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Using an exploratory multi-case study approach, we examined student perceptions of leadership through analysis of introductory discussion board forums in online undergraduate and graduate leadership courses to formulate leadership student personas. A review of related literature reveals that leadership’s broad application results in a vast array of interests and motivations related to pursuit of a leadership degree. To that end, development of student personas provides leadership program administrators and faculty with a better understanding of their needs and characteristics. In this application paper, we will share qualitative data compiled from four online leadership courses. Our preliminary findings identified data-driven personas that showcase how leadership students with varying backgrounds and aspirations envision knowing our leadership students, as well as recommending future research that can help advance the field of leadership education.

Much of recent research on leadership education focuses on the application of a particular assignment or project to develop an individual’s leadership. Other research has examined leadership development from different educational levels such as graduate, undergraduate, and even K-12. The following paper is an idea brief surrounding a newly created and recently implemented, organizational leadership graduate degree program. This brief further discusses and explores the creation and on-going development of the graduate program in leadership education as a whole through the pedagogical lens of Cultural-Historical Activity theory. The paper also describes the use of embedded assessments within the core classes that potentially provide the student with the knowledge and skills to successfully complete their applied research capstone project.

Leadership education must evolve to keep pace with the growing recognition that effective leadership happens in a complex environment and is as much a systemic variable as a personal one. As part of a program review process, a graduate leadership program at a private Midwestern university conducted a qualitative review of 18 online graduate programs in leadership education. In the absence of a discipline or accrediting body to govern leadership degree programs, we utilized the integrating framework of complexity leadership theory (CLT), as well as two professional societies, to understand how the curricula and competencies of online graduate education align and diverge to meet the changing assumptions and challenges of leadership.

Entrepreneurial identity aspiration refers to the desire to occupy an entrepreneurial role in the future and is an essential impetus for initially engaging in entrepreneurial activities. Building on identity theory, the article investigates the effects of personal attitudes, experiences and inclination towards specific practices on the strength of entrepreneurial identity aspiration.

This article applies multiple linear regression analysis to test the developed hypotheses on an original sample of 127 vocational college students in Austria.

Results show that risk-taking propensity, proactiveness, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and competitiveness drive entrepreneurial identity aspiration. The effects of innovativeness and need for achievement motivation are nonsignificant. Data further suggest that entrepreneurial identity aspiration is related to gender, while entrepreneurial exposure and previous entrepreneurship education show no or adverse effects.

Based on our findings, the authors argue that education should focus on teaching and discussing the identified attitudes and inclinations to foster the formation of entrepreneurial identities. Doing so increases students' aspirations and provides them with the necessary cognitive underpinnings for subsequent entrepreneurial action. The article suggests action-based teaching to achieve this goal.

This article is the first to investigate antecedents of entrepreneurial identity aspiration by connecting it to essential concepts of entrepreneurship research. The authors extend previous work on entrepreneurial identity and add to the theoretical approaches for research in entrepreneurship education. Furthermore, the article points out central aspects that should receive additional attention in educational settings.