Comparison of Leadership Styles of University Students in Terms of Their Demographic Characteristics

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the Kurt Lewin’s leadership styles of college students and also to determine whether their leadership styles differ with their demographic characteristics or not. The participants were 384 students sampled from the total student population of Ondokuz Mayıs University in Turkey, based on Cochran’s sample size determination formula for categorical data collection instruments. Overall, 49.2% of the respondents were democratic leaders 34.9% were autocratic, and 15.9% were laissez-faire style leaders. The Chi-square test, conducted on the variables of leadership style and demographic characteristics of students, revealed significant effects of gender and parents' place of residence but was independent of other factors. Female respondents and respondents coming mostly from rural and suburban areas tended to be more democratic leaders in comparison with male respondents and respondents coming from more densely populated or metropolitan areas. The study suggests that similar researches should be conducted to determine the influence of leadership style on the performance of workers employed in different businesses in Turkey.

Keywords

• leadership
• leader
• leadership styles
• higher education
• student