The Impact of Gender, Ethnicity, School Setting, and Experience on Student Leadership: Does It Really Matter?

This research examined how gender, ethnicity, school setting, and experience influenced students\u27 leadership practices. Significant differences were found in how student leaders behaved on the basis of these variables. However, further analyses suggested that these differences did not significantly influence the effectiveness of student leaders. That is, the most effective student leaders engaged in the five leadership practices more than the less effective leaders, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or school setting. The impact of these findings for both assessing student leaders as well as for developing their leadership capabilities is discussed, along with ideas for future studies