A new generation of leaders is needed not only to build local partnerships in today's communities, but to assume all positions of leadership. Undergraduate students within a College of Agricultural Sciences at a large land grant university were given the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale (SLRS) to determine their self-perception of leadership according to the eight SLRS constructs: consciousness of self, congruence, commitment, collaboration, common purpose, controversy with civility, citizenship and courage through change. Results indicated a strong alignment with constructs such as congruence, consciousness of self and commitment, with slightly less agreement in the other constructs. Two important issues were illustrated. First, today's undergraduates appear to be much more comfortable with diversity and conflict than once was the norm. Secondly, the citizenship construct brought to light a lack of awareness and desire to contribute to their civic responsibility. Implications include changes in leadership curriculum and implementation of service learning experiences.
The article considers the issue of leadership within rural communities, and how sense of community and social capital work with leadership to encourage change. Drawing on the research of leadership through a comparative case study undertaken in two viable Florida communities, we examine the relationships and effects among the aforementioned variables. Using path analysis, results indicated only community empowerment and building social capital through trust had a direct effect on a community's openness to change. Conclusions illustrated leadership importance at the community level. Effective community leaders assisted in developing important relationships, establishing communication and imparting community direction, thereby providing the needed link between variables. Implications suggest a unique type of community leadership training is needed as well as further research focusing on leadership, change and development.
This study explored cooperation between members of two interdisciplinary teams of educators within the agricultural field in a northeastern state. A researcherdeveloped instrument was used to explore individual perceptions regarding interdisciplinary cooperation. Using qualitative methods, the researchers intended to bring to light the thoughts, feelings and perceptions of educators regarding both the benefits and successes they had encountered, as well as the barriers they had come across during their cooperative experiences. Results indicated several areas of overlap for the disciplines. Recognized advantages included programmatic improvement, time saved, workload reduction and an increase in available resources. Barriers mentioned include time constraints, lack of awareness combined with perceived programmatic differences, and the lack of relationships and networks across disciplines. Suggestions include further research on the subject of cooperation, as well as possible combined in-service training sessions, encouraging the development of relationships through pre-service means (i.e., a combined undergraduate course) and administrator education.
Leaders are needed in all areas of life. A question arises, "Where do leaders come from and how do they develop the skills necessary to be effective?" Colleges and universities have been developing leadership skills since their inception (Astin, 1996). This study examined students in a college of agriculture to determine if students' perceptions about leadership skills varied based on participation in collegiate organizations and whether a participant held a collegiate officer position. Results indicated 55% were active in collegiate organizations and 23% held an officer position. For the most part student perceptions related to the impact on leadership skill development did not vary between the groups and were "positive" in nature. It was noted that approximately 36% of all responses were
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