Session Type: Panel Discussion Accepted by MIG(s): Education Time Allotted: 60 Description: Using data from over 100 campuses in the Multi-institutional Study of Leadership, this workshop will explore research on the categorical marker of race and how college students’ collective racial esteem (CRE) influences the development of their leadership capacity. The audience will be engaged in a discussion regarding the transferability of the findings to their unique campus contexts. Learning goals for this session include: 1) Understanding of the influences of racial identity on college student leadership development, and 2) Identifing evidence-based policy and programming implications to enhance leadership development. Abstract: The purpose of thisworkshop is to increase the understanding of influences of collective racial esteem (CRE) on socially responsible leadership. This program will present emerging research on the topic gathered as part of the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL). Audience members will also be engaged in a conversation on implications for policy and educational initiatives.
Higher education scholars and professional organizations share a broad consensus in situating socially responsible leadership as a core college outcome (Association of American Colleges & Universities, 2007; Astin & Astin, 2000; CAS, 2003; National Association of Student Personnel Administrators & American College Personnel Association, 2004). The social change model of leadership development is congruent with definitions of leadership focused on social responsibility and benefits from its broad use on college campuses (Kezar, Carducci, & Contreras-McGavin, 2006). The model was created specifically for use with college students and defines leadership as “a purposeful, collaborative, values-based process that results in positive social change” (Dugan & Komives, 2007, p. 9). However, research on socially responsible leadership continues to reflect an incomplete picture suffering from a lack of clarity regarding individual and institutional factors influencing leadership development (Kezar et al.). For example, much of leadership research relies on the more reductionistic categorical dimensions of race rather than the complex psychological influences connected to racial identity (Dugan, Komives, & Segar, 2008). This may be a reason for conflicting findings on whether racial group membership influences the development of college students’ leadership capacity.
One way to examine this gap is to explore differential effects between race as a category and more complex interpretations of race such as CRE, a sub-dimension of the collective self as conceptualized in social identity theory. CRE examines an individual’s domain specific sense of self-concept related to membership in a broader racial group and is informed by four subcomponents representing private CRE (i.e., personal assessment of the value of one’s racial group), public CRE (i.e., personal beliefs regarding how others value one’s racial group), identity salience (i.e., the degree of centrality of one’s racial group membership to their self-concept), and membership (i.e., personal beliefs about how well one functions as a member of their racial group) (Crocker, Luhtanen, Blaine, & Broadnax, 1994). Connections can be made between CRE and racial identity which identifies the process through which individuals overcome internalized racism or privilege to adopt healthy self-concepts (Helms & Cook, 1999). Both processes differentiate between varying degrees of identity salience, internally and externally driven senses of self-worth, and affiliation with members of the same group.
This workshop presents emerging research findings from the MSL to explore influences of CRE on socially responsible leadership. The MSL is a national study examining the influences of higher education on college student leadership development with 2009 data representing more than 100,000 college student respondents from 102 colleges and universities. The researchers specifically asked: Does the inclusion of CRE as an intermediate outcome contribute significantly to explaining students’ capacities for socially responsible leadership when conditioned by racial group membership? Separate hierarchical regression models were calculated for each racial group to differentiate predictors and unique needs for each racial group. Results suggest CRE offers significantly more explanatory power in understanding both the leadership development process as well as predictors of positive development.
This presentation will be structured to provide a brief background to the problem statement, existing literature, research study, and findings. The majority of the session will be dedicated to unpacking the results in the context of higher education and the practice of leadership education. The audience will be engaged in a discussion regarding the transferability of the findings to their unique campus contexts. Learning goals for this session include: 1) Understanding of the influences of racial identity on college student leadership development, and 2) Ability to identify evidence-based policy and programming implications to enhance leadership development.
John Dugan, Loyola University Chicago
Comment: Susan Komives, University of Maryland
Bio: Susan R. Komives is Professor of College Student Affairs at the University of Maryland. She is president of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education and a former President of the American College Personnel Association. She served as Vice President of two colleges and is the author of a dozen books or monographs including Student Services, Exploring Leadership, and Leadership for A Better World. A recipient of both the ACPA and NASPA outstanding research and scholarship awards, her research includes an international Multi-institutional Study of Leadership involving 104 campuses and over 115,000 responders in Spring 2009.
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