An Exploration Of Differences Of Leadership Perceptions Related To A Student’s Gender Within The College Of Business At A Small Liberal Arts Institution

Abstract

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In preparing the next generation of business professionals, educators need to take seriously the responsibility of empowering students with tools to assist them in their pursuits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>One area of interest is leadership. There is an increase in demand for colleges and universities to develop leadership skills in students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Organizations value leadership skills in the workplace and they expect that colleges and universities will educate students in the area of leadership and provide them with necessary leadership skills. Despite the broad horizon of leadership for helping to develop future leaders, it may be crucial for educators to explore the idea of student gender differences within leadership. The purpose of this study is two-fold with respect to leadership. First the researches will explore the differences of leadership perceptions related to a student’s gender. Secondly, the researchers will discuss the implications for educators, administrators, and researchers. Findings, conclusions, and recommendations will be presented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">       </span></span></em></p>

Students’ Self-identified Long-term Leadership Development Goals: An Analysis by Gender and Race

“…Outside of higher education, emerging bodies of evidence exist regarding the differences between the leadership-oriented goals and actions between men and women (Eagly & Carli, 2003) and across different races and ethnicities (Bordas, 2007). Within the context of colleges and universities, research shows that differences exist by gender in student perceptions of capacity gains through leadership development programs (Yarrish, Zula, & Davis, 2010). Another study showed male students rated themselves higher than females, and Caucasian students higher than Students of Color, on a general measure of leadership ability (Kezar & Moriarty, 2000).…”

Gender Differences of Perceived Leadership Skills Among Saudi Students

“…Recently, universities and higher education institutions focused on developing students' leadership skills as a means of preparing them for the job market (Shertzer & Schuh, 2004;Yarrish, Zula, & Davis, 2010). This trend is motivated by the fact that leadership skills are not innate but acquired.…”

“…The literature on leadership skills and self-perception of these skills has suggested that there are differences among both genders of their perceived skills (Burke & Collins, 2001;Eagly & Karau, 1991;Yarrish et al, 2010). A meta-analysis of the relationship between gender and leadership skills found that in groups without a leader, men emerged as leaders to a greater extent than women.…”

“…Eagly, Karau, and Makhijani (1995) concluded that men tend to fare better when leadership is defined in masculine terms, such as military settings, while women performed better when leadership is defined in less masculine terms, such as educational settings roles. On self-perception of leadership skills, Yarrish et al (2010) concluded that there are significant differences in perceived leadership skills between males and females. According to their study, females perceived cognitive and interpersonal/intrapersonal skills as more important than did the male participants.…”

Saudi Female Students' Perceptions of Leadership: An Overview

“…In order to address the aim of this study, data were collected from 50 female students at the University of Dammam in Saudi Arabia and an analysis was conducted to see how these female students perceive leadership. As recently cited by Alexander (2011), universities and higher education institutions are increasingly focusing on developing students' leadership skills as a means of preparing them for the job market (Shertzer & Schuh, 2004;Yarrish, Zula & Davis, 2010). This trend was motivated by the fact that leadership skills are not innate but instead are acquired through education, training and mentorship (Fertman & Van Linden, 1999).…”