A Mixed Methods Study on Leadership, Communication, Cooperation and Collaboration in Children Enrolled in the Learning Leadership Academy

This study examined leadership, communication, cooperation, and collaboration (3C's) when students in grades 1st-8th are instructed on these behaviors in a summer program utilizing cooperative learning teams. Social learning theory and leadership theory comprise the theoretical framework used to examine leadership, and the 3C's when students work in cooperative learning teams. A literature review on cooperative learning and transformational leadership informed the study. A mixed method evaluation consisted of the empirical analysis of students' differing behaviors related to leadership, and the 3C's on a cooperative team activity prior to and after participation in the Learning Leadership Academy (LLA). The mixed method study also included a qualitative analysis of student interviews regarding these ideas prior to and after participation in the LLA. The research questions are as follows: 1) How did a summer school program with a focus on leadership impact students' perspectives of leadership, communication, cooperation, and collaboration in the context of teamwork? 2) How did students' observed leadership, communication, cooperation, and collaboration behaviors differ in a team project after attendance in summer leadership academy? This practice-based research method allowed the researcher to (1) determine whether there was a statistically significant difference in the observed behaviors of students on cooperative group task prior to participation in the LLA and after participation in the LLA, as well as (2) identify differences in perspectives regarding the core expectations of learning through the LLA. The results of the study indicate students have an increased capacity for leadership, and the 3C's when working in cooperative learning teams and the LLA had a significant impact on students learning in the LLA.;Keywords: cooperative learning, leadership, communication, cooperation, collaboration.