About
Context
Most leadership research focuses on adults, yet our ideas about who can lead—and who is worth following—begin much earlier. These implicit leadership theories (ILTs) take shape in childhood, informed by social messages, cultural norms, media, and education. Left unexamined, they risk embedding exclusion and inequality across generations.
Children & Leadership Futures addresses this gap by investigating how children conceptualise leadership and what shapes those early perceptions. By understanding how these beliefs form and evolve, we can begin to shift them—opening space for more inclusive, expansive visions of leadership in schools, communities, and future workplaces.
Why it matters
Leadership perceptions are not neutral—they reflect and reinforce structural inequities across society. In Australia, for example, 83% of CEOs are men (WGEA, 2020), 97% of top leaders come from Anglo-Celtic or European backgrounds (ABC, 2018), and there is no Indigenous representation among the highest levels of corporate leadership (Irvine, 2019). These patterns don’t begin in boardrooms—they begin in childhood.
Children & Leadership Futures responds to this by investigating how leadership is imagined and internalised from an early age—and how those ideas shape participation, opportunity, and inclusion across life. By working with children, educators, families, and organisational leaders, the initiative challenges narrow leadership ideals and opens pathways for more ethical, inclusive, and future-oriented leadership cultures. It positions children not just as future leaders, but as active contributors to leadership thinking today.
This initiative reflects Deakin University’s commitment to being a catalyst for positive change, grounded in values of excellence and equity. We aim to advance high-quality, impactful research that empowers diverse communities and generates tangible societal benefit. Our work also aligns with Australia’s National Research Priority to build healthy and thriving communities, recognising that inclusive leadership is a cornerstone of educational justice, civic participation, and wellbeing.
Vision
Leadership reimagined with future generations.
Mission
To work alongside children and young people to investigate how leadership is understood, imagined, and enacted — and to co-create inclusive, ethical, and future-facing leadership practices across education, organisations, and society.
Leaders Exhibition (2022) – City of Darebin Community Partnerships
Our story
Children & Leadership Futures was founded by Dr Claudia Escobar Vega in 2016 as a research inquiry grounded in her extensive work consulting with children across arts, education, and community contexts. What began as a small exploration into children’s perceptions of leaders has grown into a dynamic research and engagement initiative housed within Deakin Business School.
Since 2016, the project has:
- Led one of the world’s first large-scale studies on children’s implicit leadership theories (ILTs)
- Published in top-tier journals including Psychological Review and Journal of Constructivist Psychology
- Engaged over 1,000 children in arts-based leadership exhibitions and workshops
- Featured on national radio, TV, podcasts, and at major public forums (e.g. The Wheeler Centre)
- Secured research funding to co-design leadership education programs with children
The work continues to grow, driven by a commitment to amplify children’s voices and reimagine together leadership futures.
Acknowledgements
We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation, Traditional Owners of the land on which this research was developed. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters, and culture.
We honour the insights of future generations and those who walk alongside them.