Perceptions of Leadership: An Examination of College Students’ Understandings of the Concept of Leadership

Abstract

Incoming first-year college students (N = 4,292) were surveyed regarding attitudes and beliefs about leadership. Students' opinions about their leadership ability were high and were related to having an outgoing personality, as well as

The effects of an introductory leadership course on socially responsible leadership, examined by age and gender

“…This hypothesis tested whether or not students that were in the younger age group of 18-20 would show more leadership growth at the end of the semester when compared to those ages 21 or older. This hypothesis is in line with Haber's (2012) study that showed age is a significant mediating factor for undergraduate students' leadership development.…”

“…Similarly, Astin (1993) also showed that gender was a significant predictor in a host of college outcomes, including leadership development. Haber's (2012) study also showed that women demonstrated more contemporary understandings of leadership than men. These studies suggest women may possess a leadership advantage while functioning in this newer, post-industrialized model.…”

“…While much of the focus on college students' leadership development has focused on the impact of various college experiences (e.g., service-learning, student organization membership, academic coursework) (Dugan & Komives, 2007), demographic characteristics (e.g., race, gender) have also been studied and shown to be significant (Astin, 1993;Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Two important demographic characteristics that have been shown to mediate students' leadership development are age and gender (Astin, 1993;Eagly, 2007;Haber, 2012). Age and gender have gained more attention as emergent leadership theories and models posit definitions of leadership built on inclusion and shared leadership (Komives, Lucas, & McMahon, 2007;Rost, 1991).…”

“…For studies that specifically examine age as opposed to age proxies (e.g., class year), the results are mixed. In a study of 1100 undergraduate students, Haber (2012) found important differences by age when students were asked to articulate their individual definitions of leadership. On the other hand, Astin's (1993) landmark longitudinal analyses on nearly 25,000 students showed that age was not a significant predictor of college students' leadership development when compared to same-age peers who did not attend college.…”

Navigating the Research Landscape: A Guide to the Selection of the Right Research Design

“…Its intent is that the results of the first, qualitative method can help develop or inform the second quantitative method (Greene, Caracelli, & Graham, 1989). Some thoughts need to be specified to the relationship between the initial qualitative outcomes and the design of the middle quantitative stage, whether this stage takes on developing or amending a tool or survey (Clark, Shahrouri, Halasa, Khalaf, Spencer, &Rose, 2012); keeps on generating new variables (Haber, 2012), consists of typologies, or conceptual models ,specifies activities for an intervention ; or involves crafting a website, an app, or a virtual reality program for testing (Ruffin, Creswell, Jimbo, & Fetters, 2009).…”