A Study of the Relationship between Participation in Marietta College\u27s McDonough Leadership Program and the Leadership Development of College Students

This study assessed whether participation in the McDonough Leadership program had an effect on the leadership development of students at Marietta College. Participants from the freshman classes of 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 and graduating senior classes of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 took the Kouzes and Posner (2005a) Student Leadership Practices Inventory - Self and the SLPI - Observer. Marietta College provided 26 surveys along with key demographic data, including gender, race, type of McDonough Scholars (International Leadership Studies Major, Leadership Studies Minor, and Certificate of Leadership Studies), and Experiential Learning Opportunity completed (None, Internship, Study Abroad, and Service Project).;Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data according to the research questions guiding this study. The major findings indicated that the participants in the McDonough Leadership Program (N = 50) made impressive gains from pre- to post-tests in the total scores and three of the five leadership practices (Challenging the Process, Inspiring a Shared Vision, and Modeling the Way) according to the SLPI - Self. However, according to the SLPI - Observer, no statistically significant results were found in the total scores or any of the five leadership practices.;Statistical significance was found in the interaction between the genders in Enabling Others to Act. However, no other statistically significant differences were revealed in the total scores or any of the other leadership practices according to the SLPI - Self. No statistical significance was found in the total scores or any of the leadership practices for the SLPI - Observer. No statistical significant differences between type of McDonough Scholars (International Leadership Studies Major, Leadership Studies Minor, and Certificate of Leadership Studies) were revealed in the total scores or any of the five leadership practices according to either the SLPI - Self or SLPI - Observer. No statistical significant differences between experiential learning opportunities (None, Internships, Study Abroad, Service Projects) were found according to either the SLPI - Self or the SLPI - Observer.;The specific gains in behavior as seen in the total scores and LP1, Challenging the Process, LP2, Inspiring a Shared Vision and LP4, Modeling the Way according to the SLPI - Self may suggest an increase in the general development of leadership skills and behaviors of Marietta College students participating in the McDonough Leadership Program. Additional research, however, needs to be conducted to determine the impact of the relationship between Marietta College\u27s McDonough Leadership program and the development of college students