Conservation Leadership: A Developmental Model

Abstract

Dealing with environmental issues requires citizens who adopt conservation behaviors, influence those around them to follow suit, and lead local and global policy initiatives. The purpose of this study is to advance our understanding of the developmental processes that undergird young people’s emergence as conservation leaders with the capacity to take on these roles. A qualitative, grounded theory analysis of transcripts from focus groups and interviews with 76 adolescent and young adult participants of a national conservation leadership program provided the empirical foundation for a developmental model of conservation leadership. The model has four phases: seed, sprout, bloom, and propagate. Within each phase, there are three qualitatively distinct and integrated domains: action, motivation, and understanding. Data in this study indicate that conservation leadership development is ongoing and cumulative, with subsequent developmental experiences promoting new capacities and propensities that expand young people’s conservation repertoires within each domain. The emergent developmental model of conservation leadership proposed in this article puts forth a comprehensive theory about how conservation leadership unfolds in adolescence and young adulthood. This model serves both to instigate further research and provide insights on how youth programs might intentionally promote the development of conservation-oriented action, motivation, and understanding.