Date of Award

Fall 2012

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Educational Leadership

Department

Education

First Advisor

Barbara Rieckhoff

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to find if leadership skills are developed from co-curricular involvement. Research would determine whether natural-born leaders were drawn to student involvement opportunities, or whether involvement develops the average students’ leadership skills. To arrive at a conclusion, research asked the question “Does involvement on a college campus develop leadership skills?” Research was answered by quantitative research. Fifty undergraduate students from a private Midwestern university were surveyed. Each participant was given two assessments. One was a leadership self-assessment and another was a campus involvement assessment. The campus involvement assessment was created for the purpose of this research. The Leadership Practice Inventory’s self-assessment was used for the leadership assessment. Researcher hypothesized that over seventy percent of involved students were natural born leaders. Overall, data neither supported nor denied the hypothesis. However, research did confirm that leadership is developed for co-curricular involvement.

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