Higher Education Students
OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to show that Army ROTC is an effective leadership development program, and to compare the leadership practices of those involved with ROTC with students involved in other campus leadership programs. METHODOLOGY The sample population of ROTC candidates was the 34 detachments in the 7th ROTC Brigade, comprised of 66 colleges in Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio. Eight schools agreed to participate, with approximately 700 ROTC students, and through an email contact with them, 133 completed the Student version of the Leadership Practices Inventory. Data from a study conducted by Lund (2013) provided a sample of 660 collegiate student-athletes and 794 collegiate non-athlete peers (“traditional students”). Females comprised 63 percent of the total sample.
KEY FINDINGS The students in Army ROTC reported statistically significantly greater frequency on all five leadership practices compared with traditional students, and all of the leadership practices but Encourage compared with student athletes. Enable and Model were the two leadership practices most frequently used, followed by Inspire, Encourage, and Challenge.