Adolescent Identity Development and Leadership Development: A Collective Case Study Approach

This study examined the identity development of adolescents who attend a leadership development summer camp called BLAST. James Marcia's (1966) adolescent identity status paradigms can be a reflection in these experiences. The conceptual framework included these reflections along with theories and research findings about adolescent identity development. In both of these areas, I found lack of research. Robert Stake's (2006) protocols and guidelines for collective case study research were the methods I relied on for this study. For this study, I proposed two research questions: (1) how do adolescent participants describe their personal leadership development experiences at BLAST and (2) how do participants perceive the BLAST experience impacted their identity development? To answer these questions, I conducted semi-structured interviews of the participants and analyzed camp documents. Relying on In Vivo, values, and process coding along with direct interpretation, I analyzed these data to answer the research questions to understand how the participants of this leadership development camp experience identity development. From the analysis, some ideas were found. First, adolescents described their leadership development experience as a collaborative experience full of engaging and collaborative activities that improved their leadership abilities, namely communication skills. Secondly, the participants of this study acknowledged how they became more outgoing. Also, upon self-reflection of the overall experience, the participants all indicated some ideas that indicated positive identity development as defined by the theoretical framework.Chapter I: INTRODUCTION 2 -- Background 2 -- Statement of the Problem 5 -- Purpose of the Study 8 -- Research Questions 10 -- Significance of the Study 11 -- Assumptions and Delimitations 13 -- Definition of Terms 17 -- Summary 18 -- Chapter II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 19 -- Theoretical Framework 19 -- Adolescence and Identity Development 26 -- Adolescent Leadership Development 36 -- Summary 50 -- Chapter III: METHODOLOGY 52 -- Research Questions 52 -- Interview with a BLAST Participant Pilot Study 53 -- Research Design and Setting 54 -- Procedures 58 -- Methods of Analysis 69 -- Credibility and Validity 74 -- Summary 75 -- CHAPTER IV: SITE CONTEXT AND DESCRIPTION 76 -- Site Context 76 -- Camp Activities and Traditions 79 -- CHAPTER V: KATE 90 -- Profile of Participant 90 -- Summary of Participant Interviews 91 -- Profile of Group Leader 99 -- Summary of Family Group Leader Interview 100 -- Summary of Documents 104 -- Case Assertions 105 -- Conclusion 115 -- CHAPTER VI: LYNN 117 -- Profile of Participant 117 -- Summary of Participant Interviews 118 -- Summary of Family Group Leader Interview 128 -- Summary of Documents 130 -- Case Assertions 132 -- Conclusion 139 -- CHAPTER VII: NATE 141 -- Profile of Participant 141 -- Summary of Participant Interviews 143 -- Profile of Group Leader 156 -- Summary of Family Group Leader Interview 157 -- Summary of Documents 159 -- Case Assertions 162 -- Conclusion 171 -- CHAPTER VIII: CLARA 173 -- Profile of Participant 173 -- Summary of Participant Interviews 174 -- Profile of Family Group Leader 182 -- Summary of Family Group Leader Interview 183 -- Summary of Documents 186 -- Case Assertions 187 -- Conclusion 195 -- CHAPTER IX: CROSS CASE ASSERTIONS 197 -- Cross-Case Assertions 197 -- Quintain 214 -- CHAPTER X: DISCUSSION 218 -- Study Overview 218 -- Relationship Between the Findings and Research Questions 220 -- Connections Between BLAST and Leadership Development 231 -- Limitations 236 -- Recommendations 237 -- Implications for Future Research 241 -- Conclusion 243 -- REFERENCES 245 -- APPENDIX A: EMAIL INVITATION FOR POTENTIAL STUDY PARTICIPANTS 254 -- APPENDIX B: IRB PROTOCOL EXEMPTION REPORT 258 -- APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW GUIDE 1 260 -- APPENDIX D: INTERVIEW GUIDE 2 264 -- APPENDIX E: INTERVIEW GUIDE 3 267Hartsell, TaralynnFiester, HerbertDowney, StevenBochenko, Michael J.Ed.D.Education In Curriculum and Instructio