The Relationship between Leadership Development and Critical Thinking Skills

The primary purpose of this correlational study was to explain the relationship between discipline specific critical thinking skills and leadership training and experiences of selected FFA youth leaders. Researcher-developed measures of critical thinking skills and leadership were used to discover low, but positive relationships between critical thinking skills and each leadership variable of leadership training, leadership experience, and total leadership score. The relationship between leadership training and Evaluation and Total Critical Thinking Skill was significant. Similarly, the relationship between leadership experiences and Analysis and Total Critical Thinking Skill was significant. Finally, the relationship between combined leadership score and Analysis, Evaluation, and Total Critical Thinking Skill was also significant. Recommendations include more student exposure to formal teaching and training in leadership, more research to substantiate the connection between leadership and critical thinking, and more encouragement for students to be more active in non-formal activities.