Education Commons^™

Mechanism For Leadership Development And Effectiveness: The Relationship Between Followership, Leadership, And Psychological Capital, Saurabh Gupta

Dissertations

Research supports the strategic role of a leader in improving individual and organizational performance (Day et al., 2009; Kaiser & Curphy, 2013). Developing leadership and enhancing leadership effectiveness remains at the forefront of organizational strategic plans (Day et al., 2009; Kaiser & Curphy, 2013). However, a majority of leadership development efforts fail in their purpose, which causes a leadership crisis in many organizations (Fernández-Aráoz, Roscoe, & Aramaki, 2017; Gurdjian, Halbeisen, & Lane, 2014; Kaiser & Curphy, 2013; Madanchian, Hussein, Noordin, & Taherdoost, 2017; Pfeffer, 2015; Wakefield, Abbatiello, Agarwal, Pastakia, & van Berkel, 2016). Neglecting the role of followership and using …

Examining The Perceptions Of Principals To Improve Professional Development Opportunities And Support From Central Office: A Program Evaluation, Noah Riley

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The work of Louis, Leithwood, Wahlstrom, and Anderson, (2010), Manna (2015), Leithwood and Azah (2016) validates that principals can have a powerful influence on instruction and learning in schools. Supporting principals’ growth with professional development, therefore, is critical to building principals’ competencies as instructional leaders. Although school districts are unique in internal and external conditions (e.g., educational, political, and financial); which may influence their approach to supporting principals, a useful place for all school districts to start is with an appraisal of principals’ perceptions of current support and professional development from central office; regardless of district internal and external …

Creating Conditions For A Collaborative Relationship Between Principals And Their Supervisors: A Change Initiative, Noah Riley

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Studies by Kelley and Peterson (2002), Drago-Severson, Blum-DeStefano & Asghar (2013) and other researchers, have shown that in order for principals and other building leaders to be able to demonstrate the required expectations of “new” principal standards, they must engage in ongoing supervision, evaluation, coaching, and continuous career-long professional development. These studies also suggest that school districts, in their support and development of principals’ growth in competency capacity building, are more effective when the principal supervisor works in collaboration with principals they supervise/evaluate in a trusting, mutually respectful relationship of shared accountability for improving instruction and learning. This change …

23 Illinois Administrative Code 50: Redefining The Formal School Site Observation In Principal Evaluation (A Policy Advocacy Document), Noah Riley

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This document explores how the establishment of a Principal Evaluation Steering Committee (PESC) to implement and monitor U.S. District X’s Illinois Principal Evaluation Plan (IPEP) may ensure the effectiveness of its principals as capacity builders who facilitate meaningful and productive systems change. The PESC intervention helps ensure principals and their staff is engaging in purposeful reflective practice and collegial inquiry activities and exercises designed to increase their cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal capacities (Drago-Severson, Blum-DeStefano, & Asghar, 2013). This document outlines the positive and effective impacts in the contexts of educational, economic, social, political and, moral and ethical …

The Impact Of Male Gender Dissonance On Women’S Potential Eligibility For Advancement To The Position Of High School Principal, Kristen Lee Harris

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative, replication study was to discover what behaviors female administrators exhibit that may prompt male administrators with whom they work in California public education to demonstrate behaviors associated with gender dissonance and also to determine what impact these dissonant behaviors may have on women’s potential eligibility for advancement to the position of high school principal.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study examined the experience of six male and six female high school principals in Riverside County, California. Purposive criterion sampling method was applied to identify participants based on delimiting criteria. The researcher collected and coded data …

The Role Of Leadership In School Innovation: A Case Study, Savannah Adkins Denning

Dissertations

Expansive research on leadership, particularly school leadership, has suggested leaders have an indirect impact on student outcomes, as leaders build a school’s academic capacity, which elevates teaching and learning (Hallinger, 2010). Though there is significant empirical research regarding school leadership, there is a lack of research investigating the intersection of leadership and innovation. In terms of innovation, “personalized learning,” has become an emerging topic among education researchers, as scholars seek to understand the potential impact personalized learning strategies have on student outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to explore how leadership interacts with innovation. This study specifically explored the …

Iranian Leadership Ideals: A Culturally-Based Leadership Approach, Azadeh Davari

Dissertations

In light of many current financial and ethical crises, scholars have called for looking beyond our existing Western-based approaches for innovative leadership practices. Recent research about the success and unique management practices of Indian corporations (Cappelli et al., 2010) shows a unique style based on both people and profit and one that blends capitalist profit-based structures with caring for people and community. That research has been the basis for suggestions for the existence of a distinct Indo-European leadership (IEL) style (Nahavandi, 2012a; Nahavandi & Krishnan, 2017) with philosophical roots in Iran and India and provides impetus for looking beyond Western …

The Academic And Social-Emotional Effects Of Classroom Service Dogs/Specialized Therapy Dogs With Handlers On Student Learning And Behavior In K-12 Special Education Students In Emotional/Behavioral Disordered Placements As Perceived By Their Teachers, Sharon Kalkoske

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study is to determine and describe the academic and social-emotional effects of classroom service dogs/specialized therapy dogs with handlers on student learning and behavior in K-12 special education students in Emotionally/Behaviorally Disturbed (EBD) placements as perceived by their teachers.

Methodology: This study utilized qualitative data from semistructured, open-ended interview questions to analyze the research questions regarding the perceptions of teachers and educators on service dogs/specialized therapy dogs with handlers on student learning and behavior in K-12 special education students in EBD placements. The population for this study included educators working in special education classrooms …

Conversational Leadership: A Phenomenological Study Of Exemplary High School Principals And The Behaviors They Practice In Leading Their Organizations, Robert Harris

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe behaviors exemplary high school principals practiced to lead their organization through conversation using Groysberg and Slind’s (2012c) four elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study described the lived experiences of exemplary high school principals. A sample of 10 participants was selected from the target population that was narrowed to high school principals in Los Angeles County. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in accordance to a protocol developed by a team of 12 peer researchers with the guidance of faculty. In addition, data from …

Exemplary Middle School Principals Leading Through Conversation, John Ashby

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors that exemplary middle school principals practice to lead their organization through conversations using Groysberg and Slind’s (2012) four elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality.

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative study described the lived experiences of exemplary middle school principals in Orange County, California. The researcher was part of a thematic research team of 12 peer researchers and 4 faculty advisors. Through purposeful sampling, the researcher selected 10 exemplary middle school principals who met at least 4 of 6 criteria identifying someone as exemplary. Data collection …

Winning On And Off The Court: An Interpretive Case Study Of A Leader’S Effectual Power And Influence, Eugene Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to study the leadership profile of a leader’s effectual power and influence. A qualitative research design is preferred to capture rich, thick personal responses from the interview participants. Semi-structured interviews were utilized with open-ended questions, which enabled the respondents to provide unique insights and reflections of their direct and indirect experiences with the research subject. Additionally, document inquiry and direct observations were used and, as an outcome, triangulation was achieved.

Effective use of power is studied in the context of a leader’s ability to influence others to induce a desired outcome. The subject’s influence …

Community College Presidents And The Role Of Conversational Leadership, Jennifer K. Labounty

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors that exemplary community college presidents practice to lead their organizations through conversation as depicted by Groysberg and Slind’s (2012) four elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality.

Methodology: This qualitative, phenomenological study described the lived experiences of exemplary community college presidents as they lead their organizations through the use of conversational leadership. The sample population for this study was community college presidents who met the criteria of exemplary from single-college districts in Southern California. Data were gathered and triangulated from semistructured, in-depth interviews, participant observations, …

Perceptions Of Trustees And Presidents Of The Competencies Essential For Successful 21st-Century Community College Leadership, Cliff Davis

Dissertations

An imminent wave of community college president retirements is well-documented in the literature, which will likely contribute to a serious leadership void on American community college campuses (American Association of Community Colleges [AACC], 2013; Eddy, 2013). To address this impending leadership crisis, governing boards must focus on how to develop leaders prepared to meet the unique and increasingly complex challenges of community colleges. In keeping with Katz’s (1955) three-skill conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe trustees’ and presidents’ perceptions about the importance of technical, human, and conceptual competencies to a successful 21st-century community …

The Role Of Conversation In How Educational Services Assistant Superintendents Lead Change, Lisa Paisley

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors that exemplary educational services assistant superintendents practice to lead their organizations through conversation as depicted by Groysberg and Slind’s (2012b) 4 elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality. Methodology: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used in this study in order to describe the lived experiences and behaviors of exemplary leaders. The target population was educational services assistant superintendents in Southern California. Participants were selected using a purposeful, nonprobability, convenience sampling. Data gathering took the form of semistructured, in-depth interviews, observations, and artifact collection. Interviews were …

The Resiliency Of Highly Mobile Military Children: Implications For Military And Education Leadership, Kim D. Hunt

Dissertations

The life of a highly mobile child brings educational and social challenges. Highly mobile children who move at least four to five times during their PK-12 grade years generally experience greater difficulty in their social interactions and education than children with a more stable living experience. One specific group of highly mobile children, military children, face these challenges and more, due somewhat to the unique culture of the military. Military children are called upon to move across state lines and/or international borders and typically face multiple school absences and stress related to deployments of their active duty parent(s). There is …

Effective Leadership For The Implementation Of The Common Core State Standards: Principal Behaviors That Develop Professional Capital To Create Conditions For Positve Change, Eileen Beth Brett

Dissertations

Identifying specific leadership behaviors of elementary school principals that create conditions for positive change is critical to implementing educational reform. The purpose of this research is to identify specific leadership behaviors of principals that have positively impacted the implementation of the Common Core State Standards through the development of professional capital.

The Common Core Standards represent a recent movement to create national standards, founded on the belief that schools have an obligation to ensure that all students are college and career ready (McLaughlin & Overturf, 2012; Conley; 2014a). Implementing the Common Core has challenged principals to develop leadership skills to …

Universal Design For Learning: An Examination Of Leadership Promoting Student Learning For All, Martha Ryan-Toye

Dissertations

Martha Ryan-Toye

Loyola University Chicago

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING: AN EXAMINATION OF LEADERSHIP PROMOTING STUDENT LEARNING FOR ALL

This study examines the intersection of leadership, Universal Design for Learning and a framework for continuous improvement. Universal Design for Learning is a tool that unites beliefs and actions to address the needs of all children in our educational systems. We fall short in our efforts to close the learning gaps for children with disabilities, children of lower income and children of differing racial and ethnic backgrounds. Universal Design for Learning demonstrates a commitment to proactively addressing the variability of learners so …

A Study Of Collaborative Skills Of Graduates Of A National, Faith-Based, Leadership Development Program, Eileen Kooreman

Dissertations

Collaboration is often cited as a long-term benefit of participation in leadership development programs. Successful collaboration requires unique leadership skills, which rely on trust and influence rather than authority and position. Collaboration takes place over the passage of time. Evaluation of leadership development programs that focus on outcomes after the passage of time is rare making it difficult to confirm if a relationship between the collaborative skills taught and measurable collaboration activity exists.

This study was able to draw on the alumni of the DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative, a national faith-based leadership development program that maintains on-going relationships with its …