The purpose of this study was to identify the leadership skills students believe they learned in co-curricular activities, to determine how those skills are used in the classroom, and to discover whether those skills enhance the academic experience for students. The results of this study provide information which can aid student affairs practitioners who are seeking ways to help students make the connection between the co-curricular and curricular leadership experiences. This study used a combination of qualitative research techniques including document analysis and group interviews. The qualitative nature of this study was guided by the need to allow the subjects explore their own perceptions, beliefs, observations, and understanding about their behavior and learning. Thirty-one student leaders from programs and organizations sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) were interviewed over a period of one semester. Two cadres of three groups participated in four rounds each A round consisted of an e-journal, sent and responded to individually by the participants, followed by a group interview. E-journals and interviews were analyzed using a conceptually clustered matrix. This process produced a series of matrices correlating the various perspectives of the participants with either leadership practices, research questions, demographic data, or all three. The results of the study reveal that training programs for these student leaders tended to focus on three primary leadership practices and that the student leaders exhibited these same practices in their curricular experience. Reflection both during and after the study had a profound impact on the students' perceptions of whether or not they perceived their own behavior as leadership either in or out of the classroom. Additional results showed that the physical design of a classroom could have an impact on how leadership practices occur during class. It was also shown that while all the participants in this study were in DSA sponsored programs, there was no central leadership theory or comprehensive approach to leadership development to guide Division programs. Findings from this study provide evidence of the value of co-curricular leadership training and its impact on curricular experience. The study also adds to the body of research on student leadership, research on the impact of co-curricular activities on students, and the relationship between curricular and co-curricular learning, particularly as it relates to group assignments and the leadership of those projects. / Ph. D.

The Science Teaching and Research (STAR) Leadership Program at Austin College was designed to intentionally include leadership development into the science curriculum and provides an opportunity to determine the effects of student leadership development on the retention of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This dissertation used a quasi-experimental design to determine: 1) if STEM retention can be explained though the inclusion of leadership development into the curriculum; 2) if there is a difference between Austin College students who choose a STEM major compared to students who do not; and 3) if there is a difference between Austin College students who complete a STEM degree compared to students who do not. Census data were collected on 2,137 students who enrolled in STEM courses beginning in the fall of 2008 through the spring of 2017, and factors affecting retention were compared across three 3-year time periods that spanned before the program was initiated through wider implementation. A logistic regression showed that there was no significant positive association between leadership development and STEM retention when taking into account other pre-college and demographic factors that have been linked to retention in the literature. However, a one-way ANOVA showed that the academic factors significantly decreased as the STAR program progressed. Further studies are required to understand student benefits associated with the current program.

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Student governance has been in existence as an integral part of higher education almost since the founding of the first college in colonial America. However, little is understood about the lived experience of students involved in student governance, and specifically those who participate in leadership positions within student government organizations such as the student government president. Therefore, the primary purposes of this study are to highlight experiences of students who served as presidents of a liberal arts college’s student government association and to examine the meanings these individuals construct out of their leadership experiences. This study employed qualitative methods, which included in-depth, open-ended, semi-structured interviews and journaling. The sample was made up of six students who served as student government association presidents at a small, private, liberal-arts college. From the data derived through the interview and journaling processes, an overall picture of the experiences of the participants and the meanings that the participants construct of their experiences was drawn. Based on the results, several themes regarding the participants’ experiences as student government presidents emerged from the data, which include: positive and negative facets of their presidencies, stress as a substantial element during their time in office, dissimilar experiences of women and minority students, varied experiences regarding relationships and conflicts with members of the campus community, the multiple roles required of a student government president, and personal approaches to leadership that a student government president must possess and hone. Conclusions based on the data were included and implications for student affairs practitioners were discussed as well as recommendations for further study were made.

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No description available.