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Integrating leadership studies with experiential learning theory and practice

Purpose
This paper seeks to examine the integration of leadership studies and experiential learning effects within a semester-length university leadership course.

Methodology
The paper describes and analyses the integration of experiential learning with the teaching of leadership using context, content and culture of a local government setting. The outcomes of a semester’s work are considered in relation to students’ views on the benefits derived from the embedding of experiential learning within a traditional senior-level university course.

Current leadership (and specifically, leadership development) research and experiential learning research are considered and an attempt is made to see if the integration of the two has met with the participants’ approval as shown in four years’ worth of assessment data.

The “Leadership Experience” is described in detail with a focus on the integration issue and the perception of the students on understanding leadership issues during and after the opportunity to practise them within teams.

Without an experiential framework the students would be reduced to learning only from the text, from films highlighting ‘good’ and ‘bad’ leadership and from illustrations from the lecturer’s experiences. Such vicarious learning is less valuable than the real learning facilitated by the experience of being a leader, being a follower and being part of a team.  These issues are considered in detail in the paper.