Barry L. Boyd

Using a Case Study to Develop the Transformational Teaching Theory

Leadership educators teach Transformational Leadership Theory in their classrooms, but could transformational theory be used as a pedagogical model to deepen students’ understanding of leadership? This article presents Erin Gruwell, a first-year teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach and subject of the 2006 movie The Freedom Writers , as a case study where an educator practiced the components of transformational leadership in the classroom to transform students’ lives. Gruwell used idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration to transform a classroom of gang members into a community of scholars and authors. Following the case examples, leadership educators are provided examples of how to incorporate the four components of transformational leadership in their instructional methods. The purpose is to not only demonstrate the theory in action, but to deepen students’ learning of leadership theory.

Impact of Personal Growth Projects on Leadership Identity Development.

Within personal leadership education courses, leadership educators should include experiences which help students develop themselves as leaders. In this article, the authors discuss results from a qualitative research study involving the analysis of Personal Growth Project (PGP) assignments in a personal leadership education collegiate course. The authors analyzed PGP assignments using the lens of the Leadership Identity Development model (Komives et al., 2005). All aspects of the developing self component of the model including deepening self-awareness, building self-confidence, establishing interpersonal efficacy, applying new skills,

Developing Life-Long Learners Through Personal Growth Projects

Leaders must become life-long learners if they are to remain effective in an environment that is both global and changing at an exponential pace. As Day (1992) noted, personal growth is essential in the leadership development process. In a personal leadership development course, students are required to complete a personal growth project in order to add to their personal leadership development. In this assignment, students choose a project that will stretch their personal comfort zone and allow their strengths to be utilized in a new way. Reflection is a key element of the process in which they tie their experiences with the personal growth project to their values, strengths, and leadership behaviors.

Texas Latino College Student Attitudes Toward Natural Resources and the Environment

Abstract Latinos in the United States are an increasing segment of the population and are becoming important stakeholders in the management of natural resources. Although Latinos have been included in attitudinal research on environmental concerns, few studies have focused exclusively on Latino attitudes toward natural resources and the environment. We surveyed Texas college and university students of Mexican descent (n = 635) to determine their environmental concerns. Using the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP), we determined an environmental concern score for each respondent and compared this index to several demographic variables. We found that gender, a political candidates environmental position, mothers education, combined parental income, and, to a lesser degree, the number of grandparents born in the United States and religiosity (church attendance), were important model variables. We hypothesized that acculturation would be an important factor in predicting NEP scores; however, acculturation level was not an important predictor in our study, which we attribute to both the nature of our sample (i.e., highly acculturated college students) and small sample sizes of less-acculturated college students. We recommend that future research consider determining the importance of acculturation in Latino attitudes toward natural resources and the environment.

Developing an International Agricultural Leadership Program to Meet the Needs of a Global Community

This paper advances the notion that global leadership is a necessary component of undergraduate agricultural leadership. Within an existing leadership curriculum, the development of at least three new courses with innovative approaches to such a globalized curriculum is justified and outlined. These three classes include a course designed to increase awareness of global leadership issues, a cultural assimilation course designed to prepare students for an international experience, and a capstone seminar course. The program will require students to take the three classes being developed in addition to at least three other classes with an

Enhancing Leadership Skills in Volunteers.

This article describes how professionals leading volunteers can purposefully work toward developing the “leadership identity” of individual volunteers. These concepts and the application of them are presented in the context of Cooperative Extension volunteer groups. Specific methods of developing the leadership identity and capacity of individual volunteers and for developing shared leadership within volunteer groups are offered. This article contains many implications and applications for all types of volunteers, including those outside an Extension context.

Evaluation of Transfer of Training and Skills Learned as State 4-H Council Members

The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate if the environment of the State 4-H Council fosters transfer of training to life after the 4-H program. Purposive sampling identified former members of a State 4-H Council. The research methods included semi-structured and unstructured interviews. Major findings of the study noted that most areas of the council environment encourage the transfer of training, however, some facets of the council environment need improvement to promote training transfer. Recommendations include conducting a needs assessment of all incoming State 4-H Council members, developing an experiential training method, implementing training on working with different personality types, improving communication among the group, and continuing to reward council members for using the skills they gain while on the council.

Students' Self-identified Long-term Leadership Development Goals: An Analysis by Gender and Race

Leadership development goal statements of 92 undergraduate students enrolled in a multi-year self-directed leadership development program were analyzed using content and thematic analyses to investigate patterns of similarities and differences across gender and race. This qualitative analysis utilized a theoretical framework that approached leadership typed traits, skills, or behaviors (Northouse, 2009). Significant differences emerged by gender; women were more interested in developing leadership-oriented traits while men displayed more interest in developing specific skills. No differences emerged across racial groups.

Texas FFA Officer Perceptions of Good Followership

This study examines Texas FFA officers’ perceptions regarding the traits and characteristics that good followers possess. A content analysis of officer responses to an open-ended question found that these young leaders have a limited level of understanding of what constitutes a good follower. Furthermore, female respondents placed a greater emphasis on supporting the leader and being respectful, whereas male respondents emphasized being a team player. Males also emphasized being involved in the chapter as a desirable trait more often than females. This suggests that females are more focused on ideas that are leadersupportive and males are more action driven. Males focused more on being a team and achievement. The study demonstrates a need to emphasize followership in leader development and education curricula. Youth organizations with similar leadership development programs can better equip their future leaders with the knowledge needed to be a follower-focused leader by teaching them how to identify good followership. As youth organizations become more follower

Leadership That Settled the Frontier

This idea brief explores the leadership lessons dis played by the characters of Louis L’Amour’s western novels. Western fiction can be a powerful tool to engage students and demonstrate many leader ship theories and models. This brief examines how L’Amour’s characters can be used to illustrate Kouzes and Posner’s Five Practices of Ex emplary Leaders. The author will demonstrate how western literature, spe cifically L’Amour’s novels, can be a tool to help students see leadersh ip in a new light.