Youth leadership identity development through a sports-based youth development program
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Geumran Seo (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Thomas Martinek
Abstract: A person does not wake up one day as a leader (Van Linden & Fertman, 1998). In alignment with this belief, youth leadership development has been facilitated through sports-based youth development (SBYD) programs in dynamic manners. As one of the longest-running SBYD programs, the Youth Leader Corps (YLC) program has been dedicated to youth leadership development based on the fourth level (helping and leading others) of Hellison’s (2011) Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model. The YLC program provides youth experiential learning opportunities to cultivate leadership competencies through cross-age teaching and become responsible. The existing studies on the YLC program were a crucial cornerstone to understanding the impact of participating in the YLC program on youth leaders’ commitment, individual growth, and leadership development. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on how youth leadership identity development occurs throughout the YLC program. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore a process of youth leadership identity development, factors influencing leadership identity development, and its impact on youth leaders’ lives. Youth leaders (n=12), program staff (n=2), and a program director (n=1) were recruited through purposive and theoretical sampling. Each participant was asked to participate in an in-depth interview via Zoom. With the use of the constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2014), this study generated a theoretical framework of youth leadership identity development through an SBYD program. The theoretical framework illustrates an integrative process of how youth leaders understand leadership and construct leadership perspectives through experiential learning embedded within the YLC program. The findings are as follows. Youth leaders initially participated in the YLC program with different leadership views. Their leadership identity was developed through five stages: (a) navigating the YLC program; (b) mirroring leadership; (c) exploiting/positioning leadership strategies; (d) internalizing responsible leadership; and (e) cultivating leadership perspective embedded in the YLC program. Second, influential factors affecting leadership identity development revealed (a) internal factors: self-confidence and leadership goals/roles expectation and (b) external factors: peer teaching leadership, program director’s empowerment, multicultural population, randomized young children, group discussion/sharing feedback, personal weekly journal writing, and utilizing TPSR values in sport and physical activity (PA). Lastly, leadership perspectives cultivated through the YLC program capitalized on in their lives: being an active and good influential person, pursuing shared leadership, and being adaptable. They sought continuous leadership learning in professional career settings. This study shed light on a holistic dimension of how leadership opportunities, experiences, and practice play a crucial role in shaping leadership identity. The framework that emerged will provide fundamental guidance and strategies for SBYD practitioners in implementing leadership development programming.
Youth leadership identity development through a sports-based youth development program
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Created on 12/1/2021
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2021
- Keywords
- Community Youth Sport Development, Leadership Identity Development, Positive Youth Development, Sports-Based Youth Development, Youth Leadership
- Subjects
- Sports for children $x Social aspects
- Leadership in adolescents
- Community leadership
- Youth development