LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS EXHIBITED BY FFA CHAPTER PRESIDENTS

Abstract

This study identified leadership behaviors exhibited by FFA chapter presidents. It also examined the relationship between the chapter presidents' perception of their leadership behavior with the behaviors observed by their chapter officer team. The study included all chapter officer teams from the 2001-2002 school year in the Northeast Agricultural Education District of Oklahoma. These programs were notified of the study and were invited to have their officer teams participate while at the State FFA Convention. A quantitative descriptive design was employed to describe and compare the 35 chapter presidents and 136 other officers. Each completed a questionnaire to measure leadership behaviors exhibited by the chapter president. Findings indicated that chapter presidents and other officers believed that the behaviors of Enabling Others to Act, Modeling the Way, and Encouraging the Heart were the most often exhibited by the chapter president. The chapter presidents, however, held inflated self-perceptions of their leadership behavior when compared to their officers’ observations. This was consistent among all 30 statements within the five leadership practices.