Preparing Leadership Students to Lead

Abstract

This paper examines how leadership educators can best prepare students for leadership. Teaching leadership to undergraduates is difficult due to the student's lack of leadership experience. The techniques of modeling leadership in the classroom and experiential education are suggested as effective teaching methods. Leadership educators must recognize their role as model leaders for students. Teachers should act on that perception by using active strategies to educate their pupils. The classroom and the community are bridged when students are sent outside the academic environment to serve and observe a variety of organizations. This exposure to different forms of leadership provides the student with a background of knowledge that can be drawn upon to integrate the various leadership theories and skills they are taught. The successful combination of these two strategies transforms our students into leaders.