Leadership Learning Across Generations

Abstract

Throughout the past two decades, there has been a significant expansion of leadership development programs for undergraduate college students. This growth has created an impetus for higher education institutions to understand how to best maximize leadership development outcomes for the valuable resources invested into these programs. Over this same period, the information revolution has produced extraordinary expansion in the use of information technology in all aspects of professional and social life. One of the unique characteristics of college students who have grown up during this technology revolution is that they have never known a world without information technology. For this reason, scholars and popular press authors have claimed that the generation of digital native students think and learn differently than previous generations. Many of these authors have argued that higher education institutions must transform education strategies in every field of study to accommodate digital natives’ learning preferences. Within leadership studies, little is known about the ways generational differences impact the teaching and learning preferences of college students. To address this gap in the literature, this qualitative case study explores how college students have engaged in the teaching and learning of leadership in a peer-to-peer learning program across multiple generational cohorts. This research adds to the leadership education literature by exploring ways digital native college students enact leadership teaching and learning which they believe to be most relevant for their generation. Findings from this case study reveal that while digital native students use significantly more technology than previous generations, these students prefer face-to-face small group interactions when engaging in learning leadership. The research also finds that digital native college students engage most frequently in learning leadership through the creation of peer-to-peer leadership communities. This study identifies the use of peer-to-peer communities of practice as an instructional pedagogy not currently identified in the existing college student leadership development literature. Findings are supported by well-established research showing the significant influence on peer interactions in supporting leadership outcomes and the application of communities of practice to develop expertise of individuals in educational and organizational settings. By leveraging the power of student-driven leadership development and communities of practice, higher education institutions can better engage student learning preferences and expand leadership development opportunities for all.