Running head: LEADERSHIP PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES 1

Leadership Program for Students with Disabilities

Dominic L. Hoare Evans

Loyola University Chicago

Leadership in Higher Education

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Leadership program for students with disabilities

Leadership development programs are being widely used throughout higher education.

Where “approximately 600 colleges and universities are conducting some form of leadership

program, varying in size, complexity, content, and purpose” (Roberts & Ullom, 1989, p.7 2). As

leadership programming and education is being widely used throughout higher education it is

also running into some challenges where the leadership programming is needing to be constantly

re-evaluated due to the ever-changing student population. “As student populations become more

diverse, it is necessary for leadership educators to reexamine the active learning strategies and

techniques used in their classroom if they are to enhance leadership learning, as engaged

pedagogies may apply differently to students from diverse backgrounds or experiences” (Odom,

McKee, & Dunn, 2017, p. 67). One of these diverse populations that are increasingly attending

higher education institutions are students with disabilities. For many of our students with

disabilities, the disability is a learning disability, which can be defined as “any condition that

makes learning difficult (e.g., Dyslexia, Autism. ADHD, and Asperger Syndrome)” (Walker,

2016, p. 82). This student population is very diverse with many different needs that would need

addressing when creating a leadership development program. Through creating a leadership

development program for students with a disability, student affairs professionals are meeting the

needs of this student population. This proposal is going to look at the specific needs for a

student with a disability, the assessment and evaluation that would go into a leadership

development program for students with disabilities and the theory behind this leadership

development program.

Needs
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Liasidou (2014) looked at how social justice discourse lacks much action when it comes

to working with students with disabilities. The study concluded that much more action needed to

be made by higher education faculty and staff with regards to supporting students with

disabilities. Students with disabilities are an oppressed population that would benefit through a

leadership program, where a leadership development program could support many of the needs

that a student with a disability requires. One of the needs that must be looked at before creating

a leadership development program for students with disabilities is the knowledge, attitudes and

impressions of the faculty, staff, and students towards students with disabilities. For a leadership

development program to function well, we need to have a team of faculty, staff, and students that

are comfortable working with students with disabilities as well as having the training or

knowledge required to work with this population. The more specific needs that students with

disabilities have that could be addressed through a leadership development program include self-

advocacy, as well as feeling as though they are within a supportive environment.

Staff, faculty, and student involvement

Students with disabilities are a relevant topic because of the increasing number of

students with disabilities entering higher education. With this population growing, are students,

staff, and faculty prepared to successfully work with this student population? Walker (2016)

conducted a study that looked at the concerns between academic success, institutional

responsibility, and support systems for students with disabilities. As a result of this study, he

found that faculty and staff lack the knowledge and resources to adequately work with students

with disabilities. Where institutions were not supporting their professional staff development to

be able to work with this ever-growing population. This knowledge becomes a concern when

creating a leadership development program for students with disabilities. Where through this
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program we are going to want faculty and staff to help develop students with disabilities, but

how can they do that without any knowledge of how to work or support this population. Before

we even start making a plan for this leadership development program, my recommendation

would be to gather staff, faculty, and students who want to be part of leading this development

program and train them on the population that the program is serving.

Along with Walkers (2016) study, another one was done by Gibbons, Cihak, Mynatt, and

Wilhoit (2015). This study concentrated on the attitudes of students, staff, and faculty towards

students with disabilities. The findings showed that there was a high level of acceptance from

the faculty and staff to have students with disabilities within their classrooms and programming

opportunities. But the study also showed that the faculty and staff lacked the necessary training

to appropriately support students with disabilities. The study also concluded that there was a

high level of acceptance from the students that students with disabilities would be in their

classroom and greater institution. The study showed that students were very willing to work and

socialize with students with disabilities but they could not specifically specify their role in

supporting students with disabilities. These studies reinforce the notion that more needs to be

done by higher education institutions to help support students with disabilities. They also show

us that the faculty, staff, and the student population are willing to work with students with

disabilities but do admit that training needs to be provided by the institution to help support

students with disabilities.

Specific Needs

Students with disabilities have many different diverse needs. To create a leadership

development program directed towards this population we also need to understand some of these

needs. Two challenges that many students with disabilities face while attending a higher
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education institution is the ability to self-advocate as well as foster healthy social relationships.

Self-advocacy is a big challenge for an institution as well as for a leadership development

program. Where according to Vaccaro, Daly-Cano, and Newman (2015), student with disability

success within a higher education institution is directly correlated to their ability to self-advocate

for their needs. This is not something that comes simply to many students with disabilities,

where they feel isolated and don’t want to be seen by the greater institutional community as

someone different and as someone who needs help. Because of this it is greatly important that

the institution creates a welcoming environment for all, including students with disabilities so

that they are able to advocate for their needs. If the institution does not create this environment

then students with disabilities will not want to disclose their disability and therefore no students

with disabilities would participate within this leadership development program.

Another one of the challenges that students with disabilities face is the ability to foster

healthy social relationships. For students with disabilities “social relationships played a complex

role in fostering belonging for these students, combining experiences of comfort and fitting in

with more instrumental support that helped them gain confidence about their ability to ‘do

college’” (Vaccaro et al., 2015, p.683). As student affairs professionals it is our job to support

all students so that they can feel as if they can do college. Where if a student does not feel as if

they can accomplish their goals then they are going to have a very tough time. This notion is

very important for students with disabilities, these students need to feel as if they belong at the

institution and a big part of that experience is through having a social life. By creating a

leadership development program I am hoping to be able to create opportunities for students with

disabilities that can help with some of their challenges when it comes to being successful within

a higher education institution. Through this program I feel that an intuition can create a
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community that is supportive towards students with disabilities, allows them to advocate for their

needs as well as fit into an environment by having the opportunity to foster healthy relationships.

Assessment and Evaluation

One of the first steps anyone whom is creating a program must take is to create program

and learning outcomes for their participants. Through this process you are able to keep the

program focused on the goals or mission of the program and then evaluate the program once

done. The importance of this step is huge, where by being able to assess and evaluate your

program you will be able to see where the program may need any changes or improvements but

it also gives you evidence for the purpose of the program. With this evidence you are able to

defend the reason behind the program and even give reason to higher stakeholders as to why

your program exists and needs to continue. When considering the outcomes of your program it

is important that you base your outcomes through an institutional and department mission or

strategic theme, “while all departments or programs within departments may not have mission

statements, it will help practitioners focus their programmatic goals if they can, at the very least,

derive a shared statement of purpose” (Bresciani, Gardner, & Hickmott, 2009, p. 33). By doing

so you are able to keep your programs focus based within the mission or vision of the institution

as well as department, which will keep your program focus and in line with the environment of

the institution.

Learning and program outcomes

For the purpose of this proposal I am creating outcomes based on an institution, which

incorporates learning, community, and social justice within its mission and vision statements.

From the mission and vision statement we are able to create outcomes, which will also support

the institutions mission and vision. The outcomes for this program are that; students who
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participate within this leadership program will be able to identify the five categories of

understanding self, will be able to discuss the six categories of the leadership identity

development model, will be able to explain the purpose behind professional staffs jobs, and will

be able to cultivate relationships with other program participants.

Evaluation

The evaluation of this program will be split into two sections, one for the learning

outcomes and another for the program outcomes. For the learning outcomes which are students

will be able to identify the five categories of understanding self, discuss the six categories of the

leadership identity model, and explain the purpose behind professional staff jobs will be

conducted through a qualitative reflection process at the end of the program. During the process

the students will have a time to reflect and within these reflection questions students will be

asked to identify the five categories of understanding self, to also reflect on the six categories of

the leadership identity model. The students will also be asked to reflect on their experiences

with professional staff and how they interpreted their own leadership identity as well as the

purpose behind their job. After the reflection process the staff will collect the reflection journals

so that we can evaluate our learning outcomes. For our program outcome, which is for students

to be able to cultivate relationships with other program participants. We will reach out to all of

the students who participated within the program and ask whether they were able to continue the

community that started throughout the program or if there were any individuals within the

program that you were able to stay connected with and cultivate a relationship with.

Theory to practice

Due to the increasing number of students with disabilities now entering higher education

as well as the studies done on how institutions are willing to work with students with disabilities,
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this leadership development program is an important next step towards supporting students with

disabilities. The curriculum for this development program is going to be over two days,

involving multiple sessions to help support students with disabilities through leadership

frameworks. This developmental program is going to create an effective learning environment

where “the focus turns from the leadership theories themselves to the process students use to

learn the theories” (Odom, McKee, & Dunn, 2017, p. 68). Even though leadership theory will be

discussed throughout this programming, the curriculum will concentrate on how our students,

staff, and faculty are learning and then implementing. Day one of the curriculum will look at the

different leadership theories, as well as how students can correlate these within their own

context, as well as how the institution supports their own growth and support. Day two is going

to be experiential, where the group can start to put into practice some of the teachings as well as

continue to build community with each other.

Day one

Day one is mainly going to be classroom based. This day is going to be based off of the

five hallmarks of integrated learning. Where by using integrated leaning “students are exposed

to a model whereby they can develop and refine their ability to integrate leadership concepts into

other aspects of their lives, thereby deepening their leaning” (Odom, McKee, & Dunn, 2017,

p.68). Through this process students will be able to concentrate on how the theories connect to

their own experiences and lives within higher education. This will be especially helping for this

student population, because they will be able to share some of their shared experiences due to

their shared identities and see how leadership theories can connect to them and their community.

The five hallmarks of integrated learning include connecting what is learning to their own lives.

Being able to see across disciples and know when to use their own leadership approach, and then
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being able to adapt what was learned from one context to another. It also includes students being

able to draw from their own experiences when figuring out how to use their own leadership

within different situations as well as when conflicts arise. Students also need to be able to reflect

and self-evaluate, so that the learning continues within their own context as well as recognize

when changes need to be made (Odom, McKee, & Dunn, 2017).

During day one we are going to use integrated learning techniques for our students to

discuss multiple leadership theories and then have dialogues about how these theories connect to

their own experiences. This day is going to start by discussing the process of understanding self.

Where we will go through and discuss the process of understanding self, which include multiple

categories, “deepening self-awareness, building self-confidence, establishing interpersonal

efficacy, applying new skills, and expanding motivations” (Komives, Owen, Longerbeam,

Mainella, & Osteen, 2005, p. 599). During this dialogue students will be able to discuss their

own understanding of themselves as well as start to expand their own notion within these

categories. For example, through building self-confidence by identifying your own identities as

well as strengths and weaknesses students “were willing to take risks to get more involved and

were empowered to take on more active group roles” (Komives et al., 2005, p. 600). This

process of understanding self also resulted in students over time “growing sense of self-

awareness let them take on unpopular issues, stand up for their values, and not need peer

affirmation” (Komives et al., 2005, p. 600). Through discussing the process of understanding

self, students were also involved with group influences. “The category of group influences

includes the properties of engaging in groups, learning from membership continuity, and

changing perceptions of groups” (Komives et al., 2005, p. 602). Through this process we have

given a space for these students to gain a greater understanding for themselves as well as how
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their own identities, strengths and weaknesses may be similar or different from their community.

But through this process we are promoting awareness, as well as exploration for this student

population. By doing so we are increasing their confidence so that they are able to advocate for

their own needs and by doing it through a group collaborative effort we are also hoping to build a

community, which will help foster healthy social relationships.

During day one, by having students with disabilities go through the process of

understanding self within the influences of the group or community we have started to help our

students build their own leadership identity. Where “the process of developing a leadership

identity was informed by the interactions of developing self through group influences that

changed one’s view of self with others and broadened the view of leadership in the context of the

supports of the developmental influences” (Komives et al., 2005, p. 606). Throughout this day

we will not only be concentrating on our students understanding themselves within the context of

the group but also through a leadership lens. For this to happen we need to go over some

leadership theories with our students. One of the leadership theories that we will go over will be

the leadership identity development model. Through this process we will go through the six

stages being, awareness, exploration/engagement, leader identified, leadership differentiated,

generativity, and integration/synthesis (Komives et al., 2005). Through the process of teaching

our students about the leadership identity model we will be able to help them navigate through it

and see how they can connect their understanding of self within the context of their own

environment, including the group influences as well as the institutional influences. Students

should be able to gain a new understanding of how they view themselves within this new context

and as well as being able to start becoming more aware of what a leader is and how they can get
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more involved or engaged with different opportunities including this leadership development

program.

Day two

Day one is all about the group starting to get to know each other through activities and

dialogues set up for our students to start exploring their own self within the group as well as

share experiences on how these concepts interact with their own experiences. It is also a space

for these students to start exploring their own leadership identity and gain an understanding

behind the theory of leadership identity. Day two is all about starting to explore that personal

purpose and how you can work towards that purpose through experiential opportunities.

Through day two students will have the opportunity to be involved within the campus

community. Where “involvement in the campus community can provide numerous additional

experiences needed for significant growth and development” (Roberts & Ullom, 1989, p. 70).

This day will include two opportunities for these students to work within the campus community;

these experiences will depend on what the campus has available but will be centered around

community service as well as exploratory interviews with faculty and staff on campus. Through

this process students will be able to see how they can work towards a purpose without being in a

positional leadership position as well as have a dialogues with diverse staff and faculty about

their own purpose and how they see themselves as leaders within their own context. After this

day of experiential learning all of the students will be asked to reflect on their two day

experience, where “reflection on these experiences can provide a richer understanding of the

importance of leadership, as well as the knowledge of how one can be an effective leader”

(Roberts & Ullom, 1989, p. 70).

Conclusion
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Creating a leadership development program for students with disabilities is a great

opportunities for institutions to start working towards supporting this oppressed identity on

campuses. Through this program we are able to work on some of the main challenges that effect

this population. One challenge being that student, staff, and faculty are willing to work with

students with disabilities but have not had the training or opportunity to do so. Through this

program we are giving professional staff and faculty the platform to get involved with this

student population, so that we can start to reduce the gap between the known and unknown when

it comes to working with this student population. This leadership program also supports students

with disabilities through their challenges of self-advocacy as well as being able to foster healthy

relationships. This leadership program goes through leadership processes which are designed to

help all students with their confidence and self-advocacy, hopefully by getting more students

with disabilities involved with leadership opportunities, more students with disabilities will have

the confidence to continue to self-advocate for their needs. This program also helps foster

healthy relationships, by bringing this community together as well as providing student, staff,

and faculty who may not hold the same identities but see themselves as allies and are willing to

work with this student populations. Overall this leadership development program not only gives

students with disabilities the space to explore leadership, where they may not feel so isolated, but

it also helps support many of the challenges that students with disabilities face while attending a

higher education institution.

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