How Are We Educating Agricultural Students? A National Profile of Leadership Capacities and Involvement in College Compared To Non-Agricultural Peers

Given the importance of leadership development within the various agricultural professions, a national sample (n=461) of students with agriculture-related majors from 55 colleges was compared to a similarly-sized random peer group from the same institutions. The data were analyzed to compare the agricultural student sample to their peers with respect to a variety of social identities (e.g. race, gender, political leanings); high school and college involvement and leadership positions held within cocurricular activities and organizations; and scores from several measures of leadership-related outcomes. These outcomes included socially responsible leadership practices, leadership efficacy, social change behaviors, cognitive complexity, and the degree to which students participate in socio-cultural discussions. Findings suggest that while agricultural students display similar levels of involvement and leadership in high school and higher levels in college, they do not make some of the same leadership outcome gains in college as the comparison population. These findings hold important implications for the way agricultural educators structure classroom environments and how they advise student organizations.