Exploring motivation to lead: Insights on student leadership development through volunteer involvement

This study aims to better understand the intricate landscape of student leadership development and motivation to lead within volunteer contexts. By examining diverse motivations and evaluating the way motivations can be categorized, this research utilized Chan and Drasgow’s Motivation to Lead theory (2001), Stewart’s Model of Situational Determinants (1967; 1976; 2002), and Astin’s Student Development Theory (1984). The purpose is to discover influences motivating student leadership development in volunteer contexts and reflective aspects of how leadership development is understood within student development. This study utilized a qualitative interpretive descriptive approach to comprehensively explore individual differences in student leadership motivation and address gaps in situational leadership understanding by emphasizing contextual impact on behavior (Stewart, 1967, 2002; Dugan, 2017). With a narrow focus on leadership development perceptions among students in volunteer settings, this research makes a unique contribution to the broader understanding of effective leadership education and theories on leadership motivation. With these goals in mind, the qualitative study addressed the following questions: • RQ1: What are motivators that influence students’ decisions to pursue and fulfill leadership within volunteer organizations? • RQ2: How do situational determinants influence the relationship between students’ motivation to lead and their development as leaders in a volunteer context? • RQ3: How are students’ experiences and self-perceptions understood through their motivation to lead and leadership behavior in volunteer contexts?

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• French, Gregory E.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ward Hood, Denice
• Span, Christopher
• Rosch, David
• Goodnight, Melissa

• Student Leadership Development
• Motivation
• Motivation to Lead
• Volunteer Leadership
• Leadership Motivation
• Leadership
• Student Development
• Situational Determinants
• Leadership Education
• Higher Education
• Undergraduate Students
• Volunteer
• Leadership Skills
• Contextual Influences
• Qualitative Research
• Interpretive Descriptive
• Leadership Behavior
• Student Perspectives
• Experiential Learning
• Leadership Identity
• Developmental Theory
• Motivational Theory
• Student Engagement

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025, Gregory E. French

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129427

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F129427