Effectiveness of the Ignition Leadership Program

Running Head: Effectiveness of the Ignition Leadership Program 1
Effectiveness of the Ignition Leadership Program at a
Community High School
Gerald Havens
October 16, 2016
Presented to the Gainey School of Business
Spring Arbor University
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
Masters of Business Administration

Ignition Leadership Program 2
Acknowledgment (optional)
I would like to thank all my instructors at Spring Arbor University who guided me with
patience and understanding through this Living Case Study project. I would especially link to
thank Dr. James Loughran for his guidance and understanding with my many email and phone
calls answering all my questions and reassuring me when I had doubts. I would also like to
thank all my Cohorts both on campus and online, who have provided me with inspirations and
insights that I have never considered before.
Thank you all!

Abstract
This study will evaluate of the Ignition Leadership Program at a small community high
school in the Midwest. What affect does the program have to develop student leaders and
preparing them for leadership roles after high school; How does the ILP have on Grade Point
Averages (GPA)? Do parents and see leadership traits in student leaders outside of school?
Chesnut, and Tran-Johnson, (2013) conducted research on the effectiveness of the Student
Leadership Development Series (SLDS) enrolled at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Pharmacy students found students who were able to identify their leadership styles, problem-
solving, overcoming various barriers, building relationships and the opportunity to put their
knowledge, and leadership skills into practice were the strengths of the program. Continuing,
they found students felt they did not learn to mentor other students effectively through the SLDS
although, the research did indicate that mentoring did occur to some extent with since most of
the SLDS participants indicated previous students who participated in the program encouraged
them to join the program, (p. 6).

Table of Contents
Cover Page ..............................................................................................................................1
Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................2
Abstract....................................................................................................................................3
Table of Contents.....................................................................................................................4
List of Figures and Tables .......................................................................................................8
Chapter 1 Introduction............................................................................................................10
Host Organization.......................................................................................................10
Research Problem.......................................................................................................11
Research Question......................................................................................................12
Evaluation of Ignition Leadership Program................................................................12
Purpose and Benefits...................................................................................................13
Research Design, Methodology, and Procedures.......................................................16
Participants..................................................................................................................16
Sampling Techniques..................................................................................................17
Potential Risks............................................................................................................19
Use of Deception.........................................................................................................19
Ethical Considerations.................................................................................................20
Thesis Structure ..........................................................................................................20
Chapter 2 Literature Review...................................................................................................21
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework............................................................................21
Ethical Considerations.................................................................................................23
Summary.....................................................................................................................23

Chapter 3 Methodology...........................................................................................................24
Concept and Hypothesis..............................................................................................24
Research Design, Methodology, and Procedures.......................................................25
Variables .....................................................................................................................26
Demographics..............................................................................................................27
Participants and Population.........................................................................................29
Grade Point Averages (GPAs)....................................................................................29
Email Distribution.......................................................................................................30
Response Rate ............................................................................................................31
Quantitative Data Collection Process.........................................................................32
Data Analysis and Tools.............................................................................................33
Qualitative Survey Data .............................................................................................33
Secondary Data Analysis.............................................................................................34
Ethical considerations .................................................................................................34
Summary.....................................................................................................................34
Chapter 4 Findings..................................................................................................................34
Qualitative Survey......................................................................................................41
Validity of Findings ....................................................................................................43
Summary.....................................................................................................................44
Chapter 5 Discussion and Conclusions...................................................................................42
Discussion...................................................................................................................42
Limitations ..................................................................................................................44
Recommendations for Future Research......................................................................45

Evaluating Leadership Programs................................................................................46
School District Sponsored Research...........................................................................47
Conclusions................................................................................................................47
Recommendations for Host Organization...................................................................48
Further Research.........................................................................................................49
Expanding Research...................................................................................................49
Two Separate Leadership Programs...........................................................................49
Monitoring and Evaluation..........................................................................................50
Personal Reflection.................................................................................................................51
Living Case Study Process.........................................................................................51
Lessons Learned.........................................................................................................51
Organizational Change and Improvement...................................................................51
Living Case Study Experience....................................................................................52
Growth as an Organizational Researcher....................................................................52
Ethical Leader, and Business Consultant....................................................................52
References...............................................................................................................................54
Appendices
A - Complete Demographics.......................................................................................57
B - Qualitative Survey Questions and Responses ......................................................59
C - Concept Map........................................................................................................60
D - Institutional Review Board Approval Form.........................................................61
E - Institutional Review Board Exempt Form............................................................62
F - Informed Consent..................................................................................................68

G - Host Approval Form ...........................................................................................70
H - NIH Certification..................................................................................................71

List of Figures
Figure 3.1 Graduate of Lakeview high school........................................................................28
Figure 3.2 Residency in the Lakeview Community ..............................................................28
Figure 3.3 What is the highest level of education...................................................................29
Figure 3.4 Weekly Response Rate .........................................................................................32
Figure 4.1 Number Disciplinary Referral’s.............................................................................35
Figure 4.2 Effectiveness of ILP Developing Student Leaders ...............................................35
Figure 4.3 Improvement of Test Scores.................................................................................36
Figure 4.4 Improves Students Overall Academic Performance..............................................36
Figure 4.5 Respondent’s Perception of Improved GPAs.......................................................37
Figure 4.6 Students’ Overall Social Behavior.........................................................................38
Figure 4.7 ILP Inspiration on Freshman and
Sophomore’s Academic Performance ..............................................................38
Figure 4.8 ILP Prepares Students’ for College.......................................................................39
Figure 4.9 Developing Future Community Leaders...............................................................40
Figure 4.10 Overall Attitude of Students................................................................................40
Figure 4.11 Students' Participation in More Community Organizations................................41
Figure 4.12 Efficient Means of School funds.........................................................................41
List of Tables
Table 3.1 Student Mentor GPAs Statistics..............................................................................30
Table 3.2 Email Distribution...................................................................................................31
Table 4.1 Overall Academic Performance Statistics...............................................................36
Table 4.2 Respondent’s Perception of Improved GPAs Statistics..........................................37

Table 4.3 Overall Social Behavior Statistics...........................................................................38

Chapter 1 Introduction
Host Organization
To protect the confidentiality of the organization and study participants, all real names
have been replaced with pseudonyms.
The host organization for this LCS project will be a community school district in a small
Midwest town. This community school district has been in existence for 63 years and has seen
many changes since the communities’ children attended school in 10 separate one-room. Today
the district operates three separate schools with a combined student body of approximately
1,200; it has a full-time faculty and staff of 150.
In the 1800’s the community schools consisted of 10 one room school houses scattered
throughout the township located in the South Central part of the state. When the village was
founded, the children of the village attended school at various churches and the township hall. In
1926 the community elected to borrow $72,000 to build a new permanent school. The project
built a new school for kindergarten through eighth grades while the high school students would
continue meeting at the township hall. In 1927 construction began on a new addition to the
school that would have four classrooms, kitchen, gym, and auditorium latter becoming the High
School.
Emelo, R. (2011) describes leaders as “understanding the future is vital to success”. In
1950 Mr. Johnathan Smith superintendent of Lakeview Community Schools (1949-1959) had a
vision of consolidating and reorganizing the communities ten school houses, so the Educational
Problem Study Group was formed to explore the feasibility of Mr. Smith’s vision. Construction
of a new elementary school began in 1953 and opened in 1954, the Lakeview Community

Schools District (LCS) became a reality. Mr. Smith’s vision did not stop, realizing the growth of
the community Mr. Smith’ realized the need for a new Junior-Senior high school and in 17.4
acres were purchased in 1960. On February 28th, 1960 a dedication ceremony inaugurated
construction for the new Junior-Senior high school providing more space at the current high
school for the fifth and sixth grades. The new Junior-Senior High School opened in 1962, and
all the students that were to attend the new school started moving all the desk, books, and chairs
three blocks in a long procession that lasted several days. With the district growing in the 1900’s
the district built a new high school behind the existing elementary school that opened in 2002,
(Mapes, 2015). LCS has 63 years of providing students with a quality education although the
district in recent years has faced some challenges from low test scores, lower than normal
graduation rates, much discontent with the leadership of the district including the superintendent,
and school board. According to U.S. News & World Report on education for 2015 LCS
academic indicators are grades 9-12 enrollment of 406, mathematics proficiency of 2.1, reading
proficiency of 2.6, college readiness of 13.8, a graduation rate of 94% and a college readiness of
13%.
ResearchProblem
Just a couple of weeks into the new school year, the current superintendent announced
that he would be retiring in December 2015. The school board hired a consulting firm to search
for a new superintendent; survey posted on the district website and the new superintendent
assumed his position on January 1st, 2016. The original proposal for this LCS project was to
conduct the search for a new superintendent, but that was not possible with the timeline for this
thesis study project and the need to find an immediate replacement. During a personal
conversation with the President and Vice President of the school board, it was decided to have

the thesis study project examine the Ignition Leadership Program (ILP) instituted in the high
school in 2008.
ResearchQuestion
This LCS project will try to answer several questions: How effective is the ILP in
developing student leaders who serve as role models for other students, improve student test
scores, GPA’s, academic, scholastic and social behaviors positively or negatively? Do
underclassmen view the student leaders as role models that inspire them to improve their
academic, scholastic, social interactions? What effect does the ILP have on standardized test
scores? How does the program prepare leaders for college life or the workforce? How does the
faculty/staff view the ILP is an effective tool in developing student leaders and better preparing
them for life after high school? Finally, do parents see a difference in their child’s overall
attitude when they participate in the ILP, do they feel the ILP is an effective and efficient use of
school funds?
Hypothesis’s that will be tested concerning the Ignition leadership program are:
h0 - The Ignition Leadership Program is having a positive effect on the student body
h1 – Standardized test scores, GPA’s improve under the Ignition leadership program
h2 - Graduation, Retention Rates and College Readiness increase and dropout rates
decrease under the Ignition leadership program
h3 – The perceptions of the Ignition leadership program are positive among Parents,
Faculty, Students, and Community leaders.
Evaluation of Ignition Leadership Program
The Ignition Leadership Program trains volunteer juniors and seniors as student
mentors/leaders. At the beginning of the year, each mentor is paired with an incoming freshman

whom he/she mentor and help adjust to high school life throughout their first year. Since this
program has been active for eight years now without any measurable benchmarks, this LCS
study will establish baseline benchmarks for future study.
Purpose and Benefits
The purpose of this research project is to examine if the Ignition Leadership Program has
a positive effect on developing student leaders who and better prepared for life after high school.
The benefit is the research will also examine the practices of the Ignition Leadership Program
provided by the school administration and staff as facilitators for teaching leadership traits
required to being a student leader creating positive change in the community and school to
ensure the program improving student test scores, GPAs, academic, scholastic and social
behaviors.
The purpose of this LCS project will be to evaluate of the ILP what affect does the
program have to develop student leaders and preparing them for leadership roles after high
school. How does the ILP effect Grade Point Averages (GPAs)? Do parents see leadership traits
in student leaders outside of school? Chesnut, and Tran-Johnson, (2013) conducted research on
the effectiveness of the Student Leadership Development Series (SLDS) enrolled at Drake
University in Des Moines, Iowa. Students found, students who were able to identify their
leadership styles, problem-solving, overcoming various barriers, building relationships and the
opportunity to put their knowledge, and leadership skills into practice were the strengths of the
program. Continuing, they found students felt they did not learn to mentor other students
effectively through the SLDS although, the research did indicate that mentoring did occur to
some extent since most of the SLDS participants indicated previous students who participated in
the program encouraged them to join the program, (p. 6).

Other objectives of the study are to determine if the ILP is an effective use of school
resources, especially in the current economy when schools are experiencing shrinking budgets
and more demand for resources. Another objective is to determine if the ILP provides a culture
of teamwork and respect for students, faculty, staff, and others. Personal initiative and
competitiveness are values that are strongly valued in the United States, (Cummings and Worley,
2015, p. 166), this type of culture is very prevalent for many decades in our schools, has the ILP
changed this culture at LCS?
This research study will examine if the ILP has a positive or negative effect on the culture
of the school and community. Do the practices of the ILP provide the school administration and
staff the necessary tools for teaching leadership traits required to being a student leader?
Pedersen, Yager, and Yager (2012) found that to prepare students for the workforce there are
three themes that schools should align themselves. Those three themes are:
1. Leadership teams are critical support mechanisms.
2. Growth and development nurtured by providing adequate time.
3. Leadership effectiveness is determined by how well the school community
collaborates and trust one another to all stakeholders, including students, to have a
voice.
By examining the aggregation scores of individual, group participants and the ILP as a
whole, it is the expectation this study will lead to further study of the LCS ILP program with
more comprehensive and qualitative studies providing the host organization quality data to make
well-informed changes to the ILP.
This study will seek to justify the need for the development of student leaders at LCS,
better preparing them for college or the workforce. The study will also evaluate the achievement

orientation value of the ILP. Cummings and Worley (2015) define achievement orientation the
value which a culture favors resource acquisition and power, (p. 166). In this study that would
be the Junior and Senior mentors at LCS becoming leaders and displaying those leadership traits,
they learn in the ILP as mentors to the underclassmen. Additionally, this study will seek to
determine if the ILP enhances student’s overall GPA’s, improve their academic, scholastic and
social attitudes, improving the overall attitudes of the community towards the new direction the
school district has taken.
Lakeview Community Schools utilizes the “Leader in Me” leadership program developed
by the late Dr. Stephen Covey (2008) in their elementary school designed to develop leadership
skills in students through the fifth grade. Eight years ago the High School instituted a leadership
program called “Ignition Leadership.” This program matches Senior’s and Junior’s, with
incoming freshmen to be their mentor not only in their first year of high school but all the way
through their high school career. In the middle school, there is no student leadership program.
This study will also seek to discover why the district does not have a student leadership program
also.
Classification of research is either technique or purpose, techniques used in research can
be observational, experimental, or studies conducted by surveys, (Zikmund, Babin, Carr, and
Griffin, 2013, p.52). This study examined an existing leadership program that has no
comparative data. There will be a large population for this research consisting of approximately
450 students (it was determined students would mot participate), 20-30 faculty/staff, an
undetermined number of community leaders and 400 or more parents. A research population of
this size there will be several groups, sub-groups, and demographic groups to analyze and draw
conclusions. Utilizing a descriptive research examining who, what, when, why to draw a picture

of the success or failure of a program, (Zikmund, Babin, Carr, and Griffin, 2013, p. 53).
ResearchDesign, Methodology, and Procedures
This study will use a mixed method of research utilizing both qualitative and quantitative
research methods using systematic, methodological, and integrative reviews for analyzing data.
There will be several units of analysis in this research project. Zikmund, Babin, Carr and Griffin
(2013) explain that units of analysis can be individuals, households, groups, and organization this
study will attempt to use all these groups in the study possibly discovering of underlying
problems that require further investigation (p. 118).
Responses provided by the participants to the survey questions may lead to the additional
questions, thereby modifying the concept map (Appendix B). Using unstructured interviews will
allow for the researcher to compare the actual behavior and accounts of individual respondents
(McKechnie, 2008). The ability of the researcher to keep an unbiased view will be vital to the
results of the study, James 1:5 states “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him as God, who give
generously to all without reproach and it will be given him”, (The Holy Bible, 2013). Keeping
this in mind and remembering, although there are many stakeholders in this study the ultimate
stakeholder that receive the greatest benefit will be the students themselves.
Participants
Lakeview Community School District operates three separate schools with a combined
student body of more than 1,200 with a full-time faculty and staff of 150. The high school has a
current total enrollment of 406 students, 104 students in 9th grades, 107 in 10th graders, 101 in
11th graders and 94 in 12th graders. The ethnic makeup of the school is 97 percent Caucasian, 2
percent Hispanic, 0.5 percent Asian, and 0.5 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native, 47
percent male, and 53 percent female, (U.S. News & World Report Education, nd). This study

will use this information for demographic information only and will not associate it with any
students.
Participants for this study will be parents or guardians of the high school students. These
participants selected due to their intimate interaction with the students who do or do not
participate in the Ignition Leadership Program and will provide an adequate cross-section of the
community that has close interactions with students away from school. The method of selecting
subjects is a self-selection method. Parents/guardians will decide to participate or not in this
study. The Lakeview high school has a current enrollment of approximately 376 students; the
752 surveys received. Statistics provided by Survey Monkey, previous surveys conducted
utilizing this media the Lakeview community has a 53% response rate. Based on that statistic
that statistic it is estimated that approximately 398.56 surveys will be received. With this
amount of respondents, ten percent or 39.86 percent of the respondents will be randomly selected
and asked to complete an additional qualitative questionnaire. Random selection of participants
for the qualitative study will be most beneficial and eliminate any possible bias by the researcher.
Sampling Techniques
Utilizing an internet survey resource of SurveyMonkey to develop a survey-based using
five-point Likert scale scoring method. Distribution of surveys will be accomplished by the
school Director of Transportation via the school's email distribution list. Surveys will be with
questions specifically for this study concerning the culture of and the ILP. Gathering specific
data concerning the perception and question of participation in the ILP, characteristics, and other
questions developing a descriptive study to “draw a picture” (Zikmund, Babin, Carr and Griffin,
2013, p. 53), of the ILP.

Primary participants for this study will be the parent or guardian of the students. This
research project will draw heavily on the previous research of Chen, Gully, and Eden (2001) who
explain the importance of general self-efficacy contributing to the theory, and practice of the
organization. Does the ILP prepare students to be leaders in their community, prepare them for
college, and life after high school. Phan and NGu, (2015) conducted research of personal
wellbeing of a student in secondary schools and found inconclusiveness and inconsistency in
existing research on this subject. Continuing to explain the context of this research in the
wellbeing of schools is in the early stages of research requiring continued research in
sociocultural validation and development. They continued arguing the significance of the
individual wellbeing “for its not-deficit emphasis” and human behavior is essential for quality
learning. Also, Phan et al. (2015) say that positive experience encouragement of the individual
greatly benefits the community, understanding and incorporating these theories in research
projects assist researchers in the development of various research instruments, such as
measurement, analysis, and data collection from interviews and surveys. The ILP at LCS is
designed to teach students to be peer leaders in their school; this study will focus on that aspect
of the program including how the program develops the necessary skills for students to achieve
success not only in school but the community and life after high school as well.
Study intents are to utilize an internet survey Resource Survey Monkey to develop a
survey-based using Likert scale scoring method. Surveys will be designed utilizing questions
from previous studies and questions designed specifically for this study concerning the culture of
LCS and the ILP. Garnering specific data concerning the perception and question of
participation in the ILP, characteristics, and other question to develop a descriptive study and
“draw a picture”, (Zikmund, Babin, Carr and Griffin, 2013, p. 53), of the ILP.

Wellbeing of students is a primary concern in this study, Phan, and NGu, (2015)
conducted research of personal wellbeing of a student in secondary schools and found
inconclusiveness and inconsistency in existing research on this subject. Continuing to explain
that the context of this research in the wellbeing in schools is in the early stages of research
requiring continued research in sociocultural validation and development. They continued
explaining that the significance of the individual wellbeing “for its not-deficit emphasis” and
human behavior is essential for quality learning. Also, Phan et al. (2015) state that positive
experience encouragement of the individual greatly benefits the community, understanding and
incorporating these theories in research projects assist researchers in the development of various
research instruments, such as measurement, analysis, and data collection from interviews and
surveys. The ILP at LCS is designed to teach students to be peer leaders in their school. This
study will focus on that aspect of the program as well as how the program develops the necessary
skills for students to achieve success not only in school but the community and life after high
school as well.
Potential Risks
The potential risk to participants is extremely minimal. The only risk foreseen is that
data collected will be made public. This possibility is extremely unlikely since the researcher
will be the only party to have access to any personal information collected with the specific
purpose of identifying respondents should they be randomly selected for the qualitative portion
of the study. The researcher will ensure that all personal data is kept confidential and destroyed
upon completion of the study.
Use of Deception
There will be no deception in any part of this research project. The researcher is very

familiar with the use of the Socratic Method of questioning. Utilizing this method of proposing
open-ended questions to draw the appropriate response from participants will prove to be an
essential tool in conducting interviews and developing survey questions. The Socratic Method is
useful in critical thinking and getting respondents to open up concerning their true perceptions
and issues, (Zare, and Mukundan, 2015).
Ethical Considerations
Every ethical consideration made throughout the research study. Participants will be
made fully aware of the purpose and scope of the study and instructed that maintaining all
personal information will be done in the strictest of confidence any only known to the researcher.
It has been decided to not to utilize students in the study due to time constraints of the research
project.
Thesis Structure
The first chapter of this research study of the ILP provides an introduction to the host
organization, research problem, research question, initial ILP evaluation, the purpose and
benefits of the study and finally the design, methodology, and procedures.
Chapter two consist of a review of the literature used during the study of many scholars
documents used as a reference for this study based on a keyword search for, leadership, student
leaders, and organizational leadership of several scholarly databases. Additional references
included textbook sources of research and design, leadership, and self-leadership.
The third chapter explains the methods, design, descriptive statistics, data collection
procedures, variables, survey questions, participants, sampling methods and the method of
analyzing the collected data.
The results of the study are discussed in chapter four. Discussed are the descriptive

statistics, analysis of data including approval and/or disproval of the hypotheses being tested,
and validity of findings.
Chapter five discusses the conclusions drawn from the results of the findings,
suggestions for future research, personal reflections of the Living Case Study,
recommendations for the host organization, and the limitations that affected this study.
Chapter 2 Literature Review
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
Yukl (2012) discovered specific performance goals guiding efforts to increasing
motivation is a great start, providing useful goals. Developing student leaders to understand this
is paramount to successful leadership. Bowman (2014) cites a study by Jennings and Stahl-Wert
(2003) saying “The leadership lesson for future leaders is that effective leaders “run to great
purpose” in pursuit of something truly significant, (p. 100). Bowman continues, deliberate
leadership involves “confronting an organization at its roots” pointing out two foundational
questions concerning student leadership that might be asked in a social studies class, “Why does
the world need our high school, and what would be different in the world if this high school did
not exist?”, (p. 61).
Pedersen, Yager, and Yager, (2012) found that a high school diploma today does not
mean college readiness it merely implies that a student has college eligibility, (p. 2). Vollmer’s
book (as cited in Pedersen, Yager, and Yager, 2012) state, a decade’s long movement towards
standards, schools must face the reality that they are not adequately preparing high school
students for productivity. Pedersen et al. (2012) found teachers do not emphasize college
readiness and assessments are not an accurate measurement for readiness. Society faced with the
fact that our schools are inadequately preparing our student to be productive members of society.

Pedersen et al. (2012) cited a 2011 survey conducted by MetLife that found “approximately 93%
of secondary school parents, 85% of secondary teachers, and 80% of business executives believe
college and career readiness should be a priority in our nation's K-12 classrooms (p.2).
This inadequacy of preparedness has created readiness gaps in colleges and the
workforce, (Pedersen, Yager, and Yager, 2012, p.2). Continuing, Pedersen et al. (2012)
explained that the workforce is changing rapidly with the recent economic condition,
globalization, and technology advancements. Additionally, they argue that capabilities and
qualities once thought frivolous, such as inventiveness, joyfulness, meaning and empathy, now
determine success in an individual. Schools like business organizations must transform their
efforts to be more aligned with growing needs and demands of the changing global economy and
society. Incorporating these skills in secondary school students and the education system, in
general, will better prepare our students for life after high school, and leadership development is
a good start.
According to Zikmund, Babin, Carr, and Griffin (2013) when problem symptoms are
scattered they are more difficult to combine them into a coherent problem statement, (p. 110).
Continuing Zikmund et al. (2013) explain that people are uncomfortable with uncertainty
creating ambiguity, (p. 110). This ambiguity will only make this LSC project even more
problematic.
Evidence-based management (EBMgt) may be very useful in conducting this study.
Briner and Walshe (2015) define EBMgt decision making using the best available,
critically appraised evidence from four sources: (1) Is evidence derived from managers’
expertise and experience? (2) Are organizational values and evidence derived from
stakeholders’ views and concerns? (3) Are internal organizational evidence and data or metrics

from the local context? (4) Is evidence derived from scientific research? Zikmund, Babin, Carr,
& Griffin, (2013) explain the process of problem definition involves several steps that are
interrelated. When one step is defined it will lead to the next step, this will lead to each of the
six steps in the process being addresses, (p. 111). The six steps in the process are:
1. Understand the business situation – identify key symptoms
2. Identify key problems from symptoms
3. Write managerial decision statement and corresponding research objectives
4. Determine the unit of analysis
5. Determine the relevant variables
6. Write research questions and/or research hypotheses
Ethical Considerations
Every ethical consideration made throughout the research study. All participants will be
made fully aware of the purpose and scope of the study. All personal information will be
maintained in the strictest of confidence any only know to the researcher. If it is decided to
utilize students in the study careful consideration will be made to accommodate any special
needs, any personal contact with students will be in the general area of the school where
faculty/staff will have sight of both the student and researcher. If private sessions will be in the
library or other school location that is under video surveillance. No contact with students will
occur without the expressed permission of their parent or guardian, and a signed informed
consent form, including a signed form of Assent and no persons with diminished capacity, will
be used in this study.
Summary
Numerous books and studies written on leadership will be utilized in this study drawing

on their advice and results as a guide and model for conducting a thorough and proper research
study. The author is extremely knowledgeable with the United States Marine Corps Leadership
Course. Another author that did a great deal of research on leadership writing several research
papers and books is Stephen Covey. Covey's book The Leader in Me – How Schools and
Parents Around the World are Inspiring Greatness is the basis of the Lakeview Elementary
Schools “Leader in Me” program. Other literature the author plans on utilizing include several
dissertations, articles, and studies conducted on leadership.
The contention that “one size fits all approach” to employee engagement probably is not
the most effective for this study, (Rana, Ardichvili, and Tkachenko, 2014, p. 263). Creating a
cohesive, effective, and efficient team is a tedious task in its self but when it works it is very
rewarding. The purpose of this study to discover if the ILP is effective, efficient and builds
cohesiveness within the school. Wolven (2015) explains that there is well-established research
to continue efforts refining the characterization, measurement and associated drivers of the
choices university level students make in their study habits. Continuing the study also explains
that business educators have used those frameworks to exploring how to get students to complete
their assignments.
Chapter 3 Methodology
Concept and Hypothesis
Lakeview high school Ignition Leadership Program trains volunteer juniors and seniors
as student mentors/leaders. At the beginning of the year, each mentor is paired with an incoming
freshman whom he/she mentor and help adjust to high school life throughout their first year.
There are no measurements, feedback or benchmarks to evaluate the effectiveness of this
program. This research will also determine the effectiveness of the Ignition Leadership Program

in developing student leaders, not only in school but the community. Additional questions asked
will be: Do student leaders serve as role models for other students? Does involvement in this
program improve student test scores and GPAs? Does this program improve student academic,
scholastic and social behaviors?
ResearchDesign, Methodology, and Procedures
The research design will utilize a mixed research methodology applying both qualitative
and quantitative methods using systematic, methodological, and integrative reviews for
analyzing data. Zikmund, Babin, Carr and Griffin (2013) explain that units of analysis can be
individuals, households, groups, and organization this study will attempt to use all these groups
in the study providing possible discovery of underlying problems that require further
investigation (p. 118). The research will collect (1) existing organizational quantitative data, (2)
quantitative data through surveys of parents/guardians, and (3) qualitative data through
interviews with parents/guardians.
Interviews will be will not be conducted in this study to avoid any possibility of
interviewer bias. According to Zikmund et al. (2013) the presence of an interviewer may
influence the interviewee to give the responses that they feel the interviewer is looking for, (p.
192).
This study will use a mixed method of research utilizing both qualitative and quantitative
research methods using systematic, methodological, and integrative reviews for analyzing data.
There will be several units of analysis in this research project. As Zikmund, Babin, Carr and
Griffin (2013) explain that units of analysis can be individuals, households, groups, and
organization this study will attempt to use all these groups in the study providing possible
discovery of underlying problems that require further investigation (p. 118).

Responses to the survey questions and initial interviews may lead to an additional
question answered, thereby modifying the concept map. Using unstructured interviews will
allow the researcher to compare the actual behavior and accounts of individual respondents. The
ability of the researcher to keep an unbiased view will be vital to the results of the study,
Variables
Variables faced in this study include the original study intended to seek participation
from parents of high school students only. After discussion with the ILP Advisor, he insisted
that all parents who have students attending all Lakeview Community Schools from the Little
Warrior Pre-School to LCS. The researcher was not given direct access to email addresses there
for the Director of Transportation for the school district acted as a middle man and sent emails to
all the parents with a link to the survey. This middle man then provided data of how many
emails sent including how many families registered in the school district.
The results were, 14 respondents having children attending preschool, 44 attending
elementary school, 22 attending the middle school, and 31 attending LCS. No distinction as to
how individual respondents distributed throughout the school district. Participants were asked:
How many students do they have attending Lakeview Community Schools?
How many students do they have attending Little Warriors Preschool?
How many students do they have attending Lakeview Elementary?
How many students do they have attending Lakeview Middle School?
How many students do they have attending Lakeview high school?
Respondents had options of, 1 – 3; 4 – 6; 7 or more; and Not Applicable.
Initial participation request sent via the middle man, after a slow response for the first two weeks
a second email was sent out at the end of the second week. With only 52 responses after week

four, it was decided to offer an incentive of two gift cards to respondents who completed the
entire quantitative survey. This incentive gained 25 more responses; the survey closed after
seven weeks. The middle man was once again used to distribute the emails informing
prospective participants of the incentive.
Demographics
A study of the Ignition Leadership Program at LCS invited 1,132 parents of Kindergarten
to 12th-grade students to participate in the study. Seventy-seven responded with four not
completing any part of the survey and 12 respondents only completing the demographic portion.
That resulted in 73 responses to the demographic questions and 60 respondents completing the
entire quantitative survey. Demographics measured other than the standard gender, age, and
ethnicity included the number of students the respondents had attending the school district
segmented by the elementary, middle, and high school. Additionally, questions included, how
long they have lived in the community and what education level they had achieved, including if
their child has graduated and what they did after graduation. Appendix C provides complete
demographic responses to each question.
Most respondents fell into the 35 – 44-year age range, while 94% of the respondents
reported being of the Caucasian race followed by 4.2% preferring not to answer and 2.8%
reporting Hispanic/Latino ethnicity and American Indian/Alaskan Native ethnicity. Figure 3.1
illustrates the percentage of respondents who are graduates of the host Lakeview High School in.

Figure 3.1 Graduate of Lakeview high school
Figure 3.2 Residency in the Lakeview Community
Residency in the community. Residency statistics of the 73 respondents show 28.8% of
the respondents have lived in the community for 6 – 10 years while 27.4% of the respondents
have lived in the community for 11 – 15 years. Seventeen or 23.3% of respondents have resided
in the community for less than five years, and only three respondent or 4.1% have lived in the
community for more than 25 years. Descriptive statistics for residency has a mean of 12.167
with a median of 12, standard error of 3.290 and a standard deviation of 8.060 with a sample
variance of 64.967, a skewness of 0.004 and a kurtosis of -2.798.
Education levels of respondents ranged from one respondent answering none of the
above, 5 receiving a high school diploma or GED, 22 or having some college education but have
Yes
No
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%
Yes No
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
Residency
Years
< 5
6 - 10
11 - 15
16 - 20
21 - 24
> 25

not obtained a degree. While those completing two years of college were 12, four-year college
20 for and 13 or completing graduate school. Figure 3.3 shows the percentages of the
respondents’ education level.
Figure 3.3 What is the highest level of education
Participants and Population
Participants were asked what their student(s) did after graduating high school. Only
seven students or 9.6% attended a 4-year college, and four students (5.5%) attended a 2-year
college. One respondent replied they had three students attend LCS, one participated in the ILP
as a mentor is currently attending a 2-year college with intentions of transferring to a 4-year
school and a fourth child who just completed their freshman year. Another respondent said their
child was attending the Jackson Area Career Center’s 3-year welding program. One respondent
indicated that they had four children who did not complete high school. Other responses
indicated their students are not attending LCS (they are attending elementary or middle school)
or have not graduated yet.
Grade Point Averages (GPAs)
The GPA data provided by the school consisted of data only for the 16 mentors.
Cumulative data of each grade requested for as many years as possible, but no response was
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0% Primary school
Some high school, but no diploma
High school diploma (or GED)
Some college, but no degree
2-year college degree
4-year college degree
Graduate-level degree
None of the above

received from the contact person at the school. It is unknown if the cumulative data is available
for each grade or how many years the school can maintain that data.
Table 3.1 Student Mentor GPAs Statistics
Male Female
Mean 3.855 3.427
Standard Error 0.105 0.166
Median 3.907 3.527
Range 0.772 1.496
Minimum 3.419 2.667
Maximum 4.191 4.163
Count 6.000 10.000
Largest (1) 4.191 4.163
Smallest (1) 3.419 2.667
Standard Deviation 0.257 0.525
Sample Variance 0.066 0.275
Kurtosis 1.656 -1.305
Skewness -0.786 -0.174
Confidence Level (95.0%) 0.269 0.375
Sum 23.127 34.270
Email Distribution
Initially, surveys were going to be sent to parents of high school students only; the
Ignition Leadership Program advisor though wanted the surveys to send to all parents who have
children attending Kindergarten through 12th grade. The researcher requested access to all the

email address but denied due to FERPA regulations, so the transportation director sent emails to
1,132 email addresses of the 1,207 families who have students enrolled in the school district.
Table 3.2 Email Distribution
# of Emails # of Families
K – 5 466 617
6th - 8th 403 304
9th - 12th 263 286
TOTAL 1,132 1,207
Note. Emails reflect all emails the school has on record. Some parents may have two or more
email addresses on record, or both parents may have emails on file with the school district.
Response Rate
According to the ILP advisor, the average response rate for surveys conducted by the
school district ranges between 10% - 12%. This study sent 1,132 emails to prospective
participants. Seventy-Seven participants responded to this survey study resulting in a seven
percent response rate, well below the average response rate for previous surveys for the school
district. Of the 77 respondents, sixty respondents completed the entire survey, 13 completed
only demographic questions, and four respondents did not complete any questions. Figure 3.5
below illustrates the response rate by weeks the survey was created; initial surveys were sent out
on April 25th, 2016.

Figure 3.4 Weekly Response Rate
Quantitative Data Collection Process
This research study of a local high school Ignition Leadership Program (ILP) used a
mixed method of research utilizing Survey Monkey to administer the quantitative survey which
was emailed to prospective participants. The researcher was not given access to the email
address, so the school district Transportation Director acted as the contact point for the research
study. An initial email was sent to all email address on file with the school, followed by a
second email due to low response rate. The response rate was still low, so a third email was
requested to be sent out offering an incentive of a $50 gift card to two respondents who
completed the entire survey. This incentive resulted in an additional 24 respondents participating
in the study.
The qualitative portion of the study consisting of ten additional questions sent to 33% of
the respondents who completed the entire quantitative survey. All care was taken to ensure

respondents anonymity kept at the highest level of confidentially. Results from Survey Monkey
downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet. This data was sorted by the metadata creating
randomization to which the first 20 respondents (33%) listed were sent a link to Survey Monkey
qualitative surveys requesting their continued participation. During this process, the researcher
omitted any personal information from the decision by hiding those cells in the spreadsheet that
contained such information.
Data Analysis and Tools
Quantitative survey questions used a Likert scale of 0 – 5 with 1 Strongly Disagree - 5
Strongly Agree and a Not Applicable score of 0. Figures 4.1 – 4.12 illustrate the mean, median
and standard deviation for each question. Most of the questions have a median score of three
except questions two which has a median score of 0.00 and questions 4, 8, 9; and12 received
median scores of 1.00. Table 3 below shows the mean, median, and standard deviation for each
of the 13 quantitative questions.
Qualitative Survey Data
The qualitative portion of the study consisted of an additional survey of 10 additional
open-ended questions asking the participant to explain: 1) If the ILP is effective in developing
student leaders. 2) Improved students academic performance, improve student social behaviors,
3) Inspired underclassmen academically scholastically, and socially, 4) Prepared students’ for
college, 5) Was a positive tool to develop student leaders, 6) Made a difference in the overall
attitude of students’, 7) Effective in developing community leaders for the future, 8) Effective in
developing student leaders, 9) Improved student academic performance, 10) Improved student
social behaviors. Answers provided by the two respondents were very brief and not detailed; this
information did not provide any clear explanations to the ILP effectiveness either.

Secondary Data Analysis
Secondary data is limited to school enrollment numbers for each grade, and any GPA
data the school will be able to provide. This data will be used to establish baseline comparisons
evaluating the respondent’s perceptions provided through the quantitative and qualitative data
collection process with actual data provided by the school.
Ethical considerations
During this study, the researcher maintained the utmost integrity and security of
participants’ identities ensuring no personal information was disclosed. All reports to the host
organization maintained the secrecy of all participants. Psalms 25:21 states “May integrity and
uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you, (The Holy Bible, 2013).
Summary
This chapter examined the descriptive statistics for the study. The primary discussion of
chapter 3 were demographics of LCS. Also discussed were the response rate for the study,
variables, method of data collection, analysis tools and design of both quantitive and qualitative
surveys.
Chapter 4 Findings
Hypothesis h0 – unproven, only data that was collected or provided by the school was
disciplinary actions from the first full school year the ILP inception. The data collected supports
the hypothesis, yet there are other factors that were not measured proving this hypothesis. The
data for disciplinary actions taken and some students from 2009-2010 to the 2013-1014 school
years shown in figure 1. Although this data is limited and only shows disciplinary actions, it
does provide a basic indication that the ILP does have a positive effect on the student body.

Figure 4.1 Number Disciplinary Referral’s
Hypothesis h1 – unproven, the school was only able to provide the GPA’s for the student
leaders, cumulative GPA’s for the entire school and test scores were not provided. The data
provided is skewed since a student must have a 3.0 GPA or better to become a student leader,
Figure 4.6 below show the GPA data for the ILP student leaders. Data collected from the 52
respondents to the quantitative survey show 11 parents or 21.15% believe the ILP has a positive
effect on student GPA’s.
Hypothesis h2 – unproven, data collected did not indicate any effect of the ILP in
graduation rates for LCS.
Hypothesis h3 – unproven, the data collected does not indicate a positive or negative
perception by parents of the ILP
Figure 4.2 Effectiveness of ILP Developing Student Leaders
206
290
164 146 98
904
72 113 75 78 63
401
0
200
400
600
800
1000
2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 TOTAL
# of REFERRALS # OF STUDENTS

Figure 4.3 Improvement of Test Scores
Table 4.1 Overall Academic Performance Statistics
Mean 2.05
Standard Error 0.24
Median 3.00
Standard Deviation 1.85
Sample Variance 3.44
Kurtosis -1.74
Skewness -0.01
Range 5.00
Figure 4.4 Improves Students Overall Academic Performance.

Table 4.2 Respondent’s Perception of Improved GPAs Statistics
Mean 1.80
Standard Error 0.24
Median 1.00
Kurtosis -1.61
Skewness 0.29
Range 5.00
Figure 4.5 Respondent’s Perception of Improved GPAs
-2.00
-1.00
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
Mean Standard
Error
Median Standard
Deviation
Sample
Variance
Kurtosis Skewness Range
1.80
0.24
1.00
1.87
3.48
-1.61
0.29
5.00

Table 4.3 Overall Social Behavior Statistics
Mean 2.02
Standard Error 0.25
Median 3.00
Kurtosis -1.71
Skewness 0.13
Range 5.00
Figure 4.6 Students’ Overall Social Behavior.
Figure 4.7 ILP Inspiration on Freshman and Sophomore’s Academic Performance
1.80
0.25
1.00
1.96
3.82
-1.53
0.40
5.00
-2.00
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
Mean Standard Error Median Standard Deviation Sample Variance Kurtosis Skewness Range

Hypothesis h2 – Graduation, Retention Rates and College Readiness increase and dropout
rates decrease under the Ignition leadership program. Unproven, data provided by the school did
not include any information regarding graduation, drop-out, or college readiness rates.
Respondents answers had a median score of 1.00, indicating they do not believe the program
better prepares students for college any more than those students who do not participate as a
student mentor.
Figure 4.8 ILP Prepares Students’ for College
Hypothesis h3 – unproven, perceptions of the Ignition Leadership Program are positive
among Parents, Faculty, Students, and Community leaders. With a median score of 3.00, the
results do not indicate the ILP has any effect on developing students to be community leaders.
Respondents were asked about their perceptions of student’s overall attitudes which received a
mean score of 2.28 with a median score of 3.00, and participation in community organizations
outside of school received a median score of 1.00 and a mean of 1.67. Both questions had a
kurtosis of -1.70 and skewness of -0.09 and -0.02 respectively.
1.95
0.26
1.00
2.04
4.15
-1.66
0.29
5.00
-2.00
-1.00
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00

The last question of h3 asked respondents it the ILP was an efficient means of spending
school funds. Respondents answers also did not indicate positively or negatively the ILP was a
good use of school funds. Respondent’s answers received a mean score of 2.23 with a standard
error of 0.25 and a median score of 3.00; standard deviation was 1.96, sample variance of 3.84,
kurtosis of -1.59 and a skewness of 0.04
Figure 4.9 Developing Future Community Leaders.
Figure 4.10 Overall Attitude of Students.
2.43
0.27
3.00
2.08
4.32
-1.70
-0.09
5.00
-3.00
-2.00
-1.00
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
2.28
0.26
3.00
2.02
4.07
-1.70
-0.02
5.00
-3.00
-2.00
-1.00
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00

Figure 4.11 Students' Participation in More Community Organizations
Figure 4.12 Efficient Means of School funds
Qualitative Survey
Thirty-three percent of the respondents to the quantitative survey (20/60), were sent an
email asking for their participation of the qualitative portions of the study. Much like the
quantitative survey responses were minimal with only participants completing the qualitative
survey for a response rate of 10%.
Validity of Findings
The validity of the findings is reinforced through the responses to the qualitative survey
responses. Although the qualitative survey consisted of only two respondents, their answers to
1.67
0.24
1.00
1.87
3.48
-1.27
0.57
5.00
-2.00
-1.00
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
2.23
0.25
3.00
1.96
3.84
-1.59
0.04
5.00
-2.00
-1.00
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00

the open-ended questions provided support to the findings of the quantitative responses.
Findings in both surveys suggest the ILP is not as effective as it could be and there is a great
deal of improvement that can be made. While the findings do provide base benchmarks for the
ILP, the low response rate to the study does not provide a great deal of reliability.
Summary
This chapter described the findings of both the quantitive and qualitative surveys by
examining the descriptive statistics for the 13 quantitive survey questions and the additional 10
qualitative open-ended questions portions of the study. Due to the low response rate, the
findings did not prove or disprove any of the four hypotheses.
Chapter 5 Disscussion and Conclusions
Discussion
This study set out to examine four hypotheses of the ILP at a community high school in a
small Midwest town. The study consisted of two parts a quantitative survey and a qualitative
survey. The quantitative survey consisted of 17 demographic questions and 13 program specific
questions. The study stayed consistent with the original concept map with one exception of one
quantitative question being eliminated. Questions were scored using a Likert scale of zero to
five with zero being not applicable and five being strongly agreed. Originally only parents of
high school students were to be surveyed, the school administrator and program advisor
requested that all parents of the school district be surveyed. The results were 1,132 parents that
have children registered in the school district in grades Kindergarten to 12th-grade requested to
participate in the study for a five percent response rate. The qualitative survey consisted of 10
questions that were sent to 33% of the respondents randomly selected who completed the entire
quantitative survey, ten percent of those participants responded to this part of the study.

Throughout the study, every effort was made to maintain the ethical integrity of the
study. Since the researcher is, a longtime resident of the community and minor students could
have been identified from their parents identifying information. With this in mind, the researcher
hid all identifiable information when downloading the survey data into an Excel spreadsheet.
This information remains hidden from the researcher until completion of the study when all data
collected will be deleted, and all printouts will be shredded. Some participants did ask for a copy
of the study when it is completed and accepted. Personal information will be used to send the
study results to those respondents.
This study started our very slow and received a very little response until an incentive of
two $50 gift cards to local restaurants was offed, this resulted in a little more than a 20% increase
in responses. Of the 73 respondents to the quantitative survey, only 42% or 31 had students
attending the high school; this researcher finds this somewhat troubling. It has been suggested
that parents have a little time on their hands in today’s world, and that may be the reason for such
a low response rate. Conversely, could it be that parents just do not care about their children’s
education and believe the primary duty of education is the responsibility of the school and its
staff?
First, it tried to prove the program had a positive effect on the student body. With only
21.15% of the respondents believing the ILP program does have a positive effect on the rest of
the students h0 was unproven. Disciplinary data provided by the program advisor does show an
improvement of disciplinary referrals from 2009 – 2014 does show a decline from 206 to 98, a
decline of 210% over the first five years of the program. In the same period, the number of
students referred for disciplinary actions decreased from 72 to 63. While the number of students
examined declined by nine students and the and the number of referrals declining by 108 this

data does indicate a slightly positive influence of the ILP on the student body. Second, the study
sought to prove the ILP improved GPA and test scores of students. Eleven of the 52 or 21.15%
of the respondents to the quantitative survey believes the ILP does improve test scores.
Respondents data concerning GPAs were unable to prove h1 or disprove it. Results had a mean
of 21.8, median of 21.00, a standard deviation of 21.876, and sample variance of 23.485. The
school did provide data for the 16 student mentors, ten females, and six males. Mean scores
were 3.855 for males and 3.427 for females with females having a maximum GPA of 4.163
males 4.191 and a minimum of 2.667 for females and 3.419 for the males.
While it would be nice to attribute the ILP to these GPA scores, the program does
require students to have; the school did note that for a student be a mentor they must have a
“good” GPA so there is no significant data supporting this hypothesis. Finally, data was also
inconclusive for h2 that the ILP increasing in college readiness, retention, and graduation rates
while dropout rates decreased, and h3 that students, faculty, parents and community leader’s
perceptions of the ILP are positive. Conducting research study as this can be very stressful, but
one just need to reference Psalms 27:5-6 for inspiration 5 “For he will hide me in his shelter in
the day of trouble; he will conceal me under cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.” 6
“And not my head shall be lifted up above my enemies and all round me, and I will offer in his
tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.” (ESV)
Limitations
Though this study did have the opportunity of receiving 1,132 responses, the low
response rate, especially from the parents of the high school students, limited the number of
respondents who had first-hand knowledge and insights to the ILP. Another limitation of the
study was not utilizing students in the study. It was decided early on in the study proposal that

using minor students in the study would have taken more time than the study allowed. Another
limitation of the study was the length of time researchers had to conduct the study. Surely had
there been more time allotted for the study a greater number of respondents could have
responded. A major limitation placed on the study was the inability to use secondary participants
for the study. The original idea of the study intended to survey students, faculty/staff, parents,
and community leaders such as ministers, civic leaders, and business leaders. Had these
secondary participants been included in the study the data they may have provided could have
led to proving or disproving the study hypotheses.
Recommendations for Future Research
By examining the aggregation scores of individual, groups participants and the ILP as a
whole, it is the expectation this study will lead to further study of the GLHS ILP program with
more comprehensive and qualitative studies providing the host organization quality data to make
well-informed changes to the ILP.
The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the ILP at GLHS
by examining the aggregation scores of Grass Lake Community School parent’s perceptions of
the ILP. Four hypotheses were developed and reviewed, in an attempt to answer several
questions concerning the ILP program. First, how effective is the ILP in developing student
leaders that serve as for other students, improving test scores, positive social behaviors, GPA’s
academics of student who participate in the ILP as student mentors? Second, does the ILP
prepare students for life after high school specifically college readiness, do parents see their
child’s overall attitude? Finally, is the ILP an effective and efficient use of school funds?
While this is the first attempt of a limited study of the ILP in developing productive
future leaders of our society, there were several limitations to the study that reinforces the need

for further comprehensive research. The premise of the ILP is to pair incoming freshman with
select junior and senior students who volunteer to serve as mentors after receiving basic
leadership training from the program advisors. This model of leadership best described as
servant leadership with the mentors helping the incoming freshman working together to
accomplish various academic objectives by encouraging individual development, empowerment
and commitment to long-term collective team work, (Yukl, 2013. P. 348). Servant leadership is
arguably a highly ethical leadership style putting the needs of followers ahead of the leaders own
needs. Therefore, developing a leadership program that emphasizes servant leadership styles can
only enhance the ILP objectives.
Evaluating Leadership Programs
Though this study was not able to draw conclusive evidence proving the four stated
hypotheses, it does provide a starting point for future research. Future researchers may wish to
conduct a larger comprehensive in examining the effectiveness of the ILP in improving GPA
scores, college readiness, and social behaviors. This study was limited by not utilizing student in
the research. Future researchers may want to include students in their study gaining a
comprehensive first-hand impression of the ILP. Recommendations for further research include a
wider range of participants, this study only surveyed parents of students, and the response rate
was slow and rather small. Including faculty, staff, and community leaders may lead to a greater
understanding and insights to the ILP program effectiveness. One point that was not studied is
why does the GLCS employ The Leader in Me leadership program developed by the late Dr.
Stephen Covey in the elementary and middle schools then change to an entirely different
program at the high school level?
Pedersen, Yager, and Yager (2012) argue there are three themes schools need to align themselves

with to prepare students for the workforce better, those themes are:
3. Leadership effectiveness is determined by how well the school and community
collaborates
Examining these three themes in future research studies will provide GLCS leadership
with a better understanding of the efficiency of the ILP. Should the research find, the school
does not align themselves and the community with these three themes it will provide them with
objectives.
School District Sponsored Research
The school district may very well benefit from a more comprehensive longer study
examining the purpose of using one leadership program in the elementary and middle schools
and a totally different program at the high school. This additional research should also include
teachers and faculty, students, and community leaders for a more comprehensive view of the ILP
effectiveness
Conclusions
This study evaluated the effectiveness of ILP in developing student leaders and preparing
them for leadership roles after high school, what affect it has on GPAs. Additionally, it sought to
discover the perception of parents of the ILP in their students over attitudes outside of school.
This study attempted to establish the legitimacy of leadership programs at a local high school in
a small town. Pedersen, Yager, and Yager (2012) argue to prepare students for the schools
should align themselves with three themes being:

3. Leadership effectiveness is determined by how well the school community
collaborates and trust one another to all stakeholders, including students, to have a
voice.
The results do show that the ILP has accomplished these themes to some extent but the
low response rate this study was not able to prove the hypothesis’s it posed conclusively.
Researchers all believe providing students with leadership training does benefit the student,
school, and community. The school district is providing students from Kindergarten to Twelfth
grades with leadership training and should continue with the programs. The GPA data provided
by the program advisor indicates that for students to be a student mentor they must have a
satisfactory GPA. This resulted in an additional question of the possibility of a student who may
be a good candidate to be a student mentor but is not eligible due to their GPA. Phan et al.
(2015). Pose that positive experience encouragement of the individual greatly benefits the
community, understanding and incorporating these theories in research projects assist researchers
in the development of various research instruments, such as measurement, analysis, and data
collection from interviews and surveys. Allowing this type of student to be a mentor may, in fact,
be a diamond in the ruff and help the student raise their GPA.
Recommendations for Host Organization
It is recommended Lakeview Community Schools consider the following
recommendations, 1) Conduct further research on the ILP, student mentors. 2) Additional
research should be expanded to include students and the faculty and staff. 3) Evaluate the
utilization of two separate leadership programs in the school system, contemplate implementing
one leadership program throughout the school district. Finally, establish a monitoring and

evaluation program
Further Research
Lakeview Community Schools should continue with a longer more comprehensive study
of the effectiveness of the ILP. Currently, students must have a “good” GPA to qualify as a
student mentor. While this is understandable, this made it hard for the study to determine the
effect of the ILP on student GPAs. Redeveloping the criteria for students with borderline GPAs
to be mentors, the program may find students who would be good leaders yet do not have a
qualifying GPA. Allowing these students to be mentors could raise their GPA. The only data
collected that indicated any effectiveness of the ILP is the decline in disciplinary referrals,
though no conclusive data could establish this decline was due to the ILP.
Expanding Research
This study requested 1,253 VCS parents to participate in the study. With only 77 parents
responding to the quantitative survey this did not provide a good pool of respondents do draw
any conclusive conclusions. The first two weeks of the study resulted in only 17 respondents; it
was then decided to offer an incentive of two $50 gift cards, only then did the study gain more
participants. Of the 77 respondents, only 31 participants had students attending the high school,
and they were particularly familiar with the ILP.
Two Separate Leadership Programs
The response rate of participants slightly indicates that the ILP is not well known among
the participants due to the majority of respondents having students in the elementary and middle
schools that utilize a different leadership program, or it could be that parents are not that
concerned with their students receiving leadership training. The first hypothesis is the majority
of respondents do not know about the separate program in the high school. With this in mind,

one question plagued the researcher throughout the study, why use one leadership program in the
elementary, and middle schools then use a completely different program at the high school? The
school district may find beneficial socially, academically, and financially to explore other
leadership programs tailored to each grade level. Another suggestion is to evaluate the two
existing leadership programs to determine if one could be refined and utilized at all the schools.
Also recommended is, this expansion would include community civic and business leaders
providing input to the program and guidance to students through seminars and/or internships.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Utilizing the results from this study as a benchmark (recommended low end) establish
benchmarks for all leadership programs to determine their efficiency and effectiveness
employing student evaluations of the programs including faculty and staff. Obtaining valid
information is critical to this process, this type of evaluation performed at a high level of the
organization determines those aspects of the ILP be performing as expected or underperforming.
This evaluation will allow corrective actions to be taken ensuring the effectiveness of the
program, (Rohm, Wilsey, Perry , & Montgomery, 2013, p. 262).
The qualitative portion of the study also had a very low response rate with only two of
the twenty requested participants responding. The responses from these two parents centered
around two themes: 1) there is a lack of guidance to the students, and 2) the students to not buy-
in to the program, it has no value to them. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the program
may very well get the students to buy-in to the program. As for the need of more guidance, the
school district should evaluate using current staff that have several other responsibilities and find
a little time for proper guidance of leadership programs. Continuous monitoring of the programs
against established benchmarks will aid in identifying those actions that are underperforming.

Developing an action plan addressing those actions that are underperforming will assist in
implementing initiatives taking corrective actions, ( (Rohm, Wilsey, Perry , & Montgomery,
2013, p. 275).
Personal Reflection
Living Case Study Process
The LCS process can best describe as confused and taxing. With that said this researcher
gained a greater understanding of the purpose of the process and gratitude to the IRB Board and
instructor for guiding students through the confusion.
Lessons Learned
Having done a great deal of research in the past on projects this researcher was involved
with that did not include any human subjects, he gained a greater insight into research involving
human subjects and the various standards. Research that involves simply collecting existing data
and simple surveys of clients and customers are much easier to conduct. When conducting
research involving human subjects a researcher must consistently be conscious of ethical issues
that may arise and ensure every process of the study does not cause any harm to the participants
if possible or, limit the harm to be as minimal as possible and ensure the participants understand
what hazards exist in participating in the study.
Organizational Change and Improvement
The previously mentioned research this researcher was involved with did involve
organizational change. The difference being that research was conducted with organizational
change already to be determined. The research was conducted to determine what changes would
make. This LCS research project consisted of data collection for the purpose of convincing the
Host Organization change is needed and what steps need to be taken to ensure this change is

effective.
Living Case Study Experience
This researcher found this LCS project to be very educational and exciting conducting a
study of interest and involvement for more than 30 years, leadership. Although responses were
not as high as expected and no conclusive evidence was derived accepting or disproving the
hypotheses, the entire experience was found to be very exciting and rewarding.
Growth as an Organizational Researcher
This project has allowed the researcher to grow as a researcher with a better
understanding of the research process, importance of well-informed participants, maintain the
highest ethical standard throughout the entire study, even when the results are not as expected. It
has also shown this researcher how to help better an organization realize their potential or short-
comings. Convincing an organization that change is needed is much easier when there is sound
scientific data to back up the hypothesis.
Ethical Leader, and Business Consultant
This project has also given the researcher the tools he will need to efficiently be a
business consultant which is something he has been considering for some time now. As a
researcher or business consultant, one’s integrity is vital to their success. Maintaining the
highest ethical standards is and should be the primary concern for anyone. Reporting true
conclusions of the research findings is the only way a research can ensure they are providing
relevant data to the organization. When acting as a consultant or researcher, one can be privy to
a great deal of sensitive or even classified information. Protecting that information is paramount
to any researcher or consultant, should that information be breached there are unseen
consequences that could occur from individuals’ personal information being made public to

information that could bring an end to the organization that has employed the individual.

References
Bowman, R. F. (2014). Learning leadership skills in high school. Clearing House, 87(2), 59-63.
doi:10.1080/00098655.2013.842533
Chen, G., Gully, S. M., & Eden, D. (2001). Validation of a new general self-efficacy scale.
Organizational Research Methods, 4(1), 62-83. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.arbor.edu:80/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/195078889?ac
countid=13998
Chesnut, R., & Tran-Johnson, J. (2013). Impact of a student leadership development program.
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 77(10), 1-9 9p.
Covy, S. (2008). The leader in me: how schools and parents around the world are inspiring
greatness, one child at a time. New York: Free Press.
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2015). Organizational development & change. (8th, Ed.)
Mason, Ohio: Thomson South-Western.
Emelo, R. (2011). Strategic foresight: See and seize emerging opportunities. Leadership
Excellence, 28(3), 8. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.arbor.edu:80/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.arbor.edu/docv
iew/884228228?accountid=13998
Lakeview Community Schools. (2015, July 5). Retrieved from Lakeview Community Schools:
http://www.grasslakeschools.com/
McKechnie, L. E. F. (2008) Unstructured observation. In L. M. Givens (Ed.), The Sage
encyclopedia of qualitative research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Pedersen, J., Yager, S., & Yager, R. (2012). Student leadership distribution: Effects of a student-
led leadership program on school climate and community. International Journal of

Educational Leadership Preparation, 7(2).
Phan, H. P., & Ngu, B. H. (2015). Validating personal well-being experiences at school: A
quantitative examination of secondary school students. Education, 136(1), 34-52.
Rana, Sowath, Ardichvili, Alexandre, Tkachenko, Oleksandr. (2014). A theoretical model of the
antecedents and outcomes of employee engagement: Dubin’s method. Journal of
Workplace Learning 26(3/4), p. 249-266.
Rohm, H., Wilsey, D., Perry , G. S., & Montgomery, D. (2013). The Institute Way. Cary, NC,
United States : The Institute Press.
Survey Monkey. (2016, February 20). Retrieved from Survey Monkey: www.surveymonkey.com
The Holy Bible (English Standard Version ed.). (2013). Wheaton, Illinois: Good News
Publishers.
U.S. News & world report education. (nd). Retrieved May 23, 2015, from Lakeview:
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/michigan/districts/lakeviewe-
community-schools/lakeview-high-school-9985/test-scores
Vollmer, J. R. (2010). Schools cannot do it alone: Building public support for America's public
schools / Jamie Vollmer. Fairfield, IA: Enlightenment Press, c2010.
Wolven, W. R. (2015). A qualitative case study of social technology's influence on student
writing.
Yukl, Gary A. (2013). Leadership in organizations. Boston, Ma: Pearson Education, Inc.
Zare, P., & Mukundan, J. (2015). The use of Socratic method as a teaching/learning tool to
develop students’ critical thinking: a review of the literature. Language in India, 15 (6),
256-265
Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods (9th

ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western.

Appendices
Appendix A Complete Demographics
What is your gender?
Answer Options Response Percentage Response Count
Female 83.6% 61
Male 16.4% 12
What is your age?
25 to 34 19.2% 14
35 to 44 53.4% 39
45 to 54 24.7% 18
55 to 64 2.7% 2
What is your ethnicity? (Please select all that apply.)
American Indian or Alaskan Native 2.8% 2
Asian or Pacific Islander 1.4% 1
Hispanic or Latino 2.8% 2
White / Caucasian 94.4% 68
Prefer not to answer 4.2% 3
I am a Graduate of Lakeview Grass ass
Yes 12.3% 9
No 87.7% 64
I have lived in the Community for
Less than five years 23.3% 17
5 - 10 years 28.8% 21
11 - 15 years 27.4% 20
16 - 20 years 6.8% 5
More than 20 years 9.6% 7
All my life 4.1% 3
What is the highest level of school that you have completed?
Some college, but no degree 30.1% 22
2-year college degree 16.4% 12
4-year college degree 27.4% 20
Graduate-level degree 17.8% 13
None of the above 1.4% 1
How many students do you have attending Lakeview Community Schools?
1 - 3 93.2% 68
4 - 6 5.5% 4
Not Applicable 1.4% 1
I have __ students attending Lakeview Preschool
1 - 3 17.8% 13
4 - 6 1.4% 1
I have ___ students attending Lakeview Elementary
1 - 3 60.3% 44

Appendix A Complete Demographics cont.
Appendix C cont.
I have ___ students attending Lakeview Middle School
1 - 3 30.1% 22
I have ___ students attending Lakeview
1 - 3 42.5% 31
Do your student(s) participate in the Ignition Leadership Program as Leader/Mentor?
Yes 19.2% 14
No 80.8% 59
My student(s) graduated from Lakeview.
Yes 15.1% 11
No 84.9% 62
After high school my student(s).
Went to work 4.1% 3
Attended technical school 1.4% 1
Attended a 2-year college 5.5% 4
Attended a 4-year college 9.6% 7
Other (please specify) 79.5% 58

Appendix B Qualitative Survey Questions and Responses
Explain how you believe the Ignition Leadership Program is or is not effective in
developing student leaders:
It could be, but kids are not naturally leaders, and it lacks the guidance needed.
The students learn to be confident in front of their peers.
Explain how you believe the Ignition Leadership Program does or does not improve
student academic performance:
If the leadership program had a reward system, something types of acknowledgment.
If they are more confident in themselves, then that should transfer positively to their
studies.
Explain how you believe the Ignition Leadership Program does or does not improve
student social behaviors:
Students need continuous guidance.
It improves their ability to communicate face to face without a phone.
Explain how you believe the Ignition Leadership Program has or has not inspired
underclassmen academically:
We do not work with it enough, and the kids do not value it.
It did not inspire my son, but I cannot speak for any of his peers.
underclassmen scholastically:
The underclassmen need to see value in it; we lack the needed buy-in from students.
I have no idea.
underclassmen better socially:
We need to take the time to put effort into the program weekly.
They probably recognize the older kids and feel free to communicate with them later.
Explain how you believe the Ignition Leadership Program does or does not prepare
students for college:
If everyone in the ignition program was going to college, it might help.
Confidence, public speaking and being looked up can't hurt in college.
Explain how you believe the Ignition Leadership Program is or is not a positive tool to
develop student leaders:
We need more; it is not enough.
It might open doors for someone who has been struggling to find their way.
Explain how you believe the Ignition Leadership Program does or does not make a
difference in the overall attitude of students’:
The students are trained and then left to be leaders. You need to guide and train theses
students continuously.
It makes the all realize that they are in school to become better.
Explain how you believe the Ignition Leadership Program is or is not effective in
developing community leaders for the future:
Needs more guidance and value.
Not sure.

Appendix C Concept Map

Appendix D Institutional Review Board Approval Form
Institutional Review Board
Decision Sheet
Project Category:
_X___ New Assigned IRB#: 324058_04.03.16
____ Renewal Funding Agency, (if applicable):
Project Timeline: Start Date: April 04, 2016
End Date:
Committee Decision:
_X__ Approved as an exempted review, no further review needed unless protocol changes.
___ Approved as an expedited review, no further review needed unless protocol changes.
___ Approved as a full review, no further review needed unless protocol changes.
___ Denied due to:
Recommendations and Comments:
Please proofread ALL of your papers for clarity and grammatical accuracy prior to submission.
Find the corrections in the Informed Consent and in the survey subtitle.
This study has been approved as an exempt review, category # 2 and #4, as requested.
As a reminder, every effort must be made to maintain the confidentiality of all participants, such
as no data or information collected can be identified to an individual. All data should be coded
for confidentiality, whether stored in paper or digital file. At the end of the study all data and
identifying information on the study’s participants held or stored by the researcher need to be
destroyed.
This approval is for a period of one year from the date of approval and will need to be renewed,
if not completed by that time. Should the study’s protocol change in any way, a resubmission for
a new approval is required.
Please contact the SAU IRB when the study is completed, so the study of record can be closed.
Date of Decision: 04.03.16
Signature of IRB Designate: Inna Molitoris, SAU IRB Co-Chair

Appendix E Institutional Review Board Exempt Form
Institutional Review Board
Exempt Review Form
Submit this form by email attachment to SAU’s IRB chair: chayward@arbor.edu
Please provide all information and answers on the form in the boxes and area, as provided
below.
All supportive documents (i.e., NIH Certificate, informed consent, questionnaires, surveys
or a thorough description of data collection processes and/or instruments, and Host
Organization Approval Form, (as needed for a project such as MBA) MUST be attached to
this application form and submitted as ONE Word document.
All student IRB applications must be vetted by and submitted by the SAU faculty sponsor
and will be returned to the student for resubmission if not sent by the SAU faculty sponsor.
Research Project Title:
Effectiveness of the Grass Lake High School Ignition Leadership Programing Developing
Student/Community Leaders
Principle Investigator:
Gerald W. Havens
SAU ID Number: Telephone: (517) 414-0825 E-mail: ge432786@arbor.edu
Co-Investigator(s): Not Applicable
This line is only for
student research.
Professor’s Name:
Dr. James Loughran
Department and Course
Number:
Gainey School of Business
MBA 600
Course Title:
MBA Research Project Proposal and
Fieldwork
Provide a brief description of your research by thoroughly answering each of the following
questions:
1. Describe the problem and the significance of the research.
Grass Lake High School Ignition Leadership Program trains selected juniors and
seniors as student mentors/leaders. At the beginning of the year, mentors are paired
with an incoming freshman who mentors and helps adjust to high school life
throughout their first year. There are no measurements, feedback or benchmarks to
evaluate the effectiveness of this program.
This research will also determine the effectiveness of the Ignition Leadership Program
in developing student leaders, not only in school but in the community, also the effect
of the Ignition Leadership Program on grade point averages, and will examine if the

program aids in preparing students for college and becoming future leaders in their
communities.
Since this program has been active for six years now without any measurable
benchmarks, the researcher will attempt to establish baseline benchmarks based on
collected data after this research is completed.
2. What is the research question being posed?
Overarching research question:
How effective is the Grass Lake High School Ignition Leadership Program in
developing student leaders?
Sub-questions:
Do student leaders serve as role models for other students?
Does involvement in this program improve student test scores and GPAs?
Does this program improve student academic, scholastic and social behaviors?
3. What are the purpose and/or benefit of study?
The purpose of this research project is to examine if the Ignition Leadership Program
has a positive effect on developing student leaders who and are better prepared for life
after high school. The benefit is the research will also examine the practices of the
Ignition Leadership Program provided by the school administration and staff as
facilitators for teaching leadership traits required to being a student leader creating
positive change in the community and school to ensure the program improving
student test scores, GPAs, academic, scholastic and social behaviors.
4. Describe the proposed procedures and research design. (Be thorough. Include a brief
description of all procedures to be conducted. Attach any instruments (surveys, etc.) that
will be used. If quantitative procedures are proposed, include statistical analysis to be
conducted.)
The research design will utilize a mixed research methodology applying both
qualitative and quantitative methods using systematic, methodological, and integrative
reviews for analyzing data. The research will collect (1) existing organizational
quantitative data, (2) quantitative data through surveys of parents/guardians, and (3)
qualitative data through interviews with parents/guardians
The researcher will use structured surveys and also utilize semi-structured interviews,
which will allow the researcher to compare the actual behavior and accounts of
individual respondents.

Subjects
1. What is the population being studied? (If an organization, describe the organization and
number of individuals included in that organization that fits the profile of the population
being studied.)
Grass Lake Community School District operates three separate schools with a
combined student body of more than 1,200 with a full-time faculty and staff of 150.
The high school has a current total enrollment of 406 students, 104 students in 9th
grades, 107 in 10th graders, 101 in 11th graders and 94 in 12th graders. The ethnic
makeup of the school is 97 percent Caucasian, 2 percent Hispanic, 0.5 percent Asian,
and 0.5 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native, 47 percent male and 53 percent
female. This study will use this information for demographic information only and
will not associate it with any students.
2. Description of subjects (include the desired number of participants in the sample). What
are the specific characteristics of the subjects you are choosing? Offer some justification
for selecting subjects with these characteristics.
Participants for this study will be parents or guardians of the high school students.
These participants will be selected due to their intimate interaction with the students
who do or do not participate in the Grass Lake High School Ignition Leadership
Program and will provide an adequate cross-section of the community that has close
interactions with students away from school.
3. Methods of selecting subjects. (Sample of convenience, random sampling, stratified
random sample, etc. and why?)
The method of selecting subjects is a self-selection method. Parents/guardians will
decide to participate or not in this study. The Grass Lake High School has a current
enrollment of approximately 376 students, if each parent or guardian chooses to
participate in the study the 752 surveys will be received. Statistics provided by
Survey Monkey, previous surveys conducted utilizing this media the Grass Lake
community has a 53% response rate. Based on that statistic that statistic it is
estimated that approximately 398.56 surveys will be received.
With this amount of respondents, ten percent or 39.86 percent of the respondents will
be randomly selected and asked to complete an additional qualitative questionnaire. It
is believed that random selection of participants for the qualitative study will be most
beneficial and eliminate any possible bias by the researcher.
4. Describe how participant confidentiality will be maintained. (Be specific: Will names be
attached to the data in any form? How will the data with names be stored?)
In order to maintain the maximum participation, respondents’ identities will be
maintained in the strictest confidentiality. Personal information collected from

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