Interviews with 69 vocational administrators in 12 states indicated they all had experiences that significantly affected their development as leaders. On-the-job learning was most likely to occur in the presence of challenging problems and risk. Outcomes commonly included leadership, skills, and values. There were few gender differences. (SK)

Through open-ended interviews with seven managers of the Minnesota Board for Vocational-Technical Education, a study found that the same qualities needed for success in business appear critical to outstanding performance as a vocational administrator. Human relations skills are important although management style per se is not. (JOW)

Reviews development of the Leader Attributes Inventory and its use in evaluating 10 leadership development programs for vocational graduate students and 7 for inservice personnel. Participant satisfaction and the development and use of leadership attributes are discussed. (SK)

A sample of 220 vocational administrators, 168 department heads, and 163 vocational teacher leaders was rated by subordinates and peers on leadership attributes and effectiveness. Male and female instructors had the same concept of leadership. Female administrators were rated slightly more effective. Gender biases were not apparent in the ratings.…

The validity and reliability of the Leader Attributes Inventory (LAI) to evaluate others were confirmed in testing with college students. As a self-report, however, the LAI was more valid when participants rated themselves after leadership training as they thought they were before training. (SK)

This manual, which is designed to assist potential users of the Leader Attributes Inventory (LAI) and individuals studying leadership and its measurement, presents the rationale and psychometric characteristics of the LAI and guidelines for using it. Described in chapter 1 are the context in which the LAI was developed and the conceptualization of…

Intended to help others conducting leadership development programs, this document summarizes the procedures for and results of the evaluation of 10 vocational education leadership development programs. The programs were at the following institutions: Colorado State University, Indiana State University, Iowa State University, Mississippi State…

This booklet is intended for practitioners interested in administering, hand scoring, and providing individualized feedback reports on the Leader Attributes Inventory (LAI), an inventory designed to provide assessment data on 37 leader attributes. The following topics are discussed in the booklet's six sections: preparing the instruments for use;…

This booklet is intended for practitioners interested in administering, hand scoring, and providing individualized feedback reports on the Leader Effectiveness Index (LEI), a seven-item instrument designed to provide assessment data on leader effectiveness. The following topics are discussed in the booklet's six sections: preparing the instruments…

Leadership development is needed in vocational education; the field lacks an adequate number of leaders and is making almost no systematic effort to develop them. In order for leadership development activities to be undertaken, however, a definition of leadership is needed. An overview of the literature suggests that leadership can be seen as both…

Leadership may be defined as both a process and a property. Research shows that some attributes common to successful leaders (characteristics, knowledge, and skills) can be significantly influenced by planned education or training. In the process of developing a leadership assessment instrument, a study specified four broad tasks that leaders are…

This study explored chief vocational administrators' (CVAs) perceptions of the importance of on-the-job experiences to leadership development. In telephone interviews, CVAs with the highest scores on the Leadership Effectiveness Inventory in a 1993 study (n=69) identified experiences most helpful to leader development: new positions offering…

The National Center for Research in Vocational Education (NCRVE) partially supported 10 new or extensively revised leadership development projects at 7 institutions of higher education designed to improve the leadership attributes of graduate students in vocational education. The projects adopted as instructional objectives one or more of the…

This document is a 2-volume set of instructional materials for a 90-hour leadership development program for vocational educators that places special emphasis on underrepresented groups in vocational education. The two volumes of materials (here combined) are organized into three major sections as follows: introduction to the leadership development…