Hidden Curriculum of the American Officer Corps: The Impact of Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) on Urban University Student Leadership Development and Career Readiness Through the Lens of Social Capital and Social Cognitive Theories

Abstract

Colleges and universities are accountable not only for the knowledge they transmit but for the networks their students carry into the labor market. Previous research has established that structured, network-rich programs move persistence and completion outcomes, most for the first-generation and underrepresented students institutions serve worst (Crisp & Cruz, 2009; Komives et al., 2005). Institutions measure or deliberately build the relational infrastructure through which opportunity travels. This qualitative study examined how former Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadets who commissioned from urban universities and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) described the program’s influence on leadership development and career readiness, using Social Capital Theory (SCT) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCogT) as the study framework. The study was designed to explore how a structured military training environment fosters leadership competencies, professional identity formation, and career preparedness by analyzing data from semi-structured interviews. The study sampled fifteen participants, all Black or African American commissioned officers whose service spans four decades. The data collected during the interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis of participant responses. The major themes that emerged from the findings for ROTC’s impact on leadership development and career readiness were Leadership Through Structured Responsibility, Communication as a Core Leadership Competency, Confidence and Influence Under Pressure, Feedback Loops and Reflective Growth, and Professionalism and Discipline as Enduring Attributes. The social capital themes were Mentorship as a Readiness Accelerator, Shared Identity and Belonging, Networks as Opportunity Structures, Cohort-Based Learning Communities, and Uneven Access to Social Capital. The social cognitive themes were Self-Efficacy Development, Observational Learning, Leader Identity Internalization, Self-Regulation and Continuous Improvement, and Patience and Delegation Development. The major findings also indicated that ROTC functions as a social capital engine whose benefits were powerful but unequally distributed.