The Nature of Leadership

1
The Nature of Leadership

• CEP 917 - Space Camp
• Peter G. Osborn

2
Introduction

• How does one navigate the turbulent waters of
  becoming a leader?
• If adults find answering such a question
  challenging consider how confused an adolescent
  must feel?
• The purpose of my research was to explore the
  nature of leadership in adolescents as they
  engaged in collaborative design processes.

3
Literature Review

• One part of making the transition from child to
  adult is learning about leadership, says van
  Linden and Fertman (1998 p.1). However, the
  authors share that their research shows most
  adolescents do not see themselves as leaders or
  understand how they might become leaders.

4
Literature Review

• While most children dont see themselves as
  leaders research (Gardner 1987) has stated that
  the skills critical for effective leadership
  begin even before five years of age.
• van Linden Fertman (1998) hold that every
  adolescent has the potential to lead.

5
Literature Review

• Leadership Defined
• Peters and Austin (1985) define leadership as an
  act that promotes growth and the releasing of new
  energy in others.
• Halloran and Benton (1987) define leadership as
  the ability to motivate or direct the actions of
  others.
• van Linden and Fertman (1998) define leadership
  as an individual who thinks for themselves,
  communicates their thoughts and feelings to
  others, and helps others understand and act on
  their own beliefs they influence others in an
  ethical and socially responsible way (p. 17).
• Kouzes and Posner (1988) define leadership as an
  observable set of skills and abilities that both
  experienced and novice leaders can use to turn
  challenging opportunities into remarkable
  successes.

6
Literature Review

• Based on the previous definitions of leadership
  when does not have to look for very long at the
  data from Space Camp to conclude that leadership
  was present in both the eight grade boys and
  girls groups. The question that remains to be
  answered is what was the nature of the leadership
  taking place?

7
Literature Review

• Society continues to confirm Eriksons (1969)
  theory that adolescents and adults tend to define
  themselves by what they do and the visible skills
  they possess.
• What impact does this have on ones identify
  formation?
• Are adolescents provided with sufficient
  opportunities and resources to define themselves
  as leaders?

8
Literature Review

• van Linden Fertman (1998)

9
Literature Review

• Kouzes Posner (1988)
• The Five Practices of Leadership
• Model the Way
• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart

10
Method

• Qualitative Approach
• Identified specific characteristics of difference
  between the boys and the girls by examining the
  variation between the number of occurrences of
  recorded events or attitudes
• Examined the research observers written
  transcripts to make meaning of the interactions
  during the design process

11
Participants

• The participants are made up of girls and boys
  that just completed eighth grade.
• During week one students experienced a variety of
  learning activities. During week two the
  students envisioned and prototyped a virtual
  learning experience.

12
Data Analysis

• Number of Occurrences in Boys and Girls

13
Results / Findings

• Differences between girls and boys
• Girls focused more on cooperation collaboration
  while the boys focused more on individual play
  design
• Boys group, Neptune Jihad, game was based on
  making as much money as possible (Mars tycoon
  Presentation.ppt). The other group, Frozen
  Eclipse, had each group member create a character
  but failed to collaborate on a common
  skill/strength chart to compare the players
  (frozeneclipse.ppt)
• Girls focus is to explore and colonize planets
  for people to live on (Desdemonapresentation.ppt)

14
Results / Findings

• Differences between girls and boys
• Girls presented more of a team approach
• Consider Desdemona title slide which states Team
  Desdemona and also has built into the game play
  that the other characters attitude toward the
  main player is determined by the main players
  actions toward the other character. The need to
  face a person in the game in order to speak
  with them. All these elements are valued by the
  girls group and are missing in the boys prototype
  design (Desdemonapresentation.ppt). The Kalisti
  used completing the building of a resort as the
  main goal of the game. When I think of a resort
  I think of relationships and interaction
  (Kalisti.ppt)

15
Results / Findings

• Differences between girls and boys
• Cooperation
• The boys groups not only had less recorded
  occurrences of cooperation (53 to 88) the nature
  was different as well. The boys cooperation was
  not as collaborative or as relationally focused
  as the girls. Rather the focus was on completing
  a task and often failed to comprehend the
  relational elements of the interaction (HYDRUS
  writes with a lot of spelling mistakes, so he
  uses the help of SAGITTA. SAGITTA gives the
  correct spelling but feels as thrown
  aside/excluded (ET20030728 paragraph 164-165).

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Results / Findings

• Differences between girls and boys
• Encouragement
• The girls groups not only had a greater recorded
  number of occurrences (16 to 6) of encouragement
  but the nature of the encouragement was more
  personal and deeper (CARINA encouraging AQUILLA
  when she is doubting herself (JP20030729). The
  boys encouragement was connected less to the
  person and more to their idea or action
  (MoNOSeros to Telescopium Nice job (TM20030723)
  and I like that game, thats a great idea
  (TM20030724).

17
Results / Findings

• Differences between girls and boys
• Leadership
• The boys groups had a significantly greater
  number of occurrences (27 to 3). The leadership
  style is very dominating and control focused
  (ORION says at one point I will be the
  commander with PHOENIX replying No, I will be
  (GP200030722). For the most part the leadership
  nodes appears to be placed on activities that
  represent a transactional leadership style. The
  boys groups as a whole demonstrated a much more
  transactional atmosphere than the girls
  transformational environment.

18
Conclusion

• When leadership emerged in the girls
  collaborative activities the occurrences
  demonstrated more of a transformational
  leadership style that not only permeated the
  atmosphere but also to some degree in the
  prototype games themselves.
• When leadership emerged in the boys groups it
  demonstrated more of a transactional leadership
  style and this style is also evident to some
  degree in the prototype game designs.