Participation With Confidence: The Development and Evaluation of a Leadership‐training Program for Older Adults

The Participation With Confidence (PWC) Program was designed to address the unique leadership needs of Century House, a seniors’ recreation center in western Canada. Twenty‐three adults (average age: 66 years) participated in twenty 2 #fr1/2>‐h workshops in topic areas related to group participation and leadership roles at their center. A pretest and posttest of a participation and leadership scale suggested participants had made significant changes in their ability to express ideas (t–‐2.24, p–0.035), ability to make others comfortable (t —2.33, p–0.030), general level of confidence in a group (t–‐2.69, p ‐0.013), and leadership ability ft–‐2.75, p–0.012). Results from questionnaires to program participants and center staff corroborate the benefits of the program in helping seniors to become more involved in activities and leadership roles at their center. A comparison of the activity board roster before and halfway through the program confirmed that PWC participants were indeed taking on more leadership roles. The article concludes with issues in senior leadership for future research.