We are excited to announce the publication of the special issue of the Journal of Leadership Education (JOLE) highlighting current issues and challenges in the field of leadership education.

You can access the full issue from the link in the middle of the editor’s introduction:

http://www.fhsu.edu/jole/issues/current.html

or the full PDF at the following:

http://www.fhsu.edu/jole/issues/JOLE_8_1.pdf

The issue highlights challenges in theoretical foundations of leadership education, evaluation and assessment, curriculum and pedagogy, and faculty development.

The issue also includes three invited papers addressing what we felt were some of the most current and relevant issues in the field: the distinction between leadership skill development and leadership personal development (Barry Posner), the challenge of identifying and aligning educational activities to this development (Susan Komives and her colleagues), and efforts to put a consistent framework on leadership education activities and programs (the Guidelines for Leadership Education Programs reported by Stephen Ritch and Thomas Mengel).

We hope this special issue will serve as a catalyst for future research and practice, and enable leadership educators to better meet the needs of their students and the organizations and communities they seek to lead.

Sincerely,

Tony Middlebrooks and Scott J. Allen

I freind sent this to me, and at first blush it may not seem like it directly links to leadership development, but I think it does. After all parenting has to be one of the most challneging leadership roles many of us face…Enjoy! – Scott J. Allen

So often we view the undergraduate experience as the ideal setting for leadership development, and rightly so. Logic follows that most undergraduate students in America will hold some type of part-time employment before or during their undergraduate days. I now ask you, wouldn’t these work places prove just as opportune a setting for learning leadership skills as a college campus? I will spare you the many stories – arising mainly from dysfunctional management – of my first job, many of which could have been avoided with a better focus on intelligent leadership. After all, most leadership literature and consulting today is aimed at college degree-holding employees. I feel its time for employers of students to consider doing more for their workers than simply signing a pay check. – Jim Meehan

For most Americans, I’d imagine the first memory of studying or experiencing leadership development probably occurred sometime in junior high school or in the early years of secondary school. Should we consider exposing younger children to such concepts and opportunities? According to child psychologist Dr. Steven Richfield, we can and we should. Dr. Richfield’s article focuses on the parents imbuing their children with a leadership awareness. I, however, believe society should take this a step further and build leadership related activities into elementary school curriculums. These do not have to be elaborate programs, but as the belief holds for most coveted qualities in life, practice makes perfect and it’s never too early to start. – Jim Meehan

     When it comes time for high school students to search for their future home in higher education, surely they will consider the classic features of an institution’s retention rate, student to teacher ratio, and campus size. Since the undergraduate experience is typically a time for a student’s well-rounded development as a person, shouldn’t we start placing more of an emphasis on what kind of leadership development programs are available at universities? Many higher education institutions have picked up on this trend as seen in the recent growth of emerging leaders programs, similar to that at Case Western Reserve.

     Unfortunately, I do not feel as though universities are advertising such programs well enough in the admissions process. For example, the most common technique is simply to list all the student organizations at each college in the admissions brochures. Of course, this method cannot really sell the student on leadership. Equally as troubling may be the fact that applicants are losing sight of such opportunities in their college searches. So much importance is placed on the numbers, rankings, and academic reputation of universities that students tend to lose sight of extra-curricular development. Kids in high school are quick to get involved so as to stay competitive in the admissions game. So why aren’t they similarly concerned about what their future school can provide in terms of organizational involvement? While I’m certain most university marketing and admission offices are cognizant of the need for effective leadership development programs, there is definite room for growth. Perhaps one day there will be leadership development program rankings for each school in the fashion of the U.S. News and World Report approach.  – Jim Meehan