Curricular and non- Curricular factors impacting development of leadership competencies in undergraduate civil engineering and construction students

Abstract

The construction industry is experiencing challenges in developing specific and necessary competencies; leadership is one known deficiency. Other reasons, including rising complexity and the rapidly changing nature of construction projects, have called for improved leadership development in the construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to first identify and synthesize the curricular components (i.e., course experiences) and noncurricular factors (e.g., mentoring networks) that impact the development of leadership competencies for civil engineering and construction undergraduate students. A critical review and qualitative synthesis of the literature was employed to gather known components and factors relating to students' leadership development resulting from undergraduate coursework. Findings indicate that the curricular components and noncurricular factors impacting development of leadership competencies include course assignments and activities, course content (e.g., emphasis on the development of technical competencies versus development of emotional intelligence skills), access to resources (e.g., new technologies, guest speakers), and the ability to enroll in courses outside of required curriculum [e.g., courses that prepare student groups to participate in Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) annual competitions]. By using information provided in this study, future steps may be taken by faculty members to bridge and, in particular, improve their students' development of leadership competencies.