Leadership Education and Experience in the Classroom: A Case Study

Abstract

This paper examines the core academic leader development course at the United States Air Force Academy. The course serves as the foundation for individual leader development that is integrated across all four years of the student’s education. The basic approach uses a self-study where the student selects a current leadership role and that role serves as a common frame of reference for the entire course. Assessment strategies such as self-study, journaling, leadership application exercises are intentionally developed to integrate the classroom education into their leadership role. Through this integration the student is able to apply the leadership education real time as they have a current, relevant context in which to apply the material. Initial response to the course has been positive from both the students and the faculty. Future data collection is planned to determine the actual impact of the experience on relevant leadership outcomes.