Research Proposal: Exploring the Connection between Greek-Life Involvement and Leadership

1

Running head: GREEK-LIFE INVOLVEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

Exploring the Connection between Greek-Life Involvement and Leadership

Emily T. Callahan and Katie C. Stephens

Loyola University Chicago

April 25, 2013

2

GREEK-LIFE INVOLVEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

Abstract

The researchers in this study will explore connections between Greek life and leadership

on the U.S. college campus. The literature review provides an overview and brief history of

Greek life and the potential for these groups to positively affect student development of members

and support leadership skills. Participants from a diverse sample of institutions will participate

in this study of mixed methodology involving the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale as the

quantitative component and individual interviews as the qualitative method.

Introduction

Sororities and fraternities have been a staple of the American Higher Education system

since their establishment back in 1776 (Mauk, 2006). However, from their initial establishment,

students and administrators alike have all demonstrated conflicting view points on these

organizations. Supporters of the Greek Life system continuously acknowledge the tradition,

potential of leadership opportunities, philanthropy and community service, and connections to a

strong mission and values; critics focus on the stereotypes of hazing, exclusionary tendencies,

binge drinking, and sexual assault (Mauk, 2006).

Nonetheless, the nine million American college students that affiliate with a sorority or

fraternity continue to be an appealing population to study (Glass, 2012). These organizations are

controversial in nature and often are highly visible on a college campus (Pascarella, Flowers &

Whitt, 2009). Furthermore, unlike studies that focus on one student population, sororities and

fraternities encompass a vast amount of identities. Therefore, studies on this population may

entail elements such as race, gender, sexual orientation, and previous life experiences. The

unique nature of these organizations continues to draw in various researchers. For this particular

3


study, this population is also appealing because some of the evidence found in the literature is

contradictory.

While studies of this population often include moral decision making, correlation of

membership and academic success, and sexual assault, there is a great deal of literature regarding

the effects of Greek-life membership on student development. Given the fact that a student

further along in their development process may ultimately have the competency to be a better

leader, it is important to use this literature as a framework when exploring leadership tendencies

of this population (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton & Renn, 2010).

Theory of Involvement and Psychosocial Development

Since the study is looking to study a population that is involved with activities on their

college campus, Astins theory of involvement provides a solid foundation (1984). Astin (1984)

defines a student with a high level of involvement as one who devotes considerable energy to

studying, spends much time on campus, participates actively in student organizations, and

interacts frequently with faculty members and other students (p. 518). Foubert and Grainger

(2006) took Astins (1984) theory of student involvement, and sought to understand how it

impacted students as described by Chickerings theory of psychosocial development (Evans et

al., 2010). This is particularly important, as psychosocial development entails pieces of

development that directly relate to leadership, including developing purpose, competence, and

integrity, as well as managing emotions (Evans et al., 2010). Each of these components, when

strongly developed, can build stronger levels of leadership. Foubert and Grainger (2006)

concluded that by the end of a students senior year, those involved in clubs and organizations

had statistically higher levels of development in establishing and clarifying purpose, educational

4


involvement, career planning, lifestyle management, and cultural participation than they had

earlier in their college career (Foubert & Grainger, 2006, p. 175). Most important, these students

also demonstrated higher levels of development than their peers that were not involved (Foubert

& Grainger, 2006).

Given the findings from Foubert and Grainger (2006), one may posit that since sorority

and fraternity members are members of groups that are typically highly involved on campus, that

they would be further developed and ultimately better leaders. However, this thought is based

off limited evidence, as this information focuses only on general involvement on campus, and

not specifically in Greek organizations. This data does not distinguish between these

organizations and other general clubs on campus. Furthermore, given the unique nature of

fraternities and sororities, it is not wise to assume they would apply similarly to this theory.

Pike (2000) conducted a study of the effects of fraternity and sorority life on student

development. He implied that Greek-life membership focused too highly on social involvement,

which he defined as involvement with clubs, involvement with campus residence, and peer

interaction, which ultimately had a negative effect on development (Pike, 2000, p. 123). Pike

(2000) stated without an appropriate balance of social involvement with academic involvement,

defined as use of the library, writing experiences, and faculty interaction, students may miss

out on developmentally beneficial co-curricular experiences (p. 122). Using this evidence,

fraternity and sorority life would not be a vehicle for positive growth in psychosocial

development, and ultimately the establishment of leadership.

Randall and Grady (1998) agreed with Pikes findings, as they stated that the

homogenous nature of sororities and fraternities hindered student development. Often, students

5


learn and develop through experiences with diverse people, ideas and situations. Therefore, in

frequent cases with heavy involvement with fraternities and sororities, students are not faced

with these elements and ultimately do not develop the skills necessary for strong leadership

(Randall & Grady, 1998). The implications from these findings are not necessarily applicable

for students of color, which is discussed later.

Studies Directly on Leadership

Martin, Hevel, and Pascarella (2012) explored the impact of sorority and fraternity life on

students socially responsible leadership. These researchers measured socially responsible

leadership of predominantly White students across 24 institutions using eight values. These

values included: consciousness of self, congruence, commitment, collaboration, common

purpose, controversy with civility, citizenship, and change (Martin et al., 2012). Martin et al.

(2010) determined that fraternity men scored higher in citizenship than non-members, and

sorority women scored higher in common purpose and citizenship. Dugan (2008) directed a

study which entailed solely of members of these groups and found that Greeks scored highest in

commitment, and lowest in change.

Both studies indicated that there is room for improvement in the Greek-system with

regards to this idea of socially responsible leadership (Martin et al., 2010; Dugan, 2008). The

prevalence of growth in the citizenship category is likely tied to the Greek-life propensities for

participation in philanthropy and community service (Martin et al., 2010). While these results do

indicate some positive effects that would distinguish the leadership capabilities for fraternity and

sorority members, there were still no distinctions between them and non-members in the majority

of the measured outcomes. Given the values of the organizations and the opportunities for

6


leadership, these areas should be further developed and recommendations for improvement

should be highlighted (Martin et al., 2010).

Limitations and Students of Color

The general findings in this literature is that Greek life seldom has an overall positive

impact on student growth, which leads to leadership capabilities; when it does have a

demonstrated impact on members versus non-members, it is limited (Martin et al., 2010; Pike,

2000; Foubert & Grainger, 2006). However, most of these studies have been conducted on either

a single institution, or on a group of institutions that are similar in demographics and geographic

location. Furthermore, the students in the study are always predominantly White. When

students of color are incorporated in the studies, the results have varied for these particular

individuals (Martin et al., 2010; Pike, 2000; Foubert & Grainger, 2006).

Therefore, it is important to consider if membership in sorority and fraternity life affects

students of color the same, or if their overall leadership tendencies and capabilities are different

from White students. Given these variations in study findings, Kimborough and Hutcheson

(1998) conducted a study of 1,400 Black students, half Greek and half non-Greek, equally

distributed between predominantly White institutions and historically Black institutions. The

study found that participation in sororities and fraternities resulted in overall higher levels of

involvement on campus. Black Greek-life members were inclined to not only be members of

multiple organizations on campus, but to also hold leadership positions, more so than their non-

member counterparts (Kimborough & Hutcheson, 1998).

Guardia and Evans (2008) explored membership in a Latino fraternity at a Hispanic

Serving Institution, studying seven members. They found that students felt a particular

7


connection with this organization because it served as a home away from home (Guardia and

Evans, 2008, p. 173). By being a part of this fraternity, members were able to practice their

Spanish language skills and feel immersed in their Latino culture.

McClure (2006) examined Black men in historically Black fraternities at a Predominantly

White institution, by interviewing 20 members. She found that these members felt a strong

connection to Black history, as the organization instilled racial pride. The students also

expressed the significance of their organizations vast history. As with most institutions where

the population is mostly White, students of color often struggle to find a place on campus.

However, these students reflected that they felt a connection to the campus community through

their membership in their fraternity (McClure, 2006). McClure (2006) also found that students

benefited from being connected to the alumni network of their fraternity, both for opportunities

during their college experience and beyond.

McClure (2006) stressed through her finding from this research study, although limited to

one organization as one institution, that on college campuses, the specific function of same-race

support groups, in the form of Greek organizations, must be understood as separate and unique

from traditionally white organizations they were initially modeled after (p. 1052). This is

evident through both McClures (2006) and Guardia and Evans (2008); students of color join a

multicultural Greek-organization to find a support system on campus. Therefore, given these

findings, along with Kimborough and Hutcheson (1998), it is probable that exploring the effects

of sorority and fraternity life on leadership would differ between white students and students of

color. In these cases, the findings from Randall and Grady (1998) are not applicable. These

researchers indicated that Greek-lifes homogenous populations kept students from facing

situations of dissonance, and overall hindered their development and leadership capacities.

8


However, students of color, especially of a predominantly white campus, are already facing

people, ideas, and situations that differ from themselves and their own, and therefore Greek-life

would not eliminate these experiences.

Implications for this Study

There is limited research that directly includes students from a variety of racial groups

and directly compares members and non-members of Greek organizations tendencies and

capacities for leadership. Furthermore, none of this previous research accounts for the

differences in types of institution, as this can particularly have an impact on students of color and

may drive them toward involvement.

While there are studies, though with skewed population samples, that specifically look at

research on this matter, it is not entirely comprehensive (Martin et al., 2010; Pike, 2000; Foubert

& Grainger, 2006). There are studies that attempt to measure students leadership capacity, and

there are studies that look at Greek-life members involvement in other organizations, but there

is limited research that explores the connections between these two ideas. These studies could be

more comprehensive if they ultimately determined the number of organizations and leadership

positions those students held, and if these circumstances are in fact linked or not linked to

involvement with sorority and fraternity life. Even if Greek-affiliated students both measure

higher on the socially responsible leadership scale, and indicate that they are involved with more

organizations overall, there is no way of knowing if this is due to their membership in these

groups.

Therefore, this research study will address the following questions: do students involved

with sorority and fraternity measure higher in their leadership capacity than their non-affiliated

9


peers? Are members of these organizations more involved in other groups on campus, and hold

more leadership positions than non-Greeks? Both of these previous two questions will be

addressed while considering if there is a link between the two. Lastly, do students that are

already highly developed and involved leaders choose to join Greek- life, or does Greek-life

promote leadership and ultimately leader to more involvement on campus? Given that Greek-

life, in previous studies, has not turned out to be an advantage to development, it is quite

probable that the former is the more common case (Martin et al., 2010; Pike, 2000; Foubert &

Grainger, 2006). Also given the literature, it is likely that students of color will score higher in

their measures of leadership capacity (McClure, 2006; Guardia & Evans, 2008).

Methodology

After reviewing past studies conducted separately on leadership in higher education and

Greek affiliation, it has been determined that both qualitative and quantitative methods have been

used successfully (Martin et al., 2010; Pike, 2000; Foubert & Grainger, 2006). A quantitative

measure of leadership positions among all students on a college campus (members and non-

members of fraternity and sorority life) will be the first component of data collection and the

Socially Responsible Leadership Scale (SRLS) will be the instrument used (Martin et al., 2010;

Dugan, 2008). As mentioned previously, the SRLS measures eight dimensions of leadership:

consciousness of self, congruence, commitment, collaboration, common purpose, controversy

with civility, citizenship and change (Martin et al., 2010). The SRLS is conducted in the form of

a questionnaire and contains skill statements that participants answer to determine their score.

Sample statements for the measure of commitment include, I stick with others through the

difficult times and I can be counted on to do my part (Wedel, Goodman, Chen, &

Wingenbach, 2011, p. 8). The participant answers the statements using Likert-type scales (i.e. 1

10


= Strongly Disagree, 4 = Strongly Agree) and the answers in each dimension are added to

determine the participants self-perceived leadership skills (Wedel et al., 2011). Additionally,

because of the limitations associated with self-report and the fact that the definition of leadership

will be relative to each participant, the qualitative component in this study will assist in helping

to draw conclusions and make correlations between leadership and Greek affiliation.

Participants

Participants of this study will come from a variety of institutions across the United States

and the goal amount of institutions to be included is 20, ensuring that all demographics are

included. The variety of institutions refers to institution by means of: population size; the racial

population that is served by the institution (Historically Black College/University, Hispanic-

Serving Institution, Asian Pacific American campuses, and Predominately White Institution) and

the geographical location of the institutions campus. Given the information from McClure

(2006) students of color are particularly drawn to joining fraternities and sororities on

Predominantly White campuses, as they desire a powerful support system in an environment

where they strongly feel the impact of being the minority. Therefore, since the campus

environment can have an impact on a students motivation to join these organizations, and

ultimately may enable to organization to have a different impact on them, this study will explore

these varieties of institutions. Furthermore, given the fact that past studies have indicated

different results between White and students of color involved in Greek-life, this study will

carefully incorporate each of these identities. The participants surveyed will be in their fourth

year at the institution, assuming that they are more fully developed in their principles and

philosophies on leadership than younger students. From the institutions selected to participate in

11


this study, 50% of the student participants will be Greek affiliated and 50% of the student

participants will be non-Greek affiliated.

Instruments

The first phase of the study will be conducted in a quantitative manner as a way to guide

the qualitative data collection. The SRLS and a brief demographic survey will be sent to

potential participants at each institution. The brief demographic survey will be a part of the same

document as the SRLS and serve the purpose of identifying students based on their non-

Greek/Greek affiliation status and if they are affiliated, they will indicate when they joined their

schools chapter. The SRLS will be sent via electronic mail to all students on each campus in

their fourth year of undergraduate study with the knowledge that not all of the potential

participants will respond or wish to participate in the study. During this initial contact, students

will also receive a letter to explain the basic premise of the study, why they were chosen as

potential participants, and contact information of the researchers for any additional questions the

students may have.

After the data is reviewed from the SRLS, the researchers will select students from each

campus to invite for interviews to collect qualitative data for the study. Each campus will have

six representatives in the interview process, each scoring differently on the SRLS; two

individuals that scored at the top of the scale, two that fell in the middle, and two at the bottom of

the spectrum. From each of those classifications there will be one Greek-affiliated student and

one non-Greek affiliated student; the demographic survey questions will serve to provide that

information on affiliation for the selection process.

Procedure

12


The SRLS will be distributed to all fourth year students at the 20 institutions that have

been selected as a representative sample of colleges and universities in the United States. A

deadline for return of the SRLS will be set for two weeks after it is distributed. To encourage

student participation in this portion of the study, an incentive of a raffle for a $25 gift card to the

campus bookstore will be offered on each campus for students who complete the SRLS within

the given time. Once the data is collected and analyzed, the six students will be selected to be

invited for interviews from each campus. In doing this we have the same amount of

representatives from each institution and will have representations from all types of leaders, both

Greek affiliated and non-Greek affiliated.

The interview process will be conducted on an individual basis in order to avoid

stereotyping that could be possible if the interviews were conducted by the focus group method.

Potential participants in this process will receive a detailed briefing on the qualitative data

collection portion in which they are being invited to participate that will be written in a way that

is clear and concise for their understanding. If students decline the invitation for an interview,

the researchers will then invite other potential participants that fit the same criteria, and this

process will be repeated until six participants are found from each institution. An informed

consent form will be provided to the students to make them aware that although their potential

for harm will be extremely low, there is the slight possibility that they will be made

uncomfortable from the probing nature of an interview, but that they have the power to decline

continuing with the interview at any point of the interview session. Interviews are projected to

last between 45 and 60 minutes, but this timeframe is tentative and relevant to the students

openness to discuss, which may alter the length of the sessions. Sample questions that may be

asked during the interview include:

13


What types of leadership positions do you hold on campus? Could you describe

them in detail?

Did you hold leadership positions during your secondary education experience?

If so, please elaborate on those and indicate if the experiences guided your

choices during your undergraduate experience.

(For Greek affiliated participants): Why did you decide to join a sorority or

fraternity?

Did Greek-life influence your desire to be involved in other organizations on

campus? Does your sorority/fraternity provide any tools for helping members

build leadership skills?

(For non-Greek affiliated participants): Did you have specific reasons as to why

you did not join a sorority or fraternity?

Data Analysis

The first set of data to be analyzed will be the quantitative data collected from the SRLS.

The sum of the scores from each dimension on a participants response will be compared with all

of the other questionnaires that are returned to the researchers. Average scores will be generated

from each institution to determine which six participants will be invited for the qualitative

portion of the study. From the interviews, the researchers hope to find themes among the various

conversations that will correlate with the leadership data to draw conclusions on the topic of

Greek affiliation and student leaders. These themes, or lack thereof, will be the guiding

principles in determining if the proposed hypotheses were proven valid or not.

Threats to Validity

14


The threats to validity that this study will face are the reliance on participants to self-

report their leadership capabilities, as well as the fact that the definition of leadership is

subjective. Cultural variance across the U.S. and from each institution is also a factor to consider

as these values may shape opinions of participants and interpretations of the study. Furthermore,

both of the researchers in this study are affiliated with a Greek organization. Given this fact, the

potential for researcher bias is increased. Therefore, it will be crucial in the interview portion of

the study to utilize the participant feedback technique, to ensure that the researchers did not have

a skewed perception of the information shared by the students (Johnson & Christensen, 2010).

15


References

Astin, A.W. (1999). Student involvement: a developmental theory for higher education.

development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd

ed.). San Francisco, CA:

Directions for Student Services, 81, 29-37.

Dugan, J. P. (2008). Exploring relationships between fraternity and sorority membership and

socially responsible leadership, Oracle: The Research Jounal of the Association of

Fraternity Advisors, 3(2), 16-25.

Evans, N., J. Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Student

experiences and cognitive development. Research in Higher Eduaction, 41(1), 117-139.

Foubert, J. D., & Grainger, L. U. (2006). Effects of involvement in clubs and organizations on

the psychosocial development of first-year and senior college students. NASPA Journal,

43(1), 166-182.

Glass, S. (2012). Examining the benefits of Greek life. USA Today College. Retrieved from:

http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/campuslife/examining-the-benefits-

of-greek-life

Guardia, J. R., & Evans, N. J. (2008). Factors influencing the ethnic identity development of

Latino fraternity members at a Hispanic serving institution. Journal of College Student

Development, 49(3), 163-181.

Johnson, R. B. & Christensen, L. (2010). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and

Jossey-Bass.

16


Journal of College Student Development, 40(5), 518-529.

Kimborough, W.M. & Hutcheson, P.A. (1998). The impact of membership in Black Greek-letter

organizations on black students involvement in collegiate activities and their

development of leadership skills. Journal of Negro Education, 67(2), 96-105.

Martin, G. L., Hevel, M. S., & Pascarella, E. T. (2012). Do fraternities and sororities enhance

socially responsible leadership? Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 49(3),

267-284.

Mauk, A. J. (2006). Students in Greek letter organizations. In L. A. Gohn & G. R. Albin (Eds.),

McClure, S. M. (2006). Voluntary association membership: Black Greek men on a

mixed approaches (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Sage Publications.

Pike G. R. (2000). The influence of fraternity or sorority membership on students college

Predominantly White Campus. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(6), 1036-1057.

Randall, K., & Grady, D. (1998). The Greek experience and critical-thinking skills. New

Understanding College Student Populations: A Guide for Student Affairs Professionals

(239-265). National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

Wedel, L.R., Goodman, A.C., Chen, W., & Wingenback, G. (2011). Differences in Fraternal

Organization Members Self-perceived Leadership Growth Levels. Research in Higher

Education Journal, 12. 1-13.

Documents

Research Proposal: Exploring the Connection between Greek-Life Involvement and Leadership