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Effects of college experiences on male and female student leadership capacity in Taiwan

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Abstract

This study examined how college experiences affect student leadership capacity in the general college population, as well as in male versus female populations. The data were drawn from a longitudinal sample of students across 156 colleges in Taiwan. Results of this study indicated that student leadership capacity increased after college entry. After controlling for pre-college experiences and structural characteristics, various college experiences of curricular learning, cocurricular learning, and interpersonal interaction persisted as significant factors affecting student leadership capacity across genders. College experiences of class skipping and campus residence demonstrated different effects than those found in the Western literature. Comparative results of male and female students in various contexts detected using a statistical method and criteria demonstrated that, in the case of Taiwanese college students, both genders were similarly affected by their college experiences as far as leadership capacity is concerned.

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Acknowledgments

The author is indebted to two anonymous reviewers for their insightful and valuable comments.

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  1. Department of Education Policy and Administration, Faculty of Education, National Chi Nan University, 1, University Road, Puli, 545, Nantou, Taiwan, ROC

    Ching-Ling Wu

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Wu, CL. Effects of college experiences on male and female student leadership capacity in Taiwan. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 12, 641–652 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-011-9162-0

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