Creating Leaders: A Pilot SoTL Study of an Ontological/Phenomenological Leadership Course

This paper presents the results of a pilot SoTL study re: a non-traditional leadership course delivered in three sections of a foundational General Education course at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada in 2016-17. This non-traditional course focuses explicitly on ontological change (a change in way of being) rather than epistemological change (a change in knowledge or skill sets). The project aimed at two goals: to replicate a pre- and post-course questionnaire study (Carney, Jensen, Ballarini, Echeverria, Nettleton, Stillwell, & Erhard, 2016) and to attempt to surface possible evidence of ontological change (change in ways of being). The pre- and post-course questionnaires replicated the Carney et al. study. Narrative data also indicates some change in self-perception of leadership capacities. These results suggest opportunities for considering moving beyond the dominant epistemological educational paradigm to explore the potential of ontological approaches to learning, at least in the arena of leadership development.