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This work was carried out in collaboration between the authors as a part of their jointresearch project. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Many factors influence leaders' career development. This article introduces Finnish female leaders' careers as leaders and the factors that are the most crucial for becoming a leader. The following questions were set for this research: (1) How do female leaders describe their career development? (2) What are the factors enhancing commitment to a leader's work? (3) What are the critical factors during female leaders' career development? This was a qualitative study employing a narrative approach and in which ten female leaders were interviewed. The findings showed the factors enhancing commitment to a leader's work were interest in one's own field and in self-development. Working in the field of their calling led women into a ISSN 2162-6952 2015 www.macrothink.org/jse 2 leader's position. The beginning of the career appeared as the critical phase of their careers. Leaders perceived adversities merely as a part of their work. The path from a novice to an expert required hard work but is eventually rewarding. The study provided new viewpoints to careers counseling and development. Journal of Studies in Education

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Active citizenship is a goal in which universities want to invest: student activism has shown to increase students' skills and support positive study atmosphere. The purpose of this study was to analyse university students' motives for participating in student activism in order to find out ways of enhancing the development of active citizenship in students. This was a narrative study in which 47 student activists of Finnish university student activist organisations wrote their personal narratives about their careers as student activists. According to the data, the students had many motives for participating in student activism, such as making friends, fixing deficits in the study environment and benefitting their future work careers. The study also showed that sometimes students participated in student activism only by a coincidence. Based on the findings, suggestions for practical means to develop active citizenship in university students are discussed from the point of view of students themselves, teachers and universities.