Purcell, Jennifer W.

English

North Georgia College & State University: Digital Commons

Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship
Volume 9 | Issue 1 Article 15
May 2016
Book Review | Book Advances Theory and
Evidence-Driven Design and Redesign of
Community Leadership Development Programs
Jennifer W. Purcell
Kennesaw State University
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Recommended Citation
Purcell, Jennifer W. (2016) "Book Review | Book Advances Theory and Evidence-Driven Design and Redesign of Community
Leadership Development Programs," Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship: Vol. 9 : Iss. 1 , Article 15.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/jces/vol9/iss1/15
Vol. 9, No. 1 —JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND SCHOLARSHIP—Page 90
Book Advances Theory and Evidence-Driven Design and 
Redesign of Community Leadership Development Programs 
Review by Jennifer W. Purcell
Kennesaw State University
K. Pigg, S. Gasteyer, G. Martin, G. Apaliya, and K Keatings, Community Effects of Leadership 
Development Education: Citizen Empowerment for Civic Engagement. Rural Studies Series, Vol. 3. 
Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2015, 240 pages. ISBN-10:1940425581.
This volume is the product of a five-year 
collaborative study on the impact of community 
leadership development programs spanning six 
states. The book is the third volume of the Rural 
Studies Series sponsored by the Rural Sociological 
Society, and the research presented was funded 
in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 
National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The 
purpose of the book is to engender thoughtful 
theory and evidence-driven design and redesign 
of community leadership development programs. 
Organization and Content
The book’s nine chapters are organized into 
two parts. In Part I, the authors dedicate six 
chapters to the presentation of their analysis of data 
collected on community leadership development. 
In Chapter One, the authors provide a historical 
context of community leadership development 
(CLD). They define community-based programs 
as those that are (1) focused on community issues 
and needs; (2) organized and managed locally or 
by a community group; and (3) sponsored by local 
resources. Although CLD programs are diverse in 
their target audience, curriculum, delivery, and 
specific community-level outcomes, the authors 
contend the common element across programs 
is their goal to “increase local leaders’ capacity 
to improve the community’s well-being” (p. 21). 
The authors suggest investment in leadership 
development and capacity-building responds to 
observed deficits in the community. They contend 
current and future community leaders in smaller, 
rural communities have inadequate preparation to 
address the complexity of social factors impacting 
their communities. In closing Chapter One, the 
authors propose two significant reconsiderations 
for CLD. First, they suggest CLD program 
sponsors and practitioners examine evaluation 
strategies for how program outcomes for individual 
participants, organizations, and communities are 
achieved. Identifying how CLD achieves outcomes 
at various levels is critical to evaluating and 
improving programs. Second, the authors call for a 
conceptualization of leadership that moves beyond 
individual roles and talents to one that recognizes 
the collaboration and interaction through which 
leadership and leaders manifest. This conceptual 
view of leadership as a social process informs 
the learning intervention that is CLD and is the 
premise on which the study is built.
Chapter Two details the impact of CLD on 
individual participants. The key finding related 
to individual participants informed by data 
collected in 24 communities with CLD programs, 
or “treatment sites,” was respondents who 
participated in CLD programs had significant 
learning when compared to respondents who lived 
in counties without programs. CLD participation 
yields learning that is associated with measureable 
increased levels of civic engagement and enhanced 
social capital within communities. Chapter Three 
expands upon the impact of CLD on social capital 
by illustrating how involvement in community 
organizations is broadened and intensified among 
CLD participants. In Chapter Four, the authors 
utilize a modified application of Flora, Flora, 
and Fey’s (2003) community capitals framework 
to demonstrate the positive impacts of CLD on 
community development. 
Chapter Five addresses participant diversity, 
curriculum design, and community effects. The 
authors present data related to the six individual-
level outcomes of CLD identified in the study 
(Personal Growth and Efficacy, Community 
Commitment, Shared Future and Purpose, 
Community Knowledge, Civic Engagement, and 
Social Cohesion). In Chapter Six, the authors press 
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Purcell: Book Review | Book Advances Theory and Evidence-Driven Design and
Published by Nighthawks Open Institutional Repository, 2016
Vol. 9, No. 1 —JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND SCHOLARSHIP—Page 91
the core idea of the book: community leadership is 
about community change (p. 119). Their intent is 
to reveal strategies for CLD program improvement 
through empirical evidence. Chapter Six concludes 
Part I with a series of questions for practitioners 
and sponsors to consider as they design or redesign 
CLD offerings. 
Part II includes three chapters that address 
the implications of the research for practitioners 
and future research. In this section, the authors 
detail a conceptual framework for community 
leadership development that integrates existing 
literature and findings from their research. The 
authors first emphasize the individual motivations 
for developing community leadership capacities 
and the myriad expressions of civic engagement 
(Chapter Seven). The authors suggest civic 
engagement leverages individual capacities for 
leadership and builds upon networked, relational 
leadership within a community in order to 
influence positive change (Chapter Eight). 
Hence, developing individual leadership capacity 
is elemental to promoting civic engagement; 
however, such individual-level development is 
merely a first step in CLD. 
As demonstrated through the study, 
effective CLD interventions include curriculum 
that addresses individual, organizational, and 
community-level outcomes. Absence of any 
one of the three curricular outcomes is a missed 
opportunity to influence change and impact 
the community. The authors conclude with 
a discussion of a model of CLD informed by 
their research through which participants first 
attain and/or demonstrate (1) improved human 
capital self-efficacy and governance skills, (2) 
increased community commitment, (3) shared 
future and purpose, and (4) increased political 
knowledge (political capital). Based on the model, 
CLD participants then demonstrate increased 
social cohesion and ability to bridge networks 
and increased civic engagement. These CLD 
participant behaviors then result in enhanced civic 
infrastructure and community capacity that yield 
community-level awareness of responsiveness 
to social needs and the inevitable changing 
conditions experienced in communities.
Audience
The book is tailored for CLD practitioners, 
sponsors, and evaluators through its accessible 
theoretical literature, study design, and data 
analysis. The volume is valuable for researchers 
who will be impressed with the breadth of relevant 
citations and integration of multiple disciplinary 
literature bases. Additionally, the authors provide 
five sets of study questions throughout the text 
that would be helpful for structuring independent 
or group learning exercises for graduate students 
or as a means of professional development for 
community leadership development practitioners.
Conclusion
Community effects of leadership development 
education: Citizen empowerment for civic 
engagement is an essential read for anyone 
responsible for the design and evaluation of 
community leadership development programs. 
Although targeted program evaluations and 
assessment of participant learning exist, there 
is a dearth of empirical research on CLD effects 
on communities and the interplay between 
individual, organizational, and community-level 
outcomes. This much anticipated volume heralds 
a new era of scholarship and practice that engages 
interdisciplinary literature and empirical research 
to more critically and precisely explore the benefits 
of the vast investment in CLD. The authors are frank 
in their discussion of the research’s limitations; 
the factors influencing CLD outcomes are 
numerable and controls are challenging. Despite 
the acknowledged limitations of the research, this 
volume is a significant contribution to CLD. The 
research presented provides an unprecedented 
synthesis of literature and empirically based 
insights into the recruitment practices, curriculum 
design, and evaluation strategies of CLD. 
Furthermore, the volume is a welcomed summons 
for scholars and practitioners to build upon the 
recommendations contained therein and advance 
the design of community leadership development 
programs and the ways in which such programs’ 
outcomes and impacts are measured. 
The volume will also appeal to community 
engagement practitioners and community-engaged 
scholars who support and participate in university-
community partnerships. University-sponsored 
community engagement activities, including 
community-engaged scholarship, are championed 
for their positive impact on communities; 
however, comprehensive monitoring and 
measuring the varied impacts of these activities 
remains a challenge. Pigg and his colleagues 
challenge us to reconsider the design of programs 
intended to support leadership and community 
development. While the emphasis of their research 
addresses community leadership development 
specifically, there are implications for the diverse 
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Vol. 9, No. 1 —JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND SCHOLARSHIP—Page 92
array of university-community partnerships. For 
example, the authors address multiple program 
design elements: primary and secondary outcomes, 
sponsorship mobilization, collaborative learning, 
the political and value-laden nature of community-
engaged efforts, and diversity among participants 
among others.
The text may also encourage university 
leaders to reflect on the ways in which academic, 
co-curricular, and outreach programs meet 
their communities’ leadership development 
education needs. As representatives of anchor 
institutions that contribute to their communities’ 
sustainability and advancement, university leaders 
must carefully consider how and to what extent 
myriad initiatives individually and collectively 
impact participants and communities. Through 
this rigorous investigation, universities may 
more holistically illustrate their significance and 
demonstrate appropriate stewardship of the vast 
public and private investment in higher education.
The authors provide substantial insight into 
the effects of community leadership development 
programs; however, even they acknowledge their 
contribution falls short in providing a general 
theory of community leadership. Pigg and his 
colleagues provide a model of the effects of 
community leadership development programs 
on individuals and communities that, although 
limited, presents a more comprehensive conceptual 
framework for leadership development education. 
Their model synthesizes multiple disciplinary 
literatures related to civic leadership capacity 
and demonstrates the interconnectivity and 
complexity of community leadership development. 
Community effects of leadership development 
education: Citizen empowerment for civic 
engagement is crucial addition to the literature 
on community leadership development, civic 
engagement, and community capacity building 
that will advance the influence of citizen leaders in 
their communities. The volume is also a valuable 
resource for university leaders who advocate for 
campus-community partnerships and those whose 
work directly impacts such collaborations that are 
designed to have positive impacts on communities.
Acknowledgment
The editorial team of the Journal of 
Community Engagement and Scholarship would 
like to acknowledge and thank the West Virginia 
University Press for providing copies of the book 
for this review. 
About the Reviewer
Jennifer W. Purcell is an assistant professor 
of Leadership Studies and faculty consultant 
for community engagement at Kennesaw State 
University.
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Purcell: Book Review | Book Advances Theory and Evidence-Driven Design and
Published by Nighthawks Open Institutional Repository, 2016


Book Review | Book Advances Theory and Evidence-Driven Design and Redesign of Community Leadership Development Programs

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Book Review | Book Advances Theory and Evidence-Driven Design and Redesign of Community Leadership Development Programs

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