synthesis of leadership development research in agricultural education: 1988 - 2003

The concept of leadership development has been researched in agricultural education for decades. This study reviewed the Journal of Agricultural Education and the Proceedings of the National Agricultural Education Research Meeting/Conference to determine the number of research papers published between 1988 and 2003, the prolific leadership researchers, and the focus areas of their leadership research. Only 15 researchers had published three or more leadership-related studies over the 16 year period. Five percent of the articles in both publications were classified as leadership-related studies. The focus areas that emerged were: agricultural education/FFA, extension education/4-H, collegiate, and community leadership.