College Student Leadership Development: An Examination of Pre-college Leadership Development of African Students in the United States

Abstract

The number of continental African college students in U.S. colleges and universities has grown tremendously, making it imperative for their host institutions to understand their unique leadership development needs in order to serve them effectively. This qualitative study examined the pre-college leadership development of African students in U.S. colleges and universities. Four themes that describe the experiences that influenced the leadership development of the participants during their pre-college years emerged from the data: family, church, African cultures, and high school influences. The study is based on a 2006-2007 sample of African students at a mid-size, midwestern U.S. university.Keywords: college leadership development, African college students, international students, pre-college leadership developmentU.S. colleges and universities are home to over half a million international students. Of the 580,000 international students that were enrolled in U.S. universities and colleges in 2002, more than 37,724 were African students (Arthur, 2004; Blake, 2006). According to the Institute of International Education (HE), 37,062 African students were enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities in 2010 (HE, 2010), and their number continues to grow despite a slight decline in 2010.Students from Africa play a significant role in U.S. higher education. For example, they bring millions of dollars to the U.S. economy every year. They also work in various capacities such as research and teaching assistants. Moreover, their diverse perspectives contribute to the globalization of American higher education thereby helping to improve the quality of teaching, research, and cross-cultural learning on U.S. university campuses (HE, 2010).Similar to other student populations, African students in the U.S. are involved in student leadership development programs offered by their colleges. Such programs include curricular leadership programs (commonly known as leadership studies) and out-of-class experiential leadership programs such as service learning, community service, mentorship, and internships (Cress et al., 2001; Dugan, 2006; Hall, Scott, & Borzl, 2008; Manyibe, 2007). Other on campus opportunities for students to develop their leadership potential includes participation in student organizations. For example, at the anonymous M-University where the current study was conducted, there are more than 300 registered student organizations that provide great opportunities for students to be involved, build networks, meet people, have fun, and ultimately foster their leadership skills. The effort to develop the leadership of college students is supported by studies that show that college life is one of the most important stages for the psycho-social, cognitive, moral, and leadership development of college students (Cress et al., 2001; Logue, Hutchens, & Hector, 2005; Manyibe, 2007).Numerous studies have been conducted to examine the leadership development of college students in the U.S. Most of these studies (e.g., Dugan, 2006; Kimbrough & Hutcheson, 1998; Terenzini et al., 1996) have focused on White, Latino, and African American students. Unfortunately, not much work has been documented on international African students' college leadership development experiences in these colleges and universities. Moreover, a review of the literature yielded no study that focuses on the pre-college leadership development of African students. The current study, therefore, examined the pre-college leadership experiences of African college students studying at U.S. universities. The study was guided by the following two research questions: (a) What pre-college experiences influence the leadership development of African students at U.S. colleges and universities? and (b) How do these experiences impact these students' leadership development?Theoretical ModelA modified version of the college impact theoretical framework (Terenzini et al. …