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Leadership skills development provides a foundation for elementary andsecondary students to become productive members of society. While leadershipprograms have become common in high school and college curricula, there has beenlimited research related to leadership development in elementary schools. Bennis (1989),van Linden and Fertman (1998), Bonstingl (2006), and Kretman (2009) theorized thatleadership qualities can be taught as early as kindergarten. This study investigatedelementary school teacher perceptions about the impact of the Leader in Me (LiM)(Covey, 2008) program on school climate, academic achievement, leadership knowledgeand skills, character development, and social emotional development. The LiM is aleadership program used in K-12 schools that was designed to help students follow aleadership guide. The LiM program integrates leadership development with socialemotional learning through teaching students self-confidence, teamwork, initiative,responsibility, communication, creativity, self-direction, leadership, problem solving, andsocial etiquette. Four demographic questions and 15 semi-structured interview questionswere posed to answer five research questions. Ten teachers who were employed at arural Kansas school district two years prior to and two years after implementation of theLiM program participated in the study. A qualitative phenomenological research designwas used in the current study. Study participants were consistent in their definitions ofthe variables included in the study and their perceptions of how the LiM programimpacted each of the study variables. Participants reported that after implementation ofthe LiM program, there was increased emphasis on teaching Covey’s (1989) seven habits,greater visibility of the school mission statement, increased involvement of parents and community members in setting school goals, and a consistent and integrated process forteaching and assessing student acquisition of specific leadership knowledge and skillsacross the curriculum that resulted in a more positive school climate. Students were moreengaged in academic achievement through setting academic goals and measuringprogress toward goals. There was increased school-wide consistency in expectations forstudent behavior and character development. Students applied Covey’s (1989) sevenhabits to assist in social-emotional regulation, peer interactions, and stress management.Future studies on the results of the implementation of the LiM program are needed inelementary and rural settings. |
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