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Developing Young Leaders

Developing Young Leaders. An Exploration of the CEO Leadership Program at Muskoka Woods. Chris Tompkins Youth Development Leadership, Clemson University. Introduction. Developing young l eaders is an investment in our future.

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Developing Young Leaders

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  1. Developing Young Leaders An Exploration of the CEO Leadership Program at Muskoka Woods Chris Tompkins Youth Development Leadership, Clemson University

  2. Introduction • Developing young leaders is an investment in our future. • Youth leadership efforts give young people an opportunity to acquire valuable leadership skills. • In 1997, the Muskoka Woods CEO Leadership Program was initiated to address an identified need to develop leadership potential in 15-17 year old campers.

  3. Problem • Young people who engage in leadership activities consistently receive the support and opportunities necessary for healthy youth development (Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development, 2003; Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2003). • Despite the importance of developing young leaders, there is a scarcity of research on leadership development programming for youth (Murphy & Johnson, 2011). • There are a variety of ways to define and approach youth leadership development. This makes it challenging to determine “best practices” for promoting youth leadership.

  4. Problem • The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of participants in the CEO Leadership Program at Muskoka Wood. The intent is to discover how to effectively deliver a high quality youth leadership program. • Program aspects that are deemed significant contributors to the leadership development of the CEO’s will be as offered as considerations for current, or future, • youth leadership development initiatives.

  5. Literature Review • Leadership is often understood as the knowledge, skills, and experience that makes successful leadership viable (Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, and Fleishman, 2000). • Additional definitions focus on how a leader influences others (Burns, 1978). • Youth Leadershipis the involvement of youth in responsible action towards meeting a genuine need (Kress, 2006).

  6. Literature Review Stages of Youth Leadership: All youth can progress through the awareness, interaction and mastery stages of leadership development (van Linden & Fertman, 1998). Youth Leadership Programs give youth an opportunity to develop relevant leadership skills, like brainstorming, problem solving, goal-setting, and teamwork (Boyd, 2001). Leadership at Summer Camp: Various studies have highlighted summer camp as a fertile ground for leadership development (ACA, 2005; Garton, Miltenberger, & Pruett, 2007; Hedrick, Homan, & Dick, 2009).

  7. The CEO Program • The CEO program at Muskoka Woods is: • A residential leadership development program for youth 15-17 yearsof age, within the camp setting of Muskoka Woods • Two, four week sessions of 32 participants each summer • Based on a Muskoka Woods model that focuses on the development of leadership competence, character, and cadence (spiritual growth)

  8. The CEO Program • Program components include: • In-class instruction • Experiential leadership • Opportunities to lead - teaching activities and running programs for other campers • A four-day, offsite canoe trip

  9. Research Questions • What are the observed areas of leadership growth in competence, character and cadence? • What are the essential elements of the CEO program experience that facilitate effective leadership development?

  10. Case Study Design • Qualitative data for this case study will be collected through: • Personal interviews with CEO participants • Observations of interviews and program involvement • Program documents • As backyard research, potential researcher biases and relationship dynamics may impact this project. Research validity and reliability will be enhanced by establishing: • Multiple data coders • Member checks • A peer debriefer

  11. Implications Results of this study will serve to: Strengthen the CEO program at Muskoka Woods by uncovering program success and areas for improvement Fill gaps in the research on youth leadership development Provide a list of “best practices” for delivering an effective youth leadership program

  12. Developing Young Leaders An Exploration of the CEO Leadership Program at Muskoka Woods

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