The Impact of the Academic Leadership Academy: Assessing Changing Perceptions of Leadership and Self-Efficacy at Chapin High School

A great deal of debate surrounds the idea of teaching leadership, but it is generally understood that leadership is a collection of soft skills such as communication and empathy. Researchers find that there is a strong link between leadership training during post-secondary education and higher salaries later in life. There is, however, very little research investigating the impact of leadership training in high school. This study assesses the impact of leadership curriculum taught by the Academic Leadership Academy (ALA) on students inside and outside of the academy. I investigate several variables including course rigor, community engagement, and enrollment in the program. I also analyze change that has occurred over the past two years by comparing the data I collect to data collected in 2018. I use a recently copyrighted survey that is nearly identical to the one administered two years ago known as the Leadership Indicator for Students (LIS). It was developed by the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro NC. The LIS asks students to assess themselves and their peers on a variety of traits often referenced when discussing leadership. The data indicates that community service and course rigor are positively associated with self-efficacy scores, the two year difference shows very little change in student perceptions, and students in ALA will have statistically significant, higher self-efficacy scores than non-ALA students. Student responses were averaged and then analyzed using statistical testing software in order to determine which variables have significantly impacted responses