An Ethnographic Study on Undergraduate Business Students' Perceptions of Transformational Leadership Modeling in the Classroom

The focus of this qualitative study was to examine upper-division undergraduate business students' perceptions of their faculty as transformational leaders in the classroom. Their lived experiences were explored through the lens of 4 of the 10 domains of the Transformational Leadership Skills Inventory (TLSi) designed by Larick & White (2012). The four domains include problem-solving and decision-making, character and integrity, communication, and personal and interpersonal skills. These four domains reflect the characteristics that rate among the most highly desired skills of business leaders according to research reported by the Harvard Business Review. The upper-division business students were purposively chosen from one Christian university located in Northern California holding membership in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The researcher gathered and coded data from 13 individuals who participated in focus-group interviews and individual interviews. He also gathered and coded data obtained through classroom observations and student coursework artifacts. The conclusions showed students are experiencing Transformational Leadership. The implications include initiating faculty in-service training to maximize the impact through intentional classroom practices and faculty interaction, leading to student outcomes that support a full Transformational Leadership experience. Such practices involve training that equips the faculty to progress from education as transformation, to becoming leadership educators.