Perceptions of leadership qualities among journalism students with different levels of academic performance.

Shtyrev Mikhail Mikhailovich ORCID: 0000-0003-0456-1828 Postgraduate student; Department of Psychology and Pedagogy; Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education 'Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia' Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6, Moscow, 117198, Russia mshtyrev@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Bashkin Evgenii Bronislavovich PhD in Psychology Head of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba 117198, Russia, Moscow, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6 bashkin-eb@rudn.ru Other publications by this author

Relevance

The phenomenon of leadership has long been central to psychology, sociology, pedagogy, and management. The modern understanding of leadership goes beyond the formal hierarchy, representing a dynamic and contextually dependent interaction between an individual and a group. In academic literature, leadership is increasingly viewed as a process mediated by the values, attitudes, and personal qualities of an individual capable of inspiring, organizing, and guiding a team to achieve common goals.

Primary social roles are being formed within the student environment, and communication and organizational skills are being intensively developed. It is in university teams that stable ideas about what a leader should be and what qualities he should possess begin to develop. These ideas turn out to be significant for the further professional adaptation of students, as well as influence their participation in academic, volunteer, cultural and political initiatives.

The study of factors influencing the perception of leadership among students is of particular interest to educators, administrators, and developers of educational programs. One of these factors is academic performance, which can act as an indicator of personal organization, motivation level, ability to introspect and strategic planning. The hypothesis of this study is that students' academic performance correlates with their preferences in choosing leadership qualities and self-assessment of leadership potential.

A theoretical review of the research

Summarizing theoretical and methodological approaches, T.Y. Bazarov and A.F. Gasimov highlight the importance of a stylistic approach to leadership in conditions of uncertainty and change. The authors emphasize the need to adapt leadership behavior to the cognitive and creative characteristics of the group members, which is especially important for the humanities ^[1].

A number of works emphasize that the development of students' leadership potential is an important condition for their successful professional and social adaptation. For example, V.N. Lutoshkina, V.A. Davydov and Yu.L. Vysochina interpret leadership qualities as a component of a personal resource that is actualized through participation in educational and socio-cultural practices, including student self-government and project activities ^[15]. P.A. Kuchina adheres to similar positions, emphasizing the importance of extracurricular activities as an environment for the formation of leadership competencies, as well as the integration of these processes into the structure of educational work at the university ^[13].

An original approach to leadership development is presented in the work of A.A. Kantysheva, which reveals the possibilities of developing leadership skills in the process of learning a foreign language. The author suggests a classification of explicit and implicit techniques aimed at developing communication skills, responsibility, and decision-making skills ^[10]. In turn, E.S. Miller addresses the analysis of the psychoemotional state of a leader as a factor determining the effectiveness of his behavior, and substantiates the importance of emotional intelligence and stress tolerance for maintaining a leadership position ^[16]. The value of civic and patriotic education in becoming a socially responsible leader is revealed in the work of N.V. Gruver, which shows how students' participation in volunteer and project activities forms their leadership attitudes and skills ^[9].

Summarizing the presented research, it can be argued that the problem of the formation and manifestation of leadership qualities in students is considered in modern science as an interdisciplinary phenomenon covering pedagogical, psychological and socio-cultural aspects. Researchers agree that college age is a sensitive period for the development of leadership potential, during which cognitive, communicative and volitional personality characteristics are activated. Special attention is paid to the connection of leadership attitudes with academic performance, extracurricular activities, psycho-emotional stability and value orientations. Thus, the analysis of scientific literature confirms the relevance of studying the ideas about the leadership qualities of journalism students with different levels of academic achievement as a significant area of modern psychological science.

Methodological foundations and organization of empirical research

The present study was conducted as part of the author's dissertation project devoted to the study of value-semantic predictors of leadership among students. The purpose of the specific stage presented in this article was to identify differences in the perceptions of leadership qualities among journalism students with different levels of academic achievement. The methodological design of the study was based on the principles of an integrated approach combining both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis.

The empirical part used the methods of questionnaires, ranking, in-depth interviews, as well as methods of comparative analysis and categorization. The study took place in three stages. At the first stage, an author's questionnaire was developed, aimed at identifying students' ideas about the phenomenon of leadership and preferences for significant leadership qualities. The questionnaire included 13 questions, of which ten were focused on identifying behavioral indicators of leadership attitudes, and three on ranking key qualities that determine students' leadership potential. The questionnaire included both closed and open-ended questions, which made it possible to collect both structured and free statements from respondents. The study was conducted in an online format using the Simple Forms platform, which provided uniform conditions and convenient access to materials for participants.

The research sample was formed based on the preliminary results of the author's dissertation project, which involved 677 students of various fields of study. The study was conducted on the basis of the Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) institution of higher education. Only journalism students (a total of 131 people) were selected for the presented stage, since they had previously recorded the most pronounced structure of value-semantic predictors relevant to modern leadership ^[21]. According to the criterion of the average academic score for the first two years of study, 66 students were selected from them, divided into three groups: high, medium and low academic achievement. Thus, the level of academic achievement was used as an external objective criterion for conducting a comparative analysis of ideas about leadership qualities.

At the second stage, participants were asked to rank ten leadership qualities determined by the researcher in importance: creativity, persuasiveness, self-control, adaptability, organizational thinking, sociability, empathy, result orientation, reflexivity and patriotism. The students also indicated which three qualities from the list they consider the least significant for a modern leader. The results made it possible to identify the hierarchy of importance of leadership qualities among students and to statistically assess the differences in the severity of the variables leader/follower by subgroups among students with high and low academic achievement according to the U-Mann-Whitney criterion.

The final stage of the study was qualitative in nature. In-depth interviews were conducted using the STAR competence model (Situation, Task, Action, Result), which allows us to record specific behavioral manifestations of leadership qualities in real situations. Three students from different academic performance groups participated in the interview. The interviews were conducted in an individual format and recorded both a meaningful understanding of leadership and ways to implement it in the educational environment. The data obtained became the basis for an additional interpretation of the quantitative analysis results and made it possible to clarify the subjective reasons for choosing certain leadership qualities.

Thus, the methodological logic of the research was based on the consistent implementation of complementary methods that provide both a broad measurement of ideas about leadership and an in-depth analysis of their semantic and behavioral structure. The complexity of the applied methods made it possible to reliably record differences in the preferences and attitudes of students with different levels of academic achievement, as well as to reconstruct the specifics of their leadership behavior in the educational context.

Discussion of the results

The relevance of the study of students' views on the image of a leader is explained by the formation of collective ideas about leadership qualities and typical leadership behavior during interactions within the student environment. These stable images ensure consensus in the assimilation of group norms and values, contributing to a more effective performance of leadership functions. Students' shared ideas of leadership further facilitate their entry into a professional team, allowing them to quickly join a group due to the unity of the system of values, norms and practices.

Based on the literature studied, an author's questionnaire was formed, the purpose of which was to identify differences in students' views on leadership and leadership qualities. The final questionnaire included 13 questions, of which: 10 questions allowed to determine the difference in understanding the phenomenon of leadership, 3 questions were devoted to the selection of the most important, in the opinion of students, leadership qualities.

Let's look at the rationale for the first 10 questions included in the questionnaire.:

Question #1 suggests that students who have already started working in the professional field are more likely to show leadership qualities. This is primarily due to the development of versatility and responsibility among students due to the need to study well and at the same time gain professional experience ^[6]. Question number 2. Any hobby or hobby requires additional time and effort on the part of the student, which also greatly affects not only the development of personal functionality, but also his creativity. Moreover, young people often find friends and like-minded people in interest groups ^[5]. Question number 3. Extracurricular activities effectively contribute to the formation and development of students' social competence, as they have the conditions for self-disclosure, self-realization of the student's personality, and help to form the following competencies: teamwork, managerial skills, and conflict-free communication skills ^[3]. Thus, students who participate in the extracurricular life of the university have a better chance of achieving leadership status in the team. Question No. 4 touches on the sociometric theory of measuring interpersonal relationships and it was decided to directly ask students about their relationships in the team. The student environment determines both the formal position of the young leader (headman) and the actual strength of the position in a particular student group (the soul of the collective, the one who is listened to). Positive relationships between students make it possible to achieve joint goals more effectively ^[18]. Question number 5 allows students to decide for themselves whether they are leaders, whether they see themselves in this role. A potential leader needs to have confidence in himself and his abilities, and know how to place himself in the team. It is worth noting that in the context of question No. 6, "punctuality" is not considered as a hallmark of leadership. A potential leader in the student environment can be determined due to the developed temporary competence, which includes the ability to appear on time at all classes and meetings ^[12]. In question No. 7, students were asked to choose one of two options in the dichotomy of master and slave. Those who are consciously ready to define and set goals in the student body are already proving themselves as leaders. In the framework of question No. 8, it is assumed that the youth leader has a certain confidence in his abilities and has an idea of his future, what steps need to be taken to achieve his goals. Question No. 9 suggests that a young person needs to develop skills of temporary competence on the way to achieving leadership status in the student body ^[2]. Conscious planning of your personal and professional schedule at a young age contributes to the development of other leadership skills. Question No. 10 is justified by the presence of such a leadership quality as "patriotism". In the current foreign policy conditions of the state's development, patriotic leaders will have more unifying motivational attitudes with like-minded people in the student body ^[19].

The next group of questions in the author's questionnaire is aimed at verifying the proposed leadership qualities of journalism students. Initially, 10 leadership qualities were selected, among them: creativity, persuasiveness, self-control, adaptability, organizational thinking, sociability, empathy, focus on results, reflexivity, patriotism.

Additionally, in question No. 11, to test the importance of leadership qualities, journalism students were asked to rank a list of 10 personal qualities on a 10-point scale, where 1 is the most important leadership quality and 10 is the least important leadership quality. After analyzing the results, a rating list of leadership qualities was obtained based on the average score (Table 1).

Table 1 - Respondents' ranking of the most important leadership qualities (N=66)

In the framework of this study, those leadership qualities that have an average score below or equal to 5 points are considered important, according to students. The selection of qualities is aimed at highlighting those characteristics that are perceived by students as significant in the context of leadership.

Based on the overall rating analysis of the importance of leadership qualities, it can be argued that qualities such as adaptability (M – 6.53), reflexivity (M – 7.48) and patriotism (M – 8.35) are not important for a leader, according to students. This conclusion can be drawn due to the strong gap between the scores for the qualities empathy (M – 5.00) and adaptability (M – 6.53). The rest of the leadership qualities can be called important for a leader, according to the students, as they received a rating score below or equal to the average of 5 points.

At the same time, it is important to note that there is a difference in the assessment of leadership qualities among students with different levels of academic achievement. Our study examines in detail only those results where the difference in leadership ratings is more than 1 point. This approach allows us to identify more significant and significant differences in grades between students with different academic achievements.

Students with low academic achievement score higher for leadership qualities such as "organizational thinking" and "results orientation" compared to their high-achieving counterparts. These indicators may be explained by the fact that students with low academic achievement have a higher appreciation for the pragmatic aspects of leadership related to effectiveness and achievement of final results. It is likely that for this group of students, an important factor in leadership skills is the ability to organize and coordinate work processes, as well as the desire to achieve specific results.

On the other hand, high-achieving students may prioritize other aspects of leadership, such as creative thinking, strategic vision, or the ability to inspire a team. These students may be inclined to develop a broader range of leadership characteristics beyond operational effectiveness.

In particular, students with high academic performance give a higher assessment of the qualities of "empathy" and "patriotism" compared to their colleagues with low academic performance. Such differences can be explained by different perceptions of the role of a leader in the context of the student environment. High-achieving students may value the social and moral aspects of leadership more. For them, empathy becomes an important mechanism for understanding and interacting with the world around them. At the same time, patriotism can be associated with the active participation of students in educational and extracurricular initiatives, which contributes to the formation of a sense of belonging to society and the country.

In question No. 12, the journalism students were asked to select the three least important leadership qualities from a list of the same 10. After analyzing the results, a rating list of leadership qualities was obtained based on the principle of the least number of responses received (Table 2).

Table 2 - Respondents' ranking of the most important leadership qualities (N=66)

A total of 198 answers were received to this question (66 students chose 3 options each). According to the students, adaptability (51 responses), patriotism (54 responses), and reflexivity (58 responses) are superfluous in this list of leadership qualities. The rest of the leadership qualities received much fewer responses (a total of 35 responses for 7 qualities). Based on this indicator, it can be argued that the other seven leadership qualities are more important in representing students.

There is also a difference in the assessment of leadership qualities among students with different levels of academic achievement. There is still a tendency that students with low academic achievement value the qualities of "organizational thinking" and "results orientation" more than students with high academic achievement. At the same time, "sociability" is added to this list as a more sought-after quality among students with low academic performance. These indicators indicate that these students may strive to improve their status by trying to be more sociable and attractive to others. This can compensate for the lack of academic success and create additional sources of support.

A comparative analysis of the responses showed that the least important quality among students with low academic achievement is "patriotism", while students with high academic achievement consider this quality to be more important for a leader. One possible explanation for this difference may be the focus of students with low academic achievement on learning tasks and attempts to improve academic performance. In an environment where students face learning difficulties, their priorities may be focused on improving academic outcomes, and issues of patriotism may not seem so important. On the other hand, students with high academic performance may be more focused on increasing their level of involvement in civil society. Perhaps they see an additional value in patriotism, contributing to a broader and more complex perception of the personality of a modern leader.

After analyzing the respondents' answers to open question No. 13, the most popular answers were selected: efficiency, hard work, charisma, responsibility, determination, media personality.

All the leadership qualities mentioned by the journalism students correlate in one way or another with the original list proposed by the researcher, except for one quality – media personality. The online space plays an important role for modern students, almost everyone maintains a public page on social networks. A student leader can influence his audience through informative or engaging content from his personal page. Moreover, modern students organize joint projects in the information space, inspired by the experience of more famous bloggers ^[20]. Most likely, it is precisely these factors that are associated with the popularity of such leadership qualities as media among journalism students.

At the qualitative stage, three people with different levels of academic achievement (high, medium, and low) were selected from among the students who participated in all stages of the empirical study. An in-depth interview was conducted with each of them about the leadership qualities and professional competencies necessary for a modern student to achieve leadership status.

It is proposed to conduct an interview on competencies (CBI) within the framework of the STAR model ^[22]. The STAR model is the situation/Task faced by the student; the actions taken by the student; the result, the outcome of the situation. This interviewing model makes it possible to fully reveal students' ideas about the importance of the proposed leadership qualities.

The results obtained during the interview in the format of "complete behavioral examples" from the experience of a student journalist will allow us to compare the results of the study and justify the choice of leadership qualities. All information about the participating students is hidden, and the decryption results are represented by code values: student WU (high academic achievement), student SU (average academic achievement), student NU (low academic achievement).

General conclusions based on the results of work with each of the respondents:

Student "WU" (high academic performance) – the interview with the student lasted 23 minutes. The conversation was productive, the respondent answered all the questions, spoke confidently and was consistent in his rhetoric. The student rarely used the pronoun "I", much more often he turned to the pronoun "We". The respondent gave an example of different situations from his academic practice and extracurricular life. During the conversation, it became clear that the student not only considers himself the leader of the team, but also feels responsible for all members of his team. The proposed leadership qualities were approved and supported by the student. The respondent described the development of this set of qualities as a simple but necessary way to achieve leadership status in the team.

Student "SU" (average academic performance) – the interview with the student lasted 44 minutes. The conversation was productive and very active, the respondent answered all the questions, spoke confidently and was consistent in his rhetoric. The student used both pronouns "I" and "We" equally, emphasizing his current leadership role in the team. The respondent gave an example of different situations from his academic practice and extracurricular life. During the conversation, it became clear that the student not only considers himself the leader of the team, but also strives to increase his influence. The proposed leadership qualities were approved and supported by the student. Moreover, the respondent argues that leadership skills need to be developed on an ongoing basis, regardless of the success of the activity.

Student "NU" (low academic performance) – the interview with the student lasted 17 minutes. The conversation was very monotonous and passive, the student answered all the questions. The student constantly used the pronoun "I" in an attempt to explain his strategies for distancing himself from the team. Several examples of learning tasks were given. During the conversation, it became clear that the respondent is a follower, not the leader of his educational team. The proposed leadership qualities were approved and supported by the student. The respondent emphasized that he would like to see these qualities in the leader of his team.

It is necessary to analyze the individual results of interviewing student journalists on the subject of interrelations with the research of domestic scientists and key indicators of our empirical research. The WU student talked more about the interrelationships in the team and the need for the leader's constant intervention in resolving interpersonal conflicts, which strongly affect the effectiveness of the working group. The student emphasized that as the team leader for the educational project, he was constantly active in communication and felt positive feedback. At the same time, the NU student, in the process of telling about one of the learning tasks, said that he preferred to do all the work on the project for another student, as he tried to avoid unnecessary communication (reminders of the need for timely delivery, joint discussions). The student emphasized that the distancing strategy is a priority in cases of a conflict atmosphere in the team. Thus, it can be argued that students with low academic performance have communication characteristics biased towards introspection, and vice versa, the higher their academic performance, the more extroversion is developed.

During the discussion of the leadership quality "focus on results", the students of "WU" and "SU" talked about situations where they encountered something new that caused a feeling of uncertainty and fear. Internal motivation and building a step-by-step implementation strategy made it possible to overcome negative emotions, and as a result, to internalize important life attitudes towards foresight and determination. Only the NU student reported that the degree of novelty of the learning task could negatively affect the motivation to achieve the goal. The fear of the unknown often shackles students, primarily due to the lack of clear prospects for obtaining a positive result. These indicators are supported by research on the impact of goal setting on students' academic performance. Students who participated in goal setting and strategic planning demonstrated higher academic performance, measured by the number of average scores ^[8].

The ability to create a friendly atmosphere in a team is an important aspect of training modern specialists ^[4], which raises the question of the relevance of studying the features of interpersonal relationships among university students with different levels of academic achievement. During the analysis of the interview results with the students of WU and SU, it became obvious that qualities such as sociability and empathy are strongly interrelated and very important for modern students. During the conversation, the students repeatedly referred to these qualities in matters of establishing a psychological climate in the team. At the same time, the NU student argued that distancing tactics make it possible to better survive the crisis period in the team. Based on the results obtained, it can be argued that students with high and average academic achievement are more sociable, strive to take a leadership position, and are in the center of attention than their peers with low academic achievement, and the psychological climate in the team plays a crucial role in the success of learning ^[11].

Some conclusions of the qualitative stage of the study are confirmed by the results of the work of many Russian scientists, among which it is important to note the works of I.D. Goloveshkin and N.V. Goloveshkina. According to the researchers, well-performing students with a high level of social activity are characterized by a high level of development of communicative qualities, a developed sense of empathy, an adequate level of self-esteem, as well as a focus on success ^[7]. Students with a low level of social activity and academic performance are characterized by a low level of empathy, communication skills, as well as a certain tendency to motivation for failure.

Based on the results of the qualitative research stage and the applicant's personal teaching experience, it can be assumed that some of the students do not have a clear understanding of the content of professional competencies, and a number of significant ones have not been mastered at the proper level. Students' personal meanings are formed through the systematization of knowledge in the field of values, orientations, ideals, motives, that is, their worldview. The student's leadership potential can be activated in the process of educational and cognitive activity and should be considered as an integral and purposeful process. According to the researcher, it is necessary to introduce more communicative trainings into educational programs that will allow building a comfortable psychological climate in student groups. Training methods of working with past events: regression method, experience exchange method and simulation method. Training methods of dealing with events: the method of concentration of presence, the method of group reflection and the method of building dispositions. Training methods of working with predicted events: the method of symbolic expression and the method of group problem solving ^[14].

The main result of the training of modern student leaders is the willingness to adaptive management, the ability to creatively and professionally solve problems and tasks in the field of management, which includes the ability to choose the appropriate strategy and tactics depending on the situation, use emotional reinforcement and analyze data. The level of training of future leaders is determined by their achievements in academic activities, which serves as a prerequisite for professional competence and success in the future ^[17]. Moreover, the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods made it possible to clarify students' understanding of the leadership construct, which includes a set of important leadership qualities for a modern leader.

First of all, based on the analysis of general indicators, we identified comprehensive leadership constructs, and the difference in indicators between students with different levels of academic achievement allowed us to identify particular constructs of leadership.

Thus, at this stage of the study, seven leadership qualities were empirically identified that are most recognized as significant in students' perceptions, among them: organizational thinking, sociability, focus on results, persuasiveness, creativity, self-control, empathy.

In the minds of students with different levels of academic achievement, the demand for leadership quality may depend on the ability to achieve operational results in practice. For example, students with low academic achievement have a higher appreciation for the pragmatic aspects of leadership related to effectiveness and achievement of final goals, while students with high academic achievement understand the manifestation of leadership qualities as a long-term perspective, where mastering each of the leadership qualities can have a positive impact on the development of a professional career.

During the analysis of the results, it became obvious that, in the students' view, the effectiveness of a leader directly depends on the practice of applying leadership qualities such as organizational thinking, creativity, self-control and teamwork experience. Students with average and low academic performance often doubt their actions and decisions in the process of group work, while high academic performance leads to confidence in their own success and emotional self-control. Moreover, all the students spoke about the lack of knowledge about the specifics of practical development of the proposed leadership skills, which actualizes the request to compile a pool of recommendations in this study.

Based on the above, it can be determined that the manifestation of leadership qualities in the students' view is a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing a set of perceptions, characteristics and actions that they associate with the qualities and behavioral traits of a successful leader. These manifestations may include the ability to effectively coordinate work processes, sociability, focus on achieving final results, persuasiveness, creativity, self-control, and empathy in various situations. In a general sense, it reflects students' ideas about what makes a successful leader and what qualities are considered key in the context of leadership.

In order to clarify and validate the revealed research results, a detailed analysis of the results of the author's questionnaire was carried out. This questionnaire not only allows you to identify general ideas about leadership, but also differentiates the survey participants into leaders and followers. The results of the survey will confirm the existence of differences in perceptions of leadership and provide a deeper look at individual differences in perceptions of leadership. Special attention will be paid to comparing the results among students with high and low academic achievement. This approach will allow us to identify additional relationships between ideas about leadership and the external criterion of academic performance.

It is advisable to check the results of a survey of 66 journalism students using the Mann-Whitney U-test on the first 10 questions. To obtain the most valid results, only two groups of journalism students will be tested: those with high and low academic performance using the Jamovi v program.2.3.21.

Table 3 - Statistical evaluation of differences in the severity of leader/follower variables (10 questions) by subgroups of students with high and low academic performance according to the U-Mann-Whitney criterion (N=66)

Note. * p <0.05, ** p <0.01, *** p <0.001

Analyzing the results of Table 3, it can be argued that the responses of journalism students with different academic performance are very different. Note that there is a statistical difference between the answers to questions 3-5 and 7-9. In total, there is a significant difference in the answers to 6 out of 10 questions, which indicates the high validity of the empirical study.

It can be argued that there is a significant relationship between the level of student achievement and their self-assessment of leadership, as well as related aspects of goal setting and planning. In particular, students with a high level of academic achievement demonstrate a higher degree of self-esteem in leadership skills, which may reflect their confidence in their own abilities to influence others and take initiative in organizational situations. It is likely that successful academic work enhances a sense of competence and confidence in one's own abilities, which is reflected in the self-esteem of leadership. In addition, it was revealed that students with a high level of academic achievement tend to set goals and plan their lives more often. This may be due to the desire to achieve high results and to organize your time and efforts well. This behavior may also correlate with leadership traits, as purposefulness, planning, and organization are important attributes of leadership.

On the other hand, students with low academic achievement have a lower self-esteem of leadership and are more likely to choose to fulfill their goals and objectives. This is probably due to limited confidence in one's own abilities and lower motivation for active organizational roles. Perhaps such students tend to be more passive and may have difficulty setting clear goals and planning long-term strategies. At the same time, this study confirms the relationship between students' academic performance and their leadership characteristics, such as self-assessment of leadership, goal setting, and planning. These results emphasize the importance of individual characteristics and motivational aspects in the formation of leadership qualities among students.

Conclusions

The conducted research allowed us to empirically substantiate the existence of significant differences in the ideas of leadership qualities among journalism students with different levels of academic achievement. An integrated approach, including questionnaires, a ranking method, and in-depth interviews using the STAR model, provided a deep understanding of both the content structure of these representations and their relationship to students' personal characteristics and learning motivation.

One of the central results of the study was the identification of seven key leadership qualities that are perceived by students as the most significant: organizational thinking, sociability, focus on results, persuasiveness, creativity, self-control and empathy. These characteristics form a stable leadership construct among students and reflect the youth's ideas of what an effective and respected leader should be. At the same time, qualities such as adaptability, patriotism and reflexivity were at the bottom of the rating, which may indicate a pragmatic perception of leadership among the modern student audience.

Of particular value is the trend identified in the course of the study, according to which students' perceptions of priority leadership qualities vary depending on the level of their academic performance. Students with low academic achievement are more focused on the pragmatic aspects of leadership related to achieving specific goals, effectiveness and effective organization of the process. On the contrary, students with high academic performance tend to perceive leadership as a strategic category, associating it with promising professional growth, social functions and personal development. These differences indicate that academic performance can act as an indicator of the depth and direction of leadership ideas.

An additional significant result of the study is the similarity of students' ideas with the provisions contained in the modern scientific literature on leadership. The perception of a leader as an integrator of group processes, a bearer of goals, values and norms, an organizer of interaction and a conflict solver is confirmed not only in the questionnaire responses, but also in the interview materials. This coincidence indicates that students have formed the image of a leader as a figure who performs not only a managerial, but also a value function in the group.

The results of the qualitative stage also confirmed the presence of differences in the communication strategies of students with different academic achievements. Higher academic performance correlates with the predominance of open forms of communication, a tendency to reflection, social initiative, and a focus on group dynamics. Students with low academic performance are more likely to exhibit introverted behaviors, a desire for individual responsibility, and avoidance of interpersonal conflicts. This confirms the assumption about the relationship between academic success and leadership potential in the social and communicative sphere.

In addition, statistical verification of differences using the Mann–Whitney criterion confirmed the validity of differences in such parameters as self-assessment of leadership, goal setting, planning, and self-identification as a leader. These results support the main hypothesis of the study about the dependence of ideas about leadership on academic success and suggest that there are stable trends in the structure of students' leadership preferences.

Thus, the conducted research reveals the phenomenon of students' ideas about leadership as a complex and multidimensional system reflecting the interaction of cognitive, motivational and value factors. The results obtained have not only scientific, but also applied significance.: They can be used in the practice of building educational programs aimed at developing the leadership potential of students, taking into account their individual characteristics.