A systematic review: pedagogies and outcomes of formal leadership programs for college students

Abstract

Leadership programs for college students have significantly expanded over the past decades. However, there remains a lack of systematic synthesis regarding pedagogical practices employed in these programs. This article aims to fill this research gap by presenting a systematic review of empirical studies examining pedagogies in formal leadership programs and outcomes of those programs for college students in the United States. The objective of this review is to establish the links between pedagogies and leadership outcomes based on the evidence provided in existing studies so that it will inform the development of evidence-based leadership programs. We systematically collected and analyzed 40 studies published between 2001 and 2020. By extracting relevant information on pedagogies and leadership outcomes from the articles using a coding guide we developed, we identified nine distinct pedagogies and 14 leadership outcomes explored in the studies. By examining qualitative evidence from each article on the links between pedagogies and outcomes, our findings illuminated how each pedagogy contributed to student leadership development. Quantitative evidence occasionally supported our findings. Findings have important implications for both leadership educators and leadership researchers. For educators, this review informs the design of more robust evidence-based programs for college students, suggesting the use of different pedagogies in accordance with their program objectives. For researchers, this review identifies areas for future research on leadership education pedagogy and highlights appropriate research methods to examine connections between pedagogies and outcomes. The generalizability is limited to the United States because we only include the studies conducted within the country.

Keywords:

• Leadership
• pedagogy
• college students
• student development
• leadership education

Reviewing Editor:

• May Cheng, Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

SUBJECTS:

• Leadership
• Higher education
• Pedagogy

Citation information

Cite this article as: A systematic review: Pedagogies and outcomes of formal leadership programs for college students, Natsumi Ueda & Adrianna Kezar, Cogent Education (2024), 11:2314718.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The datasets and additional information generated for this study can be found at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22272997.v2.

Notes

1 The coding guide is available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22272997.v2.

2 The definitions and examples of leadership outcomes are available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22272997.v2.

3 A table that summarizes the pedagogy-outcome connections is available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22272997.v2.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Natsumi Ueda

Natsumi Ueda, Graduate Research Assistant at Pullias Center for Higher Education and Ph.D. Candidate at Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California. Her research focuses on higher education leadership, organizational change, diversity, equity, and inclusion, intergroup relations, and Asian American and Asian international student experiences. For her dissertation, she explores the experiences of college student leaders from diverse cultural backgrounds and identities working together on equity and social justice initiatives on campus.

Adrianna Kezar

Adrianna Kezar, PhD, is Dean’s Professor of Leadership, Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education, at the University of Southern California and Director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education within the Rossier School of Education. Dr. Kezar is a national expert of leadership, equity and diversity, change, student success, the changing faculty, and governance in higher education. Kezar is well published with 20 books/monographs, over 100 journal articles, and over a hundred book chapters and reports. Recent books include: Shared leadership in higher education (2021) (Stylus), Administration for social justice and equity (2019) (Routledge), and How Colleges Change (2018) (2nd ed) (Routledge Press).