This qualitative research study examined how junior-level undergraduate students clarify their values in the environment of a leadership course. Previous research indicated the concept of values clarification is a dynamic process in which people come to understand what they individually view as important in their lives by placing a name or label to what one values (i.e., honesty, love, success, etc.). This process commonly occurs during the traditional college years and is a critical component of the undergraduate experience. A college student clarifying their values is an important first step in the overall values development process. To encourage development, educators must first understand this process. However, there remains an important gap in the current literature regarding how students clarify their values in college, specifically in the context of leadership coursework. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the essence of the students' experience in their values clarification. Utilizing a phenomenological method involving interviews, thematic coding, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and data saturation; primary themes were formed explaining the experience of how students identify their values in college. Data for the study were collected over a semester-long period in the spring of 2012 from junior-level students who were currently enrolled in or had successfully completed a course in an undergraduate Leadership Certificate at a large, Research I institution in the southeastern United States. Findings from this research helped to explain the experience of how junior-level students clarify their values in their collegiate experience and inform the practice of character education and leadership curriculum development in colleges and universities. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2015. / April 1, 2015. / higher education, Leadership education, values clarification / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathy Guthrie, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Reynolds, University Representative; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member; Tamara Bertrand Jones, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_252958 |
| Contributors | Fritz, Mackenzie R. (Mackenzie Ruth) (authoraut), Guthrie, Kathy L. (professor directing dissertation), Reynolds, John K. (university representative), Reynolds, John R., 1966- (university representative), Schwartz, Robert A. (committee member), Jones, Tamara Bertrand (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Education (degree granting college), Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (246 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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