Abstract:
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A survey administered to a random sample of 1,667 students (with a 69% response rate), living in residence halls at a large four-year Midwestern land grant university, addressed how students perceive student leadership, alternative student leadership programs, and student government structure. Respondents' participation in and degree of respect for student government were predicted significantly by four leadership perceptions (hierarchical, situational, democratic, and anarchistic, all of which were derived by factor analysis, employing principal components extraction and varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization), gender, previous leadership role, and number of semesters living in residence halls. A structural equations model was estimated (using AMOS software), and total effects were decomposed into their direct and indirect components. The system of equations included seven endogenous variables, five of which were intervening, and three exogenous variables. Results show how knowledge of key student characteristics and perceptions of student leadership and student government can help higher education institutions create more effective student leadership development strategies.
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