Developing a Student Employee Leadership Program: The Importance of Evaluating Effectiveness

Abstract

Outstanding student employees are essential for campus recreation programs to achieve organizational goals. To that end, this study examined the effectiveness of a leadership development program in which three groups of campus recreation (rec sports) student employees participated at various levels in the following: on-campus training, an off-site retreat, a scavenger hunt, and biweekly meetings. Using a quasi-experimental design, data were collected in two phases from 51 students and measured the growth of each student's leadership capabilities as reported using the Student Leadership Practices Inventory. Statistical analyses revealed that group membership did significantly affect growth in the student's leadership capacity, F(2, 48) = 7.07, p = .002, η2 = .228. Campus recreation programs are increasingly held accountable and rec sports professionals must understand assessment is vital. The results of this study reveal that rec sports professionals can impact the development of student leaders. Specifcally, the findings indicate that growth does not occur with condensed training. Indeed lasting, meaningful growth transpires only when leadership lessons are embedded using a sustained approach. Implications for research and practice are presented.

Heightening Leader Development for Student Staff in College and University Recreational Sports Departments

“…Why not learn and advance leader development while enrolled as a student? Leader development researchers (Day et al 2014, Parks 2005, Tingle et al 2013) purport that leaders learn from experience, and purposeful deconstruction and reflection. They learn best when provided opportunities to lead, and from respected mentors who help them deconstruct and reflect upon their practices and outcomes.…”

“…Bennis and Thomas (2007) firmly concluded that leaders can be developed. Leadership scholars (Day et al 2014, Parks 2005, Tingle et al 2013 suggested that developing leaders need structured learning opportunities, experiences, mentoring, and reflection. Gardner (1995) suggested that leadership development programs must encourage developing leaders to understand that they need to present themselves as leaders.…”

Collegiate Recreation Student Employee as Student Leader

“…To measure growth of leadership capacity, Kouzes and Posner's (2006) Student Leadership Practices Inventory was used. The study found that by having student participate in a yearlong leadership training program, collegiate recreation professionals can create meaningful leadership programs (Tingle et al., ).…”

“…The study tried to determine if significant differences in leadership development among three differing student employee groups existed based on training received in each group. The researchers created the Student Leadership Retreat Training (SLRT) program (Tingle et al., ). Students were divided into three groups: mentors, midlevel supervisors, and new hires.…”

Exploring NIRSA Championship Series Professional Development Opportunities: Understanding Their Perceived Value to the Association

“…The Recreational Sports Journal (RSJ) contains numerous studies focusing on student learning (e.g., Danbert, Pivarnik, McNeil, & Washington, 2014;Hall, 2013) and student development (e.g., Simmons & Childers, 2013;Tingle, Cooney, Asbury, & Tate, 2013) in a variety of employment (e.g., aquatics) and participation settings (e.g., intramural sports). In the last 10 years, however, there have been only seven RSJ studies examining growth and professional development, or satisfaction among NIRSA professionals.…”