Examining the Mediating Role of Prior Experiences on the Relationship Between Leadership Courses, Student Leadership, and Leadership Skills

Despite numerous recent events that have cast collegiate Black Greek-letter organizations (BGOs) in negative light, many view these and other organizations as important leadership development vehicles. This article reports on study that examined impact of BGO membership on Black students' involvement in campus-related activities and their leadership development. BGO members and unaffiliated with BGOs attending historically Black and predominantly White institutions of higher education were compared. The results indicate that BGO members, regardless of campus type, evidenced greater student involvement and had more confidence in their leadership skills. They further suggest that BGO membership provides an important means by which to enhance student involvement and leadership development for Blacks in college and beyond. Early leadership experiences provide individuals with tools they need to succeed academically, in workforce, and in other social arenas. Leadership development during collegiate years has been widely studied to determine best methods of enhancing students' leadership skills, and differential processes by which those skills are developed or impeded within various types of student groups (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). Despite this broad scrutiny, student leaders remain an understudied component of collegiate population. Research studies variously identify them as student government officers, fraternity and sorority presidents, or residence hall advisors (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Schuh & Laverty, 1983); but conclusive evidence does not exist with regard to how or if these organizations produce leaders. Nor it is clear extent to which collegiate experiences advance students' leadership capabilities, for, as Pascarella and Terenzini argue, without an understanding of students' experiences prior to college, understanding what they have learned in college is difficult if not impossible. What is clear from literature, however, is that concept of student involvement is key to understanding student leadership. Astin (1984, 1985, 1993), who has authored much of literature on this concept and its importance in higher education, defines student involvement as the amount of physical and psychological energy that student devotes to academic experience (Astin, 1984 p. 297). He further notes that a highly involved student is one who, for example, devotes considerable energy to studying, spends lot of time on campus, participates actively in student organizations, and interacts frequently with faculty members and other students (p. 297). Some of results of this involvement, Astin concludes, are greater academic success, lower dropout rates, and development and enhancement of leadership skills. Though much-maligned on many contemporary campuses in United States, Greek-- letter organizations traditionally have been identified as key players in development of leadership skills among college students. As Horowitz (1987) points out, fraternities and sororities have produced some of academe's most visible college leaders. Other researchers have argued that these organizations facilitate perpetual cycle that creates leadership opportunities for their own members while excluding others from similar opportunities (Horowitz, 1987; Shaffer, 1983). Still others insist that through Greek experience, learn how to lead by following excellent role models found within their chapters, and gain additional leadership experiences and skills within their individual chapters and larger community (Hughes & Winston, 1987). Among African Americans, two student collegiate groups-Black student organizations and historically Black Greek-letter organizations (BGOs)-have been found to be benefactors of leadership experiences unique to their cultures and to create unique leadership opportunities for their members (Sedlacek, 1987). …

Advancing leadership in medical radiation sciences: Incorporating systematic leadership education in pre-registration curricula

A Review of:
 Harris-Keith, Colleen S. (2015). The Relationship Between Academic Library Department Experience and Perceptions of Leadership Skill Development Relevant to Academic Library Directorship. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41(3), 246-263. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2015.03.017
 
 Abstract
 
 Objective – This study sought to identify if the perception of library leadership skill and quality development is equal across departmental experience, and what are the leadership skills and qualities most commonly perceived to be used in each department.
 
 Design – Quantitative online survey instrument. 
 
 Setting – Master’s colleges and universities from 728 institutions in the United States of America, as classified by the Carnegie Foundation. 
 
 Subjects – 666 academic library directors. 
 
 Methods – Selected participants, representing academic library administrative leadership, were contacted by email a maximum of four times and were invited to complete an online survey instrument composed of six sections. The first three sections contained the purpose and confidentiality statements, demographic information, and data on the past five positions held by respondents prior to their current directorship. The next two sections each had 25 statements on a 5-point Likert scale, to collect data on perceived leadership skills and qualities exercised by respondents in their most recent three positions. The final section had four open-ended questions to help explain the academic library directors’ responses and provide context for the ratings in previous sections of the instrument. 
 
 Main results – A total of 296 responses were received, for a 40.66% response rate, which was representative of the institution type demographics, including private non-profit, public, and private for-profit. 
 
 The first research question asked: is the perception of library leadership skill and quality development equal across departmental experience? The data used for this question involved all library departments: Access Services, Administration, Collection Development, Digital Library Services, Information Technology, Reference and Instruction, and Technical Services. When departments were compared pairwise on composite leadership skill scores, Administration was significantly higher than another department. Results showed that perceptions of leadership quality development appeared to be equal across departments, but leadership skill development was not, and in fact, there was a significant difference between the variances of the composite scores in the population. 
 
 The second research question asked: what are the leadership skills and qualities most commonly perceived to be used in each department? Results revealed that every leadership skill score except for time management was significant, indicating a difference among library departments based on individual leadership skill scores. Respondents perceived that there was a difference in leadership skill (but not leadership quality) development opportunity by department. 
 
 Departments were also compared pairwise on offering a greater opportunity to develop leadership skills, and overall, academic library directors perceived that there were significant differences in skill development by department. Furthermore, respondents overwhelmingly indicated that Administration was where they perceived the most leadership skill development opportunities. There was no perceived difference in leadership quality development by department. As well, some departments were reported to provide targeted, department-specific leadership skills, such as resource allocation and budget management. 
 
 Conclusion – This study offers strong evidence that development of many of the leadership skills necessary for success as an academic library director only present themselves to professionals once they enter the Administration department, the library director position, or the assistant director position.

PurposeThis investigation sought to identify learning outcomes for undergraduate students at a US college enrolled in community‐based learning courses. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences between American students' and international students' development of leadership skills through senior level service‐learning (SL) courses and analyzed the role of teaching methods on those outcomes.Design/methodology/approachOver 150 SL courses from students representing 30 countries were examined at a major university in the USA. US and non‐US student leadership and learning outcomes were cross‐tabulated with instructional techniques to analyze for statistically significant differences.FindingsFacilitating leadership skill development is a function of utilizing transformational rather than traditional classroom teaching techniques.Practical implicationsTransformational teaching and learning methods such as collaborative projects, student‐selected readings, and group decision‐making in SL courses help transform students' views of themselves, their communities, and the world as they consider their roles as leaders in an unscripted future.Originality/valueFew studies have examined the instructional elements in SL that transform student knowledge and leadership skills especially across such a breadth and variety of SL courses and student cultural backgrounds.

Today’s realities require graduates not only to be academically successful, but also to be able to interact effectively with the world around them, to be active participants in social and professional life. Leadership skills are becoming critical for successful adaptation in a rapidly changing environment. Educational institutions play a key role in shaping personal traits, including leadership skills. They should ensure that students understand the importance of cooperation, develop the ability to take initiative, solve problems effectively, lead a group and influence others. Developing leadership skills in general secondary education students is an important task aimed at developing students' personal qualities and social competences. Leadership skills enable graduates to work effectively in a team, take responsibility for their actions, solve problems, set goals and inspire others. This article focuses on the important issue of developing leadership skills in students of general secondary education. Leadership skills are a set of competences that contribute to effective teamwork, acceptance of responsibility and development of individual potential. The article examines the main aspects of the process of developing leadership skills among schoolchildren. The role of leadership in various spheres of life is analyzed and the need to prepare young people for an active role in society is identified. Particular attention is paid to the development of communication skills and the importance of the ability to communicate effectively, listen to others and argue one's position. Examples of practical methods of developing communication skills in the school environment are given. The article discusses the need to encourage students to be independent in their decision-making. Arguments are presented in favor of creating an educational environment that promotes initiative and creativity. Teaching conflict management, as leadership skills include the ability to effectively manage conflict. The article discusses methods of conflict resolution and ways to integrate them into the educational process. The article analyses the role of emotional intelligence in the development of leadership skills. Practical recommendations for developing students' self-regulation and empathy skills are given. The article also emphasizes the importance of the role of teachers and educational programmes in the process of developing leadership skills. It discusses methods of introducing leadership aspects into the curriculum and emphasizes the importance of the teacher's role as a role model. Finally, the article summaries the presented concepts of developing leadership skills in students. It calls for the integration of approaches into the educational process in order to prepare young people for an active and successful life, contributing to their professional and personal development.

A challenge for traditional academic methods is found in adequately preparing students for the more practical aspects of the entrepreneur’s journey. To develop these skills, experiential learning is essential. To assess its impact on the development of entrepreneurial leadership skills in students, this research developed an entrepreneurial leadership retreat. The entrepreneurial leadership retreat is an intensive, immersive learning experience specifically designed to develop essential entrepreneurial skills. Using a qualitative research approach, this research aims to select a diverse group of graduate students to participate. The research will begin with semi-structured interviews with participants before the retreat to establish baseline data on their leadership competencies and self-perceptions. Post-retreat interviews will then help assess any changes in their leadership abilities and mindset. Additionally, observational data is gathered throughout the retreat to better assess the impact of the program and students’ reactions. The learning experience integrates outdoor challenges that test physical and mental resilience, strategic planning workshops that enhance cognitive and decision-making abilities, and business simulations for a more practical result. Thematic analysis of the data allows to identify key patterns and themes related to leadership development and the specific impacts of the retreat’s activities. The experiential format aims to allow more engagements for students with the material and a more natural learning experience compared to traditional classroom-based methods. By creating an intense fun learning environment, students learn in an immersive way. By conducting this research, the objective is to contribute valuable insights to entrepreneurship education by demonstrating how experiential learning, and engaging learning are powerful tools for developing entrepreneurial leadership in students. The findings aim to encourage more experiential learning and programs that go beyond the classroom. It also seeks to inform the design of future educational programs and interventions that seek to better prepare students for leadership roles in entrepreneurial and innovation-driven settings.

Leadership is the process of influencing followers to achieve a goal. This study aims to explore the Afghan postgraduate students’ experiences of their leadership development through the leadership course taught in Universiti Teknologi, Malaysia. A quantitative research design was employed in the study. An online survey questionnaire with 19 items was used to collect the data. The survey questionnaire was administered to all 46 postgraduate students in Social Sciences, Humanities and Science faculties, but only 42 of them responded to the online survey. Statistical Package for Social Sciences has been used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the mean, frequency and percentage. Inferential statistics such as Independent Sample T-Test and One Way ANOVA were used to find out the differences in the responses of the participants by their demographic variables, i.e., gender, year of study, faculty, work experience and age. The finding showed that the students had a positive perception of the leadership course. The participants believed that the course helped them to improve their leadership skills. The study recommends that the leadership course be taught in Afghanistan universities since it plays a crucial part in developing leadership skills in students, which is crucial for their career after graduation.

Project-based learning (PjBL) is one of the learning models recognized by education experts as an effective method of achieving learning objectives in developing process skills; however, few studies have examined its potential for fostering leadership skills. This study aims to investigate postgraduate teacher students' experiences with project-based learning as a means of developing students leadership skills. The research involved 24 postgraduate students and utilized a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. The findings reveal that while some aspects of project-based learning were perceived as straightforward, other steps were deemed challenging, particularly those that involved higher order thinking skill and emotional consideration. However, the process of interaction and communication during the learning process appears to be a critical factor in the development of leadership skills. These results suggest that further research is needed to explore the potential of project-based learning for developing postgraduate student leadership and to identify effective strategies for implementing this approach. Overall, this study highlights the importance of integrating leadership development into educational curricula and the need for ongoing professional development for teachers to effectively facilitate leadership skill development.

This study is based on the domains of self-efficacy and student leadership, laying the foundation for improving students' self-efficacy and leadership skills. The results show that students' depth of self-efficacy and leadership skills in classroom learning is enhanced, and their development efficiency is improved. Through descriptive correlational design and SPSS analysis of data from 377 students, it was found that students performed at a high level in dimensions of self-efficacy such as Mastery Experiences, Vicarious Experiences, Verbal Persuasion, as well as dimensions of leadership skills such as Leading by Example, Collaboratively Inspiring Vision, among others. To enhance students' self-efficacy and leadership skills, teachers should take relevant measures in teaching, such as not considering gender, age, and major as the main factors for evaluating leadership ability, emphasizing students' actual performance and leadership experience, helping students build confidence, and strengthening the cultivation of leadership experience.

BackgroundLeadership courses and multi-source feedback are widely used developmental tools for leaders in health care. On this background we aimed to study the additional effect of a leadership course following a multi-source feedback procedure compared to multi-source feedback alone especially regarding development of leadership skills over time.MethodsStudy participants were consultants responsible for postgraduate medical education at clinical departments. Study design: pre-post measures with an intervention and control group. The intervention was participation in a seven-day leadership course. Scores of multi-source feedback from the consultants responsible for education and respondents (heads of department, consultants and doctors in specialist training) were collected before and one year after the intervention and analysed using Mann-Whitney's U-test and Multivariate analysis of variances.ResultsThere were no differences in multi-source feedback scores at one year follow up compared to baseline measurements, either in the intervention or in the control group (p = 0.149).ConclusionThe study indicates that a leadership course following a MSF procedure compared to MSF alone does not improve leadership skills of consultants responsible for education in clinical departments. Developing leadership skills takes time and the time frame of one year might have been too short to show improvement in leadership skills of consultants responsible for education. Further studies are needed to investigate if other combination of initiatives to develop leadership might have more impact in the clinical setting.

Understanding the trend of supply and demand in the labor market is important for different categories of stakeholders. For higher education institutions understanding of these trends is crucial in reforming educational programs and academic disciplines to better serve society, the economy, and businesses. For individuals, knowledge of trends can be a key factor in educational and career decisions. Trends in changes in key skills were analyzed and it was concluded that critical thinking, creativity, complex problem solving, leadership and social impact remain important in the process of global change. The influence of teachers on the development of leadership skills of students in the process of academic counseling was identified and the approaches of researchers to the quality teaching in higher education were analyzed, the skills necessary for teachers to develop leadership skills were determined, the leading role and functions of academic counseling for the development of leadership skills of students were defined. It was found that the level of development of the teacher's leadership skills directly affects the development of students' leadership skills. Students' interactions with their academic advisors have been found to play an important role in their overall learning experience. It is noted that tools for developing students' leadership skills can be modeling, group work, debates, etc., participation in which contributes to the formation of such leadership skills as vision; teamwork; communication; problem solving; teaching; motivation; management and decision-making.

The aim of the study is to identify the role of the school principal in developing leadership skills (innovation, decision-making, responsibility) among school students from the principals' point of view. The research will also reveal the obstacles that the school principal plays in developing the leadership skills of school students Secondary education. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher followed the descriptive descriptive method, through the application of the study tool (questionnaire) to the whole community of the study, which included all managers of the secondary schools in Riyadh, (139) managers. The questionnaire consisted of (32) words distributed on two axes: the role of the school principal in developing the leadership skills of secondary school students, while the second topic dealt with the obstacles that the school principal played in the development of leadership skills among school students. The role of the school principal in the development of leadership skills among school students came at a high level, where the role of the school principal in developing the skill of responsibility comes first, followed by the role of the school principal in developing the skill of innovation and innovation. Al-Qara T. In addition, the obstacles to the development of leadership skills among school students were high. The study recommended that the institutions of the community be closely linked with the school. The director delegated some of his powers to the administrative staff to enable him to perform some of the tasks entrusted to him. The supervisors of education with leadership skills, how to discover and develop them among the students, and the importance of the attention of those who prepare the school curriculum with leadership culture.

Traditionally, student leadership has been seen as the prerogative of senior students. Very little research has been conducted on how schools nurture and develop leadership skills in students in the middle years of schooling. This article provides an overview of student leadership in six secondary schools with a particular focus on student leadership opportunities in the middle years. These schools were drawn from the Government, Catholic and Independent sectors in Western Australia. Specifically, the opinions and experiences of either principals or their delegates were sought in order to develop a sense of the importance placed on student leadership in the middle years and the types of leadership opportunities available to students. Initially, the literature is reviewed on student leadership per se and student leadership in the middle years. This review is followed by an outline of the purpose, research question and significance of the research. The research methodology is then explained, providing a summary of participants, the school contexts and methods of data collection and analysis. The subsequent section on results and discussion highlights three themes: the role of teacher leaders, student leadership structures in middle years and the holistic development of middle year students. The article concludes by providing a number of recommendations, in particular, the need to gain a ‘student voice’ in any understanding of student leadership at the middle school.

This study presents the results of a research work, which aims to highlight the benefits of learning through projects in the development of cognitive and psycho-social skills of students. Project-based learning is a contemporary teaching method where students work on a project about a topic or a particular problem that seeks to develop a variety of learning skills such as cognitive skills, social and collaborative skills, self-affirmative and leadership skills. To accomplish this work, students rely on prior knowledge of the subject and in-depth research on issues to be answered. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the positivity that the projected hours for the development of the special potentials the students have, aiming at the successful inclusion of students in the learning process. To substantiate the problem, we have also raised the research question: How does project work affect the students learning, leadership and social skills? To answer the research question of this study, we have raised the hypothesis that project work encourages the development of student learning, leadership and social skills. We have proved this problem through a qualitative observation method that was realized with the students of the eighth grade in the 9-year school "Abdulla Hida" in Elbasan, in the interlocutor project hours. From the results of the research we have come to the conclusion that through project-based learning is achieved the cognitive, social and self-empowering development of students.

IntroductionThe North West Leadership Schools (NWLS) are an initiative of NHS England North West (NHS England NW). Each year we run a series of free, virtual evening events to inspire...