Leadership practices of students enrolled in a leadership theories course

Abstract

This research investigated the student leadership practices of undergraduates enrolled in a leadership theories course at a large, regional university using Kouzes and Posners (1998) Student Leadership Practices Inventory (SLPI). Students enrolled in the course scored higher in all five categories of exemplary leadership practices than the SLPI normative data. Furthermore, leadership studies minors scored higher than non-leadership minors in two categories, inspiring a shared vision and enabling others to act. Results indicate that there are differences in leadership characteristics between students who minor in leadership or take a leadership course as compared to students in leadership roles. It is recommended that as curricular leadership programs continue to grow and expand, these programs take student leadership characteristics into account in course development to create more effective programs to address students needs.