Federal and state descriptions of gifted and talented services include identifying and developing leadership talent, but in many states, services are not mandated or funded. Consequently, leadership development is often left to extracurricular programs (e.g., student organizations, athletics). The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) provides school-based military-focused leadership education and opportunities to apply emergent leadership skills. This qualitative descriptive study examined leadership talent development in JROTC and the postsecondary paths participants chose. A self-report survey was distributed to graduating seniors enrolled in JROTC in Texas public high schools and semi-structured interviews were conducted with JROTC instructors across the state. The findings highlighted characteristics of students in the sample who chose to pursue military-focused education or careers after high school and themes about the experiences and key considerations related to choosing postsecondary paths. JROTC instructors supported students with differentiated development plans and information about flexible pathways to reach postsecondary goals. Students benefitted from broad definitions of success, exposure to career options, realistic self-assessment, and alignment between intentions and preparation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1808400 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Meyer, Melanie S. |
| Contributors | Rinn, Anne N., Mun, Rachel U., Hodges, Jaret, Boesch, Miriam C. |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | v, 159 pages, Text |
| Rights | Public, Meyer, Melanie S., Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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