Placement year academic benefit revisited:effects of demographics, prior achievement and degree programme

Investigations of whether students taking undergraduate work placements show greater academic improvement than those who do not have shown inconsistent results. In most studies, sample sizes have been relatively small and few studies have taken into account pre-existing student differences.Here data from over 6000 students at one university over six cohorts and a range of programmes are analysed. Consistent academic benefit from placement experience, regardless of ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic background and subject is shown. However the impact of demographic factors on both achievement and on the probability of taking a placement suggests that future research should take these factors into account. The role of placements in promoting employability is contextualised as a secondary benefit to the primary goal of educating the mind in the Newman (1852) tradition. Possible causes of, and further research into, the improved academic performance identified are discussed.

Evaluating authentic behaviour change in leadership development programmes

The global economic crisis that hit the western countries strongly has emphasised the need to abandon the economic-performance significance of leadership and return to a meaning-making significance. While a lot of research has been done in the field of leadership and management disciplines, little has been done on how to develop leadership. This study evaluated the degree in which leadership training in the market-place today was effective at developing authentic leadership and, therefore, at changing individual behaviour. Since none of the leadership theories address how behavioural change is actually achieved, theories of change were integrated in the current study. A conceptual model combining Authentic Leadership Development (ALD) theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was proposed. Furthermore, this study explored the relationship between a positive contemplation of change and the actual change observed in individuals after the leadership intervention. In order to test this conceptualisation, a longitudinal quasi-experimental study was conducted. Leaders were surveyed in this study one month before and one month after the programme. Three complementary questionnaires were distributed to participants in one of four leadership development programmes (two corporate initiatives and two business-school programmes). Analyses showed that leaders who attended a leadership intervention (as compared to a control group) developed higher levels of authentic leadership, as rated by them-selves and others in their working environment and controlling for baseline scores. The results also indicated that intentions were developed through the interventions and that the development of such intentions translated into changes in authentic behaviour. Intentions mediated the relationship between attitude and authentic leader-ship. In addition, when contemplation of change was high and attitudes towards authentic leadership were positive, the development of intentions was stronger. The implications of these findings for the theory and practice of leadership development programmes and the impact on organisational performance are discussed.