Abstract MAKING LEADERS: EXAMINING HOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF LEADERSHIP AND SHOW EMERGING LEADERSHIP TENDENCIES By Sarah E. Evans, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 Director: Whitney Sherman Newcomb, Ph.D. Professor, Educational Leadership The purpose of this study was to understand how young children develop skills and concepts of leadership, when nurtured in a developmentally appropriate manner. Leadership was defined as a process that people use to bring out the best in themselves and others, while working towards a common purpose. This study examined a leadership curriculum, The Leader in Me, as it was being taught in an elementary school, grades K-5. The researcher used a qualitative lens to understand parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of the program, and the study findings indicated that The Leader in Me was used as both a way to teach leadership and for behavior modification. Teachers reported teaching leadership through direct instruction, informal instruction, curriculum materials, and practice. In addition, the children’s leadership behaviors were analyzed through the transformational leadership model to find The Leader in Me resulted in attempting to make transformational leaders. The children showed signs of transformational leadership through the behaviors of the 4 I’s: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. The data further showed positive gains in school culture, leadership development, and personal growth. Standardized testing pass rates were examined, but the researcher found the leadership program had no discernable impact on student achievement. This study found that there is merit in looking to our nation’s educational system to support the intentional process of developing leaders in schools. Keywords: leaders, leadership, leadership development in children, The Leader in Me, 7 Habits, transformational leadership

Character education has increased over the past years to build student character in such a way that students are more successful and teachers spend maximal time for classroom instruction as well as minimal time with behavioral concerns. If a student experiences positive character traits and practices success in earlier grades, then it is logical to assume that the positive habits he or she establishes will transfer into the upper grades. However, very few studies have determined whether positive habits established in early grades will continue to bring success in subsequent grades. The purpose of this study was to examine the success of students in subsequent years after they were taught character traits and 21st-century skills in elementary school using The Leader in Me program. Previous research indicates a lack of studies that measure results after students leave the program setting. The main question for this study was the following: Do middle school students who have received instruction in The Leader in Me program for two years during elementary school show more improvement on selected measures of student behavior and academics than students who have not received such instruction? In order to determine the success of the program, the researcher reviewed discipline referrals, attendance records, and cumulative grade point averages (GPA) for reading and math students in grades six and seven. Independent samples t-tests were performed on the data sets to find relationships between the treatment population who had received The Leader In Me instruction for two or more years during elementary school and the control population who had not received any instruction in The Leader in Me during elementary school. Descriptive statistics showed fewer discipline referrals for the treatment group, but the numbers were not statistically significant. The results of the study showed a significant difference in attendance between the two groups. The students who had been instructed in The Leader in Me missed significantly fewer days than those who had not been instructed. Reading and math GPA did not show a significant difference for either group. / Ed. D. / Character education has increased over the past years to build student character in such a way that students are more successful and teachers spend maximal time for classroom instruction as well as minimal time with behavioral concerns. If a student experiences positive character traits and practices success in earlier grades, then it is logical to assume that the positive habits he or she establishes will transfer into the upper grades. The purpose of this study was to examine the success of students after they were taught character traits in elementary school using <i>The Leader in Me</i> program. Previous research indicates a lack of studies that measure results after students leave the program setting. The research sought to understand if students who have received instruction in <i>The Leader in Me</i> program for two years during elementary school would show more improvement in behavior, attendance, and academics than students who did not receive the instruction. In order to determine whether the program was successful, the researcher reviewed discipline referrals, attendance records, and cumulative grade point averages (GPA) for Reading and Math students in grades six and seven. A comparison was made to find relationships between student who had received <i>The Leader In Me</i> instruction for two or more years during elementary school and students who had not received any instruction in <i>The Leader</i> in Me during elementary school. The results of the study showed a significant difference in attendance between the two groups. The students who had been instructed in <i>The Leader in Me</i> missed significantly fewer days than those who had not been instructed. The study did not show significant differences for discipline referrals or grades.

This thesis aims to identify the principles that managers use in their work. The work of Stephen Covey "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" is used as an object of research. Primarily, a Covey's claim that the 7 habits are universal and timeless is analyzed, in an effort to identify universal principles of effectivity and their relationship to management. All of the habits are paraphrased and compared to the work of other popular authors from the area of social sciences. Subsequently, a comparison between the 7 habits and historical development of organization theory and its lessons is conducted. Further along, a description of critical reflection of the 7 habits from five standpoints is presented: post-modern, feminism, critical pedagogy, non-functionalism and exclusive representation. Finally, the author of the thesis presents his personal experience with implementing the 7 habits in his professional and personal life. From the findings, this thesis comes to the conclusion that Covey's system of 7 habits is possibly a quality source of information when searching for universal principles of effectivity. At the same time, it warns that it is possible that the habits are only universally applicable within the scope of the time and background of western thinking they were developed in. In the closing,...

TITLE: The program "The Leader in Me" as one of the methods for personal development of primary school pupil AUTHOR: Lenka Ioannidis SUPERVISOR: PhDr. Tereza Krčmářová, Ph. D. ABSTRACT: This study is focused on the implementation of the program "The Leader in Me" in elementary schools. Theoretical part is an approach to self- management within primary education. The research section includes current picture of program implementation, "The Leader in Me" in the Czech Republic. The outcome of this work is an original designed leisure activity elaborated on the theme of The 7 Habits. KEYWORDS: self-management, action research, case study, Program "The Leader in Me", Personal and social development, 7 habits, S. R. Covey.

The diploma theses deals with the concept leadership, the concept learning organisation and their reciprocel relationship, specificaly about function leadership in the learning organisation. The theses defines, observes and researches these two phenomenas in the segment of education, specificaly in schools related to programm "The leader in me" both in the Czech Republic and abroad - the Netherlands. Leadership mentioned in this work represent the 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R. Covey as the main tool. The theses concerns the teachers' profesional development and their general personal characteristics, in a view of regarding development. The goal of the work is to summary of opinions related to the Covey 7 habits of highly effective people as leadership tool. Based on the summary the theses defines role of leadership in the learning organisation in the area of school and describes reciprocal relationships leadership and learning organisation and the area of professional development in the behaviour of teachers. Furthevemore, the these evaluates the importance in relationships from in accordance with effectivity and success of the learning organisation in the school area. The theoretical part of the theses defines the main concepts of work - leadership, learning organisation,...