Jennifer A. Smist and David M. Rosch
Existing leadership research focuses more on single experiences than the sustained application of skills beyond the formal leadership program. Using data from 124 college students…
Abstract
Existing leadership research focuses more on single experiences than the sustained application of skills beyond the formal leadership program. Using data from 124 college students who participated in a six-day leadership development program, this study used a four-phase longitudinal approach to examine influences on students’ leadership capacity and campus involvement. Students’ family income was placed in a structural equation model, along with their gender, race, leader self-efficacy, leadership skill, and changes in campus involvement, to determine the degree to which leadership capacity might moderate how family income predicts student campus involvement. Within the comprehensive model, no individual variables significantly predicted changes in campus involvement, suggesting that the leadership program itself exerts more influence in sustained campus involvement than student background, including family income.
David M. Rosch and Jasmine D. Collins
This study followed 134 university students within a national sample for one or two years, from their initial participation in a LeaderShape Institute session. We examined the…
Abstract
This study followed 134 university students within a national sample for one or two years, from their initial participation in a LeaderShape Institute session. We examined the shape of their trajectories of leadership growth over this course of time, with particular focus on development long after the session had ended. We also investigated the degree to which additional formal leadership development opportunities statistically predicted leadership development. Results indicated a typical non-linear shape to development and suggested that most formal experiences, as a whole, possess little association with leadership growth when controlling for other experiences associated with leadership development in students.
Daniel A. Collier, David M. Rosch and Derek A. Houston
International student enrollment has experienced dramatic increases on U.S. campuses. Using a national dataset, the study explores and compares international and domestic…
Abstract
International student enrollment has experienced dramatic increases on U.S. campuses. Using a national dataset, the study explores and compares international and domestic students’ incoming and post-training levels of motivation to lead, leadership self- efficacy, and leadership skill using inverse-probability weighting of propensity scores to explore differences between the two samples. Unweighted findings suggest that international and domestic students enter programs similarly across in many ways, and leave the immersion program with similar gains. However, a matched-sample comparison suggests that international students’ growth was statistically different in ethical leadership skills, affective- identity motivation to lead, and leadership self-efficacy. Discussion focuses on the benefits of leadership development to international students why campuses could build partnerships between units that serve international students and leadership educators to facilitate a more inclusive campus.
Daniel A. Collier and David M. Rosch
International student enrollment in the U.S. higher education system has recently experienced profound growth. This research examines leadership-oriented differencesbetween…
Abstract
International student enrollment in the U.S. higher education system has recently experienced profound growth. This research examines leadership-oriented differencesbetween international and domestic students and focuses on their growth in capacity associated with participation in co-curricular leadership programs. Similarly-sized gains emerged after participation, suggesting that these leadership programs create equal growth effects across both groups. However, the factors that predicted international students’ increases in leadership skill were different than their domestic peers, suggesting that developing effective leaders among college students across national background is a non-uniform, complexprocess. Recommendations include the suggestion for partnerships between international student scholar units and leadership educators, specialized workshops for international students, and creating nuanced curricula based on the various pathways that students take to becoming an effective leader.
David M. Rosch, Scott J. Allen, Daniel M. Jenkins and Meghan L. Pickett
We conducted a national study of the Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC), which since inception in 2015, has included over 75 higher education institutions. The CLC brings…
Abstract
We conducted a national study of the Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC), which since inception in 2015, has included over 75 higher education institutions. The CLC brings students together in collaborative institution-based teams to compete with other teams in competitions to achieve goals and practice effective leadership skills. Our goal was to assess leadership capacity growth over the course of a four-month team practice period through the daylong inter-team competition and evaluate participant leadership assessed several months later. Results suggested students made significant and sustainable gains in leader-self-efficacy and short-term gains in leadership skill and motivation to lead. Our results also indicated the team’s coach played a significant role in student leadership development.
Leadership development programs for students in educational settings are proliferating in number and design. Curricular programs range from academic minors and certificates to doctoral programs in a variety of academic homes (e.g., education, business, healthcare). Co-curricular programs often take the form of drop-in workshops, day-long experiences, alternative spring breaks, service-learning trips, and other programs housed in student affairs and administrative offices (Guthrie & Jenkins, 2018). Moreover, the number of programs has steadily increased over the last 15 years from just under 1,000 in 2006 (Brungardt, et al., 2006) to more than 2,000 (ILA Program Directory, 2021). And while there is some commonality among the approach of these leadership programs in terms of content and delivery (see Harvey & Jenkins, 2014), vast differences exist in the structure and learning goals of student leadership programs compared to other social science disciplines. A potentially fruitful area in which to explore its effectiveness in supporting leadership development is the environment of competitive teams, where individuals work together as a group to compete against other teams. The purpose of our research was to investigate the degree to which such a competitive environment might support or detract from student leadership group, employing a potentially effective example of a formal program that utilizes the innovative approach of team competitions to motivate learning (the CLC).
David M. Rosch and Jasmine D. Collins
Numerous difficulties exist in employing psychometrically sound quantitative measures of leadership development that are both generalizable and brief. Here, we highlight our…
Abstract
Numerous difficulties exist in employing psychometrically sound quantitative measures of leadership development that are both generalizable and brief. Here, we highlight our efforts in creating the Ready, Willing, and Able Leader (RWAL) Scale. This instrument of leadership capacity: (a) has been psychometrically validated for use with college student populations; (b) includes measures of leadership capacity that are known to be essential to effective leadership practice (leader self-efficacy, motivation, and skill); (c) is broad enough for use across diverse educational and developmental contexts; and (d) is brief and concise.
This study examined the differences between a multi-campus sample of university students who reported consistent participation in formal leadership development programs (n=414…
Abstract
This study examined the differences between a multi-campus sample of university students who reported consistent participation in formal leadership development programs (n=414) and a comparison sample (n=153) with no prior experience across three diverse post- secondary institutions in the United States. Both samples were matched with regard to gender and racial identity, prior self-reported high school leadership training experience, and self- reported possession of formal leadership positions in co-curricular student organizations. Results suggest that students who report past consistent participation in postsecondary leadership training report levels of leadership capacity no different than those with no training. In addition, like their peers they also possess a cognitive model of leadership capacity that fails to differentiate leader self-efficacy, motivation to lead, and leadership skill.
Robert C. Klein and David Michael Rosch
Our study was designed to investigate the longitudinal trajectories of student leader development capacities in a sample of students enrolled in multiple leadership-focused…
Abstract
Purpose
Our study was designed to investigate the longitudinal trajectories of student leader development capacities in a sample of students enrolled in multiple leadership-focused courses across several semesters. Our goal was to assess the degree to which course enrollment was associated with growth over the time that students engage as undergraduates in academic leadership programs, and if so, to assess the shape and speed of capacity change.
Design/methodology/approach
We utilized a multilevel intra-individual modeling approach assessing students’ motivation to lead, leader self-efficacy, and leadership skills across multiple data collection points for students in a campus major or minor focused on leadership studies. We compared an unconditional model, a fixed effect model, a random intercept model, a random slope model, and a random slope and intercept model to determine the shape of score trajectories. Our approach was not to collect traditional pre-test and post-test data – choosing to collect data only at the beginning of each semester – to reduce time cues typically inherent within pre-test and post-test collections.
Findings
Our results strongly suggested that individual students differ greatly in the degree to which they report the capacity to lead when initially enrolling in their first class. Surprisingly, the various models were unable to predict a pattern of longitudinal leader development through repeated course enrollment in our sample.
Originality/value
Our investigation employed statistical methods that are not often utilized in leadership education quantitative research, and also included a data collection effort designed to avoid a linear pre-test/post-test score comparison.
Details
Keywords
Engineering students (N = 285) enrolled in either a first-year or senior-year design course that consisted entirely of team-based collaborative learning projects reported few…
Abstract
Engineering students (N = 285) enrolled in either a first-year or senior-year design course that consisted entirely of team-based collaborative learning projects reported few gains in their overall leadership development. First-year students made moderate gains in transformational leadership skills and social-normative motivation to lead. Peer evaluations of skill were lower than were self-reported scores, and, for first-year students, self-reported scores and peer scores were not correlated. A high degree of co-curricular involvement in student organizations, as compared to little or no involvement, was associated with student gains in seniors. These results indicate the relatively small degree of leadership learning that takes place in classroom-based team experiences when those experiences are not paired with opportunities for deliberate practice or reflection in the development of leadership capacity.
David M. Rosch and Jason Headrick
The Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC) is a fast-growing tool for post-secondary student leadership development. There, teams practice with a coach for several months, then…
Abstract
The Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC) is a fast-growing tool for post-secondary student leadership development. There, teams practice with a coach for several months, then compete against teams from other institutions to win competitions based on achieving outcomes and demonstrating effective leadership practices (e.g., authentic collaboration, positive conflict management techniques). In this study, 135 students participated in at least one wave of data collection. Initial results suggested that leadership capacity among participants showed a steady increase from initial pre-test through their competition date to a post-test measured months later. Scores among participants who identified as a man or woman did not statistically differ. These findings, though initial, may indicate that placing students in competitive environments can serve as an important tool to support their leadership development.