Are We Developing Leaders? Connecting Undergraduate Leadership Identities to their Needs and Contexts

Abstract

Graduates of the college of agriculture are expected to have the skills needed to enter the workforce including leadership competencies. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to identify leadership development influences on and assess the leadership needs of undergraduate student leaders (n = 17) in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS). We conducted this study through in-person, semi-structured interviews. We utilized a concurrent, sequential, multi-phase mixed methods design with a qualitative priority. In phase one, we open coded transcriptions and used an iterative process to find emerging themes. Results revealed four themes: engaged leadership, leadership experiences, group dynamics, and resources. In phase two, we employed a cross case comparison to explore similarities and differences across emergent themes related to leadership identity. It was evident differing hierarchical and relational views of leadership existed based upon leadership identities.