negatively related to the outcome because each of the variables student
organizations, varsity sports, and community organizations had negative beta scores. The first six blocks of the regression accounted for 29.7 of the variance
for this outcome measure with the pre-test for consciousness of self adding the most variance 19.4 when it was entered into the regression as the fifth block.
The variables entered into the regression after block six through stepwise multiple regression that emerged as significant p 0.05 were in order of amount of
additional variance explained R
2
Change, involvement in student organizations, involvement in community organizations, and holding a leadership role in student
organizations. These environmental measures combined explained 4 more of the total variance for the outcome. The other variables that were entered into the
stepwise regression were not found to be significant and were therefore rejected from the model.
For men, the blocks of class standing, pre-college involvement, pre-college leadership role, pre-college leadership training, and the pre-test for consciousness
of self emerged as significant predictors p 0.05. The block of pre-college involvement was negatively related to the outcome, as each of the variables
including student organizations, varsity sports, and community organizations had negative beta scores. Within the block of pre-college formal leadership role,
leadership role in a student organization emerged as a significant variable. The total variance explained after the first six blocks of the regression was 23.2. The
pre-test for consciousness of self added the most variance 9.8 when it was entered into the regression as the fifth block. The only environmental variable that
emerged as significant through stepwise multiple regression was involvement in student organizations which added 1.3 to the total R-square value. The other
variables that were entered into the stepwise regression were not found to be significant and were therefore rejected from the model.
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Table 6 Predictors of Consciousness of Self for Women and Men
Women Men
B β
Sig B
β Sig
1. Race White Caucasian
0.084 0.080
0.151 0.135
Black African American 0.050
0.037 0.115
0.057 Asian American Pacific Islander
- 0.109
-0.078 0.087
0.055 Latino Hispanic
0.127 0.053
0.118 0.037
Multiracial Multiethnic 0.001
0.000 0.202
0.109 Referent Category: Other Not
Reported R
2
Change 0.023
0.012 New R
2
0.023 0.012
F Change 3.229
1.217 2. Class Standing
Class Standing 0.030
0.066 0.080
0.157 R
2
Change 0.090
0.022 New R
2
0.032 0.034
F Change 6.003
11.564 3. Pre-College Involvement
Student Organization -
0.009 -0.018
- 0.005
-0.010 Varsity Sports
- 0.002
-0.006 -
0.019 -0.044
Community Organizations -
0.005 -0.011
- 0.011
-0.021 R
2
Change 0.034
0.056 New R
2
0.066 0.090
F Change 8.158
10.476 4. Pre-College Formal Leadership Role
Student Organization 0.016
0.766 0.090
0.176 Community Organization
- 0.009
-0.389 -
0.002 -0.003
R
2
Change 0.014
0.032 New R
2
0.080 0.122
F Change 5.245
9.238 5. Pre-College Leadership Training
Pre-College Leadership Training 0.066
0.131 0.041
0.070 R
2
Change 0.087
0.012 New R
2
0.103 0.134
F Change 16. 886
6.940
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Table 6 continued
Congruence
For the outcome of congruence, multiple regression analysis explained 24.8 of the variance of women’s scores and 19.3 of the variance in men’s scores see
Table 7. For women, the first six blocks of input variables, which were entered into the regression analysis using hierarchical multiple regression, that emerged as
6. SRLS Pretest Measure Pretest for Consciousness of Self
0.194 0.465
0.166 0.340
R
2
Change 0.194
0.098 New R
2
0.297 0.232
F Change 185.410
64.586 7. Student Organization Involvement
Involvement in Student Organizations 0.042
0.114 0.051
0.128 R
2
Change 0.028
0.013 New R
2
0.325 0.245
F Change 27.654
8.800 8. Community Organization Involvement
Involvement in Community Organizations
0.042 0.102
R
2
Change 0.008
New R
2
0.333 F Change
7.897 9. Student Organization Leadership Role
Leadership Role- Student Organization 0.031
0.088 R
2
Change 0.004
New R
2
0.337 F Change
3.949 Total R
2
Total F 0.337
21.179 0.245
11.688 p .05 p .01 p .001
Note: After Block 6 variables were entered using stepwise regression. Those included after Block 6 significantly contributed to the variance.
Women: Men:
Total Breadth of activities Involvement Community Organizations
Leadership Role- Community Organization Total Breadth of activities
Short Term Training Education Leadership Role- Student Organization
Moderate Term Training Education Leadership Role- Community Organization
Long Term Training Education Short Term Training Education
Moderate Term Training Education Long Term Training Education
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significant p 0.05 for women were race, class standing, pre-college involvement, pre-college formal leadership role, pre-college leadership training,
and the congruence pretest measure. The blocks of pre-college involvement and pre-college formal leadership role did not significantly contribute to the outcome
variable. The first six blocks of the regression accounted for 22.5 of the variance for this outcome measure, with the pre-test for congruence adding the
most variance 11.3 when it was entered into the regression as the fifth block. The only variable entered into the regression after block six through stepwise
multiple regression that emerged as significant p 0.05 was involvement in student organizations which added 2.3 to the total variance explained by the
analysis. The other variables that were entered into the stepwise regression were not found to be significant and were therefore rejected from the model.
For men, the blocks of class standing, pre-college involvement, pre-college leadership role, and the pretest for congruence emerged as significant predictors
p 0.05. The block of pre-college involvement contained variables that demonstrated both positive varsity sports and negative student organization and
community organization involvement relationships with the outcome measure. The pre-test for congruence added the most variance 11.0 when it was entered
into the regression as the fifth block. None of the environmental variables were found to be significant and therefore were rejected from the regression analysis.
The total R-square value for the regression was 19.3.
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Table 7 Predictors of Congruence for Women and Men
Women Men
B β
Sig B
β Sig
1. Race White Caucasian
-0.089 -0.102
-0.017 -0.016
Black African American -0.061
-0.043 -0.082
-0.044 Asian American Pacific Islander
-0.188 -0.156
0.029 0.020
Latino Hispanic 0.024
0.012 -0.157
-0.053 Multiracial Multiethnic
-0.066 -0.043
0.006 0.003
Referent Category: Other Not Reported
R
2
Change 0.020
0.001 New R
2
0.020 0.001
F Change 2.786
0.143 2. Class Standing
Class Standing 0.038
0.097 0.072
0.155 R
2
Change 0.005
0.019 New R
2
0.025 0.020
F Change 3.424
9.754 3. Pre-College Involvement
Student Organization -0.017
-0.037 -0.007
-0.013 Varsity Sports
-0.003 -0.008
0.007 0.017
Community Organizations 0.039
0.098 -0.009
-0.019 R
2
Change 0.048
0.030 New R
2
0.073 0.050
F Change 11.660
5.357 4. Pre-College Formal Leadership Role
Student Organization 0.024
0.061 0.065
0.138 Community Organization
-0.012 -0.027
0.001 0.002
R
2
Change 0.010
0.027 New R
2
0.083 0.077
F Change 3.829
7.360 5. Pre-College Leadership Training
Pre-College Leadership Training 0.044
0.100 0.024
0.045 R
2
Change 0.009
0.005 New R
2
0.092 0.082
F Change 6.467
2.884
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Table 7 continued
Commitment
For the outcome of commitment, multiple regression analysis explained 25.4 of the variance of women’s scores and 29.9 of the variance in men’s scores see
Table 8. For women, the first six blocks of input variables that emerged as significant p 0.05 for women were pre-college involvement, pre-college formal
leadership role, pre-college leadership training, and the commitment pre-test measure. Although its block was not significant, the variable of class standing
emerged as significant. The first six blocks of the regression accounted for 22.4 of the variance for this outcome measure with the pre-test for commitment adding
the most variance 12.9 when it was entered into the regression as the fifth block. The variables entered into the regression after block six through stepwise
multiple regression that emerged as significant p 0.05 were, in order of amount of additional variance explained R
2
Change, involvement in student
6. SRLS Pretest Measure Pretest for Consciousness of Self
0.199 0.366
0.207 0.349
R
2
Change 0.113
0.110 New R
2
0.225 0.193
F Change 114.957
68.856 7. Student Organization Involvement
Involvement in Student Organizations 0.052
0.163 R
2
Change 0.023
New R
2
0.248 F Change
20.765 Total R
2
Total F 0.248
15.808 0.193
9.245
p .05 p .01 p .001
Note: After Block 6 variables were entered using stepwise regression. Those included after Block 6 significantly contributed to the variance.
Women: Men:
Involvement Community Organizations Involvement Student Organization
Total Breadth of activities Involvement Community Organizations
Leadership Role- Student Organization Total Breadth of activities
Leadership Role- Community Organization Leadership Role- Student Organization
Short Term Training Education Leadership Role- Community
Organization
Moderate Term Training Education Short Term Training Education
Long Term Training Education Moderate Term Training Education
Long Term Training Education
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organizations, and holding a leadership role in community organizations. These environmental measures combined explained 2.45 more of the total variance for
the outcome. The other variables that were entered into the stepwise regression were not found to be significant and therefore rejected from the model.
For men, the blocks of class standing, pre-college involvement, pre-college leadership role, pre-college leadership training, and the pre-test for commitment
emerged as significant predictors p 0.05. Within the block of pre-college formal leadership role, leadership role in a student organization emerged as a
significant variable. The total variance explained after the first six blocks of the regression was 28.3. The pre-test for commitment added the most variance
18.3 when it was entered into the regression as the fifth block. The environmental variables that emerged as significant through stepwise multiple
regression and accounting for 1.6 additional variance were involvement in student organizations and breadth of student involvement, with breadth having a
negative relationship with the outcome of commitment. Breadth refers to the number of types of student organizations the students has belonged to during
college. The other variables that were entered into the stepwise regression were not found to be significant and were therefore rejected from the model.
The six regression analyses explained at most 33.7 of the variance in outcome scores and low as 19.3 of total variance. Much of the variance came from input
variables, particularly the outcome quasi pre-tests, and little variance came from the environmental variables. Involvement in student organizations emerged as a
significant environmental variable for each outcome for men and women with the exception of congruence for men. Some of the environmental variables were
significant for some outcome measures while others did not emerge as significant for any of the measures. A summary of the significant variables by each outcome
for men and women are presented in Table 9. These findings are discussed in the next section. Although some environmental variables emerged as significant, they
contributed to only a small amount of variance for each of the outcomes for both women and men.
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Table 8 Predictors of Commitment of Self for Women and Men
Women Men
B β
Sig B
β Sig
1. Race White Caucasian
0.030 0.034
0.184 0.177
Black African American -0.020
-0.014 0.225
0.119 Asian American Pacific Islander
-0.077 -0.062
0.092 0.063
Latino Hispanic 0.124
0.059 0.146
0.049 Multiracial Multiethnic
0.032 0.020
0.216 0.125
Referent Category: Other Not Reported
R
2
Change 0.016
0.018 New R
2
0.016 0.018
F Change 2.217
1.861 2. Class Standing
Class Standing 0.030
0.075 0.053
0.111 R
2
Change 0.003
0.013 New R
2
0.019 0.031
F Change 2.360
6.892 3. Pre-College Involvement
Student Organization -0.007
-0.015 -0.008
-0.016 Varsity Sports
0.006 0.017
0.004 0.009
Community Organizations 0.023
0.059 -0.031
-0.063 R
2
Change 0.055
0.039 New R
2
0.074 0.070
F Change 13.343
7.135 4. Pre-College Formal Leadership Role
Student Organization 0.018
0.046 0.068
0.142 Community Organization
-0.006 -0.013
0.012 0.021
R
2
Change 0.011
0.023 New R
2
0.086 0.093
F Change 4.180
6.274 5. Pre-College Leadership Training
Pre-College Leadership Training 0.034
0.077 0.040
0.074 R
2
Change 0.010
0.008 New R
2
0.095 0.101
F Change 7.226
4.465
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Table 8 continued
6. SRLS Pretest Measure Pretest for Consciousness of Self
0.225 0.376
0.295 0.427
R
2
Change 0.129
0.183 New R
2
0.224 0.283
F Change 111.554
128.377 7. Student Organization Involvement
Involvement in Student Organizations 0.050
0.155 0.055
0.148 R
2
Change 0.024
0.009 New R
2
0.248 0.292
F Change 21.302
6.469 8. Community Organization Involvement
Involvement in Community Organizations
0.035 0.081
- 0.017
-0.096 R
2
Change 0.005
0.007 New R
2
0.254 0.299
F Change 4.929
4.922 Total R
2
Total F 0.254
15.169 0.299
14.283 p .05 p .01 p .001
Note: After Block 6 variables were entered using stepwise regression. Those included after Block 6 significantly contributed to the variance.
Women: Men:
Involvement Community Organizations Involvement Community Organizations
Total Breadth of activities Leadership Role- Student Organization
Leadership Role- Student Organization Leadership Role- Community Organization
Short Term Training Education Short Term Training Education
Moderate Term Training Education Moderate Term Training Education
Long Term Training Education Long Term Training Education
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Table 9 Summary of Significant Input and Environmental Variables by Outcome
Cons of Self Congruence
Commitment F
M F
M F
M
Block 1 Race Block
X X
Block 2 Class Standing Block
X X
X X
X Block 3
Pre-Col Inv Block X
X X
X X
X Pre-Col Student Org
Pre-Col Varsity Sport Pre-Col Community
Organization X
Block 4 Pre-Col Leader Role Block
X X
X X
X X
Pre-Col Student Leadership Role
X X
X Pre-Col Community
Leadership Role Block 5
Pre-Col Training Block X
X X
X Block 6
SRLS Pretest Block X
X X
X X
X Stepwise
Blocks Involvement Student Orgs
X X
X X
X Involvement in Community
Orgs X
Breadth of Involvement X
College Leadership Role X
Community Leadership Role X
Short-Term Training Moderate-Term Training
Long-Term Training
Total R
2
.337 .245
.248 .193
.254 .299
Note: X = Significant with a positive relationship; X = Significant with a negative relationship; for a block, all variables within the block must be negative
to have this notation. Some blocks that are not noted as negative may contain some negative variables, but not all
Discussion, Implications, and Future Research
Discussion of Findings The small amount of total variance for both men and women explained by the
environmental variables in the study demonstrates that college environmental variables do not contribute substantially to development the individual values of
socially responsible leadership. Because the individual values of leadership tend to be the more foundational leadership capacities Bennis, 1989; Goleman, et al.;
Kegan, 1982; Komives, et al., 2005, it could be that these values are a more stable part of self that do not experience much change. This is demonstrated in the
outcome scores and amount of variance explained. The environmental variables
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of the study were stronger predictors for consciousness of self, which had the lowest mean scores, than for commitment, which had the highest mean scores of
the three outcomes. This low amount of variance explained tended to be more salient for men. For two
of the three outcomes, consciousness of self and congruence, the regression explained more of the variance for women than for men, suggesting that the
predictors used in the regression were more relevant for women than men. This could be because women may be more intentional about their leadership
development and may seek out opportunities to develop their leadership skills. Guido-DiBrito and Batchelor 1988 discuss that some leadership opportunities
may not be as accessible to women as they are to men and emphasize the importance of women seeking out leadership positions and the need to encourage
female student to reach their full potential in leadership-enhancing environments. A salient finding was involvement in student organizations being the
environmental variable explaining the most variance in outcome measures for each outcome with the exception of congruence for men. This reflects Astin’s
1993 finding that for the outcome measure of leadership, student-student interaction, student-faculty interaction, fraternitysorority membership, intramural
sports, and volunteer work, which can all be aspects of student organization involvement, were found as significant experiences. It also reflects Astin’s
conclusion that student clubs and organizations and fraternity and sorority membership positively influenced growth in leadership abilities.
Involvement in student organizations as a key experience is also consistent with Byer’s 1988 finding that student organization involvement contributes to a
greater sense of responsibility which reflects commitment. It is also consistent with Cooper’s 1994 and his colleagues study which indicated that those students
who were involved in student organizations in comparison with those who were not demonstrated higher scores in leadership outcomes including developing
purpose. This reflects the outcome measures of commitment and consciousness of self. Interestingly, this overall finding of student organization involvement is not
in line with Dugan’s 2006b study which resulted in student organization membership not contributing to any of the three outcomes. This contradiction
could reflect different ways in which involvement in student organizations was measured or campus context differences and can be further explored in future
research. Holding a formal leadership role in a college organization was significant for
women’s consciousness of self. Increased self-awareness and increased self- esteem, which reflects consciousness of self, were significant outcomes from
Romano’s 1996 study of female students holding formal leadership roles. Dugan 2006b also identified formal leadership roles as a significant variable but instead
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for commitment. Similarly, another study identified holding a leadership role as significant for White men’s, White women’s, and Black women’s leadership
ability Kezar, 2000. The finding from the current study that holding a formal leadership role is a significant experience for women reflects findings from other
studies and could indicate that experiential opportunities such as engaging in a leadership role can help students learn more about themselves as individuals.
Short, moderate, and long-term leadership training and education experiences did not emerge as significant experiences for any of the outcome measures, thereby
indicating that the programs do not significantly contribute to the individual values of the model for men or women. This is not consistent with other studies
on leadership training programs that identify a number of different leadership outcomes as a result of participation in such programs Cress et al., 2001;
DiPaolo, 2002; Zimmerman Burkhardt, 1999 and Kezar Moriarty’s 2000 finding that leadership courses were the most significant experience predicting
leadership ability. However, some of these studies did not focus specifically on individual aspects of leadership.
When examining the extent to which leadership training and education experiences contribute to the outcome scores in the current study, a pattern
emerged that each of the environmental variables had low means and low standard deviations see Table 5, indicating that the participants in the study had
very little experience with these programs. This pattern reflected scores that are not normally distributed; these low participant numbers could help explain the
lack of or low significance of the relationships. Although there were some significant findings, the way in which this form of involvement was measured and
the low means could have prevented other significant findings from emerging. In addition to this limitation, it is important to note that many of the leadership
training and education experiences may not emphasize the individual values of socially responsible leadership. It could be that if those experiences were more
intentionally focused on encompassing such values, the environmental variables of leadership education and training would be more significant.
Involvement in community organizations was a significant variable for women’s consciousness of self, and holding a leadership role in a community organization
was a significant predictor for women’s commitment. This reflects the role of community involvement and leadership on women’s individual aspects of socially
responsible leadership. Community involvement and community leadership roles were not significant for men. Community service can be included in the variable
of community involvement, and has been noted in other studies as a variable that is significant in students’ leadership development Dugan, 2006b; Vari, 2005.
Another explanation of this finding can relate to the more community or group- oriented, also referred to as relational and transformational, leadership practices of
women as compared to men Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, van Engen, 2003;
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Eagly, Karau, Makhijani, 1995; Romano, 1996; Vari, 2005. The nature of community involvement as depicted in this study emphasized group experiences,
such as religious groups, community service organizations, and PTA. The nature of group involvement may be a more significant experience for women than men
as it relates to transformational or relational leadership. While involvement in student organizations emerged as a significant experience
for men across the three outcomes, breadth of involvement, which was measured by the number of type of organizations in which one was involved, was negatively
related to the outcome of commitment for men. This makes logical sense in that the larger the number of types of involvements, the less commitment a participant
can devote to a particular organization. One of the original items of the SRLS Tyree, 1998 was “I find myself involved in many different things,” which is an
item that was reverse scored for the outcome of commitment. Although not included in SRLS-R2 in order to reduce the length of the survey, this item reflects
that involvement in many different areas, such as many different types of organizations, is negatively related to commitment. Additional research on why
this variable was only significant for men and not for women would be interesting to further explore. It may, for example, relate to the types of organizations that
men may be more likely to be involved with than women. Short-term, moderate-term, and long-term leadership training and education
programs did not significantly contribute to the outcomes of this study. This is consistent with Dugan’s 2006b finding that formal leadership programming was
not a significant variable for the individual values of the SCM. It would be worth exploring who this may be the case; perhaps students who opt into leadership
training and education programs have already developed a strong sense of the individual values of this model, perhaps instead developing some of the group or
community values of the model. Limitations
One limitation of the study is that women, White students, and upperclassmen were slightly over represented among the responders. The findings could be more
heavily reflective of these populations. The study also does not include all possible variables that could influence the outcomes of the study. For example,
the I-E-O design does not take into account personal characteristics such as personality, which could also play a key role in these outcomes. Additionally, the
design only includes select environmental variables as opposed to all variables thought to contribute to the variance. There could be other key environmental
variables contributing to the outcomes, and the environmental variables in this study could therefore be over emphasized since other environmental variables,
which could have explained some of the variance, were not entered into the regression model.
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It should also be noted that some of the environmental items in the instrument, such as the different types of leadership programs, could have been unclear or
unfamiliar for respondents especially those who may not have much experience in those areas. Since the survey responses were self-reported there could be some
error. For example, perceptions of a high level of involvement for one participant in the study may look very different from another participant’s idea of a high level
of involvement. Similarly, although the leadership education and training programs were defined in the instrument as differentiated by program length and
intensity short, moderate, and long-term, the characteristics and components of the programs could be unclear. Additionally, as was mentioned in the results, the
low mean scores of these variables are a limitation in the regression design because the scores are not normally distributed which could affect the regression
analyses outputs. Additional research should examine more intently these environmental variables, perhaps with a sample made up of students who have
experienced a range of different types and intensities of involvement. Last, it is important to note that these findings are from a single campus and may not be
generalizable to different campus contexts. Implications for Practice
The finding of involvement in student organizations being a consistently significant environmental variable with the exception of congruence for men
supports developing and encouraging student involvement opportunities such as student organizations, living learning programs, and other experiences that
include a group or team context.
The influence of community organization involvement and holding a formal role in a community organization on women is also worth addressing. This finding
supports student affairs practitioners and faculty promoting experiences in the larger community off campus. Programs and services such as service learning
experiences and internships can help promote community involvement. Expanding these intentional connections to the larger community, or perhaps even
globally, can further enhance the leadership development of women students. The finding that leadership training and education programs were not significant
predictors of the outcomes warrants the examination of components and learning outcomes of leadership programs. Perhaps the individual values of the SCM
included in this study are not being addressed appropriately, or as was previously suggested, perhaps the students who choose to be involved in such programs
already have a strong sense of the individual values and will develop other values through the involvement. If the individual values of the SCM are key learning
outcomes of a leadership program, leadership educators may want to consider
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identifying other opportunities, perhaps by requiring student organization involvement, to better address these intended values.
Findings from this study suggest that colleges should consider providing a variety of opportunities for students to gain experiences on campus and in the larger
community. As was found in this study, different experiences can significantly contribute to the different outcomes for men and women, suggesting that different
opportunities should be available. Additionally, universities should continue to support co-curricular involvement through supporting student organizations with
ample resources. Student affairs practitioners and leadership educators should not only help provide these opportunities, but also be proactive in promoting them.
Future Research Building from the findings of this study, there are some suggested areas for
further research. A more in-depth examination of the environmental variables in this study and examination of other environmental variables such as mentoring
relationships, living on campus, or service learning would contribute to a great understanding of college environments and the role they play in contributing to
socially responsible leadership outcomes. For example, this study warrants additional research in characteristics of student organization involvement and
types or characteristics of student organizations that contribute to the leadership outcomes.
This research is perhaps the first I-E-O design that includes off-campus and community involvement. Since involvement in community organizations and
holding a leadership role in a community organization were significant variables for female participants, this is an area that is worth exploring when studying
college student involvement. The modified I-E-O design used in this study facilitates such exploration.
Last, to better understand the role of the environmental variables in this study on the leadership outcomes, it may be helpful to conduct longitudinal research to
explore the effect of different college environmental factors and leadership outcome measures over time. For example, it could be helpful to understand
which of the experiences provide more opportunity for development and growth over time or which outcomes show more change over time due to different
experiences. This could help provide a more in-depth examination of the experiences and the role they play in developing socially responsible leadership.
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Conclusion
As colleges and universities continue to emphasize the importance of leadership development of college student and as the need for assessment and accountability
grows CAS, 2006: Roberts Ullom, 1990, there is a great need to understand students’ leadership development and the experiences that contribute to the
outcomes of leadership development. The current study examined the ways in which co-curricular involvement, holding a formal leadership role, and
participation leadership training and education programs contribute to college men and women’s leadership outcomes specifically on the individual values of
the SCM. Involvement in student organizations appears to be a key experience in developing the individual values of leadership and community involvement
appeared important for college women. Engaging with peers and others in organizational settings provides an opportunity to examine self in the context of
others and promotes self development. An understanding of self, commitment to one’s work and values, and congruence
and authenticity help provide the foundation from which leadership for social change can take place HERI, 1996. This study helped provide insight into this
topic, and future research will continue to contribute to the development of college students and the greater society.
Leadership Reconsidered,
a report focusing on higher education and social change, states that “a major problem with contemporary civic life in America is
that too few of our citizens are actively engaged in efforts to effect positive social change” cited in Astin Astin, 2000, p. 2. It is the role of leadership educators
to help provide opportunities for, develop, and empower students to engage in and be effective in leadership contributing to positive social change.
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Biographies
Paige Haber is an Instructor for the undergraduate Leadership Minor at the University of San Diego where she is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies.
Paige was an original member of the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership and is author of the chapter “Structure, Design, and Models of Student Leadership
Programs” in The Handbook for Student Leadership Programs. She is faculty for The LeaderShape Institute and is involved with college student leadership
initiatives through College Student Educators International ACPA and the International Leadership Association.
Susan R. Komives is a Professor of College Student Personnel in the Counseling and Personnel Services Department at the University of Maryland. Co-founder of
the National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs, she is co-principal investigator of the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership. Susan has authored
and edited many books including Exploring Leadership: For College Students Who Want to Make a Difference
and The Handbook for Student Leadership Programs.
She was also a member of the ensemble that developed the Social Change Model of Leadership.
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Evaluating a College Leadership Course: What do Students Learn in a Leadership Course with a Service-
Learning Component and How Deeply do They Learn It?
Valerie I. Sessa Associate Professor
Dickson Hall Room 237 Montclair State University
Montclair, New Jersey sessavmail.montclair.edu
Cristina Matos Metrus Group
Courtney A. Hopkins Montclair State University
Montclair, New Jersey A previous version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the
Academy of Management, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thank you to Heather Brown, Andrea Scaramelli, and Erin McKinney-Props for their assistance in
coding along with a special thanks to Dr. Patti Clayton for her guidance in training our Subject Matter Experts as well as her comments on a previous
version of this article.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate final projects in a freshman leadership course combining grounding in leadership theories with a service-learning
component to determine what students learned about leadership, themselves as developing leaders, and leading in the civic community, and how deeply they
learned these concepts. Students found situational leadership theories, team leadership theories, and leadership principles Drath, 2001 most relevant to their
experiences. Personally, students learned about themselves as individuals, leaders, team members, and community members. Civically, students learned how to
apply leadership theories, work in teams, and about the community as a system. In terms of depth of learning, based on Bloom’s 1956 taxonomy, students were
able to identify, describe, and apply concepts and to some extent analyze and synthesize them. These findings suggest that using service learning to help
students learn about both the theory and practice of leadership is a viable alternative.
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Introduction and Purpose
Today’s organizations are seeking college graduates with leadership skills and are finding the students deficient Casper-Lott Barrington, 2006. Those in higher
education are beginning to realize that their institutions are now expected to play a major role in shaping the future of leadership development in today’s society.
Colleges and universities across the nation have responded to this realization by providing their students with leadership courses designed to develop in varying
degrees students’ formal knowledge about leadership, as well as to develop the students as leaders. These leadership courses are growing in popularity.
Numerous colleges and universities across the nation are offering courses for credit, and curricular and co-curricular programs on leadership. In particular,
leadership courses are now part of nearly every business school’s curriculum in the country Doha, 2003.
The proliferation of these courses at the undergraduate level presumes that colleges and universities are well equipped to undertake the mission of providing
training and education in leadership Doh, 2003. However, there has been little rigorous evaluation to date of available leadership courses to determine their
effectiveness, particularly in terms of what students are learning about leadership and how deeply they are learning leadership. The purpose of this study is to begin
filling this gap by evaluating learnings in a freshman leadership course that utilizes a service-learning pedagogy. Our hope is that as faculty begins to evaluate
their own curricula in this area and communicate their findings, universities can develop or improve their own leadership development courses and programs,
students can be assured that they are receiving quality leadership development, and organizations can begin meeting their needs. This call is shared with other
faculty who are beginning to evaluate and communicate information on their own leadership development courses using a variety of different pedagogies see
Blackwell, Cummins, Townsend, Cummings, 2007; Barbuto, 2006; Goethe Moore, 2005; Stedman, Rutherford, Roberts, 2006.
To carry out our evaluation, we posed two research questions. First, what do students say they are learning in our leadership course utilizing service-learning in
terms of formal theories of leadership, about themselves as developing leaders, and about leading in the civic arena? Such information would help us and other
instructors using service-learning pedagogy in their courses on leadership to gain a better understanding of the types of learnings in which students are actually
engaging. Second, how deeply are they learning these concepts Biggs, 1999; Bloom, 1956; Rams den, 1992? When examining depth of learning, we were
interested in determining the extent to which students could critically analyze the leadership ideas to which they were being exposed, and whether they could link
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learning’s to themselves and to real life observations and practices and link their observations and practices back to the theoretical learnings. This information
would help us and other instructors begin to critically assess the merit of service- learning pedagogy to teach leadership as well as give us tools for deepening
student learning.
Using Service-Learning to Help Students Learn about Leadership
Because the course we are evaluating uses service-learning as one of the main pedagogies for helping students learn about leadership theory and its application,
we begin by describing why we used service-learning. In learning about leadership theory, students are faced with a large, historical, and
confusing body of both academic and pop literatures that illustrates the complexity of study, practice, and understanding of leadership. To date, no single
theory has been able to fully capture the essence of leadership, and many available theories are disparate or even contradictory Mello, 2003. For example,
theories have focused on the presumed leader’s traits, skills, and behaviors; on the interplay between the leader and the follower; and, most recently on what is
accomplished rather than who is actually “doing” the leadership Drath, 2001. One way for students to grasp and interpret the complexity of leadership, as well
as draw from it in such a way as to help them develop as leaders, is to expose students to experiences that allow them to learn about theories, try the theories out
or observe them in real life settings, and reflect on the interplay between formal theory and their own practice; in particular, what are they learning about
leadership, what are they learning about themselves as leaders, and what are they learning about practicing leadership in the civic arena. An alternative for allowing
students to do this is through an academic service-learning course. However, there is currently little available information regarding the impact of academic service-
learning on learning outcomes on leadership. Service-learning, which combines academic study with community service, has
been growing dramatically in popularity Campus Compact, 2003. In service- learning courses. students’ community service experiences are compatible with
and seamlessly integrated into the academic learning objectives of the course, in a manner similar to traditional course requirements Howard, 1998. What service-
learning brings to the traditional classroom, one typically based on abstract conceptualization of theoretical concepts and models, is experiential learning
concrete experiences with the real world and reflection observation of own and other’s experiences that tie together abstract conceptualization and concrete
experience Kolb, 1984. That is, student’s observations and experiences in the community and reflections about their experiences are a medium for students to
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learn and demonstrate their knowledge and are as pivotal to the student’s academic learning as class lectures, library research, writing research papers, and
taking exams. There is a growing body of research demonstrating that service-learning
contributes to the civic, personal, and academic development of students see Madsen, 2006, for a brief review. In terms of civic development, students
participating in service-learning demonstrate increased political awareness, community engagement and civic action, social justice attitudes, and intentions to
participate in future community service see McCarthy Tucker, 2002; Moely, Mercer, Ilustre, Miron, McFarland, 2002; Simons Cleary, 2006. In terms of
personal development students participating in service- learning demonstrate increases in self-efficacy, interpersonal skills, self-rated leadership activities see
Astin, Vogelgesang, Ikeda, Yee, 2000; Moely et al., 2002. Service-learning also facilitates academic development, and has also been linked to better writing
skills, increased critical thinking, increased motivation and contextual understanding of course material, improved test performance, and GPA Astin, et
al., 2000; Ash, Clayton, Atkinson, 2005; Cohen Kinsey, 1994; Markus, Howard, King, 1993.
In addition to its many benefits to students themselves, service-learning can be practically incorporated into current undergraduate curriculums. There is a
growing body of literature describing the mechanics of implementing service- learning in a broad spectrum of courses. For example, the American Association
of Higher Education has a series of 18 monographs focusing on why and how service-learning can be implemented in a specific discipline.
Academic Service-learning and Leadership Courses As yet, little is known specifically about how service-learning can be
implemented in leadership courses and its impact on learning outcomes of leadership courses. For example, Middleton 2005 examined charismatic
leadership emergence in students participating in a service-learning leadership course. Other available studies have looked at the impact of service-learning on
certain leadership concepts such as interpersonal skills, ethics, teamwork, and decision-making Astin et al., 2000; Dumas 2002; Friedman 1996; Moely, et al.,
2002; Vogelgesang Astin, 2000; however, the courses included in these studies have not been leadership courses per se. For example, Astin and
colleagues 2000 compared academic service-learning students within a variety of courses and students who performed community service through settings other
than a course on a variety of abilities and skills, and found that in the leadership arena, the outcomes between the two groups were the same. They concluded that
service-learning does not add to the students’ leadership abilities, but rather that leadership growth occurs at the same rate in both community service and
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academic service-learning. One explanation proposed by Astin and colleagues is that academic courses using service-learning tend to focus more on cognitive
skills and their development rather than on the development of leadership skills. As the course discussed here is specifically focused on leadership theory and
application, this study begins to fill the evident void in the literature: What do students learn about leadership in a leadership course that utilizes service-learning
pedagogy? In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of a service-learning leadership course using student final projects based on written reflections see
Eyler, 2002; Eyler Giles, 1999; Roberts, 2008; Stedman, et al., 2006. These reflections were designed to allow students to demonstrate academic learnings on
leadership as well as outcomes with respect to student personal growth as leaders, and leadership practice in the civic arena.
Design of the Leadership Course: Integrating Theory, Service, and Reflection
This study was conducted in eight courses with four professors across two semesters, fall of 2005 and fall of 2006. All used the same leadership course, the
same readings, similar syllabi, and a similar sample of students. This leadership course was designed to allow students to begin to understand and articulate their
own implicit theories of leadership and develop their own leadership styles. While receiving a grounding in historical and contemporary psychological theories on
leadership, students practiced and observed others’ leadership through community service; assessed themselves based on theories, assessment
instruments, and behaviors during their community service and other relevant activities; and, reflected on the connections they were seeing between the formal
theories, their observation of themselves and others during community service, and their assessment of themselves. In terms of grounding, students were exposed
to leadership research and thought in order to assist them in broadly understanding what constitutes leadership from a variety of psychological
perspectives including traits, skills, style, situational, contingency, path-goal, leader-member exchange, transformational, team leadership, social change
theories, and leadership tasks and principles Drath, 2001; Komives, Lucas, McMahon, 1998; Northouse, 2003. Students developed, gathered, and received
information and data in a variety of ways readings, assessment instruments, community service projects, and class projects to begin assessing their own
leadership knowledge, skills, abilities, and characteristics to gain a better understanding of themselves as leaders.
The learning objectives of the course were as follows. At the end of the course, students were expected to be able to: a Explain and articulate three principles of
leadership Personal dominance, Interpersonal Influence, Relational Dialogue Drath, 2001 and psychological theories discussed in class that fit into each
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principle; b Identify their own leadership resources and capabilities using assessments and reflection on behaviors in community service projects and other
relevant activities; and, c Articulate personal, civic, and leadership learnings through critical reflection.
During the course of the semester, students were expected to complete 20 hours of service approximately two hours a week for 10 weeks. Students were given a
choice of service projects and times of service. During the first semester, projects were grouped into three areas. The first was working with children. Specific
options included tutoring students at various nearby grade schools in this option, participants went to specific grade schools and mentoring middle school students
in this option, the middle school students were all brought to campus on a specific day and participated in activities with their mentors. The second was
working with the elderly. Options here included teaching the elderly how to use computers and visiting the elderly at a local nursing home. The third set of
options was for groups of students to develop their own service projects over the course of the semester. During the second semester, all projects involved working
with children in a variety of ways, including after-school programs, tutoring, and mentoring for children from grades one through eight.
Format of the leadership class and the written reflections were consistent across courses and professors in both semesters. There were two class sessions per week.
One class session was devoted to discussing a leadership theory and special topics. Theories included: traits, skills, style, situational, pathgoal,
transformational, social change, team leadership, and a discussion of Drath’s 2001 principles of leadership as a meta-theory for all the theories discussed.
Special topics included: recognizing leadership, what is leadership, values and ethics, gender and leadership, and cross cultural leadership. The other class
session was devoted to students reflecting on their experiences and course content in order to learn about leadership, about themselves, and about leadership in the
civic arena. This involved either the class as a whole or division of the class into groups which discussed and reported out to the class. In addition, students wrote
weekly reflections based on similar topics. We were guided in developing our class, group, and written reflections based on
the work of Ash and her colleagues Ash Clayton, 2004; Ash, Clayton, Moses, 2004 draft. Each reflection followed the DEAL model in which students
were asked to: describe in Detail what happened in the weekly service-learning session, Examine their experience, and Articulate their Learnings. Reflections on
the service-learning varied weekly regarding whether they concentrated on personal learning introduced first, leadership learnings introduced second, and
civic learnings introduced third. Students were guided in their reflections both during class time and written using prompts to help them work through each step
see Appendix 1 for sample prompts from the DEAL model.
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Leadership reflections were used to help students explore and articulate in depth how the experiences during the service-learning informed their leadership
learning and how their leadership learning informed their practice and observation during community service. Students considered where and how theories and
specific course concepts emerged in the community organization and how those concepts differed in the community as compared to the text, lecture, or class
discussion. The primary goals of reflection in this category were for the students to learn more about the course material, to see new nuances and complexities of
theories and special topics that they had not seen previously, and to consider both how theory can best be used in practice and how practice can best inform theory
Ash Clayton, 2004; Ash, Clayton, Moses, 2004 draft. The aim is for the student to become a scholar who is engaged in a process of learning, who thinks
from the perspective of leadership theory, and who purposefully uses leadership learning for his or her service projects.
Personal reflections were used to help students explore and articulate in depth what their experiences during the service-learning told them about themselves and
the personsleaders they were becoming. They considered their feelings, behaviors, personal challenges, assumptions, and so on. The primary goal of
reflection in this category was for students to learn more about themselves as leaders and consider what changes, if any, they wanted to make Ash Clayton,
2004; Ash, Clayton, Moses, 2004 draft. The concept behind these personal reflections was that each student is an individual who is engaged in a lifelong
process of intentional personal growth. Civic reflections were used to help students explore and articulate in depth what
the experiences during service-learning tell them about how people act as part of larger processes to generate change in the world. The primary goal of reflection in
this category was for the student to take a systemic perspective, beginning to critically examine his or her role as an agent of change within the community and
deciding what roles they want to play in this arena Ash Clayton, 2004; Ash, Clayton, Moses, 2004 draft.
Again, each weekly reflection was slightly different. For example, early reflections were primarily focused on helping students Describe what happened in
their service-learning project that week. Next Examining the experience was added, and finally Articulating Learnings were added. In addition, students
typically concentrated on one or two areas of personal, leadership, and civic topics each week rather than all three. In their final three reflections, they began to
articulate their learnings in depth. Students were asked to critically reflect on one leadership learning, one personal learning, and one civic learning. These
articulated learnings served as rough drafts for their final paper in which they articulated one thing they had learned about leadership, one thing they had
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learned about themselves as leaders, and one thing they had learned about leading in the civic arena over the course of the semester. Between this draft and the final
paper, students received personalized feedback and handouts with descriptions of learning depth categories. This study used the final articulated learnings to
determine what students said they learned as a result of the course and the service learning in terms of their personal learning, their leadership learning, and their
civic learning, and how deeply they learned this material see Appendix 2 for guided reflections for final papers and Appendix 3 for learning depth rubrics.
Finally, students participated in a number of other activities, including a weekly essay quiz on the leadership theory reading; a variety of individual assessments
MBTI and others; individual assignments such as coming up with their own symbol of leadership; their leadership timeline; a short paper summarizing what
they we learning about themselves as leaders based on their instrument assessments; a group assignment analyzing the leadership in a movie; and, an
individual paper outlining how leadership occurred in their group.
Methods
Assessing the Impact of Academic Service Learning and Reflection on Leadership Outcomes
Participants Samples were taken from the body of first semester freshmen at a large eastern
teaching university enrolled in the Emerging Leaders Learning Community during the Fall 2005 semester 1 and Fall 2006 semester 2 semesters. During
the fall of 2005 a total of 95 students were registered in the learning community and were divided into four classes. Approximately one-third of the students were
Economic Opportunity Fund EOF students who did not have the traditional criteria needed to be regularly admitted to the university but showed promise and
came from an economically or environmentally disadvantaged situation. One- third were presidential scholars who also did not have the traditional criteria to be
regularly admitted to the university but showed promise and had significant leadership experience in their community, and one-third were regularly admitted
students. All students were first semester freshmen between 17 and 19 years old. Forty-three percent of the students were Caucasian, 32 were African Americans,
17 were Hispanics and 6 were Asians. Of the 95 students, 63 consented to participate in this study. Of those, we received the completed coursework
necessary for inclusion in the study from 30 students for a total inclusion rate of approximately 30. In one course several students who had originally agreed to
participate elected to do an alternative final paper and in another course section not all of the final papers were kept by the professor.
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During the fall of 2006, a total of 80 students were registered in the learning community and were divided into four classes. Like the students in semester 1,
approximately one-third were EOF students, one-third were presidential scholars, and one-third were regular-admit students. Of the 80 students, 68 consented to
participate in this study. Of these, we received 58 final reflection papers for a total inclusion rate of approximately 72.5.
Procedures Coding
Coding procedures were similar for both semesters. Coding of the final reflection paper was done in two stages. During stage 1, subject matter experts SMEs
coded content of the reflections to determine what students learned academically, personally, and civically. During stage 2, SMEs coded depth of learning. The
following is a more in depth description of each stage of coding. Semester 1 Fall of 2005
Stage 1: Content Coding. The second author of this paper along with two other SMEs began with coding the personal learning reflections, with the first author
managing the process. We initially read one-half of what would become the total number of personal reflections. We were guided by the reflection questions to see
which themes arose. Individually we wrote down the themes that appeared from the personal reflections. The three SMEs and the first author met as a group. We
discussed and agreed upon a set of themes. This entailed going through several of the essays in detail and making certain that the themes we found were similar. We
then categorized these themes into more general themes. Using the specific and general themes we created a coding protocol. The reflections were then divided
between the three SMEs and each SME read two-thirds of the readings, with each SME overlapping one-half of the readings with each of the other SMEs. We then
met to discuss our findings and code all of the reflections to consensus. To determine reliability, Kappa scores were calculated and were high across all
coding categories Fleiss, 1981. Later, additional personal learning reflections were added and they were coded by only one SME. Our procedure with the
leadership learning reflections followed the same procedure. In terms of reliability, Kappa scores were calculated and were also found to be high across all
coding categories in leadership. Coding the civic learning reflections proceeded a little differently from coding the
personal and leadership learnings. Although we began coding in the same manner, we found that students did not reflect on the reflection questions as closely as they
had with the personal and leadership reflection questions. We individually reread
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the civic learnings and looked for general themes that arose. The three SMEs then met as a group, with the first author facilitating. We discussed and agreed upon a
set of themes. This entailed going through several of the essays in detail and making certain the themes that were being found were similar. We then proceeded
in a similar procedure as with the personal and leadership learnings. Again, in terms of reliability, Kappa scores were calculated and found to be high across all
coding categories. Stage 2: Depth of Learning Coding. To prepare for the next stage of coding,
SMEs were trained by Patti Clayton of North Carolina State University. Clayton and others see Ash Clayton, 2004; Ash, Clayton, Atkinson, 2005 have
developed two rubrics to evaluate the quality of thinking demonstrated in the written reflection: learning depth and critical thinking. In this study, we included
learning depth. Using Bloom’s taxonomy 1956, Ash and colleagues 2004 draft developed a
rubric for measuring depth of learning in terms of understanding course materials, personal growth, and civic engagement. Because this study was part of a larger
study that included coding students’ reflections over time and included students in three different courses, the first author and another SME completed the coding in
the following manner. For the leadership learning, the entire reflection was read. If the student clearly identified and described a concept, the student received a 1.
If not, the student received a 0 and no further coding was done. If the student received a 1, the document was analyzed to determine if the student clearly
applied the concept in the context of the service learning. If so, a 2 was assigned. If not, the code was left as a 1 and no further coding ensued. If a 2 was given, the
document was analyzed to determine if the student analyzed and synthesized the concept. If so, a 3 was recorded, if not, the code was left a 2 and no further coding
ensued. Finally, if the student received a 3, the document was analyzed to determine if the student evaluated the concept. If so, a 4 was assigned, if not, the
code was left a 3. 1=identify and describe, 2=apply, 3=analyze and synthesize, 4=evaluate. We coded a number of academic reflections separately, met and
consensus coded. Because we were reading and coding so many reflections across a variety of courses, we continued in this manner to ensure that we remained in
high agreement, coding a number of reflections then consensus coding before moving to the next set. When finished with academic, we moved to personal, then
to civic. See Appendix 3 for coding of academic leadership, personal, and civic depth of learning.
Semester 2 Fall of 2006 Stage 1: Content Coding. Content coding in the second semester proceeded in
almost exactly the same procedure as the first semester fall of 2005 with the first author and the third author as coders. Again, we were guided by the reflection
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questions to see which themes arose as well as using codes from the previous semester. To determine reliability, Kappa scores were calculated and were high
across all coding categories in academic leadership, personal, and civic learnings Fleiss, 1981.
Stage 2: Depth of Learning Coding. Coding for depth of learning proceeded in a similar fashion to coding for depth of learning in semester 1, with one important
difference. The first and third authors, who did the coding, received updated training by Clayton to use a similar Depth of Learning rubric with six levels rather
than four 1=identify, 2=describe, 3=apply, 4=analyze, 5=synthesize, and 6=evaluate.
Results
The results from the two semesters are provided below one after the other. As service projects differed and depth of learning codes differed between the two
semesters, we did not combine the data. Leadership Learning
Semester 1: What was Learned. This portion of the reflection involved what the students said they learned about leadership. The students were asked to describe
one theory or concept they learned as a result of their coursework and service- learning. Twenty-seven of the 30 students completed this task. Nineteen of the
students stated one specific theory they learned and three mentioned one special topic that they learned. However, a few mentioned more than one theory or
concept: Two mentioned two theories; two mentioned one theory and one special topic; and, one mentioned one theory and two special topics. Theories mentioned
by these students included: situational theories seven, the leadership principle of relational dialogue Drath, 2001 six, path-goal theory four, team leadership
three, skills approach three, trait theories two and transformational theory one. Special topics mentioned by these students included ethics in leadership,
communication, patience, and personality. Semester 2: What was Learned. Forty-nine of the 58 students completed this task.
Thirty-two of the students stated a theory and 10 mentioned a special topic. Eight of the students mentioned more than one theory or special topic. Theories
mentioned by these students included: Situational theory 12, team leadership including social change theory, Komives, et al., 1998 nine, some component of
Drath’s theory 2001 four, path-goal theory three, transformational theory two, style leadership one, and that alternate theories work depending on the
situation one. Special topics mentioned by these students included the need for
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adaptability four, diversity, importance of being organized, importance of confidence, and importance of serving followers.
Below are some examples of student leadership learnings. The first is a student learning about team leadership. The other is about a student better understanding
of the topic of ethics and leadership:
With most situations that I’ve been in, there has always been one person who’s stepped up to the plate and named themselves the
leader of a specific project, and I admit that I’ve done that too. However, I never realized that not only can more than one person
be a leader in a certain situation, but nine times out of ten it proves to be more effective that way because you have different people
with different abilities and skills that can lead you through anything.
I always got very confused about what makes a good leader. I always felt that Hitler was a fabulous leader, but how can a leader
be so evil?...Understanding leadership…changes my views on leadership in general. I now understand that someone can be a
fabulous leader, follow all the guidelines listed in the book, and really get a committed group of followers, while at the same time
be unethical and evil. Understanding this concept helped me understand the separation between someone’s moral character and
their leadership ability.
Semester 1: Depth of Learning. After analyzing for what they learned, we looked for how deeply they learned the leadership theory or concept they
described. In the first semester, as this portion of the study was included in a different data set, only 22 of the available 30 were coded. Of these 22,
the average depth of learning score was 1.91 sd=1.10 out of 4. In terms of percentages, 13.6 received a zero did not achieve any learning
objectives, 13.6 received a one clearly identified and described a leadership concept, 45.5 received a two clearly applied the concept,
22.7 received a three clearly analyzed and synthesized the concept, and 4.5 received a four clearly evaluated the concept.
Semester 2: Depth of Learning. Of the 50 analyzed, the average depth of learning score was 3.24 sd=1.79. In terms of percentages, 10 received a zero did not
achieve any learning objectives, 6 received a one clearly identified a leadership concept, 14 received a two clearly described the concept, 46
received a three clearly applied the concept, 2 received a four clearly analyzed the concept, and 22 received a five clearly synthesized the concept.
No students clearly evaluated the concept.
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Below is an example of a student who is attempting to analyze and synthesize their understanding of situational leadership:
On one specific occasion I was a leader of a meeting. I realized quickly where the members of the group were on the development
continuum. Diagnosing the group is part of the situational approach. According to my diagnoses, I would have to develop and
adapt my leadership style. During the meeting, I felt that I was effective at adapting my leadership style. Unfortunately, the book
does not give me specific guidelines to follow after I pick my leadership style. For instance, at the meeting I followed the model
for situational approach which suggested that I should use high directive—low supportive style. I did use this style, but who is to
say that how much direction is enough? Since the approach uses unclear conceptualization, I felt it hard to follow the model. This is
because my leadership style changed various times in the same setting. Although I primarily used the first leadership style,
different people in the group needed different styles. Ultimately I felt that I used all of the leadership styles and incorporated my own
perspective that was not clearly stated in the book.
This student then attempts to evaluate the theory. However, she does not evaluate the theory based on her practice how to handle different people
with different styles, etc., but rather repeats the weaknesses that she has read in the textbook:
The material in the book should be revised by continuing more studies. In these studies, the researchers should consider more
demographic characteristics between the leader and the subordinate. Another key aspect would be to clarify the
conceptualization of the leadership model. One last revision should be to understand why subordinates start off motivated and then end
up losing motivation. These revisions will help me understand the approach much better.
Personal Learning Semester 1: What was Learned. This portion of the reflection involved what the
students said they learned personally. Of the 30 students who participated in this study, 24 described a personal characteristic that they learned during their service-
learning. Of these, 10 stated that they learned an individual characteristic about themselves such as they were brave, shy, or tended to be controlling. Seven
learned about themselves as a community member, for example, they stated a
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desire to help others, their love of people, or that their sense of awareness or perspective of the community had increased. Four learned more about themselves
as a leader e.g., their ability to switch from a leadership role to a follower role, or more about their leadership style. And, three learned more about themselves as a
team member e.g., how to work well with others or that they had a tendency to take on the bulk of the work.
Second semester: What was Learned. Fifty students completed this task. Ten of these students listed more than one characteristic or were unclear regarding the
personal characteristic they were discussing. Sixteen learned about themselves as individuals, including such characteristics as patience five, tolerance and open-
mindedness five, and optimismpositivity two. Four learned about themselves as community members including learning about their own kindness and
generosity and their ability to work with children. Eighteen learned about themselves as leaders, including such characteristics as whether and when they
should step up or wait for others to step up 11 and, that they were a natural born leader four. Finally, two learned about themselves as team players. Here are a
few examples of what students said they learned:
Over the past month of doing service, I have discovered that I am a supportive leader. Thinking back on the type of leadership setting I
was in, I noticed that I was the supporter of the group. Our group was made of all leaders and not everyone could be in control at the
same time. For some of my team members, this was a struggle because they did not want to just sit back and learn from each
other. For some it was wanting to show dominance and for others it was a lack of communication. I honestly went in thinking that I
would be the one planning events, but when that did not happen, I was okay with it. I took the passenger seat and assisted in all the
ways I knew. Looking over this past semester of service-learning, I have learned
many interesting facts about myself and my leadership style. I already know when I began the process that I walk into every
project trying very hard to make friends with everyone in the group and I take on the bulk of the work. Looking more critically, I can
now see that I take on the bulk of the work for two reasons. One being that I hope if I take on anything hard, the rest of the group
members can relax more and not have to be under as much pressure, the other reason is that I am controlling and when things
are important to me, I like to do them myself, because then I can be assured of the outcome.
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Semester 1: Depth of Learning. Depth of learning describes how deeply they learned their specific personal characteristic. In the first semester, as
this portion of the study was included in a different data set, 23 of the available 30 were coded. Of these 23, the average depth of learning score
was 2.3 sd=.80 out of four. In terms of percentages, 4.3 received a zero did not achieve any learning objectives, 4.3 received a one clearly
identified and analyzed the concept, 47.8 received a two clearly applied their concept, 39.1 received a three clearly analyzed and
synthesized the concept, and 4.3 received a four clearly evaluated the concept.
Semester 2: Depth of Learning. Of the 50, the average depth of learning score was 3.18 sd=1.57. In terms of percentages, 10 received a zero did not achieve any
learning objectives, 6 received a one clearly identified a personal concept, 8 received a two clearly described the concept, 58 received a three clearly
applied the concept, 12 received a four clearly analyzed the concept, and 6 received a five clearly synthesized the concept. No students evaluated the
concept. Below is an example of a student analyzing and synthesizing an awareness of
personal charisma. In this quotation we find a reflection on the potential benefits:
A potential benefit would be experiencing more through others instead of having to make mistakes myself. The more I am
charismatic, the easier it is for me to surround myself with people and make friends. As I start to make friends, we can share
experiences, see what each person went through, whether painful of pleasurable, and make the choices to learn from them or
experience it ourselves. Most of the time, if I know something is wrong and someone shared their experience with me, I know to
learn through that without having to actually experience it. In summary, I am able to put myself in other people’s shoes, feel
what they feel, and relate to their experience without having to go through it all because of my charisma.
This student attempts to evaluate her strategies for personal growth, but becomes very general and does not continue with her charisma theme nor
is she very detailed:
Over the long term, I see personal growth in relationships with people, careers, and dealing with myself mentally. Now that I have
become aware of my ability to work with others, I can improve present relationships and use this ability to create new relationships
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with people. I also know that my career should involve being around people, specifically children…
Civic Learning Semester 1: What was Learned. This portion of the reflection involved what
students said they learned civically. While 27 students completed their civic learning reflections, only 24 of them articulated what they learned clearly enough
to be coded. Again, although the majority of the students 20 discussed one thing they learned, several mentioned more than one four.
Eleven of the students said they learned more about a specific leadership theory and used that theory to approach their role in the civic arena and one student
mentioned three leadership theories. Of these, six of the students said that they approached their service-learning using transformational theory; five approached
their service-learning using situational theory; and, two approached their service- learning using trait theories. Other theories were only mentioned once.
Six stated they learned more about a specific attitude and used that attitude to approach their service-learning of those one student stated three attitudes, two
stated two, and three stated one. Two stated they approached the service-learning with a positive attitude; two approached the service learning with an open mind;
and, two stated they did everything they were asked to do. Finally, some students stated that they learned more about a specific role with
which to approach their service-learning. Twelve of the students mentioned an aspect of working as part of a team including the need for teamwork, working in
collaboration, and the need to take turns leading. Three students saw themselves as a role model. Out of the 24 students coded, only one said the fulfillment of the
service learning was completed because of a requirement or grade. Semester 2: What was Learned. Fifty students out of 58 completed this section;
however, eight listed more than one characteristic or were unclear. Responses were grouped into two categories: self as a group member and understanding the
system and one’s role in it. Twenty-six students stated they learned something about themselves as a group member, including collaboration and cooperation
eight, working to benefit the group as a whole seven, listening and respecting others’ point of view five, different people are good at different tasks three,
communication two, and importance of putting in one’s own input one. Sixteen stated they learned something about their role, including such items as
understanding the process and one’s role in it six, responsibility, reliability, and commitment four, and importance of volunteering two. Here is an example of
what a student said had been learned about leading in the civic arena:
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Each “service learning” client had different objectives for us to understand, but they all had to do with being a leader and
leadership. As part of MSU’s presidential leadership program, this client expected us to be good role models, always attend our
service learning program, attend learning community meetings, and have good attitudes towards developing as leaders. In the
STARS program, the teachers depended on us to be leaders. This client expected us, most importantly, to show up each week. They
also expected us to be positive, upbeat, motivational, set a good example, and be good role models to the students. These students
expected us to help them with their homework, always be there if they needed assistance, and to come to their level if needed. Also,
as time went on, they depended on us as role models and friends. This was motivational for me because it really shows how being a
good, positive leader attracts the same type of followers. Since a lot of these objectives involve a strong emphasis on morals and
values good role modelset a good examplepositiveupbeat motivationalcome to level of others, I would have to say that I
undertook the transformational approach with respect to them. This approach stresses that leaders need to understand and adapt to the
needs and motives of others. It also explains that certain leaders are able to inspire followers to achieve great things. Transformational
leaders are recognized as change agents who are good role models, who can create and articulate a clear vision for an organization,
who empower followers to achieve higher standards, and who act in ways that make others want to trust them.
Semester 1: Depth of Learning. We then investigated how deeply the students learned this civic approach. In the first semester, as this portion of the study was
included in a different data set, 23 of the available 30 were coded. Of these 23, the average depth of learning score was 1.0 sd=1.24 out of four. In terms of
percentages, 56.5 received a zero did not achieve any learning objectives, 4.3 received a one clearly identify and describe, 21.7 received a two clearly
apply the concept, and 17.4 received a three clearly analyzed and synthesized the concept. No students evaluated the concept.
Semester 2: Depth of Learning. Of the 50 coded, the average depth of learning score was 1.27 sd=1.61. In terms of percentages, 56 received a zero did not
achieve any learning objectives, 6 received a one clearly identified a concept, 14 received a two clearly described the concept, 16 received a three clearly
applied the concept, and 8 received a four clearly analyzed the concept. No students synthesized or evaluated the concept.
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The individual in the above example was able to apply her approach, analyze and synthesize. However, she did not evaluate her approach, but instead changed
direction and became very general:
In moving future action in the direction of long-term and sustainable change, I would bring all of my learnings into an
organization, ready to share what I know with others. I would also come into the atmosphere with a positive upbeat attitude and ready
to work hard. I would always carry with me my morals and values, and be accepting of others. I would base my job on task and
relationship behaviors, and always act as a leader and good role model…
Discussion
The purpose of this descriptive study was to begin to understand what students learn during a leadership course that uses service-learning pedagogy as well as
determine how deeply the students are learning the various concepts. To accomplish this, we coded final projects using critical reflections based on
service-learning projects collected during two semesters of a particular leadership course. These reflections were coded both in terms of content and in terms of
depth of learning, using a depth-of-learning coding scheme developed by Ash and colleagues Ash et al., 2004 draft; Ash, et al., 2005.
In terms of leadership learning, students mentioned learning such theories as situational leadership, team leadership, principles of leadership Drath, 2001, and
path-goal theory. Less mentioned were transformational, skills, style, and trait theories. None of the students mentioned other theories addressed in class
including: contingency models and leader member exchange theory. In addition, they mentioned learning special topics such as the importance of ethics in
leadership and the importance of communication. Drath 2001 suggests that there are three principles ways of understanding of
leadership: personal dominance leadership is what the leader does, interpersonal influence leaders are influenced by their followers and the context, and
relational dialogue leadership is the accomplishment of certain tasks and can happen in a myriad of ways. Skills, style, trait, and to some extent
transformational theories are all directed at the leader personal dominance. Situational theory and path goal theory both fall under the principle of
interpersonal influence. Team leadership falls under the principle of relational dialogue. Using this rubric and the theories themselves to frame student academic
learnings, student learnings reflect a fairly complicated view of leadership. They understand that they need to analyze the context, understand the relationships they
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have with others, and act accordingly – be it as the leader or as a member of a group doing leadership. These learnings are crucial for their future, either as
participating in leadership in organizations who more and more are relying on teamwork or participating in civic activities that rely on collaborations among
multiple and diverse parties. In terms of personal learning, students learned about themselves as individuals –
stating such concepts as patience, tolerance, or shyness. They learned about themselves as community members including discovering a desire to help others
and their love of people, or how their sense of awareness of their community increased. They learned about themselves as leaders. Here, they stated such things
as discovering the need to switch back and forth between being a leader and follower or whether they should step up or wait for others to do so. And finally,
they learned about themselves as team members. Some indicated that they learned how to work well with others, while others discovered that they tend to take on
the bulk of the work in a team project. Not only is learning about the self important for growing as a leader, but it is also a desired outcome in a liberal
education. This study demonstrates that students are learning important lessons and skills about themselves.
In terms of learning about how they approached and fit in the civic arena, students spoke about a variety of possibilities, and most took this quite seriously only one
mentioned participating in service-learning for the grade. In the first semester, some spoke about specific leadership theories that helped them approach the
situation such as transformational theory, situational theory, and trait theory. They learned to work as part of a team. And, they learned more about working within a
larger system and their roles within that system. Working in organizations is ubiquitous in this society. Students indicated learning realistic lessons about how
work actually happens in organizations and the scope and limits of the roles they took on.
How deeply did they take this learning? In both Bloom’s taxonomy 1956 and Ash and colleagues Ash, et al., 2004 draft; Ash, et al., 2005 revision, the levels
are ordered in degree of difficulty. An important premise of Bloom’s taxonomy is that each level must be mastered before progressing to the next. Bloom’s
taxonomy provides a structure that enabled Ash and colleagues to construct a checklist for the design of the coding of critical reflections. As such the levels
within the leadership, personal, and civic areas are levels of learning development, and these levels increase in difficulty. In this course, the majority of
the students were able to apply their concepts in leadership and personal learning, suggesting that they were able to identify and describe a concept, apply the
concept as it occurred in their service learning, and to some extent, analyze and synthesize it. They tended not to be able to evaluate the concepts. In terms of
civic learning, many students were not able to achieve any learning objectives.
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A demonstration of effective learning could arguably cover all the levels. On the other hand, perhaps expecting first semester freshman two-thirds of which are
specially admitted who are not only adjusting to college life, but are also being exposed to a new for them pedagogical approach, to be able to fully evaluate
and analyze complex theories, topics, and ideas via the vehicle of service-learning and critical reflections, is too high of an expectation. We argue that the depth in
which these first semester freshman students demonstrated learning in the leadership and personal areas is actually satisfactory, with the expectation that as
they progress through additional years of college and additional service learning courses, they can be expected to continue deepening their learning to a point
where they are able to fully analyze, synthesize, and evaluate concepts. However, there is ample room for improvement in depth of learning in the course
as it currently stands, particularly in the area of civic learning. Learning about leading in the civic area is perhaps the most complex of the three topics, and it is
given the least amount of attention during the course. Areas such as the design of the service-learning project, the design of the reflection mechanisms, the extent to
which student capacity to learn this way is cultivated, and methods of feedback can all be examined and modified to help students deepen their learning. For
example, in this course students were given reflection prompts to help them write about their service-learning experiences: one rewrite with feedback and a
document describing learning depth. Ash and colleagues Ash, et al., 2004 draft; Ash, et al., 2005 also suggest the use of multiple rewrites, special sessions, and
online tutorials to help students learn how to write better reflections and deepen their learning. Other possibilities include offering a progression of courses that
allow students to take their leadership learnings deeper and deeper over the course of their tenure at the university rather than focusing on learning in one course.
However, we do conclude from these findings that service-learning is a viable alternative for teaching leadership. In answer to our research questions: Our
student learnings were rich and varied. Students learned a number of leadership theories and topics from the course content and they were able to experience and
observe leadership in a real-life setting through service-learning. They were able to tie the theories they were learning to their experiences, and their experiences
helped facilitate their understanding of the concepts. In general, across all categories, students seemed to find situational leadership models, team leadership,
and leadership principles most relevant to their experiences in their service learning projects. They learned about working in and sharing leadership in teams.
They learned about working within a system. And they learned about themselves as individuals, as leaders, as group members, and as community members. In
addition, their depth of learning with the exception of civic learning was quite adequate for a course for first semester freshman.
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Limitations There were three limitations to this study. The first limitation was the small
sample size. Data collection and analysis over additional semesters would yield a better understanding of what students are learning in this course. In addition, with
a larger number of participants, we can begin to understand how different learnings relate to different service-learning projects, for example do students
learn different things about leadership if they are working with children, with the elderly, or designing their own community projects? We could also begin to
understand the impact of variables such as student demographics e.g., year in school and different instructors on learning.
The second limitation of this study is that it was cross-sectional. We did not follow up with our students over time. It would be useful to understand whether
these students were able to take their learnings from this course and continue to apply and develop them during their tenure as students, or later as employees,
graduate students, and so forth. Previous research has found that the longer students work on their leadership skills, the more skill and knowledge outcomes
are expected Schefferet, 2007. Continued data collection over the course of these students’ tenure in the university and beyond would yield a better
understanding of whether students were able to use the learnings of this course and build on them in their lives.
The third limitation in this study was the lack of a comparison group utilizing a different pedagogical approach. Some remaining questions include whether
students learned something different or better about leadership, about themselves as leaders, and about the practice of leadership in the civic arena as a result of the
service learning and reflection. It is difficult to determine whether students learned about leadership more deeply than they would by utilizing different
pedagogies. While we cannot answer these questions from the current study, our findings suggest that service-learning is a useful pedagogy for learning about
leadership, learning about selves as leaders, and learning about leadership in the civic arena.
Implications Because organizations are continuously seeking college graduates with leadership
skills, this study sought to determine whether students can, in fact, learn about leadership and about their own leadership qualities in a university setting as well
as whether service-learning can be a pedagogy for facilitating this learning. This study is one of the first to explore using service-learning pedagogy to develop
leadership knowledge and practice. It demonstrates that students can meaningfully grasp and interpret the complexities of leadership theories via service-learning
and reflection as well as draw from the course in such a way as to help them
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develop as leaders. Not only did the students understand leadership theory, but they were able to practice implementing or observe these theories in their service
which in turn helped them better understand the theory. Our study suggests that universities can consider service-learning pedagogy as a viable option to give
students an opportunity to develop leadership qualities that organizations seek, both theoretically and contextually.
As we gain more understanding about different pedagogies used to teach leadership and their success and failures, those interested in helping our students
become leaders can learn and improve their own practice. By continuing to explore service-learning and other pedagogies for leadership knowledge and
development, we can improve leadership programs to prepare students for leadership challenges outside of the university.
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Biographies
Dr. Valerie Sessa is an associate professor of psychology at Montclair State University. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses focusing on various
topics of industrial and organizational psychology. Her research interests include learning and development in individuals, groups, and organizations and how the
three interrelate with each other. Cristina Matos holds a bachelor degree in Psychology with a minor in Cognitive
Science from Montclair State University. In her studies at Montclair she was involved in quantitative and qualitative research projects through the student
assistantship program, the present study being one of them. She currently works as a research associate at Metrus Group, an organizational research firm.
Courtney A. Hopkins received her masters in Psychology from Montclair State University and a bachelor degree in English from Boston College where she was
also a graduate of the Boston College Honors Program. She currently works at Massachusetts General Hospital as a research coordinator in the Pediatric
Psychopharmacology Research Unit where she coordinates a NIMH-funded longitudinal study examining risk factors for anxiety in children and adolescents.
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Appendix 1
Sample Prompts Using DEAL for Leadership, Personal, and Civic Learnings Community Service First Week’s Reflection Questions
Describe in detail and as objectively as possible 12-1 page:
• Where were you describe the setting, who else was there, when did this experience take place.
• Why were you there? • What did you do and with whom? Go step by step here.
• What direction did you get? • What were the most significant features of the experience, the specific
details that you might want to examine further?
Examine your experience 12-1 page for each section Personal perspective
Consider these prompts to help you write • How did you feel while you were there?
• What assumptions or expectations did you bring to the situation and how did they affect your actions? Also, re-read your expectations page - how
was the experience similar to andor different from what you expected? • What personal strengths and weaknesses did the situation reveal include
your MBTI, signature strengths, and leadership style? How did they affect the situation positively or negatively? What might you do next time
to build on strengthsovercome weaknesses?
• Did youdid you not experience difficulty workinginteracting with other people? What might you do differently next time to minimize the
difficulties? • How did the situation reveal your own biases or attitudes—toward other
people, toward the organization? • How did this situation challenge or reinforce your personal values and
beliefs? Civic perspective
Consider these prompts to help you • What isare the goals of this service learning project? Think about it
from the point of view of the clients, the organization, MSU—Center for Community-based learning, the professor of this class, and you.
• What am I trying to accomplish in this service learning project? In taking action, am I focusing on the symptoms of problems or causes of
problems? What would it take to focus on underlying causes? • What roles do each persongrouporganization involved in the situation
play and why? What alternative roles could each have played? • What did I learn about working as part of a larger system? How,
specifically, did I learn it? Why does this learning matter? And how will I
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use this learning civically What goals will you set in accordance to what you have learned in order to improve yourself?
Leadership perspective Answer each of these questions
• How was leadership displayed in this situation—on your part or on the part of others? Describe what you saw and why you thought it was
leadership. • What elements of situational theory relate to this experience? How were
you able to apply situational theory to your experience? • What similaritiesdifferences were there between what you learned in
reading about situational theory and the situation as it unfolded? • How did this experience enhance or detract from your knowledge of
situational theory?
Articulate your learning 1 page:
• What did you learn personally? How, specifically, did you learn it? Why does this learning matter? And how will you use this learning about
yourself What goals will you set in accordance to what you have learned in order to improve yourself?
• What did you learn civically via your service? How, specifically, did you learn it? Why does this learning matter? And how will you use this
learning civically What goals will you set in accordance to what you have learned in order to improve yourself?
• What did you learn regarding leadership? How, specifically, did you learn it? Why does this learning matter? And how will you use this learning
about leadership What goals will you set in accordance to what you have learned in order to improve yourself?
Note: Adapted with permission from Ash, Clayton, Moses 2004 draft. For an updated version of DEAL prompts, contact Patti Clayton at
phclaytonmindspring.com .
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Appendix 2
Guided Reflection Prompts for Final Papers Personal Learnings
Articulate your personal learning 3 pages minimum: ANSWER EVERY QUESTION
• Look over all of your past reflections on your experience of leadership during the service learning project as it has to do with your personal
perspective and your learnings. Examining your experiences from the personal perspective allows you to explore what the experience reveals
about your personal leadership characteristics: your strengths and weaknesses, your sense of identity, the assumptions you tend to make
about yourself and others, and your beliefs and values as well as other traits. As a leader, not only should you strive to learn something new
about yourself, you should also consider why you are the way that you are and whether you want to make any changes in yourself.
• In this next section, you will articulate your learning in DETAIL. Please do the following:
o Identify and describe a specific personal characteristic of yours
that you now understand better as a result of reflection on your service learning experience. Specifically, what personal strength,
weakness, assumption about yourself or others, belief, conviction, trait, etc. have you become aware of, or more aware of, as a result
of reflection on your service learning experience?
o Apply your understanding of this particular personal characteristic
in the context of your leadership experiences this semester experiences and other areas of your life. Specifically, how
doesmight this characteristic positively andor negatively affect your interactions with others, your decisions, andor your actions
in your service learning activities and in other areas of your life?
o Analyze the source of this particular personal characteristic and the
steps necessary to use or improve on it in your service learning experiences and other areas of your life. Specifically, what are the
possible sources or reasons for this personal characteristic? In what specific way can you use this strength or improve upon this
weakness, etc., in your service learning activities and in other areas of your life in the short-term? What are the potential personal
benefits and risks or challenges you might face as you do so?
o Develop and evaluate your strategies for personal growth.
Specifically , what is a significant way to use this new awareness in
your life over the long-term, so you can continue to improve upon your process of personal growth? What challenges or setbacks
might you face in this process over time and how might you deal
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with them? How will you assess or monitor your progress in this personal growth process so that you can continue to make
changes?
Civic Responsibility Articulate your civic learning 2 pages minimum:
ANSWER EVERY QUESTION
• Look over all of your past reflections on your experience of leadership during the service learning project as it has to do with civic responsibility
and your learnings. Examining your experiences from a civic perspective helps you deepen your understanding of the role of leadership in
citizenship. It helps you better understand why things are the way they are and how they might be changed. As a leader, you will be called upon to
promote long-term, sustainable improvement in the world around you—to do this you need to understand the situation, your role in it, and how to act
as an agent of change.
• In this next section, you will articulate your learning in DETAIL. Please do the following:
o Identify and describe the approach you took toward meeting your
service learning “clients’” objectives MSU, the organization, AND the individuals you worked with. Specifically, identify and
describe the objectives from each perspective. And describe the approach you undertook with respect to those objectives.
o How does this approach positively andor negatively affect the
fulfillment of the different objectives of your service? o
Analyze the appropriateness of this approach in light of alternatives and the steps necessary to make any needed
improvements. Specifically, what were your reasons for taking this approach attitudes, interests, agendas, assumptions, knowledge,
resources. What alternative approaches could you have taken were available? Which approach, in hindsight, waswould have
been more appropriate more effective, more efficient, etc. and why? And in what specific ways could you improve on your
involvement in collective action and what are the benefits and riskschallenges of doing so?
o Evaluate your role as an agent of systematic change. What would
be involved in moving this project into one that has long-term, sustainable, and systemic change? What challenges or setbacks
might you face if you were to remain involved in moving this program forward? How might you assess or monitor progress in
this change process so that you can continue to make changes for greater success?
Leadership Articulate your learning 3 pages minimum:
ANSWER EVERY QUESTION
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• Look over all of your past reflections on your experience of leadership and your learnings on leadership during the service learning project.
Examining your experiences from the academic perspective helps you understand better the course material. You have been asked to make
connections between what you have read and discussed and what you experience in the community. In doing so, you have been able to compare
and contrast what the theories suggest with what actually happens, make preliminary judgments regarding the adequacy of the material, and use
that critique to build your own implicit theory of leadership.
• In this next section, you will articulate your learning in DETAIL. Please do the following:
o Identify and describe one specific leadership concept from the
course materials that you now understand better as a result of engaging and reflection on your service learning experiences.
o Apply this specific leadership concept in the context of your
experiences. Specifically, how does the leadership concept help you better understand or deal with issues related to your service-
learning related experiences AND how does the service learning related experience help you to better understand that leadership
concept?
o Analyze the relationship between the leadership concept and your
experiences. Specifically, compare and contrast the leadership concept and your experience—how are they the same and
different? What are the possible reasons for the differences between your understanding of the leadership concept and your
experience with it? e.g., biases assumptionsagendaslack of information on the part of the scientist or on your part. What
complexities subtleties, nuances, new dimensions do you see now in the leadership concept that the author did not address or that you
had not been aware of before?
o Evaluate the adequacy of the leadership concept andor your
evolving understanding of it. Specifically, how might the concept need to be revised? What additional questions need to be
answeredevidence gathered to help you make an informed judgment? What shouldmight you andor your service
organization do in the future? What are the benefits? What are the risks?
Note: Adapted with permission from Ash, Clayton, Moses 2004 draft. For an updated version of Articulated Learning prompts, contact Patti Clayton at
phclaytonmindspring.com .
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Appendix 3
Learning Depth Rubrics Academic Dimension
1 Identify and describe a specific academic concept that you now
understand better as a result of reflection on your service learning experience.
• Identify an academic concept that relates to your service learning
experience. —
AND— •
Describe the academic concept that relates to your service learning experience.
2 Apply the academic concept in the context of the experience
• How does the academic concept apply toemerge in your service
learning experience e.g., how did you or someone else use the material? When did you see it??
3 Analyze the academic material andor your prior understanding of
it in light of the experience and develop an enhanced understanding of it.
• Compare and contract the academic material and your experience:
In what specific ways are the academic material andor your prior understanding of it and the experiences the same and in what specific ways are they different?
— AND—
• What are the possible reasons for the differences between the
material and your prior understanding of it and your experience? e.g., biasassumptionsagendaslack of information on the part of
the authorscientist or on your part. —
AND— •
In light of this analysis, what complexities subtleties, nuances, new dimensions do you now see in the material that were not
addressed or that you had not been aware of before?
4 Evaluate the adequacy of the materialandor your prior
understanding of it and develop a strategy for improve action •
How specifically might the material andor your understanding of it need to be revised —AND—
• If applicable, what additional questions need to be answered andor
evidence gathered in order for you to make a more informed judgment regarding the adequacyaccuracyappropriateness of the
materialandor your prior understanding of it —AND—
• What should you andor your service organization do differently in
the future or have done differently in the past AND what are the associated benefits and riskschallenges?
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Personal Dimension
1 Identify and describe a specific personal characteristic of that you now
understand better as a result of reflection on your service-learning experience.
• Identify a personal characteristic e.g., strength, weakness,
assumption about yourself or others, belief, conviction, trait, etc. that.
—
AND— •
Describe the academic concept that relates to your service learning experience.
2 Apply your understanding of this personal characteristic in the context of
the experience and as applicable to other areas of your life. •
How doesmight this characteristic positively andor negatively affect your interactions with others, your decisions, andor your
actions in your service learning activities and as applicable in other areas of your life?
3 Analyze the sources of this characteristic and develop the steps necessary
to use or improve on it in the short term. •
What are the possible reasons ofreasons for this personal characteristic?
— AND—
• In what specific ways can you use this strength, improve upon
this weakness, etc., in your service learning activities and as applicable in other areas of your life over the short term?
—
AND— •
What are the potential benefitsriskschallenges you might face as you do so?
4 Develop and evaluate your strategies for personal growth over the
long term. •
What is a more general and significant way to use this new awareness in your life over the long term, so that you continue and
improve upon your process of personal growth? —
AND— •
What challenges or setbacks might you face in this process and how might you deal with them?
— AND—
• How will you use or monitor your progress in this personal growth
process so that you may make changes as needed for greater success?
Civic Dimension 1
Identify and describe the approach you or others took toward meeting collective objectives.
• Identify the collective objectives.
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— AND—
• Describe the approach that was undertaken with respect to those
objectives. 2
Apply your understanding of the approach in the context of the objectives at stake.
• How doesmight the approach positively andor negatively affect
the fulfillment of the objectives? 3
Analyze the approach in light of alternatives and develop the steps necessary to make any needed improvements in the short term.
• What alternative approaches waswere available and how would
it they affect the fulfillment of the objectives? e.g., directing action towards an individual v. a group; towards a symptom v. a
root cause; towards a short term v. long term solution. —
AND— •
What are the possible reasons for the approach you they took andor for not taking the alternatives? e.g., attitudes, interests,
agendas, assumptions, knowledge, resources. —
AND— •
In light of the analysis what specific ways can you they improve on your their involvement in processes of collective
action in the short term and what are the benefits and riskschallenges in doing so?
4 Evaluate your others’ role as an agents of long term, sustainable,
andor systemic change.
Based on the above analysis:
• What could be involved in moving future action in the direction of
long term, sustainable, and orsystemic change? e.g., changes that address underlying causes and does not cause inappropriate
dependencies. —
AND— •
What challenges or setbacks might be faced in this process and how might they be dealt with?
— AND—
• How might progress be assessed or monitored in this change
agency in order to promote greater success?
Note: Adapted with permission from Ash, Clayton, and Moses 2004 draft. For an updated version of the rubric, contact Patti Clayton at
phclaytonmindspring.com .
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Casting the Net of Critical Thinking: A Look into the Collegiate Leadership Classroom
Nicole LP Stedman Assistant Professor
University of Florida PO Box 110540
Gainesville, FL 32611 nstedmanufl.edu
Abstract
As the leadership classroom is becoming more diverse in the student demographic make-up it is important to establish what the impacts of those differences are on
learning leadership. In this paper the essential element of leadership analyzed was critical thinking disposition. Participants were analyzed for differences in critical
thinking disposition by the selected demographics of age, gender, GPA, honors enrollment, and major college classification. Using the EMI, it was found that
there were no statistical differences in the total disposition constructs of innovativeness, cognitive maturity, or engagement. There were, however,
differences in individual statements and mean scores. Considering the classroom landscape, an educator must often move beyond statistical significance to identify
means which meet student needs. In essence, some of the most subtle differences in students create the biggest challenges. Research findings are used to make
recommendations for increasing student capacity for critical thinking in the collegiate leadership classroom.
Introduction
The trend in leadership courses is growth. With enrollment in leadership courses increasing, the classrooms that were once small and intimate are now overflowing
with students. Ten years ago Fritz and Brown 1998 declared that institutions were not offering leadership courses because of a lack of resources and student
demand. Times have certainly changed and 10 years later, classes are filling to capacity faster and with a greater variety of students. Undergraduate education is
changing to accommodate the growing demands of employers seeking graduates who are better prepared to deal with the complex world. The preparations include
the basic development of leadership skills Graham, 2001; McKinley, Birkenholz, Stewart, 1993. While there has been tremendous growth in leadership
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emphasis areas, majors, and minors in colleges of agriculture, there is no doubt that this trend exists in college classrooms and campuses regardless of the
discipline. One of the basic tenants of leadership is cognitive ability Bass, 1990; Katz, 1995;
Kirkpatrick Locke, 1991; Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, Fleishman, 2000. In fact, a majority of leadership theories today support the development of
cognitive abilities, knowledge, and intellectual stimulation Northouse, 2007. In an effort to address this leadership need, many classrooms are turning to critical
thinking. Critical thinking is comprised of skill and disposition. While skill is malleable, critical thinking disposition is one’s naturally occurring attitude or
preference for critical thinking and is not easily changed. In many instances, there is an assumption that students are different in disposition.
Many believe that the classroom landscape has changed and that critical thinking instruction is more important than ever. Critical thinking is emphasized by
employers and seen as a way to increase the United State’s market in a global economy Daly as cited in, Shafersman, 1991. Wasley 2008, ¶2 quoted Derek
Bok who commented that studies which document improvement in students’ writing and critical thinking skills will prove to be a “powerful lever of change.”
Classrooms that once had a homogeneous student population are now filled with a diverse group of students with different backgrounds and from different colleges.
Leadership educators must address the question, “Are the students in my class different from one another and what can I do to enhance their critical thinking?”
Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks
Critical Thinking In 1989, Peter Facione under took a massive project to operationalize the concept
of critical thinking. The outcome of his project was the development of critical thinking dispositions and skills. Facione 1990 defined critical thinking as,
“purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual,
methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations” p. 2. This complex definition suggests that the practice of critical thinking is not entered into with
ease. Facione’s Delphi study approached critical thinking from the perspective that there has to be a common ground for educators to discuss critical thinking;
from this, critical thinking dispositions and critical thinking skills were born. Facione 2000 defined disposition as an individual’s “habitual ways of acting”
p. 4. It is the way we act or react to situations and our environment. Coupling this with the notion of critical thinking dispositions, it becomes our attitude or
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preference for thinking critically. Facione contended there are many examples of individuals who are skillful at thinking, but do not possess the correct motivation
to do it. Halpern 1999 suggested that instructors are challenged to make students value “good” thinking and the amount of work necessary to make it happen.
There are plenty of examples of individuals who possess the potential to think critically, but do not practice and vice versa with those who may not be that
disposed to it, but can certainly demonstrate the skill set when appropriate. Rudd, Baker, and Hoover 2000 further defined critical thinking as, “a reasoned,
purposive, and introspective approach to solving problems or addressing questions with incomplete evidence and information for which an incontrovertible
solution is unlikely” p. 5. They Hoover linked critical thinking to learning style, but their research revealed no significant differences between the two concepts.
Since that time, researchers have conducted a number of studies analyzing the various facets of critical thinking. Moore and Rudd 2003 discovered there were
no significant differences in the relationship between bench science and social science career classifications. The researchers did identify significant differences
in the relationship between gender and truth-seeking, inquisitiveness, and maturity. This finding supported those by Rudd, Baker and Hoover 2000 who
found significant differences in gender between truth-seeking, maturity, and open- mindedness.
Ricketts and Rudd 2004 established new instrumentation which re-categorized Facione’s 1989 critical thinking dispositions, identifying cognitive maturity,
innovativeness, and engagement. From their initial studies, they identified low positive relationships between critical thinking skill Facione, 1990 and
disposition as defined by Ricketts and Rudd. Stedman and Andenoro 2007 expanded the role of critical thinking, postulating
a relationship with emotional intelligence, which is another essential for leaders. In their study, they identified significant relationships between students’ overall
critical thinking disposition as measured by the EMI, and emotional intelligence, as defined by Weisinger 1998.
There are still numerous research studies regarding critical thinking disposition which provide a great deal of insight into many areas beyond critical thinking
skill. Critical thinking itself has been studied in a variety of disciplines: management, nursing curricula, athletic training, accounting, and agricultural
education. All disciplines ask the same question: where do we begin with critical thinking instruction?
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Leadership Education Leadership education courses have increasingly experienced diversified student
enrollment, and now include students from colleges of business, liberal arts, and agriculture and life sciences respectively. Colleges of business have traditionally
focused on leadership in organizational behavior courses providing the basics of leadership Nirenberg, 1998. In colleges of liberal arts curricula, educators
focused on political science thereby providing students a glimpse into political leadership and decision making.
In colleges of agriculture there is a growth of leadership programs offered in agricultural education departments. These courses have grown over the last 10
years and provide curriculum to a wide variety of students. Fritz and Brown 1998 purported that growth in leadership programs in departments of
agricultural education was forthcoming and that departments must reach out to their academic peers in other departments to engage in course offerings. This
foretold of the increase and encouraged educators then to consider an interdisciplinary approach to leadership education.
Today leadership classrooms are filled with students from a variety of backgrounds and experiences having varied interests and goals. The combination
of increased class enrollment and more diverse perspectives with a need to enhance and develop critical thinking skills is an important consideration for the
leadership educator. If the student make up is increasingly diverse and the content critical thinking instruction increasingly complex, how can leadership educators
ensure a quality experience for all students? Swatez 1995 declared that the leadership classroom should be one where students are free to debate, discuss, and
disagree with the texts’ and instructors’ ideas thus supporting the development of critical thinkers.
Specifically for this research project, the interest of the researcher was to establish if differences existed between students historically enrolled in the course and
those enrolled for the purposes of obtaining a minor in leadership. Because of the manner in which students from different colleges experienced or came into
contact with leadership concepts prior to entering the course discrepancies in beliefs about leadership were evident, especially concerning the question, “Are
managers and leaders different?” Because of the varied conclusions drawn by these questions and the freedom of the students to express these differences, it
was natural to ask what is causing the difference. The purpose of this study is to determine if any differences exist among students
in a large leadership theory course in their critical thinking disposition. This purpose guided the development of the following research objectives to
determine:
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• the demographic make-up of students participating in the study, • the critical thinking disposition mean scores of students in the study, and
• the variance between critical thinking disposition scores of students in the
study based on selected independent variables.
Methods
This study was conducted during the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 semesters at a land grant institution. Participants were selected through their enrollment in a
large leadership theory course with an average semester enrollment of 120. The course is required for students in the major, other majors within the college, and
those seeking the university-wide leadership minor. There were a total of 230 students enrolled in the course during the two semesters the researcher collected
data. This was a convenience sample of students representing individuals in leadership courses. Of the 230 eligible to participate, there were a total of 177
usable responses collected for a response rate of 77. The researcher used a causal-comparative approach to identify variances between
the independent variables, gender, age, major college, grade point average GPA, and honors enrollment. The dependent variable was critical thinking disposition.
According to Gall, Gall, and Borg 2007, a causal-comparative research design is non-experimental and provides the researcher with information about a dependent
variable existing within a group or groups. In order to measure critical thinking disposition the researcher used the UFEMI
STEP, 2006 and included a short demographic questionnaire to elicit the remaining data. The UFEMI instrument assesses an individual’s disposition
toward critical thinking and includes three scales – cognitive maturity, innovativeness, and engagement. Cognitive maturity addresses an individual’s
personal awareness of biases and predispositions and has a typical score range of eight to 40. Innovativeness refers to the idea that individuals’ are “hungry
learners” and look for new knowledge with a range of seven to 35 STEP Program, 2006. Engagement is defined as an individual’s ability to anticipate
situations where good reasoning is necessary and scores range from 11-55. Developers report the UFEMI to have a reliability of .937, with the following
scale Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients for engagement, .906; cognitive maturity, .787; and innovativeness, .797.
The investigator completed data analysis using SPSS© and applied the statistical analysis of ANOVA. Gall, Gall, and Borg 2007 identified this procedure as
appropriate for analyzing variance among more than two means.
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Findings
The objectives of the study were guided by the research purpose, which was to determine if any differences exist among students in a large leadership theory
course in their critical thinking disposition. Objective 1: Determine the demographic make-up of students participating in the
study. The demographic make-up of the students was analyzed in order to provide a
glimpse at who the participants of the study were. Four colleges were represented including agriculture 53, n=94, business 25, n=44, liberal arts 20,
n=35, and health and human performance 2, n=4. The largest number of respondents specifically reported being in the family, youth and community
sciences major 27, n=48, followed by finance 8, n=15, and dietetics 6, n=10.
Of those respondents, the largest age range was between 19 and 22 n=147, with 16 n=28 23-27 and, the remaining, 1.6 n=3 over the age of 30. Gender was
identified as well and the researcher found that 75 n=134 of respondents were female.
Grade point average GPA was included, as was Honors designation. GPA scores were categorized and grouped. Of the 174 respondents, 38 n=67 reported a
GPA between 3.10 and 3.50. The second largest group were those with a GPA between 3.51 and 3.75 25, n=44. On the high end, 22 n=36 reported a
GPA between 3.76 and 4.00. Conversely, 10 n=18 were between 2.76 and 3.0 while 5 n=9 were between 2.5 and 2.75. At this institution honors enrollment
is optional and reflects additional coursework and commitment to the program on part of the student. Of the 175 participants represented in the study, 12 n=21
reported being enrolled in the honors program. Objective 2: Determine the critical thinking disposition mean scores of students in
the study. This objective provides initial information about the general mean scores of
respondents. This is to establish baseline understanding of differences existing, prior to determining any statistical significance in the variance within or between
the groups. Gender was the first independent variable analyzed and scores were consistent for
both men and women; although men scored themselves higher in engagement M=43.81, sd, 7.82 and innovativeness M=27.65, sd=6.88 as compared with
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women M=43.46, sd, 5.42; M=27.49, sd=3.55. Women’s self-reported scores were higher for cognitive maturity M=31.04, sd=3.58 then men M=30.74,
sd=3.37. The total critical thinking scores were higher for men M=102.65, sd=16.13 then women’s M=102.30, sd=10.80.
Age was categorized and grouped by range. For the disposition of engagement, the highest mean score was for those participants 19-21 n=107 M=43.71,
sd=5.45; followed by respondents 22-24 n=63 M=43.48, sd=7.19, range of 25-27 n=4 M=41.75, sd=5.18 and, respondents, 28-50 n=3 M=41.67,
sd=2.08. Innovativeness scored highest by those respondents 22-24 M=27.81, sd=5.98, followed by 28-50 M=27.67, sd=1.53, 19-21 M=27.43, sd=3.59, and
25-27 M=25.75, sd=4.57. Lastly, cognitive maturity was scored highest by those participants in the range of 28-50 M=31.33, sd=2.52, followed by 19-21
M=31.07, sd=3.70, 22-24 M=30.92, sd=3.26, and 25-27 M=29.00, sd=3.60. Major college classification was analyzed for mean scores. In the area of critical
thinking engagement, participants from the college of health and human performance scored highest M=46.75, SD=3.50, followed by agriculture
M=43.55, SD=6.41, business M=43.43, SD=6.21, and liberal arts M=43.31, SD
=5.20. Respondents from the college of health and human performance scored highest in the construct area of innovativeness M=29.50, sd=1.92, followed by
liberal arts M=27.69, sd=3.40, agriculture M=27.65, sd=5.19, and business M=26.98, sd=4.13. The last construct are analyzed was cognitive maturity and
was scored highest again, by respondents in the college of health and human performance M=31.50, sd=1.30, agriculture M=31.45, sd=3.46, liberal arts
M=30.91, sd=3.43, and business M=29.95, sd=3.72. GPA was analyzed for category mean scores. Engagement was scored highest by
those respondents self-reporting a GPA of 3.76-4.00 M=44.75, sd=4.86, followed by 3.10-3.50 M=43.94, sd=6.92, and the lowest scoring group was
those reporting 2.50-2.75 M=41.22, sd=5.31. Respondents self-reporting a GPA of 3.10-3.50 scored highest in innovativeness M=28.27, sd=5.60, then those
with a 3.76-4.00 M=27.92, sd=3.71. The lowest scoring group was those in the GPA range of 2.50-2.75 M=26.00, sd=3.28. Cognitive Maturity was scored
highest by those in the range of 2.76-3.00 M=31.94, sd=3.57, then 2.50-2.75 M=31.22, sd=2.28 with the lowest score being in the range of 3.51-3.75
M=30.25, sd=3.84. Closely aligned was the independent variable of Honors enrollment. Consistently,
those respondents designating an honors enrollment scored higher in each of the construct areas – engagement M=44.70, sd=3.51, innovativeness M=28.35,
sd=2.78, and cognitive maturity M=31.35, sd=3.70 see Table 1.
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Table 1 Summary of critical thinking disposition mean scores by selected demographics
Gender Major College
Male Female
LA AG
BA HHP
M SD
M SD
M SD
M SD
M SD
M SD
Innovativeness
27.6 6.88
27.4 3.55
27.6 3.40
27.6 5.19
26.9 4.13
29.5 1.92
Engagement
43.8 7.82
43.4 5.42
43.3 5.20
43.5 6.41
43.4 6.21
46.7 3.50
Cognitive Maturity
30.7 3.37
31.0 3.58
30.9 3.43
31.4 3.46
29.9 3.72
31.5 1.30
Total Score
102.6
16.13 102.3
10.80 102.5
9.37
103.0 13.29
100.4 12.43
107.7
4.79
Objective 3: To determine the variance between ct disposition scores of students in the study based on selected independent variables.
The intent of this objective was to provide a means for comparing the variance in critical thinking disposition scores based on selected demographic variables. As
reported in Objective 1, these included gender, age, major college classification, GPA, and Honors enrollment. The researcher analyzed all data for significance
with alpha set a priori at .05. Gender
The first analysis determined if differences existed in the critical thinking disposition of innovativeness by gender. There were two statements showing a
significant difference between groups – “I enjoy learning even when I am not in school,” F=5.12, p.05 and “I search for the truth even when it makes me
uncomfortable,” F=5.59, p.05. However, further analysis of the total critical thinking disposition of innovativeness by gender showed no significant
differences F=.04, p.05. Variance between groups, critical thinking disposition of cognitive maturity by
gender, revealed no significant differences. This was for both independent statements of cognitive maturity and the total construct score F=.24, p.05. The
critical thinking disposition of engagement by gender did show significant differences with the “I keep on working on things until I get them right,” F=6.24,
p
.05; however, at the total engagement disposition score level there were no significant differences revealed F=.11, p.05.
Similarly, data analysis showed no significant differences with the total score for critical thinking disposition by gender F=.03, p05. This completed the analysis
for critical thinking disposition by gender see Table 2.
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Table 2 Analysis of Variance in Critical Thinking Disposition Scores by Gender n=177
Item df
MS F
P I enjoy learning even when I
am not in school Between
1 2.41
5.12 .03 Within
175 .47
I search for the truth even if it makes me uncomfortable
Between 1
4.43 5.59 .02
Within 175
.80 I keep working on things until
I get them right Between
1 4.40
6.24 .01 Within
175 .71
Total Innovativeness Score Between
1 .82
.04 .84 Within
175 20.96
Total Cognitive Maturity Score Between
1 2.94
.24 .63 Within
175 12.45
Total Engagement Score Between
1 4.02
.11 .74 Within
175 36.96
Total Critical Thinking Disposition Score
Between 1
4.05 .03 .87
Within 175 151.06
Age The second round analysis determined differences in variances of critical thinking
disposition by age. The critical thinking disposition of innovativeness revealed no significant differences at the construct statement level or total construct level
F=.62, p.05. Cognitive maturity showed significant differences in one construct statement – “I
am likely to change my opinion when I am given new information that conflicts with my current opinion,” F=1.93, p.05; however revealed no significant
differences at the total cognitive maturity construct level F=.69, p.05. Engagement showed no significant differences either at the individual statement
level or construct level F=.66, p.05. The ANVOA for the total critical thinking disposition score showed no significant differences by age F=.65, p.05 see
Table 3.
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Table 3 Analysis of Variance in Critical Thinking Disposition Scores by Age n=177
Item df
MS F
p I am likely to change my opinion
when I am given new information that conflicts with my current
opinion 1.93
.04 Between
10 1.60
Within 166
.83 Total Innovativeness Score
Between 10
13.19 .62 .80
Within 166
21.30 Total Cognitive Maturity Score
Between 10
8.65 .69 .74
Within 166
12.62 Total Engagement Score
Between 10
24.79 .66 .76
Within 166
37.49 Total Critical Thinking Disposition
Score Between
10 99.12
.65 .77 Within
166 153.31
Major College Classification The third independent variable analyzed for variance was the college represented
by the respondents major college classification. With that four colleges were identified: agriculture n=94, business n=44, liberal arts n=35, and human,
health and performance n=4. The critical thinking disposition of innovativeness was analyzed for significant
differences in variance by major college. There were two independent measures of innovativeness which showed significant differences by major college – “I
enjoy solving problems,” F=2.94, p.05 and “I will go out of my way to find the right answers to problems,” F=2.60, p.05. However, the total construct score
for the critical thinking disposition of innovativeness showed no significant differences F=.50, p.05.
Next, cognitive maturity by major college was analyzed and found to have significant differences in five of the construct statements. These were “I listen
carefully to the opinions of others even when they disagree with me,” F=2.73, p
.05; “I can get along with people who do not share my opinions,” F=2.77, p
.05; “I consider how my own biases affect my opinion,” F=3.50, p.05; “I try to find multiple solutions to problems,” F=2.64, p.05; and, “I ask many
questions when making a decision,” F=2.76, p.05. Yet, with the number of individual constructs showing significant differences the total construct score for
cognitive maturity by major college classification showed no significant differences F=1.86, p.05.
Engagement was the third disposition analyzed for variance by major college. There was one construct statement showing significant differences, “I am a good
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problem solver,” F=2.81, p.05. However, again analysis revealed no significant differences at the total engagement disposition by major college
F=.39, p.05. In regard to the total critical thinking disposition score by major college, analysis
revealed no significant differences F=.69, p.05 see Table 4. Table 4
Analysis of Variance in Critical Thinking Disposition Scores by Major College n=177
Item
df MS
F p
I enjoy solving problems Between
3 1.68
2.94 .04
Within 173
.57 I will go out of my way to find the
right answers to a problem Between
3 1.63
2.60 .05
Within 173
.63 I listen carefully to the opinions of
others even when they disagree with me
Between 3
1.73 2.73
.05 Within
173 .63
I can get along with people who do not share my opinions
Between 3
1.32 2.77
.04 Within
173 .48
I consider how my own biases affect my opinion
Between 3
2.12 3.49
.02 Within
173 .61
I ask many questions when making a decision
Between 3
2.20 2.76
.04 Within
173 .80
Total Innovativeness Score Between
3 10.38
.50 .69
Within 173
21.02 Total Cognitive Maturity Score
Between 3
22.66 1.86
.14 Within
173 12.21
Total Engagement Score Between
3 14.51
.39 .76
Within 173
37.16 Total Critical Thinking Disposition
Score Between
3 103.80 .69
.56 Within
173 151.03 Grade Point Average GPA
GPA was a self-reported demographic used for a forth level of analysis of variance in critical thinking disposition. The first disposition analyzed by GPA
was innovativeness. Across each construct statement there were no significant differences revealed, as with the total score for the disposition of innovativeness
by GPA F=1.46, p.05. Similarly, the total score for critical thinking disposition by GPA showed no significant differences F=1.20, p.05.
Likewise, the disposition of cognitive maturity by GPA showed no significant differences, either by statement or total construct score F=.75, p.05.
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Honors Enrollment Honors enrollment was the last independent variable assessed for variance
between the groups or categories of respondents. Innovativeness neither showed statistical significance at the construct statement or total construct level F=.72,
p
.05. In this particular case, the construct of cognitive maturity showed one construct
statement to be statistically significant, “I consider how my own biases affect my opinion” F=5.60, p.05. However, the total construct score was not significantly
different F=.26, p.05. Likewise, the disposition of engagement had one statement, “I enjoy finding
answers to challenging questions” F=5.01, p.05, yet the total construct score for engagement was not statistically significant F=.81, p.05. These cumulative
results failed to show any statistical difference at the total dispositional score F=.74, p.05 see Table 5.
Table 5 Analysis of Variance in Critical Thinking Disposition Scores by Honors
Enrollment n=177 Item
df MS
F .p
I consider how my own biases affect my opinions
Between 1
3.46 5.60 .02
Within 175
.62 I enjoy finding answers to
challenging questions Between
1 3.79
5.01 .03 Within
175 .76
Total Innovativeness Score Between
1 15.12
.72 .40 Within
175 20.87
Total Cognitive Maturity Score Between
1 3.23
.26 .61 Within
175 12.44
Total Engagement Score Between
1 29.92
.81 .37 Within
175 36.81
Total Critical Thinking Disposition Score
Between 1 110.71
.74 .40 Within
175 150.45 These findings were synthesized and analyzed for consistency or contrasts against
previous works as documented in the literature review. With that conclusions and recommendations were made.
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Conclusions and Recommendations
Because of the nature of this study the researcher disclaims the generalization of findings beyond this particular research group. The following conclusions and
recommendations are made to address specific issues and findings of the participants of this study.
Objective one found a diversity of individuals in the large leadership theory course. One particular finding was the number of female students represented in
the overall course enrollment. This is an important consideration in addressing overall classroom management and course experiences. Age of participants was
found to be normal or consistent with typical college course enrollment; with the slight exception of those students over traditional age 25 to 50.
Second, was the idea of representation by major college classification; the number of students represented by four different colleges from across the institution. The
majority was from the college of agriculture where the course was offered; however, other students represented by business, and liberal arts are important
enrollment factors for leadership courses. GPA was important and showed a range of student achievement. With that, reported GPAs showed a high level of student
performance and demonstrated that students enrolled in this course were at a moderate to high level of academic achievement. While there was not a majority
of honors enrolled students, their participation in the course does influence peer- to-peer interactions.
Objective two analyzed the mean scores of the critical thinking dispositions of engagement, innovativeness and cognitive maturity against the selected
demographic variables of gender, age, major college classification, GPA, and Honors enrollment. The self-reported mean scores indicated that men reported
themselves as more disposed to critical thinking in the areas of innovativeness and engagement whereas women scored high in cognitive maturity. With the normal
range of scores for engagement being 11 to 55; the men in this study were on the higher end M=43.81. Likewise, innovativeness ranges from 7 to 35 and the
men’s reported means was 27.65. The women on the other hand scored higher in cognitive maturity M=31.04, which has a normal range of 8-40. The scores may
indicate that there is still a gap in the way men and women perceive themselves and that natural differences may cause disparity in critical thinking. This may
encourage instructors to seek out different ways to encourage critical thinking whether that is through group activities pairing men and women to complement
one another or to allow more time for each group to hone their particular dispositions into skills.
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The mean critical thinking dispositions scores as measured by age were varied, in terms of highest and lowest scoring groups. With the highest mean scores for all
three dispositions reported by different age ranges – engagement 19-21; M
=43.71, innovativeness 22-24, M=27.81, and cognitive maturity 28-50, M
=31.33 one can only surmise that each group has its strengths when considering critical thinking disposition. One consistent finding related age to
cognitive maturity in that the older an individual is the more aware of personal biases and subjectivity comes into play.
An area of interest was the self-reported mean scores of participants categorized by major college. The findings showed that the college of human health and
performance scored highest in each critical thinking disposition area. This could be a result of the program itself and the type of students it attracts, being the
program is comprised primarily by pre-health and pre-med students. The college of agriculture showed median scores, scoring the second highest in engagement
and cognitive maturity. This may be a result of the hands on applied nature of programs in the college or a result of more directed instruction in the area of
critical thinking as evidenced by this institution. The college of business scored lowest in two cognitive maturity and innovativeness of the three dispositions.
This may be a result of the program in business and the curriculum, with little emphasis in the area of personal reflection and idea development. Although the
research is not fully comfortable with this claim, there appears to be a significant need for additional research in this area.
Similarly, GPA showed a large amount a variance in the groups which scored highest for each of the critical thinking dispositions. As one may have expected,
engagement anticipating situations where good reasoning is necessary was scored highest by those in the GPA range of 3.76-4.00. The other areas did not
indicate a specific group whose scores merit further discussion. This relates to earlier research indicating that because an individual is disposed to think critically
does not mean they follow through with the practice and vice versa. Honors enrolled students scored higher than non-enrolled students in all three critical
thinking dispositions. Understanding the decision to enter honors programs and the student make-up of those enrolled compared to non-enrolled is an area of
interest and should be further explored.
Objective three analyzed the mean scores for significant differences. Although there were specific dispositions which showed significant differences in specific
construct statements; all groups failed to show significant differences at the total dispositional scores. This included the total critical thinking disposition score.
This is consistent with Moore and Rudd 2003 who determined there were no significant differences between bench and social science careers. However,
because of subtle differences found in mean scores, as reported in objective two, and the significant differences in specific statements, the researcher fully contends
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that additional research should be conducted to determine the causes of the differences and to address limitations of the study which may have caused the
findings to be non-conclusive. This again is consistent with both Moore and Rudd 2003 and Rudd, Baker, and Hoover 2000 who identified significant differences
in truth-seeking and inquisitiveness which are the two comparable dispositions identified by Facione 1990.
In an effort to address leadership curriculum, establishing a need for critical thinking in the classroom is not only pertinent to the student experience in the
course, but in their lives as leaders after the course. It is important that the leadership classroom foster critical thinking through dispositional development
and skill building. With that, educators should create a classroom environment open to students from a variety of backgrounds which allows open
communication and dialogue about leadership concepts. As this study showed for this particular institution, although scores are different by mean, the significance
is not and students should be developed for who the leaders they will become not their gender, age, major college classification, GPA, or Honors enrollment.
While additional research is a key recommendation of this researcher, faculty teaching leadership should emphasize the importance of critical thinking to their
students. With that, reinforcing Halpern’s 1999 challenge of making students value “good” thinking and the more difficult clause, that it will not be easy.
Students should be taught to complement their potential to think critically as leaders and be provided frameworks for doing so. This may include providing
additional provisions to groups who may not be willing to do the work – in other words, sometimes educators have to push a little to get a big result. Critical
thinking does take a lot of work and students need to be kept motivated and inspired to do so.
Other research studies need to include institutions which are not actively making attempts at critical thinking instruction. By doing so, a comparative analysis can
be conducted which focuses on the impact of critical thinking instruction. This study focused on students already receiving additional instruction and to fully
understand the impact of the instruction, a pre-test methodology or equivalent class or institution should also be analyzed.
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References
Bass, B. 1990. Bass and Stogdill’s handbook of leadership 3
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ed.. New York; The Free Press.
Facione, P. A. 1990. The Delphi report. Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press.
Facione, P. A., Facione, N. C., and Giancarlo, C. A. 2000. The disposition toward critical thinking: Its character, measurement, and relationship to
critical thinking skill. Informal Logic, 20 1, 61-84. Fritz, S. M., Brown, F. W. 1998. Leadership education courses and programs
in departments of agricultural education. Journal of Agricultural Education, 39
3, 57-62. Graham, D. L. 2001. Employer perception of the preparation of agricultural and
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1, 88-101. Halpern, D. F. 1999. Teaching for critical thinking: Helping college students
develop the skills and dispositions of a critical thinker. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 1999
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Kirkpatrick, S. A., Locke, E. A. 1991. Leadership: Do traits matter? The Executive, 5
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Mumford, M. D., Zaccaro, S. J., Harding F. D., Owen Jacobs, T., Fleishman, E. A. 2000. Leadership skills for a changing world: Solving complex social
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Ricketts, J. C., Rudd, R. D. 2004. The relationship between critical thinking dispositions and critical thinking skills of selected youth leaders in the
national FFA organization. Journal of Southern Agricultural Education Research
, 54 1, 21-33. Rudd, R. D., Moore, L. L. 2003. Undergraduate agriculture student critical
thinking abilities and anticipated career goals: Is there a relationship? Journal of Southern Agricultural Education Research, 53
1, 127-139. Rudd, R., Baker, M., Hoover, T. 2000. Undergraduate agriculture student
learning styles and critical thinking abilities: Is there a relationship? Journal of Agricultural Education, 41
3, 2-12. Schafersman, S. D. 1991. An introduction to critical thinking. Retrieved March
5, 2008 from http:www.freeinquiry.comcritical-thinking.html Stedman, N. P., Andenoro, A. C. 2007. Identification of relationships
between emotional intelligence skill and critical thinking disposition in undergraduate leadership students. Journal of Leadership Education, 6
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University of Florida, STEP Program 2006. Critical thinking instrumentation manual. Retrieved August 4, 2007 from
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Biography
Nicole Stedman is an Assistant Professor and coordinates the university-wide leadership minor at the University of Florida. She teaches courses at the
undergraduate and graduate levels with an emphasis on leadership development. Her current research interests are how educators can create experiences to
increase capacity for critical thinking in the leadership classroom including the use of artwork and other creative mediums.
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Experiential Workshop with Educational Leadership Doctoral Students: Managing Affective Reactions
To Organizational Change
Leigh Falls, Ed.S., Doctoral Candidate, LPC-S, RPT-S, ACS, NCC Instructor II
Texas Woman’s University Department of Family Sciences
College of Professional Education P.O. Box 425769
Denton, TX 76204-5769 LFallsmail.twu.edu
Teresa Jara Department of Educational Leadership and Counselor Education
Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX
Tim Sever Department of Educational Leadership and Counselor Education
Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX
Abstract
Managing change processes, resistance to change, and organizational members’ emotional reactions to change are crucial skills for future educational leaders to
learn. Our case study is based on a workshop conducted using two experiential exercises to facilitate current educational leadership doctoral students’ reflections
on their own reactions to change and their emotional sources of their resistances to change. Two unique aspects of this workshop that drew feedback from
participants indicating significant internalization of learning included an “in vivo” change experience and the timing of the workshop during the students’ writing
and presenting of dissertation proposals. We document how this process facilitated their improved insight regarding the importance of engaging
subordinates in change processes. Additionally, cultural differences between Persian, White, Black, and Latino participants as they may affect management of
change are described. Participants’ reflections and insights are discussed and implications for future practice and research identified.
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Introduction
This is a case study in training future educational leaders to improve their change management knowledge and skills. We developed a workshop to help current
educational leadership doctoral students explore their own reactions to change and to discuss how these expectations influence their change management processes.
We hoped that with increased insight into their own reactions to change, through the use of two experiential exercises, these future educational leaders would learn
how to more effectively manage change in the organizations they will lead.
Review of Literature
Management of organizational change is a dynamic and hotly debated issue in business, government agencies, and educational organizations Bennis, 2000;
Cohen, 2000; Dunphy, 2000; Gallbraith, 2000; Ingram, 2005; Kotter, 1996; Pettigrew, 2000; Schaffer Thomson, 1996; Shapiro, 2001; Sparks, 2005;
Spencer, 2004, 2005; Weick, 2000; Zaleznik, 1996. According to Burke 2002, “organizations of all kinds today are having to deal with environments that are
changing more rapidly than the organizations themselves” p. 9. Change is therefore most often motivated externally by the environments in which these
organizations exist, rather than internally. This external locus of control is often at odds with stakeholders’ employees,
clientsstudents, the community internal cognitively constructed identities as part of the organizations in which they function Schwenk, 2002. The historical
narrative of the organizational culture combined with the individual stakeholder’s internalized experience of this narrative result in a “sense of self” within the
organization, an “organizational self identity,” as it were. This meaning- attribution process is how the individual stakeholder understands himself or
herself within the concept of the organizational culture or subcultures Briskin, 1996.
The pace of environmental changes in the modern world and the resulting conflict with our internalized identities “challenges our basic assumptions about
ourselves” Briskin, 1996, p. 145. Therefore, when change is imposed on individuals within organizations, they experience a sort of cognitive dissonance
between their personal realities based on their own autobiographical narratives of experiences and an attempt by an external force to assert control in the form of
changing not only the policy, process, or guiding philosophy targeted for change, but also changing the individual’s sense of self within the organization. Therefore,
organizational change may be experienced as a threat to an individual’s intra- psychic self-structure and a loss of control over the self. Individuals within
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organizations are thus likely to react to change such as they would to an impending assault and either passively resist or actively fight the change at hand.
Attention to identifying and addressing these perceived threats are crucial to managing successful change processes in organizations. Swenk 2002 indicates
that in order to engage individuals in dialogue about change, it helps to be mindful having a present temporal orientation in characterizing change as “part
of an ongoing process, rather than disastrous deviations from past procedure” p. 152. This allows individuals the time and focus to process issues around the need
for the changes in such a way as to allow accommodation or assimilation of a new and different perspective into their current organizational self identities. An
understanding of organizational change as an evolutionary process, necessarily involving change for survival of the organization, is helpful in engaging
stakeholders in the process, rather than focusing on the change as externally imposed and out of their control Burke, 2002; Weick, 2000.
The literature indicates that understanding the organization’s subcultures and engaging these subcultures in the change taking place, rather than simply using
power to attempt to exert control over change processes is more likely to lead to success Locke Gugliemino, 2006. It is important to identify and value the
diversity of roles individual stakeholders play within organizational culture or subcultures. It is also important to understand the information these individuals
can provide change managers in how the organization is likely to process change. The literature reveals that to be successful in initiating dialogue about change, one
must address several factors posited in the maintenance of status quo such as Brill Worth, 1997; Kotter, 1996 a the strong emotional reactions
stakeholders have to the proposition of change, b how to anchor the change within the organizational culture,c aspirations regarding what visions or goals
are hoped for, d insight regarding stakeholders’ understanding of reasons for and against the change, and e identification of self-reinforcing incentives for and
against changing that are personally applicable to stakeholders who are impacted by the impending change.
Cameron Quinn 2006 illustrate a six step process for addressing the competing values frameworks within organizations as a way to address
organizational change processes. These steps are a the change manager must facilitate consensus on what the current culture is, b then heshe must facilitate
consensus on the desired future culture, c then heshe determines what the changes will and will not mean individually and organizationally, d the change
manager facilitates identification of illustrative stories or organizational narratives about the culture and changes within the culture from key stakeholders in the
organization, in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the organizational self-identities at stake, e he or she must develop a strategic action
plan that takes this information into account, and f finally, based on the information gathered, the change manager forms an implementation plan.
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This model is often in contrast to how change frequently occurs in reality in educational organizations, which is often experienced by individuals within the
organizations as chaotic. This usually occurs because change is often an unplanned response to a problem, rather than being managed proactively. When
individuals experience change in a chaotic environment with little or no engagement in the change process, it is understandable that they may react with
resistant behaviors due to their perception that their organizational self identities are being threatened. Our case study was therefore intended to utilize experiential
learning to assist future educational leaders in becoming mindful of their own reactions to change in an effort to assist their learning more productive ways to
engage individual stakeholders in the change processes for which they will ultimately be responsible.
Participants
The participants for our workshop were educational leadership doctoral students in the process of developing their dissertation proposals. There were 12
participants: 11 females and one male; three Hispanics, one Persian, three Caucasians, and five African-Americans. All were volunteers who could choose
at any point not to participate in the workshop.
Methodology
Two simultaneous experiential exercises took place, followed by processing each of the activities. The first activity included a two part change questionnaire 2007
that was completed individually. The first part of the questionnaire included 12 questions that encouraged participants to focus on their own reactions to changes
they have experienced using a five-point Likert scale, one being strongly disagree to five being strongly agree. The second part of the questionnaire included 12
questions regarding the participants’ beliefs about best practices in managing change. The participants were then placed into small groups to discuss their
responses to the questionnaire including discussion of the similarities and differences in responses between members and what factors the participants
believe accounted for similarities and differences identified. The group discussions were monitored by one of the workshop facilitators in
order to emphasize the importance we placed on their perceptions. A spokesperson was selected within the group who then presented their results to the
entire workshop audience. The workshop leaders facilitated a discussion between participants to help them process their own insights and experiences they noted in
participant responses, demographic or cultural differences, what prompted the strongest emotional reactions of participants and why. They also facilitated the
group process regarding how participants’ insights may influence their future management of organizational change.
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The second experiential activity was initially unknown to the participants. During the design process, the workshop facilitators discussed the ethical implications of
initially not informing the participants about the exercise and determined that the risk of potential harm was negligible and that as part of processing of the
activities, the “blind” nature of this activity would be disclosed and participants would be encouraged to process their feelings and reactions. Given that this was
not initially intended to be a research case study, IRB approval was not sought; however, a university professor with over 35 years experience was consulted, as
part of the decision making process. The participants were classmates who expected, as had been the protocol in all of
their previous experiences in this class, that their professor would be present and introduce the facilitators and assist in presenting and processing the material. The
professor had previously told the students that if he was 15 or 20 minutes late, they would be allowed to leave and class activities would be rescheduled.
However, arrangements were made between the facilitators and the professor prior to the workshop for the professor to come late to the presentation. After 10
minutes, one of the presenters acted as though she felt it was not important for the professor to be there, one of the presenters acted as though he did not want to start
until after the professor joined them, and the third presenter appeared conflicted, but then acquiesced to the first presenter, and we began the workshop. The first
presenter continued to act as though the agenda was of primary importance, while the other two intermittently responded to concerns raised by the participants
regarding their professor not being there and the impending implications. The professor arrived about 45 minutes late, his presence being minimized while the
planned activity continued. During group processing, following the questionnaire and small group activities,
one of the presenters encouraged the students to discuss their reactions to the change in their normal class schedule and protocol. Following processing of their
own reactions and concerns, they were informed that it was planned for the professor to be late, and then they were given the opportunity to process their
reactions to this disclosure. This served as a second experiential exercise on reactions to change and management of change.
Discussion
With regard to the first exercise, participants differed in their responses to change based on their professional positions. Those who were already in educational
leadership positions tended to see change as necessary at times and something that is fairly easily accepted. Those who were not currently in leadership positions
within their schools or community colleges discussed the need for understanding the impact change would have on individuals in the organization. Their reflections
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revealed a belief that the more closely the individual is affected by the change proposed, the anxiety they experienced increased, resulting in a resistant attitude
towards the change. Group processing revealed that those in management should take time and assert effort to listen to those organizational members who would
be affected by the change. The participants reached consensus that if the change manager attempted to understand their concerns about proposed changes, as well
as participants’ underlying beliefs and values related to the organization, it would diminish the resistance they experienced. It was evident that varied perspectives,
based on personal, cultural, and professional experiences resulted in different perceptions about how change should be implemented.
Group processing regarding management of change triggered emotional responses among participants, initially due to reactions to the second experiential exercise
that were then synthesized with the differences in perception identified by the first exercise. We found that the second experiential activity allowed participants to
experience “in vivo” their own cognitive dissonance related to unexpected change. Although several participants initially questioned beginning the workshop
without the professor, only one insisted the instructor should be contacted. Although group processing revealed most participants felt uncomfortable about
the process being changed without discussion, their responses were not overtly reflective of their conflicting feelings. This was illustrative of one way individuals
in organizations may respond with resistance, if they are not involved in processing, planning for, and carrying out proposed changes in the organizations
where they work. It is important to note this particular group of educational leadership students
planned to present their dissertation proposals, resulting in an additional contextual influence in processing their personal reactions to change. The timing
of the workshop ultimately was the most powerful intervention because group processing allowed participants to discuss their thoughts and feelings about
changes, both planned and unplanned, in relationship to the dissertation process. They noted how having those “in control” of their situation dissertation chair or
manager understand their emotional connection, based on time and energy invested, and their sense of control in the process, was crucial to their ability to
work through their initial, sometimes strong, negative reactions to change. Attaining this acknowledgement and understanding was important in helping
them emotionally open themselves to new information and perspectives that may ultimately make the project a stronger reflection of their abilities.
The workshop developed into a manifested parallel process of organizational change, provoking strong emotional reactions affected by participants’ levels of
investment in the proposed change; their personal value systems, cultural beliefs and traditions regarding authority; and their perceptions of control over the
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change processes themselves. When participants had a high level of personal investment, such as their dissertation proposals, it increased their anxiety about
the proposed changes and resulted in their increased resistance to the changes. Specific investments of time that had taken the participants away from their
families tended to result in the strongest emotional reactions. These participants needed facilitation of their grief process regarding letting go of their emotional
investment and their perceived losses. With the grief process being attended to and respected, participants were able to move to what they termed “a sense of
hope” allowing them to “let go and go on,” thus lessening their resistance to change.
Group processing revealed that personal values and cultural beliefs and traditions specifically about respect for and loyalty to authority figures also brought up
strong emotional reactions that needed attention. One female Persian participant spoke about her need to respect authority figures regarding setting the structure
for change processes. Her cultural beliefs and values indicated a willingness to be loyal to whoever is in authority, even if that was not the predominant culture
among the group as a whole. This type of foundational ethic would likely be advantageous when the person is in a position where others are implementing
change in the organization where she works; however, for the same reasons it became evident that it may be difficult for her to identify with and attend to the
strong negative emotional reactions someone of another culture may have regarding change.
The African-American participants and those of Puerto Rican and Mexican dissent, tended to have a bias for action, believing that change is necessary for
improvement, both personally and in organizations, perhaps due to the fact that they are in minority cultures within the United States, and therefore have
necessarily had to fight for change toward inclusiveness in their organizations and communities. Processing the cultural differences regarding approaches to change
led to increased sensitivity to other cultural perspectives and personal insights among participants in their own potential biases. The participants repeatedly
noted, based on this conversation, how important it would be to attend to, attempt to understand, and facilitate discussion of proposed organizational changes as
they relate to individuals’ personal and cultural beliefs and values. Through understanding and honoring the diverse perspectives on change, a leader can
connect with those in his or her charge and identify ways to reframe change in such a way that the members of the organization see a validation of their core
values and beliefs. Lastly, the level of perceived control the participants had regarding changes they
had experienced affected their level of resistance or lack thereof. Participants discussed the need for having the necessary resources available to them through
support and accurate honest information about changes prior to implementation in
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order to reduce feelings of resentment about change decisions. Additionally, when participants were asked to be involved in the decision making process, planning,
and implementation, they felt their input was taken into consideration, and thus valued. This collaborative approach ultimately resulted in increased feelings of
inclusion and an internal locus of control among participants and increased engagement in and reduction of resistance to proposed change.
Implication for Future Practice and Research
Although the conclusions garnered form this workshop were fairly consistent with existing research and the subject matter that is often taught didactically in
educational leadership courses about management of change, the experiential nature of the workshop resulted in learning at sensory, affective, and cognitive
levels. Due to the multiple methods of processing, participants were more likely to be impacted by the information, thus more likely to draw on this experience to
inform the choices they make regarding managing change processes in their future educational leadership positions.
This would suggest that providing an experiential opportunity for learning about management of emotional reactions to change for doctoral educational leadership
students may be an effective method of helping students become more self- reflexive and mindful regarding how emotional reactions to externally imposed
change may affect those they will lead in the future. It also highlights the tendency toward resistance among individuals who are not engaged in the change
processes in organizations. Future research, particularly qualitative case studies and phenomenological interviews, would improve our understanding of the effect
of emotional reactions to externally imposed change and the effectiveness of experiential learning about management of emotional reactions to change on
future educational leaders’ approaches to change management.
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References
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pp. 112-122. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Brill, P. L., Worth, R. 1997. The four levers of corporate change. New York: American Management Association.
Briskin, A. 1996. The stiring of soul in the workplace. San Fransisco: Jossey- Bass.
Burke, W. W. 2002. Organization change: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Cameron, K. S., Quinn, R. E. 2006. Diagnosing and changing organizational culture
. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass. Change Questionnaire. 2007. The 2007 Pfeiffer annual: consulting. Hoboken,
NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Cohen A. R. 2000. Initiating change: The anatomy of structure as a starting
point, a commentary on Galbraith and Hirschhorn. In M. Beer, N. Nohria Eds., Breaking the code of change pp. 177-191. Boston:
Harvard Business School Press. Dunphy, D. 2000. The embracing paradox: Top-down versus participative
management of organizational change: A commentary on Conger and Bennis. In M. Beer, N. Nohria Eds., Breaking the code of change pp.
123-135. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Gallbraith, J. R. 2000. The role of formal structures and processes. In M. Beer,
N. Nohria Eds., Breaking the code of change pp. 139-160. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Ingram, P. D. 2005. A snapshot of the change agent state for diversity project. Journal of extension
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Champy, N. Nohria Eds., Fast forward: The best ideas on managing business change
pp. 91-103. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.
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Locke, M. G., Guglielmino, L. 2006. The influence of subcultures on planned change in a community college. Community college review pp. 108-127.
Pettigrew, A. M. 2000. Linking change processes to outcomes: A commentary on Ghoshal, Bartlett, and Weick. In M. Beer, N. Nohria Eds.,
Breaking the code of change pp. 243-265. Boston: Harvard Business
School Press. Schaffer, R. H., Thomson, H. A. 1996. Successful change programs begin
with results. In J. Champy, N. Nohria Eds., Fast forward: The best ideas on managing business change
pp. 141-156. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.
Shapiro, L. T., Nunez, W. J. 2001. Strategic planning synergy. Planning for higher education
pp. 27-34. Schwenk, C. R. 2002. Identity, learning and decision making in changing
organizations . Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
Sparks, D. 2005. Tempered radicals speak courageously to inspire change. Staff development
pp. 20-23. Spencer, M. H., Winn, B. 2005. Evaluating the success of strategic change
against Kotter’s eight steps. Planning for higher education pp. 15-22. Weick, K. E. 2000. Emergent change as a universal in organizations. In M.
Beer, N. Nohria Eds., Breaking the code of change pp. 223-242. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Zaleznik, A. 1996. Managers and leaders: Are they different? In J. Champy, N. Nohria Eds., Fast forward: The best ideas on managing business
change pp. 129-246. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.
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Biographies
Leigh Falls is a counselor educator at Texas Woman’s University. She is completing her doctoral degree at Sam Houston State University. She has an
Ed.S. in school counseling and M.A. in professional counseling. She has worked in mental health counseling for 14 years and school counseling for five years. Her
research interests are relational and experiential interventions with kids suffering from attachment disorders, relational approaches to counseling and supervision,
and school counselor burnout. Teresa D. Jara is a doctoral candidate in the educational leadership department at
Sam Houston State University and currently employed as an assistant principal in the Aldine Independent School District. Her research interests include increasing
Hispanic college graduation rates. Timmor Sever earned his M.S. in mathematics from the University of Houston in
1989 prior to working as a research assistant in artificial intelligence. Currently he is a doctoral candidate in educational leadership at Sam Houston State University.
Mr. Sever is the department chair of mathematics at Houston Community College Central Campus. His current research interests include intervention strategies that
improve student success.
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Studying Leadership within Successful Rural Communities in a Southeastern State:
A Qualitative Analysis
Kristina G. Ricketts, Ph.D. 304 Garrigus Building
Community and Leadership Development University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40546-0215 k.rickettsuky.edu
859-257-3767
Abstract
Many rural communities are experiencing a diversity of issues, but what part does leadership play in these communities? This qualitative study describes the
environment within two communities in the southeast focusing on community variables of psychological sense of community, community leadership, and social
capital. Leaders were identified and a qualitative data analysis identified several themes within these variables. Leaders strongly felt “sense of community” was in
the surrounding county and a strong moral compass was provided by schools and churches. Leaders showed a sense of service to their community stressing the
importance of involvement in the community. Local community groups provide the greatest opportunity for community action. Finally, they relied strongly on
relationships as the backbone to the community. Effective community leaders are important in developing important relationships, establishing communication, and
providing the community with direction. Further research should be done with an emphasis on change and development.
Introduction and Theoretical Framework
Sadly, many of today’s rural areas are in trouble. Issues facing rural communities include decline in areas such as the loss of family farms and small farming
communities resulting in ever-dwindling populations that may not be able to actively support a community to rapid growth and how to protect surrounding
environments and the small town culture. Furthermore, demographic shifts and economic restructuring threaten to dramatically alter the lives of rural people and
their communities Brown, Swanson, Barton, 2003. On average today’s rural communities differ more from each other than urban areas Flora Flora, 2004.
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Therefore, addressing these problems will be particularly complex; a “one size fits all” approach will not be effective.
Within many rural communities today, local leaders are concluding that if economic and community development is to occur, it is their responsibility to
make it happen Bell Evert, 1997. In areas such as public education and job training; technology; networking with state and regional agencies; health care;
leadership; and, strategic planning, communities are learning that community development is not the responsibility of any one group, but a community wide
effort. Furthermore, many argue that leadership may be the catalyst through which these
changes occur. Communities that are creative, entrepreneurial, and committed to building a shared vision and consensus are found to be better prepared to address
community needs Bell Evert, 1997. For rural communities to remain there is a call for local leadership to take charge and guide the way into the future Cugliari
Earnest, 2007. The leadership capability found within a community is considered a valuable asset; as such, it is these leaders who are expected to build
local partnerships for managing change in today’s diverse communities Bolton, 2004; Tabb Montesi, 2000.
Even more importantly for the future of today’s rural communities are the presence and action of leaders who can “fit it all together.” Positioning a
community for a viable future does not mean just solving complex problems and planning for successful social change; it also means aspects such as increasing
individual well-being, motivating community members towards developing social capital, and sustaining a community’s unique culture Bolton, 2004. This is the
complex side of community leadership. Three important variables are included in the theoretical framework of this study
including psychological sense of community, community servant leadership, and social capital. Beginning with psychological sense of community, this
variable is based upon the more social, relational aspect of community. Formally defined by McMillan as the feeling of belonging and importance that members
have within their community, it has four measurable components: a membership, b influence, c integration and fulfillment of needs, and d shared
emotional connection McMillan Chavis, 1986. As defined for this study, servant leadership most closely embodies how
leadership often plays out in the context of community. This leadership theory provides for a human element of community interaction that is often lost within
other definitions. According to Robert Greenleaf 1996, a leader operating under servant leadership begins with the feeling or desire to serve first, followed by the
conscious choice to lead. Laub 2000 takes Greenleaf’s definition one step
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further by identifying six factors that clearly describe a servant leader. A servant leader is one who values people, develops people, builds community, displays
authenticity, provides leadership, and shares leadership. The third salient variable in the study, social capital was seen by the researchers
to be an important link in describing how successful communities interact. Fundamentally, social capital places a value on the relationships and interactions
found within a group. Within the community field, “for the greater good” is undertaken with the general community interest in mind, not one specific interest.
According to Kim and Schweitzer 1996 social capital is best summarized by Putnam, who defines social capital by the existence of a group’s networks, norms,
and social trust that works toward coordination for mutual benefit. That being said, the components outlined to describe social capital as a variable were
components pulled from the theoretical underpinnings of the Social Capital Benchmark Survey, researched and designed by the John F. Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University the Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America. The components found most appropriate in outlining social capital for
this study were trust, organizational involvement, and community involvement.
Purpose and Objectives
As Patton 2002 indicates, qualitative research may be used to garner insight about a phenomenon of interest. Therefore, the purpose behind this study was to
thoroughly illustrate and describe the current environment within two rural communities in a southeastern state, with particular interest in describing the
influence leadership and sense of community have upon the development of social capital leading to a more viable community.
As this is a piece of a larger study, one unique objective served as the basis for this study – to compare each viable community according to the variables of
psychological sense of community, community leadership, and social capital.
Methodology
Qualitative methods were used to gather and interpret data. Using specific community selection parameters, two communities were selected according to
their highest scores on the combined criteria for community viability. A third community was identified for pilot study purposes.
Once study communities were determined, interview participants were chosen purposefully to address specific research goals Guba Lincoln, 1981.
Therefore, an initial expert panel of leaders was identified within each community from a breadth of fields. These participants were identified because of their
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professional or volunteer positions within their particular counties that placed them in positions of leadership i.e., county sheriff, mayor, county
commissioners. This expert panel was interviewed and asked to name prominent leaders within their community, and so on, as a snowball sampling technique
ensued. Key leader interviews continued until names began to recur within each community. This took from three to four total interview rounds. A total of 49
interviews were carried out in the study. An interview guide developed by the researcher was used to conduct
standardized, open-ended interviews. This guide allowed for structure and provided a congruity to assure consistency of data among sites and individuals
interviewed. Within this study the questions were pulled from three different sources: the Sense of Community Index McMillan Chavis, 1986, the
Organizational Leadership Assessment Laub, 2000, and the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey the Saguaro Seminar Civic Engagement in
America. Questions were then modified by the researcher in order to more effectively test toward the study objectives.
Initial contact was made with potential participants through a letter. As suggested by Guba and Lincoln 1981, personal contact through telephone calls was next in
order to establish an interview schedule and stimulate rapport and cooperation with each interview participant. The next contact was made through an on-site
interview following Lincoln and Guba’s 1985 steps for carrying out an evaluative interview.
Interviews were transcribed following each interview. Transcriptions were compared to interviewer notes and observations made during each interview to
check for completeness and accuracy. Data was compared between communities directly comparing the participants within their respective stages and areas within
each community. The qualitative data were analyzed and reported using a five-step procedure as
recommended by Creswell 1998, and used by Kelsey and Mariger 2002:
• Organization of data. Facts about the case were arranged in a logical order.
• Categorization of data. Categories major themes were identified, and the data were clustered into meaningful groups via cutting and pasting.
• Interpretation of codes. Specific statements that fell into like clusters groups were examined for specific meanings in relationship to the
purpose and objectives of the study. Example statements were identified that helped with interpretation. Data were examined within and among
groups for similarities and differences.
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• Identification of patterns. The data and their interpretations were scrutinized for underlying themes and patterns that characterized the study
and allowed the researchers to draw conclusions. • Synthesis. An overall portrait of the study was constructed where
conclusions and recommendations were drawn based on the data presented.
Finally, throughout the entire research process, care was taken to overcome potential sources of bias within qualitative research using steps identified by
Patton 2002 and Lincoln and Guba 1985.
Findings
Within this study there were several distinctly emerging categories and themes identified through the qualitative analysis process. In order to make the data more
manageable and to provide a meaningful context, themes were identified within and limited to each variable. Under the heading of each variable the environment
of each of the study communities will be more thoroughly illustrated through themes compared and contrasted between the communities. Ultimately, the goal
was to provide a more meaningful description of the identified successful rural communities.
Psychological Sense of Community Based on the more social, relational aspect of community, this variable has been
formally defined by McMillan as the feeling of belonging and importance that members have about their community McMillan Chavis, 1986. Not
surprisingly, each community proved to operationalize sense of community slightly differently, but provided two primary themes important to the leaders’
sense of community. Strong leadership from schoolschurches helps to provide a moral compass
within the community and encourages a desire to help people:
Within Community A, schools and churches proved to be very strong, apparently in order
to provide support and leadership for the community. This also provides the likely link as to why the community shared strong biblically based morals and values.
Civic clubs such as the Kiwanis club and community churches placed a strong emphasis on helping troubled people through projects like the anti-substance
abuse effort “Case Coalition.”
Within these situations, community leaders expressed the amazing ability of community members to band together to help those in need. One participant
stated, “You know, something really stood out – it’s so simple . . . when you
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asked earlier ‘Do people really care if there’s a disaster?’ I’ve never seen people come together like these people in my life. Everyone wants to give you the
clothes off their back, and their house, and want nothing in return.” Sense of community in Community B is similar, yet distinctive in some aspects.
As within Community A, churches and schools play an important role in the community, as well as sharing a particularly strong bond. This also contributes to
the Christian values that are strongly integrated into the community. A participant noted, “I live here because the morals, the culture, the community values, the
collective consciousness of this community, is pretty well representative of the morals I personally hold to, and the ethics I try to demonstrate toward others.”
Furthermore, individuals appeared to be more independent in Community B because there are more opportunities for involvement and organizational
participation is much more segmented. This contributes to there being much weaker civic clubs and organizations. Nonetheless, there is still a strong desire to
help people within the community. As one participant said, “I just think it’s rewarding to live here. Because you do feel loved and that what youre
accomplishing means a lot to other people. You’re not out there doing it for you, but you’re doing it to bring some happiness to enough people that make it
worthwhile.” Leaders define their community as larger than the town; it encompasses the
county
: For many in the community, Community A itself does not define the boundaries of their community. To them their community extends to the entire
county. Their sense of community is strong, and everyone is willing to give a helping hand to anyone across the county in need. This Community A member
suggested, “I’m quite fond of this community. We may be poor, but we’re good folks.”
One leader termed it as “psychic income,” explaining why he would rather stay in his community to work and raise his family, regardless of numerous financial
opportunities in a larger city because as he claimed, “our people is our greatest asset.”
Similarly, Community B community members often identified the surrounding county as their community, as opposed to just identifying themselves with
Community B. Even further, family ties within Community B account for a lot more of the sense of community than just shared relationships with community
members. One claimed, “we’re a close-knit community. We have large family ties in our community, and strong families. Our community has grown immensely in
the last couple years . . . I don’t see a great change in it our community. We’re not losing the hometown that we’re used to having by the increase.”
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Community Leadership Community leadership, as it was defined for this study, was exemplified through
servant leadership theory. According to Robert Greenleaf 1996, a leader operating under servant leadership begins with the feeling or desire to serve first,
followed by the conscious choice to lead. Seeing one’s self as a servant to the community and stressing the importance of community involvement were two
themes that came out especially clearly. Leaders felt it particularly important to get involved in their community
: Within both communities, leaders expressed the attitude that everyone can get
involved in the community if they have the desire to. Many of the Community A leaders took this further, expressing that for anyone who wants to become
involved in the community, it is important and easy to get involved. As a member noted, “All you have to do is get involved. I also pastor a church, and one of the
things I tell people is it doesn’t matter what your talents are, what your educational level is, what your abilities are, what your income is . . . all that
matters is your being willing to get involved.” Leaders within Community B also stressed the importance of getting involved
within their community; and unlike Community A, many of those interviewed do see themselves as leaders. In community B a participant stated, “Well, I think any
type of leader, being a public school teacher, coach, community leader – I think you have the responsibility to set an example and understand that being a leader,
that you have the power of influence. And certainly my goal . . . being a community leader is to influence younger people, and also my coworkers to, you
know, have good values.” It is important for these individuals who care about their community to be a good
role model and get involved. For these people, they willingly take on the responsibility of leadership within the community, particularly when it comes to
serving the community and its members. On improving the community, a participant indicated, “I think everybody has a
part to pay in it. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and that certainly . . . To encourage everybody in the community to be their best, and to be the
strength that they can be is an ongoing challenge for all community leaders to do that. It certainly is a necessity through, if we’re going to come together and
advance as a community, we’ve got to have that strength and we’ve got to pull together. So I believe everybody can make a difference if they try.”
People trust in the fact that their leaders will pull the community through the hard times, and into a better future.
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Many leaders saw themselves in a servant leadership role for the community – particularly as a role model
: For the leaders interviewed, many see themselves as making an impact; however, not necessarily as a community leader. Something
that proved even more important to them was the ability to be a good role model for the community; to serve the community. As one person put it; “We’re a small
enough community that I think people know your lifestyle; not just know of you, they know you. I think over a period of time, your life that they see from day to
day makes an impression.” And, another noted, “because I have to set the example. I mean I’m a leader in my community and if I set a good example for
my people then they’ll, hopefully they’ll follow.” Fortunately, many of these leaders also see themselves as servants of the
community, a theme that was very powerful through the interviews. Statements such as “I think people like me need to stand up because we need to lead by
serving – thats the bottom line” and “You have to be willing to serve. You don’t get up there in leadership positions because of money, and people that serve on
commissions like this and like the chamber of commerce . . . you know they’re earnest and wanting to serve and it’s not for myself, or gain” were common
among the response from the participants.
Furthermore, these leaders truly care about the community. This is evidenced in this response from a leader: “I do care about the community. I think that if people
do care about the place they live . . . you know, if you care about your property, you’re going to take care of it. If you live in this ________ County area and you
care, this is our property, really, and were going to take care of it. Another leader responded, “I think my one thing about being a public servant . . . if I had worked
as hard in business as I had in education, I’d be a multi, multi-millionaire. But that’s not where it’s at. I want to leave Community B and ________ County a
better place. I want to know along the way I helped put stepping stones there to see it grow.”
Social Capital Fundamentally, social capital focuses on the relationships and interactions found
within a group. Often this is more generally termed as “for the greater good.” Within this study, Putnam provides us with the official definition, who defines
social capital by the existence of a group’s networks, norms and social trust that works toward coordination for mutual benefit cited in Kim Schweitzer, 1996.
As within the other variables, the themes found within this variable were strong and provided clear illustrations of the studied communities.
Leaders expressed high trust was felt within and across communities; there was a low distrust of fellow community members and leaders: Looking at social
capital within each community, both proved to have a strong group of networks
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and relationships at their core. Beginning with Community A, strong schools and churches formed the moral fiber from which much of the shared values and trust
originated. Trust proved to be an important component in supporting these structures, particularly in developing the relationships needed for maintenance. As
stated, “I trust my sister communities surrounding rural communities. We interchange . . . because when I walk away, I feel like every community has
honestly contributed and shared. I mean, you don’t find that a whole lot.” Yet, another stated, “There’s no one that I have complete distrust for. I think that’s
what happens to a lot of people, and I think that’s why they’re looking for places like this Community A. And I think that’s why were growing and increasing,
and why our potential is so good, because people are looking for that. I think that that’s showing more and more. I think that’s not happening just here; I think it’s
happening all over.”
People are looking for places to raise their families in communities where they can trust their leadership and feel safe. This is something of which Community A
has no shortage. Social capital within Community B was operationalized slightly differently.
Specifically, while trust played a large role in the community, it was particularly strong in the relationships between schools and churches. As a participant
reported, “The local ministerial alliance, which is very powerful here . . . They are spiritual minute men. They will come to the aid of any cause, any community
effort.” Student disputes are also often handled in a cooperative effort among the parents,
ministers, and school officials. This helps to create a strong core of community support. As in Community A, trust was also important in relationships among the
chamber of commerce, development commission, churches, local government officials, and the local civic groups, to name a few. Trust in Community B was
felt very strongly by a majority of the community leaders, even across racial lines. This translated to no one group or organization garnering a large amount of
distrust. Most leaders chalk up any distrust within the community to a few “bad apples” which seemed to exist in these communities, and may arguably exist in
most communities. Leaders asserted local community groups are the foundation of most notable
community action, and a place to develop salient community relationships
: Within Community A, in regard to community action, service groups as well as
church action appeared to be very strong. Nearly every Community A leader interviewed was a member of the Kiwanis Club, a powerful local group. Church
clubs were also very active in this area. A notable situation involved the community recreation center and a major area church. Both the county and the
city could not afford to efficiently run the local recreation center, so the local
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church took over management. A Community A leader indicated, “Our church . . . took over the rec. center. County threw it down, the city threw it down, and the
church took it over and has run it for five years now; so we’re very active from the standpoint of youth.” Another pointed out that “Our leaders realize that’s our
people one of our greatest points here. Obviously we don’t have a beach, we don’t have a large industry, but we have each other. And we have our community.
Our leaders realize that’s what our strength is…Because that is our greatest asset in this community, is our people and what we have, the camaraderie we have as
________ Countians.”
Community leaders involved in these activities, as well as other activities throughout the community, admit there is a lot of time involved. In fact, this was
cited as the single greatest reason of why they may not be as involved as they would like to be. Even so, almost a quarter of those interviewed said they felt
there were no obstacles – you could be as active as you wanted to be. In Community B civic groups were one aspect where it differed strongly from
Community A. While Community A had several strong civic groups, the strongest of which being the Kiwanis Club, Community B had no strong civic groups to
speak of. One reason for this may be the plethora of available clubs and organizations in which to participate. Compared to Community A, Community B
has many more organizations to which one could belong. Another potential reason for the lack of strong civic groups may be due to the strong family bonds within
the county. Regardless, fewer Community B leaders were aware of or involved in community activities, when compared to Community A. A Community B leader
responded that “We do care about each other, I have a sense . . . because I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve raised my children here, most of my
grandchildren are here, and I want them to be raised in a place like Community B.”
Conclusions
Rural Communities A and B each have unique qualities that set them apart, while potentially making them more viable than many other rural areas. Three important
variables that contribute to successful community interaction are highlighted within this study – psychological sense of community, community leadership and
social capital. Leaders within both communities have a strong sense of community. In each case,
community schools and churches play a large role as to how the community operates, and in how its members interact. Within each situation, both towns
identified themselves as part of a larger community, one that spans the county. Perhaps this is the case due to the advantages to having larger area communities
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that include more resources available both human and natural, more opportunities available cooperatively than in specific small towns, and for other
reasons. Within each community, it was very apparent those in leadership positions felt their community was still close-knit and cared very deeply for its
members. This may be an important aspect that continues to hold many rural communities together, regardless of the circumstances.
In general, community leadership within both communities is moving in a good direction. Using leadership responsibilities within the community in order to
improve your community for the future or simply to serve the community itself are both noble aspirations, and each something that is being done within both
communities. While Community A leaders had particularly strong attitudes regarding the importance of getting involved and being a good role model in the
community, Community B leaders really stressed the importance of serving your community and its members to the best of your ability.
Within each community, the relationships developed and maintained through social capital proved to be an important aspect of community. Interactions among
community members at civic, church, and school activities proved to be the most important arenas in which to develop trust. Developing trust across county
borders was also deemed important. These accounts support Warren’s 1972 assertion that communities must develop and maintain strong ties outside of the
community in order to effectively accomplish action within the community. Within both situations, both internal as well as external relationships have proved
to be a stronghold for the community. In addition, while a handful of annual community wide activities were noted
within each community, many community activities also occurred as singular events sponsored by service organizations, churches, and special interest groups.
All of this activity assists in contributing to the strength of the community, because as Hofferth and Iceland 1998 declare it is the social relationships of a
community that allows its members access to scarce resources. And even though Community B leaders appeared to have a much more limited grasp on what was
going on in their community, it was still the relationships that give value to social capital and remained a primary reason for community leaders valuing their place
of residence. Strong relationships, people who want to give back to their community, and
leaders working for the common good of the community are just a few of the features that help in making these communities unique. It is an active illustration
that social capital as described by Putnam does exist in these rural communities; that having group networks, norms, and trust working together toward a common
good is something that sets these rural areas apart Kim Schweitzer, 1996.
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Because this was a comparative case study, specific to this research is the need to understand these communities and their situations, not to generalize the findings
across all rural communities today. Nonetheless, many of the issues uncovered through this research can assist individuals in not only expanding appropriate
community leadership development programs and literature, but can also help to create and improve community leadership training for the same rural
communities.
Implications
The aforementioned conclusions lead to several important implications for leadership educators. Perhaps one of the most important implications of this study
is encouraging policy change to include additional focus on providing effective leadership training available to all community leaders, regardless of community
size. A particularly effective way to do this would be involving community leadership development educators within the extension offices in the county or
district. By providing effective leadership training using community leadership as a foundation, and including instruction on how to address issues and problems
unique to that area, rural community leaders can more effectively learn how to lead and serve their community.
Moreover, a good way to market appropriate community leadership training is to appeal to those already in leadership positions; particularly those with especially
public roles or younger leaders looking to take over responsibilities. Leadership educators can take this opportunity to provide the needed contextual leadership
knowledge, as well as assisting in developing new relationships. By appealing to some of these influential individuals within the community, effectual leadership
training may become the standard rather than the exception. One possible way to encourage leadership development within communities is to
assist in the development of community and county wide leadership development programs. These development opportunities can be run by local community
members who are in the unique position to be aware of community needs and issues. By combining this ecological knowledge with the knowledge of leadership
ideally provided by a leadership educator, local leadership development programs can be a particularly effective medium for building local leadership
assets. Leadership development is important across all contexts; still, it is the context that determines the priority for the needed knowledge and skill
development to be incorporated into the program. A final implication from this study involves what components should be
incorporated into the ideal community leadership development curriculum. Aspects such as a basic knowledge of the inner workings of social capital, how to
develop and encourage individual sense of community, how to instigate
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community action, and promoting trust and credibility development are vital to the success of today’s community leaders. These aspects should play a role in
providing the foundation for community leadership education, with other community-determined leadership specifics rounding out the program of study.
Ultimately, leadership educators have the unique responsibility to provide instruction to those destined to lead our rural communities into the future. While it
is reasonable for community leaders and members to be expected to know what is important and needed within their community, leadership knowledge is our
context of specialty; it is our responsibility to provide appropriate structures, knowledge, and resources to foster effective leadership development within
communities. And taking on this responsibility should be considered no small charge.
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References
Bell, D., Evert, K. 1997. Effective strategies for the future of rural communities. Economic Development Review, 15 1, 59-62.
Brown, D. L., Swanson, L. E., Barton, A. W. 2003. Challenges for rural America in the twenty first century
. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
Bolton, E. B. 2004. Perceptions of leadership skills as an indicator of a community’s social capital. Journal of Leadership Education, 3 1, 61-71.
Cugliari, C. W., Earnest, G. W. 2007. Philanthropy: A leader’s role in community. Journal of Leadership Education, 6 1, 73-91.
Creswell, J. W. 1998. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions
. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Flora, C. B., Flora, J. L. 2004. Rural communities: Legacy and change.
Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Guba, E. G., Lincoln, Y. S. 1981. Effective evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass. Hofferth, S. L., Iceland, J. 1998. Social capital in rural and urban
communities. Rural Sociology, 63 4, 574-598. Kelsey, K. D., Mariger, S. C. 2002. A case study of stakeholder needs for
extension education. Journal of Extension, 40 2, 11. Kim, J. W., Schweitzer, J. 1996, November. The causes of and perceptions
toward social capital in a neighborhood community context. Paper
presented at the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, New York.
Laub, J. A. 2000. Development of the Organizational Leadership Assessment OLA instrument
. Marion, IN: OLA Group. Lincoln, Y. S., Guba, E. G. 1985. Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA:
Sage Publications. McMillan, D. W., Chavis, D. M. 1986. Sense of community: A definition and
theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 6-23.
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Patton, M. Q. 2002. Qualitative research and evaluation methods 3
rd
ed.. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Tabb, M., Montesi, C. R. 2000. A model for long-term leadership development among groups of diverse persons: The delta emerging leaders
program. Journal of the Community Development Society, 31 2, 331-347. The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America. N. A.. Social capital
community benchmark survey executive summary . Boston: John F. Kennedy
School of Government at Harvard University. Warren, R. L. 1972. The community in America. Chicago: Rand McNally
College Publishing Company.
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Biography
Dr. Kristina G. Ricketts is an Assistant Extension Professor of Leadership Development at the University of Kentucky, with an appointment of 75
Extension and 25 teaching. As an Extension Professor, Dr. Ricketts develops and presents effective leadership programming across the state, both to Extension
personnel and community leaders alike. In addition, Dr. Ricketts is responsible for teaching several courses to assist with the departmental leadership major.
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Influences of Youth Leadership within a Community-Based Context
Kenneth R. Jones Assistant Professor
Department of Community and Leadership Development 500 Garrigus Bldg.
University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40546-0215
kenrjonesuky.edu
Abstract
This research project evaluated outcomes for a leadership development program utilizing adult volunteers who worked with youth to incorporate experiential
learning and civic engagement opportunities. As a result, this experience exposed youth to practical skills as well as a chance to develop a sense of community
connectedness. This was revealed through the youth developing more positive perceptions toward their role as decision makers in their communities, after
participation in the program. Youth also developed more positive perceptions of their relationships with adults. Moreover, when comparing those youth who
volunteer at least one hour per week to those who do not, those who had volunteered in the past had significantly more positive perceptions than those who
had never volunteered in their community.
Introduction
In recent years much discourse has shaped the relevance in determining the role of youth leadership in community decision-making. Research has revealed that
youth program activities, albeit consistently on the rise, engage youth in civic and community activities at rates that have been mediocre at best. In the 1990s the
positive youth development movement was set forth by scholars and practitioners Blythe Leffert, 1995; Cargo, Grams, Ottoson, Ward, Green, 2003; Lerner,
1995; Pittman, Irby, Ferber, 2000 which rallied the importance of all the resources and assets needed for a young person to experience a healthy,
productive life. Then in recent years some of these scholars and practitioners noted that in order to maximize their potential young people need more than
access to resources with means to build skills, but they must also utilize these skills by serving as active contributors within their communities Hughes
Curnan, 2000; Lerner, 2004, 2007; Pittman, 2000; Perkins, Borden, Villarruel, 2001.
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There has been a sporadic growth in the interest of youth becoming more involved in the communities in which they live. Although a growing body of
literature has promoted youth leadership, there remains limited empirical evidence of how youth benefit from serving as civically-engaged leaders to address
community issues. Most of the existing data is a result of qualitative procedures used to explore the youth-adult partnering phenomenon Camino, 2000; Larson,
Walker, Pearce, 2005. A few studies have found that youth develop leadership skills, social skills, and life skills Checkoway, et al., 2003; Israel Ilvento,
1995; Lerner, Dowling, Anderson, 2003; Perkins Borden, 2003; Zeldin, McDaniel, Topitzes, Calvert, 2000 and communities also benefit from the
endeavors set forth by such partnerships Sandefur Laumann, 1998. However, more studies that take a longitudinal approach to investigating youth leadership
development over time are needed. While youth volunteerism has increased among 12-23 year olds, there is an
argument that young people rarely engage with larger civic goals in mind Case Foundation, 2006. Based on a study by the Center for Information and Research
on Civic Learning and Engagement CIRCLE, 59 of young women ages 15-25 and 57 of young men were not actively engaged in community civic or
political affairs Marcelo, Lopez, Kirby, 2007. With the depth of human and social capital existing among them there must be more efforts in place to profit
from the leadership potential among youth which often goes untapped. As citizens youth have the right to make decisions on civic affairs that directly
affect their lives Camino, 2001. Organizations should take the opportunity to help youth create civic awareness that translates into a sense of community
connectedness Flanagan Van Horn, 2003; Checkoway, et al., 2003. As with most adults, young people favor being involved in organizations where they enjoy
working with their peers and being able to witness that their participation made a difference Lerner, 2004; Pancer, Rose-Krasnor, Hoiselle, 2002.
This study addressed the importance of youth having a civic leadership role within programs and community projects and how they can serve as a catalyst for
empowering local residents through community-based initiatives. The goal of the projects was to support positive youth development by promoting leadership and
civic engagement among youth. The study involved providing volunteer development training for approximately 60 adult leaders, who in turn coordinated
leadership development experiences for 164 youth.
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Theoretical Framework
There remains a major assumption that in order to reach desired results of advancing community connectedness, youth must play a role in improving their
communities. Out-of-school time is filled with promise and the opportunity to bring young people to the level where they can develop those skill sets that are
pertinent for a citizen to be productive. From a preventive approach it is often seen as a time for leisure where young people are exposed and vulnerable to a
plethora of risk factors Villaruel Lerner, 1994. Perkins and Borden 2003 propitiously defined this time as any structured learning activity offered out of
school and within programs where youth can serve their communities and connect with positive peers and adults. They further go on to discuss that high quality
youth programs infuse reflective learning opportunities which aids youth in gaining an understanding of themselves and others. Jones 2006 also concluded
that similar programs that engage youth and adults as decision-makers were more successful when the participants i.e., youth and adults were permitted to
implement plans, evaluate progress, and rate the quality of their experiences. This supports the notion that just having positive attributes is not enough. Youth must
be given the chance to develop those skills that undergird a civic-minded society. A rather advantageous way of ensuring this is by providing youth with the chance
to have a role in their development. Hence, there remains a benefit in youth taking on leadership roles.
Youth development, at its core, involves participation of young people at some level to make the transition from childhood to adulthood. The duty of youth
service providers is to insist that this experience is indeed an affirming one, thus perpetuating youth to levels of productive growth. Over the course of more than a
decade positive youth development has been deemed the mantra for achieving desired developmental outcomes for youth. The phenomenon targets all of the
practices, principles, resources, and assets in a community geared towards helping ensure young people have a chance to thrive while growing into healthy,
responsible adults Lerner, 2004; Pittman, Irby, Ferber, 2000. As a part of this movement, the Carnegie Corporation of New York released a report indicating the
needs of adolescents Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1992. They included opportunities such as: a socializing with peers and adults, b
developing skills that are relevant now and in the future, c contributing to the community, d belonging to a valued group, and e extending feelings of
competency. All of these needs are identifiable as resources that make positive youth development attainable. Moreover, they are crucial in the development of
youth leadership. Since the Carnegie report, a number of prominent youth serving organizations have presented program models that incorporate proactive means to
enforce positive youth development principles and practices Kress, 2004; Lerner, 2004; Search Institute, 1997; America’s Promise, 2006. Table 1 lists four
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organizations and their means of quantifying positive youth development. Each of the principles is salient with critical skills needed to instill leadership within
youth. Table 1
Youth Serving Organizations with Foci on Leadership through Positive Youth Development
Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development
Tufts University
Competence Confidence
Connection CaringCompassion
Contribution Source: Lerner, 2004, 2007
4-H Essential Elements
1
Belonging Positive relationships with caring adults
A safe environment Welcominginclusive environment
Generosity Opportunity to value and practice
service Independence
Opportunity for self-determination Active participant in the future
Mastery Opportunity for mastery
Engagement in learning
Search Institute’s Asset Model
2
External Asset Support
Empowerment Boundaries and expectations
Constructive use of time Internal Assets
Commitment to learning Positive values
Social competencies Positive identity
America’s Promise
Caring adults Safe places
Healthy start Effective education
Opportunities to help others Source: AmericasPromise.org
Note:
1
Source: Kress 2004;
2
Search Institute model consists of 40 assets Only the categories in which these assets are grouped are listed in Table 1.
The connection between youth involvement within communities and their involvement as adults have been well documented. Research studies have shown
that young people who are civically engaged in their communities are more likely to serve as leaders during their college days and later in adulthood Eccles
Gootman, 2002; Flanagan, 1998; Youniss, McLellan, Yates, 1997. One valid reason youth desire to have leadership roles and contribute to their community is
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because it provides a sense of mattering and feeling of being able to make a difference Eccles Gootman, 2002; Flanagan Van Horn, 2003. In turn,
ethics serve as a by-product of service, a characteristic that is valued among all who recognize moral character and civic responsibility as a virtue of leadership.
Moreover, service to the community can move young people beyond their idealistic worlds, thus allowing them to be empathetic to the needs of others. As a
result, there is a sense of urgency to embrace the concept of being a leader. While many youth programs should be commended for the support they provide,
several struggle with capitalizing on the intrinsic leadership abilities possessed by youth. There is often a focus on building skills instead of giving an opportunity to
assess how much their leadership abilities have progressed within a given period of time. Youth should be seen as “experts” who are very much aware of what
occurs among peers within their communities Libby, Rosen, Sedonaen, 2005. Their perspective on what young people need is invaluable and should be
considered by those youth development specialists who have the task of planning programs. Accordingly, most of the youth participants are given opportunities to
practice and refine those skills while building confidence and stronger positive relationships with peers Libby, Rosen, Sedonaen, 2005. This intentional form
of leadership development affords youth with the ability to overcome any hesitation to take on leadership roles. This is an initial stage in equipping one with
what is needed to be an effective leader.
Evidence has also revealed the importance of adults providing critical support to youth so that young people have opportunities to hone in on their skills and are
not beset by frustrations that may arise in the decision-making process. Jones Perkins 2006 conducted a study that examined perceptions and experiences of
youth and adults engaged in five types of relationships with adults: a adult- centered leadership, b adult-led collaborations, c youth-adult partnerships, d
youth-led collaborations, and e youth-centered leadership. The findings indicated that adult support was a critical component needed in all types of
relationships, particularly in those where youth were serving as equal partners with adults or were leading community projects with minor adult supervision.
When adult support was present, youth in youth-led collaborations were significantly more positive towards their ability to serve as leaders in
communities. Several theoretically-based qualitative assessments have been conducted to
provide a basis for a new area of scholarship around various forms of youth-adult relationships. Camino 2000 identified specific concepts to assess approaches in
identifying youth-adult partnerships such as youth having the opportunity to exercise decision-making power, their role in building strong communities, and
the effect of adults’ negative attitudes toward youth in community program activities. Teaching and learning between adults and youth were also viewed as
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crucial elements which distinguish youth-adult partnerships from traditional youth-adult relationships e.g., parent-child, teacher-student, and mentoring.
Kaplan 1997 also reported that through an action research study involving intergenerational community projects, youth learned “critical thinking skills, and
developed a sense of citizenship responsibility” p. 226. The work of these scholars along with others confirms that youth learn to be leaders by watching and
working with those adults who have acquired life skills that young people need to develop. As an assurance that this will occur, positive youth-adult relationships
must be created and sustained. The purpose of this study was to describe how youth perceived their leadership
roles within communities. The objectives of the study were to:
• Describe the demographic profile of participants, • Determine changes in youth participants’ perceptions toward their role as
decision-makers, • Determine changes in youth participants’ perceptions toward their
relationships with adults, and • Provide recommendations as sources of information on how future
research can assist youth programs in promoting leadership and civic engagement.
Population This study utilized a purposive sample Creswell, 2003 of participants involved
in the youth leadership program of a state organization serving as an affiliate for America’s Promise. The organization employed adult leaders who were placed
within communities to promote leadership development among youth organizations. During their year of service, each adult leader provided leadership
development training for youth using a nationally juried 4-H curriculum i.e., Step Up to Leadership. Youth were recruited from local youth-serving organizations
i.e., community agencies, faith-based institutions, and schools. All youth who completed surveys administered at the beginning and end of the study were
included in the study. Youth took a lead in organizing community service projects as a culminating activity of their leadership development training. Those projects
included, but were not limited to, cleaning local parks, volunteering at homeless shelters, tutoring elementary students as well as serving on community-based and
statewide youth advisory councils. A total of 164 youth representing 22 communities participated in this study. Fifty-
five percent were females. The ethnic background of the participants was comprised of approximately 79 CaucasianEuropean American, 7 African
American, 4 Hispanic American, 2 Asian American, 1 Native American, and 7 who classified themselves as “other.” While 58 indicated they have
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volunteered to serve their community in some capacity, approximately 33 were never engaged in any community-based volunteer efforts see Table 2.
Table 2 Frequency and Demographics of Participants in the Study N = 164
Demographic Variable
Frequency Percent
Gender Female
Male 90
73 55
45
Ethnicity Asian American
BlackAfrican American CaucasianEuropean American
Hispanic American Native American
Other 4
12 129
6 1
11 2.5
7.3 79.1
3.7 0.6
6.8 Served as a Volunteer in Community
Yes No
No Response 95
54 15
58.0 32.9
9.1
Methods
The researcher utilized an instrument that was developed for use with a similar study. The instrument consisted of items to assess demographic variables along
with the following attitudinal constructs: youth leadership and decision-making 19 questions; youth relationships with adults eight questions. All items were
on a five-point Likert-type scale with one being Strongly Disagree and five being Strongly Agree
. Validity was established using a panel of experts. A previous pilot test was conducted with 4-H youth involved in similar community-based
service projects. The pilot test conducted using the instrument yielded consistent reliability coefficients. A post-hoc reliability analysis was also conducted where
the results revealed the following alpha coefficients for the constructs: youth leadership and decision-making .90; youth relationships with adults .88.
The adult leaders trained youth using the Step Up to Leadership curriculum National 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System Inc., 2003 which presents critical
life skills that are pertinent to developing youth leadership. The Step Up to Leadership
curriculum’s mentor guide provides adult leaders with age appropriate
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activities for youth within various ages and stages. The curriculum’s facilitator guide also helps explain how facilitators should prepare for the sessions, note
essential concepts of leadership, and present topics that are relevant through leadership activities.
Survey data were collected during the first meeting between the adult leader and the youth. Data were also collected from the same participants after the
community projects were completed. Those youth participants who did not complete the post survey were removed from the analysis. A total of 164
individuals gave complete information. Data were analyzed using frequencies, means, and percentages. Paired and independent t-tests were used to compare
perceptions. Adult leaders administered the questionnaire by following a specific script and instructions provided by the researcher. The survey was administered to
participants with the assurance of confidentiality. The Internal Review Board approved the policy that passive consent of parents was permitted before students
could participate. Students placed completed surveys in an envelope which was sealed and mailed to the researcher.
Results
First, prevalence of youth participation was examined in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, and volunteer efforts. Mean scores were computed for each of the
attitudinal constructs, thus creating separate index variables for perceptions toward the role of youth leadership and decision-making and perceptions toward
youth relationships with adults. A paired t-test was used to determine significant differences in youth perceptions of the constructs before engaging in this study
and upon completion. As shown in Table 3, youth had significantly more positive perceptions of how youth leadership and decision-making was viewed in their
community after their involvement in this project 3.48 pre-survey v. 3.76 on post survey. When assessing perceptions of relationships with adults, youth also
became more positive towards working with adults 3.41 pre-survey v. 3.68 post survey.
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Table 3 Perceptions toward Youth Leadership and Youth-Adult Relationships
Perceptions toward Role of Youth Leadership and Decision-Making Group
n Mean
S.D. t
df p
Pre-survey 133
3.48 .59
4.73 132
.00 Post survey
133 3.76
.61 3.81
146 .00
Perceptions of Youth Relationship with Adults Group
n Mean
S.D. T
df p
Pre-survey 147
3.41 .76
4.73 132
.00 Post survey
147 3.68
.72 3.81
146 .00
Note. = p .001 Additional analyses were conducted to make comparisons based on gender. As
shown in Table 4, both female and male participants had positive perceptions toward the role of youth leadership and decision-making in their community.
However, females were significantly more positive than males on the pre-survey 3.55 v. 3.32. Although not significant, females also had more positive
perceptions on the post survey 3.80 v. 3.69. It is interesting to note that although females were more positive, males had a much larger gain between the pre-survey
and post survey scores. Table 4
Perceptions Youth by Gender
Perceptions toward the Role of Youth Leadership and Decision-Making Group
n Mean
S.D. t
df p
Pre-survey Females
85 3.55
.63 2.17
147 .03
Males 64
3.32 .62
Post survey Females
74 3.80
.63 1.02
135 .30
Males 63
3.69 .58
Perceptions of Youth Relationship with Adults Pre-survey
Females 86
3.45 .79
1.32 151
.18 Males
67 3.28
.79 Post survey
Females 82
3.69 .74
.23 147
.81 Males
67 3.66
.67 Note:
= p .05 In addition to the gender comparisons based on perceptions toward youth
leadership, independent t-tests were computed to determine significant differences between females and males based on their perceptions of their relationship with
Journal of Leadership Education Volume 7, Issue 3 – Winter 2009
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adults see Table 4. Regardless of whether they were females or males, the post survey reflected that they were more positive at the end of the study. As the mean
scores indicated that females had a tendency to be more positive than males, no statistical significance was found.
Independent t-test analyses using data gathered at the beginning of the study compared those youth who volunteer or engage in some form of community
service at least one hour per week to those who do not volunteer at all see Table 5. Youth who volunteered were significantly more positive 3.67 toward the role
of youth leadership and decision-making in communities than those youth who never volunteered 3.06.
Table 5 Youth Perceptions based on Level of Volunteer Participation
Perceptions toward Role of Youth Leadership and Decision-Making n
Mean S.D.
t df
p Non-Volunteers
54 3.06
.69 5.49
140 .00
Volunteers 95
3.67 .49
Perceptions of Youth Relationship with Adults Non-volunteers
54 2.87
.85 6.12
75.11 .00
Volunteers 95
3.67 .55
Note: p .001
Table 5 also provides pre-survey data on the comparison between those youth who volunteer and those who do not and their perceptions toward their
relationships with adults. When comparing those non-volunteer youth participants to volunteers based on perceptions of their relationships with adults, youth who
volunteered were significantly more positive than non-volunteers 3.67 v. 2.87. No post survey data were analyzed, for at that stage in the project, all youth were
considered as having volunteer experience.
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Table 6 Perception of Non-Volunteering Youth
Perceptions toward Role of Youth Leadership and Decision-Making n
Mean S.D.
t df
p Pre-survey
54 3.14
.61 3.83
43 .00
Post survey 54
3.63 .62
Perceptions of Youth Relationships with Adults Pre-survey
54 2.95
.80 5.07
48 .00
Post survey 54
3.58 .61
Note: p .001
Paired t-tests were used to determine any significant differences among the perceptions of non-volunteering youth and their leadership in the community and
their relationships with adults before and after the study took place. There were significant differences between the pre and post surveys see Table 6. Youth who
had not served as volunteers developed more positive perceptions of youth leadership and decision-making within communities Pre-survey of 3.14 v. 3.63
post survey and relationships with adults 2.95 on pre-survey v. 3.58 post survey. Although those youth who did serve as volunteers prior to this study
became slightly more positive on the post survey than what was revealed by the pre-survey, there was no statistically significant difference.
Discussion
This study provides support in the relevance of employing all sources of leadership within communities. Young people are most often seen as being in
need of assistance rather than actually being able to assist in community problems. The results provide evidence congruent with other findings which
reveal how youth can serve in leadership capacities if they are given ample opportunities to build upon their leadership.
Three major assumptions guided this current investigation. First, it was assumed that participants had formed perceptions about the role of youth and youth-adult
relationships in their communities. Although the emphasis of this study explored perceptions of youth in communities, youth leadership was the phenomenon of
particular interest. Second, because youth participated within these youth organizations on a voluntary basis, their responses were assumed to reflect their
true perceptions and feelings. Third, adult leaders that worked with the youth, who upon being trained to work with youth themselves, were assumed to have
adequate skills in effectively recruiting and nurturing youth with leadership potential.
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The results of this study are consistent with prior research revealing the benefits of youth being engaged in leadership development opportunities. Perceptions of
the youth became significantly more positive toward youth leadership and decision-making in their communities. This is consistent with the scholarship of
experiential learning which stresses that the ideal learner is actively engaged in a quality learning process Dewey, 1938; Kolb, 1984; Smith, 1991. This further
confirms what Mezirow 1997 described as transformative learning which encouraged youth in this study to change their frame of reference by reflecting on
more positive attitudes. Youth also developed more positive perceptions of adults. This is quintessential if
individuals and agencies are going to provide youth with the positive experience that is tantamount to their attaining a healthy, constructive adult life. With
affirming relationships being the center of positive youth development, young people must feel a strong connection with adults and their community if they are
to inculcate the skills needed to serve in leadership roles. Research has suggested that focusing on intergenerational experiences where youth and adults interact and
share common goals help reduce negative attitudes that can dishearten the ability to nurture youth leadership Jones, 2006; Piquart, Wenzel, Sorenson, 2000.
Based on gender comparisons, females were more positive than males when examining both constructs. Similar accounts have been prevalent among research
studies as well as programs where practitioners are challenged with engaging males. Youth service providers must be strategic in providing opportunities that
stimulate and maintain the interest of males. In contrast to many youth programs that are dominated by female participation, these programs were nearly
proportionate. Regardless of gender, all youth indicated more positive perceptions over the course of the program. It is also noteworthy to recognize that males had a
more significant increase towards positive perceptions when examining the pre- survey and post survey scores. Hence, youth service providers should consider
involving more males in leadership-based experiential learning endeavors. If the goal is to reach their potential, then merely teaching leadership to most youth may
not be enough. They should be afforded the chance to put into practice the skills they have acquired.
The findings also revealed a significant difference between the youth who had not previously served as volunteers in their community and those youth who had
served as volunteers. Youth who had volunteer experience were more positive towards the role of youth leadership in their communities as well as their
perceptions toward relationships with adults. An analysis was conducted to examine the pre-survey data only because the researcher aimed to minimize the
influence the experiences of participating in the project would have on their perceptions. However, the pre- and post survey results from a paired t-test did
reveal that those youth who had not volunteered developed more positive
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perceptions. These findings suggest that youth should be encouraged to participate in non-traditional volunteer efforts in order to provide various
interrelated outcomes including positive social relationships and improved feelings of intrinsic leadership abilities Harvard Family Research Project, 2008.
Participants in the communities, who were a part of this project, were purposefully selected as a sample of convenience. These groups were
predominately limited to youth who had access to plausible youth serving programs. Therefore, a limitation of this study is that the generalizability of the
results does not extend beyond these participants and groups. Based on the sample size of this study, the researcher was also limited in the use of appropriate
inferential statistics.
Conclusion
It is concluded that much of this study’s value relates to experiential learning techniques, which, in turn, can serve as a central medium for leadership
development among young people. This form of training also played a part in strengthening leadership capacity, as related to the practical skills of the youth.
Although the study revealed that perceptions can change towards the affirmative when youth have an opportunity to become civically engaged, there was also
evidence that experiential learning can serve a role in developing a solid foundation for building leadership skills among young people.
Practical experiences must be considered when nurturing youth leaders while also giving adults the chance to exert their abilities by serving as allies. Young people
are indeed an asset to the communities in which they live. However, in order to put forth efforts that attain impact, they must have access to opportunities as well
as the relevant information that provides insight on how they can become change agents. While youth-serving organizations continue striving to achieve positive
developmental outcomes, there must be research-based models of application available to aid in the enhancement of community youth programs.
Recommendations for Further Research
The completion of this study presents opportunities for additional research such as:
• Replicating this study with a larger randomized sample to validate the methodology and findings,
• Conducting a longitudinal study to enrich the data to further determine how programmatic improvements can be implemented,
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• Utilizing these findings to assess the quality of youth-adult relationships within a program or project as a measure of quality,
• Assessing the specific leadership and life skills young people acquire while engaged in similar program experiences,
• Conducting a parallel study to compare the prior leadership experiences of youth with their perceived benefits of the program, as well as a self-
assessment of their own leadership abilities, and • Incorporating a control group design to see if training made a difference
independent of experiential learning projects.
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Biography
Dr. Kenneth Jones is an assistant professor in the Department of Community and Leadership Development at the University of Kentucky. He is also an extension
specialist, supporting county agents with youth program responsibilities through professional development trainings. His research interests include the influence of
community-based youth-adult relationships on youth leadership and the effect peer mentoring has on student leadership within school settings.
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Kouzes and Posners Transformational Leadership Model in Practice: The Case of Jordanian Schools
Dr. Abdullah M. Abu-Tineh
Assistant Professor Faculty of Educational Sciences,
The Hashemite University, Jordan
Dr. Samer A. Khasawneh
Assistant Professor Faculty of Educational Sciences,
The Hashemite University, Jordan Dr. Aieman A. Omary
Assistant Professor Faculty of Educational Sciences,
The Hashemite University, Jordan
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership Model is being practiced by school
principals as perceived by their teachers in Jordanian schools. Means, standard deviations, t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance ANOVA were utilized in
this study. Results indicated that transformational leadership is being moderately practiced and applied by Jordanian principals. Furthermore, statistical results
indicated that gender and school type had an influence on teachers’ perceptions in favor of female teachers and basic schools respectively. Finally, there were no
significant differences among the three experience level groups of teachers new hiring, middle career, and long experience in their perceptions of each dimension
of Kouzes and Posner’s model.
Introduction
In the past three decades, changes in technology, economics, social, political, and cultural aspects of world imposed changes and forced reforms on many developed
countries’ educational systems Abu-Tineh, 2003. Surprisingly, in the panoramic survey of the education landscapes across the developed countries, one is struck
with the uniformity and rapidity of change that is reshaping the nature of schools’ external environments. Educators are bewildered by the rigor of demands and
increasing responsibilities that their governments specifically, and the public in
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general, have imposed upon them Lam Pang, 2003. Therefore, it is a fairly common phenomenon in developed countries that public schools are undergoing
rapid changes associated with government initiated reform movement Lam, 2002.
Public schools in Jordan are no exception. They are in the midst of accelerating and some times turbulent change. Therefore, Jordan began to review its
educational system comprehensively in the mid-1980s with the belief that human beings are the best resource for achieving comprehensive economic and social
development. This educational reform includes kindergarten, basic education, and secondary education. Teacher professional development, principalship,
curriculum development, and improving students’ learning are the main reform issues.
Clearly, the key for successful implementation of school reform in Jordan depends often on how different actors such as scholars, policy makers, and
stakeholders perceive the meanings and opportunities of their roles during the reform process to maximize its potential benefit Cizek, 1999. At the same time,
however, school leadership has always been viewed as critical to the success of the school reform and can exhibit tremendous influence. Leadership provides the
catalyst for these reform and restructuring efforts. Researchers on educational reform have viewed school leadership of utmost importance in achievement of
excellence in schools Parrish, 2001. Successful reform efforts have focused on leadership as an organizational solution to improve student learning and teacher
professional development Fullan, 1992; Johnson, 1996. More specifically, the empirical literature in leadership has shown that
transformational leadership where “leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality” Burns, 1978, p. 20 is positively
associated with principals’ effectiveness in implementing a reform agenda Coad Berrry, 1998; Sivanathan Fekken, 2002. According to Barnett, McCormick,
and Conners 2001, the challenges that were brought to schools by the idea of school reform have been cited as reasons for advocating transformational
leadership in schools because it is well suited to the challenge of current school restructuring. Transformational leadership has the potential for building a high
level of commitment in teachers in relation to the complex and uncertain nature of the school reform agenda as well as fostering the capacities teachers need to
respond positively to this agenda. Transformational leadership is seen to be sensitive to organizational learning, building shared vision, distributing
leadership, and building a school culture necessary for current reforming efforts in the school.
Accordingly, the transformational leadership model of Kouzes and Posner, which is based on years of empirical research, includes a series of qualities that must be
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possessed and practices that must be applied to provide a school principal in every school a practical guidance on how to lead as well as practical suggestions of how
to act during difficult situations. On the word of Roland Barth, founding director of the Harvard University’s Principals’ Center, the leadership challenge model
provides school leaders with the qualities to become good leaders and to enable them to improve public schools Kouzes and Posner, 2002.
Theoretical Background
Leadership has been important to humans since the dawn of civilization. Although specific patterns of leadership behavior vary over time and across cultures,
leadership has been found to be important to all societies Bass, 1990. According to Paul, Costley, Howelly, and Dorfman 2002 the concepts of leadership, leader,
and follower are represented in Egyptian hieroglyphics written 5,000 years ago. Between 400 and 300 BC the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle wrote about
leadership and the requirements, characteristics, and education of leaders. However, despite the fact that leadership has been a topic of interest to historians
and philosophers since ancient times, it was only around the turn of the century that scientific studies began. Johnson 2002 pointed out that rigorous study of the
leadership phenomenon began with the work of sociologist Max Weber in the early part of the 20
th
century and that the study of leadership can be divided into three stages. Each stage can be characterized by a prominent research strategy and
focus of interest. The earliest stage attempted to identify traits of leaders, and the next stage focused on the behavior of leaders. The third stage centers on the fit
between leadership style and the situation a leader faces Tirmizi, 2002. Inconsistent findings and methodological problems resulted in increasing
dissatisfaction with trait, behavioral, and contingency-based leadership. Research set the stage for a paradigm shift. Leadership theories in this new paradigm differ
from earlier theories in that they seek to explain extraordinary leadership and performance beyond expectations Paul, et al., 2002. This shift was catalyzed by
the publication in 1978 of an influential book by Burns entitled, Leadership, which conceptualized the differences between ordinary transactional leaders and
extraordinary transformational leaders Barnett, McCormick, and Conners, 2001.
Burns’ 1978 work provided a solid conceptual footing for the work of Bass who, in 1985, presented a formal theory of transformational and transactional
leadership, as well as models and measurements of their factors in leadership behavior. These models were refined further and led to the development of the
Full Range Leadership Model Bass, 1998; Bass Avolio, 1994. The Full Range Leadership Model contains components of leadership behavior. There are four
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behavioral components of transformational leadership, two behavioral components of transactional leadership, and laissez-faire leadership or the
absence of leadership Abu-Tineh, 2003. Although transformational leadership has generally been defined as including the
four leadership characteristics of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration Bass Avolio, 1994,
a number of new leadership studies have attempted to refine our understanding of the notion. Kouzes and Posner 1995 for example, have emphasized the
importance of what they called exemplary leadership for producing the leader- follower trust that is central for transformational leadership. Kouzes and Posner
2002 stated that leading by example is visible management. Visibility enhances accessibility and promotes the values and principles advocated by the leader.
Leaders who lead by example serve as visible models for those committed to the course of action in the organization.
Kouzes and Posners Model in Transformational Leadership
The operationalization of the construct of leadership for this study is based on Kouzes and Posner’s leadership model. Their research, which they conducted
over almost 20 years, suggested that leadership is not a position, but a collection of practices and behaviors. These practices serve as guidance for leaders to
accomplish their achievements or “to get extraordinary things done” Kouzes Posner, 1995, p. 9. These practices seem to be essential components of the
concept of transformational leadership. They were developed through intensive research on current leadership practices and have been recognized by many
researchers as truly representative of highly effective leadership practices Taylor, 2002. These practices include challenging the process, inspiring a shared vision,
enabling others to act, modeling the way, and encouraging the heart Kouzes Posner, 1995, 2002. In the following sections, these elements will be defined
using Kouzes and Posner’s work. Challenging the Process
Challenging the process is a way of life for transformational leaders. By either creating new ideas or recognizing and supporting new ideas, leaders show
willingness to challenge the system in order to turn these ideas into actions and to get new products, processes, and services adopted. They seek out challenging
opportunities that test their skills and abilities and look for innovative ways to improve their organizations. Transformational leaders are willing to change the
status quo. They experiment and take risks with new approach. Learning, for them, is a lifelong behavior. In order to succeed, leaders must be prepared to
make mistakes because every false step opens the door to a new opportunity.
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Instead of punishing failure, they encourage it. They learn from their mistakes rather than shift the blame on someone else Kouzes Posner, 1995, 2002.
Inspiring the Shared Vision Inspiring a shared vision is vital for bringing people in any organization together
to foster a commitment to a shared future they seek to create. Transformational leaders passionately believe that they can make a difference by envisioning the
future and creating an ideal and unique image of what the organization can become. They inspire such a vision in their followers with a positive and hopeful
outlook. They generate enthusiasm and excitement for the common vision from others through genuineness and skillful use of metaphors, symbols, positive
language, and personal energy Kouzes Posner, 1995, 2002. Enabling Other to Act
Enabling others to act fosters collaboration and empowerment. Enabling others to act means involve others in planning and give them freedom of choice in the
decision-making. Enabling others to act allows followers to do their job and to realize their full potential. Transformational leaders strive to create an atmosphere
of trust and human dignity and to help each person feel capable and powerful. They consider the needs and interests of others and let them feel as if they carry
ownership and responsibility in the organization. Modeling the Way
Modeling the way means leaders go first. Transformational leaders set an example and build commitment through daily acts that create progress and momentum.
They create a program of excellence and then set the example for others to follow. To model the way leaders need to have a philosophy, a set of high standards by
which the organization is measured, a set of principles concerning the way people should be treated, and the way goals should be pursued that make the organization
unique and distinctive. These leaders show by example that they live by the values they advocate. They believe that consistency between words and deeds
builds their credibility as transformational leaders Kouzes Posner, 1995, 2002.
Encouraging the Heart People often need encouragement and motivation to achieve the goals set by the
organization. Successful leaders have high expectations for themselves and their employees. Their credibility is based on their record of achievements, dedication,
and daily demonstrations of what and how things need to be done. By influencing employee motivation, leaders attach rewards and recognition to job performance.
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Transformational leaders play a special role in the celebrating of individual or group achievements because they are the most prominent personality in the
organization and serve as a role model. By celebrating achievements together, leaders let people feel that they are part of the group and part of something
significant. It also increases the sense of belonging. When leaders encourage their employees through recognition and celebration, they inspire them to perform
better Kouzes Posner, 1995, 2002.
Purpose of the Study and Research Questions
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the degree to which school principals in Jordan practice Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership
Model in their schools as measured by Leadership Practices Inventory LPI. The following research questions guided this investigation:
• To what degree do Jordanian school teachers perceive their principals to be practicing Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership Model in
their schools? • As perceived by teachers, does leadership practices differ based on
selected teacher variables, specifically, gender, years of work experience, and type of school basic or high school?
Significance of the Study
The timing of this study is but one of several significant and important reasons for it. Currently, there are both internally and externally, increasing pressure is being
placed upon schools in Jordan to enact reform. Calls for school reform and restructuring over the past two decades have focused on the importance of
effective school leaders. Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership Model, which is based on years of empirical research, provides school principals
with practical guidance on how to lead as well as practical suggestions on how to act during reform agenda. The results of this investigation, therefore, served as a
basis for school principals to assess their leadership strengths and weaknesses, and they used the findings to become more effective school leaders.
Furthermore, it is hoped that this research will be seen as a starting point for research in Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership Model in Jordanian
schools, thereby stimulating further research to provide valuable insight for both academicians and practitioners. To date there is no evidence or reported study
identifying the degree to which school principals in Jordan practice Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership Model. In addition, there is no evidence
concerning its effects on reform agenda or other educational outcomes.
Methodology
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Research Design This study is quantitative in nature. It was conducted using a survey methodology.
The survey was cross-sectional because the data were collected at one point in time. A variety of statistical techniques were utilized in this research. Means,
standard deviations, t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance ANOVA were utilized in this study. Means and standard deviations were used to measure the
degree to which school principals practice Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership Model as measured by Leadership Practices Inventory LPI. ANOVA
and t-tests were used to determine whether there are significant differences 0.5 alpha level among Leadership Practices Inventory dimensions and the individual
demographics of school teacher including the gender, number of years teaching, and the school type.
Sample and Data Collection
A total of 1000 public school teachers were selected as a stratified sample from basic and high schools in Amman, Jordan. Equal sized samples i.e., 500 teachers
were randomly selected from the basic and high schools in all public schools. According to Gay and Airasian 2000, “equal-sized samples would be the most
useful if you want to compare the performance of different subgroups” p. 126. A total of 550 school teachers completed and returned usable surveys making the
response rate 55. The data-collection method was a self-administered paper- based questionnaire. Questionnaires were distributed to participants at the
workplace for completion at their own convenience to provide them with anonymity. Data gained from the returned questionnaires indicated that the
majority of the teachers who responded were female 66, basic school teachers 52.9, and middle career teachers 45.8. The remaining demographic data
for school teachers who participated in this study are shown in Table 1. Table 1
Demographics of the Sample Variable
Number and Percentage of Total 114 Gender
63 Females 66, 187 Males 34 Type of School
91 Basic school teachers 52.9, 259 High school teachers 47.1
Teaching Experience 188 teachers less than 5 years 34.2,
252 from 5-15 years 45.8 110 more than 15 years 20
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Instrumentation The survey instrument used in this study was Leadership Practices Inventory
Kouzes Posner, 1993. The LPI was designed to measure leadership qualities. It consists of two components: the Leadership Practices Inventory-Self and
Leadership Practices Inventory-Observer. For the purpose of this study, the Leadership Practices Inventory-Observer was used. Utilizing only the responses
from the LPI-Observer, Kouzes and Posner examined the relationship between leaders’ effectiveness and their leadership practices as measured by the LPI.
Including only the responses from constituents about the managers, they used independent assessments thereby minimizing potential self-report bias.
The Leadership Practices Inventory-Observer is a 30-item Likert-scale questionnaire measuring the five areas of challenging the process, inspiring a
shared vision, enabling others to act, modeling the way, and encouraging the heart. A higher value represented greater use of a leadership behavior: one=rarely
or very seldom do what is described, two=once in a while do what is described, three=sometimes do what is described, four=fairly often do what is described, and
five=frequently or almost always do what is described in the statement. In the past Kouzes and Posner have reported construct validity evidence for the
30-item LPI constructed to measure the five competencies in samples of N=2,168 and N=30,913. Results from the LPI have shown high face validity and predictive
validity, meaning that the results not only make sense to people, but also predict whether a leader’s performance is high, moderate, or low. Scores on the LPI are
positively correlated with measures of a leader’s credibility, effectiveness with upper management, team-building skills, work-group norms, and actual levels of
output. Reliability of the LPI was determined using test-retest reliability and Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha. Test-retest reliability for the five leadership
practices was at the .93 level or above. Computed coefficient alphas for each of the five leadership practices of LPI-Observer were challenging the process .81,
inspiring a shared vision .88, enabling others to act .86, modeling the way .82, and encouraging the heart .92.
An Arabic version of LPI-Observer was achieved through a standard three-step protocol reported by Blaschko and Burlingame 2002. First, the instrument was
translated from English into the Arabic language by a professional scholar who is fluent in both the English and Arabic languages. Second, the instrument was
translated back from Arabic into English language by a second scholar who is also competent in both languages. In the final step, a third professional scholar,
fluent in both languages compared and evaluated the original English and translated–back copies in order to verify the accuracy and validity of translation.
Then, nine specialists in education reviewed the developed questionnaire and
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three of them asked for minor modifications. The final copy of the questionnaire took these modifications into consideration.
In order to assure the psychometric properties of the questionnaire in Jordanian culture, internal consistency measures of reliability were computed for the
instrument PIC by calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. As a result, the internal consistency rating for each subscale was challenging the process .81,
inspiring a shared vision .83, enabling others to act .80, modeling the way .77, and encouraging the heart .89.With its high internal consistency rating,
LPI-Observer was assumed to be an appropriate instrument for the present research.
Additionally, a demographic questionnaire was developed to collect general background information about the participants. Targeted teachers were requested
to provide general background information regarding their gender, school type, and number of years teaching.
Results
Question one addresses the degree to which school principals in Jordan practice Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership Model in their schools as
perceived by their teachers. Means and standards deviations were used to answer this question. Starting with the means, it is observable from Table 2 that the
lowest mean of practicing Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership Model is 2.76 and the highest mean is 3.36. This result indicated that teachers
perceived that their principals moderately practice the Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Model 3.07.
With regard to the means and standard deviations of the five dimensions of the LPI Scale, the mean of enabling others to act is higher than all other means 3.36,
followed by encouraging the heart 3.23 and modeling the way 3.09, respectively. Challenging the process 2.90 and inspiring a shared vision 2.76
are the lowest means. Further, the variability of scores in both enabling others to act sd=.91 and encouraging the heart sd=.91 dimensions are equal and greater
than other dimensions see Table 2.
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Table 2 Means and Standard Deviations of the Overall and Each of the Five Dimensions
of LPI Scale
Dimension Means
Standard Deviations Challenging the Process
2.90 0.76
Inspiring a Shared Vision 2.76
0.45 Enabling Others to Act
3.36 0.91
Modeling the Way 3.09
0.79 Encouraging the Heart
3.23 0.91
LPI Overall 3.07
0.35 Question two concerns the significant differences among Kouzes and Posner’s
Leadership Model dimensions and the demographics including the teachers’ gender, school type, and number of years teaching. We used t-tests for
independent samples to examine the difference in means between males and females teachers and basic and high school teachers in each dimension of LPI
Scale. However, the ANOVA was utilized to identify whether the variances of the three level groups of experience of teachers were equal or significantly different.
Table 3 shows that there were no significant differences at the 0.05 level between male and female teachers in challenging the process dimension
p=.54 and enabling others to act
p=.25 However, Table 3 illustrates that there were significant differences at the 0.05 level between male and female teachers in the
dimensions of inspiring a shared vision p=.025 in favor of males. Furthermore, there were significant differences at the 0.05 level between male and female
teachers in the dimensions of modeling the way p=.00, encouraging the heart p=.00, and LPI overall in favor of female teachers.
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Table 3 The Differences between Male and Female Teachers in Each Dimension of LPI
Scale
Dimensions Gender N
Means Std. Deviations
T p
Challenging the Process M 187
F 363 2.93
2.89 .83
.72 .60
.54
Inspiring a Shared Vision M 187
F 363 2.82
2.73 .47
.43 2.25
.02
Enabling Others to Act M 187
F 363 3.42
3.33 1.00
.85 1.14
.25
Modeling the Way M 187
F 363 2.88
3.20 .52
.87 -4.58
.00
Encouraging the Heart M 187
F 363 2.82
3.44 .46
1.014 -8.02
.00
LPI Overall M 187
F 363 2.97
3.12 .31
.36 -4.54
.00
Regarding the significant differences between teachers who teach in basic schools and teachers who teach in high schools, Table 4 reports that there were no
significant differences at the 0.05 level in challenging the process dimension
p=.54 of LPI Scale. However, there were significant differences at the 0.05 level in inspiring a shared vision p=.006, enabling others to act
p=.00, modeling the way p=.047, encouraging the heart p=.00, and LPI overall
p=.00 in favor of teachers in basic schools.
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Table 4 The Differences between Teachers in Basic Schools and Teachers in High
Schools in Each Dimension of LPI Scale Dimensions
Gender N Means Std.
Deviations t
p Challenging the Process
B 291 H 259
2.96 2.85
.76 .75
1.69 .09
Inspiring a Shared Vision B 291
H 259 2.81
2.71 .46
.43 2.74
.00
Enabling Others to Act B 291
H 259 3.49
3.21 1.00
.77 3.60
.00
Modeling the Way B 291
H 259 3.16
3.03 .79
.78 1.98
.04
Encouraging the Heart B 291
H 259 3.61
2.89 .56
1.07 -9.73
.00
LPI Overall B 291
H 259 3.13
3.01 .33
.37 -3.86
.00
On the other hand, utilizing the ANOVA Table 5 shows that there were no significant differences among the three experience level groups new hiring,
middle career, and long experience in each dimension of LPI Scale. In other words, there were no significant differences among the three experience level
groups in the dimension of challenging the process F= 2.82, p=.06, inspiring a shared vision F= 2.48, p=.08, enabling others to act F= 1.64, p=.19, modeling
the way F= 2.60, p=.07, and encouraging the heart F= 1.87, p=.15.
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Table 5 The Differences among the Three Experience Level Groups New Hiring, Middle
Career, or Long Experience in Each Dimension of LPI Scale
Dimension Sum of Squares
df F
p Challenging the Process
Between Groups Within Groups
Total 3.245
314.541 317.786
2 547
549 2.82
.060
Inspiring a Shared Vision Between Groups Within Groups
Total 1.012
111.379 112.390
2 547
549 2.48
.084
Enabling Others to Act Between Groups
Within Groups Total
.673 111.718
112.390 2
547 549
1.64 .194
Modeling the Way Between Groups
Within Groups Total
1.059 111.331
112.390 2
547 549
2.60 .075
Encouraging the Heart Between Groups
Within Groups Total
.763 111.627
112.390 2
547 549
1.87 .155
Discussion and Conclusions
In recent years, there has been a significant growth in the number of articles, studies, dissertations, and academic research in the area of transformational
leadership. With the exception of a few indigenous non-Western research studies in a few select countries, little scientific work on transformational leadership
exists, especially in the third world Tirimizi, 2002. Jordan is no exception. Several theories and models and their respective measurement instruments have
been developed and used to measure leadership behaviors. However, validity and availability of leadership theories and instruments across cultures makes a strong
case for developing new models of transformational leadership or examining these models outside the Western context. Therefore, the purpose of this study
was to examine, in practice, Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Model in Jordanian schools as perceived by teachers.
Results such as these in this study might point to a substantial gap in understanding of the influence of societal culture and context on educational
leadership. This gap is especially critical for those in non-Western countries, such as Jordan, struggling to apply new knowledge and technology from the West
while, at the same time, attempting to preserve their own cultural identities. Most writings about transformational leadership have paid little attention to this
contextual consideration Yu, Leithwood, Jantzi, 2002. Furthermore, these kinds of studies make it easier for international researchers to do their
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comparisons between Western countries and non-Western countries in applying different models of transformational leadership in school contexts.
The findings of this study revealed that Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Model in Jordanian schools as perceived by teachers are practiced moderately. This result
can be justified given the narrow knowledge and experience in this model in Jordanian schools. Thus, more attention should be given to Kouzes and Posner’s
Leadership Model in Jordanian schools because this Model has been recognized by many researchers as truly representative of highly effective leadership
practices and it can serve as a basis for school principals to assess their leadership strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, it is hoped that this research will be seen as
a starting point for research in Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Model at schools in Jordan, thereby stimulating further quantitative and qualitative research to
provide valuable insight for both academics and practitioners. Moreover, it can be suggested that more workshops in Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Model should
be conducted in Jordanian schools for practical purposes. In the words of Kouzes and Posner 1995 this model is “a set of skills. And any skills can be
strengthened, honed, and enhanced if we have the proper motivation and desire, along with practice and feedback, role models and coaching” p. 323.
However, practicing inspiring a shared vision is placed at the lowest extreme of the moderate range. This result, which is inconsistent with the vitality of the
shared vision in any school as cited in educational literature, should be studied deeply, not neglected. A special emphasis should be placed on the elements of
inspiring a shared vision. “A good vision is a prod that if it is really powerful;
creates a pull. It attracts commitment and energizes people, creates meaning in workers’ lives, establishes a standard of excellence, and creates a bridge between
present and future” Espejo, Schuhmann, Schwaninger, Bilello, 1996, p. 12. Scholars in management have come to believe that building shared vision is vital
for bringing people in any enterprise together to foster a commitment to a shared future they seek to create Appelbaum Goransson, 1997. Shared vision gives
people a real sense of purpose that promotes focus, an excellent achievement level, and a long-term commitment to organizational effectiveness and survival
because it reflects their own values and norms Appelbaum Goransson, 1997; Morrison Rosenthal, 1997; Strachan, 1996.
Another strand of results regarding demographic variables distinguished between male and female teachers in the dimensions of challenging the process and
inspiring a shared vision in the favor of males and in the dimensions of enabling others to act, modeling the way, and encouraging the heart in the favor of female
teachers. This result is consistent with the comparison between male and female participants conducted by Kouzes and Posner 1995. Means of males in Kouzes
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and Posner’s study were greater than females in the dimensions of challenging the process and inspiring a shared vision. But, means of females were greater than
males in the dimensions of enabling others to act, modeling the way, and encouraging the heart. However, this study is inconsistent with Kouzes and
Posner’s study in that encouraging the heart is the only significant dimension for the favor of females in their study. Whereas, modeling the way and encouraging
the heart are both significant in the favor of females and inspiring a shared vision in the favor of males in this study.
This result might be justified. Communicating a vision with others and dedicating the time for it is easier and more available for males compared to females in
Jordanian culture. However, female teachers perceived their principals better in practicing LPI dimensions overall and in modeling the way and encouraging the
heart. According to Pounder and Coleman 2002, a number of studies argue that there are significant differences in the practice of leadership between men and
women. Anecdotal, survey, and experimental evidence all point out that women in leadership positions are somewhat more transformational than their male
counterparts. Concomitantly, they are seen by their subordinates and colleagues to be, as leaders, more effective and satisfying, slightly, but significantly Bass,
1998. Pounder and Coleman 2002 point out that “because of the socialization process, women have developed values and characteristics that result in
leadership behaviors that are different from the traditional competitive, controlling aggressive leadership behaviors of men” p. 124.
In the practice of the five leadership dimensions in basic and high schools, it might be appropriate to release the general conclusion from the collected data that
basic school teachers perceived their principal practiced the leadership dimensions overall more than high school teachers did. Further, findings of this
study show significant differences between basic and high schools in practicing the dimensions of inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, modeling the
way, and encouraging the heart in the favor of teachers in basic schools. This result could be justified with the increased numbers of teachers in high schools
and the expanding of the span of control in high schools compared to basic schools. At the same time, it is consistent with the argument that high schools are
highly fragmented organizations where “control based on fragmented specialization appears to be a logical way to organize schools” Senge, et al.,
2000, p. 45 In this context, to enhance and increase practicing Kouzes and Posner’s
Leadership Model in Jordanian schools at different school levels, there is a need to replace the existing operating governance systems in Jordanian schools with
collaborative governance system to complement competent and capable teachers. The role of the principal in the democratic governance structure is to promote the
interdependence relationship among teachers and facilitate increasing the number
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of meaningful interactions among them. A democratic governance structure is designed to empower teachers and other stakeholders throughout the school by
providing everyone with important needed information, the ability to make meaningful decisions, and the access to the necessary resources that fulfill their
roles and functions Green, 2000. Generally, power differences and communication structures in schools should be changed to support practice of the
five dimensions of Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Model. Finally, years of teaching experience of teachers had no effect on the teachers’
perceptions of their principals’ practicing of Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Model. This result may support looking for other demographic variables that
might have more impact on practicing the Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Model. Furthermore, there is still much to be learned about Kouzes and Posner’s
Leadership Model in Jordanian schools and other educational institutions. Hopefully, the current study opens the door for future research regarding
additional factors that may be related to the concept under discussion, transformational leadership.
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