The implementation of 360-degree feedback for high school DECA officers

Abstract

Marketing education has been noted for providing students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to become professional leaders in education and in business and industry. Student leadership is key to many organizations in education, communities, and society. Student leaders take on the challenges of leading a population of students to attain an identified mission or goals. Each person should be nurtured with proper training, and more importantly, proper evaluation to help students to harvest upon their successes and create developmental plans to improve their weaknesses. In order to fully prepare student leaders for positions in business and industry, especially in a Marketing Education and DECA program, it is ideal to utilize the concepts that most students will encounter in their professional lives. Evaluation is a key component of growth and personal insight. The purpose of this study is to assess the current evaluation methods for high school DECA officers, determine the gap of where the evaluation was and where it should be, and provide a plan for utilizing 360-degree feedback as a developmental tool for young leaders. The researcher conducted a literature review to analyze the current research and insights into peer review in the educational setting and evaluation within business and industry. Utilizing the research from the literature review, the gaps will be identified between how the DECA leaders are currently being evaluated and the ideal business strategy for evaluation. Based on the results, the researcher provided rationale and a format in which 360-degree feedback can then be created, implemented, and evaluated within the high school marketing education training curriculum.