Educational Leadership Commons^™

Exemplary Urban Unified District Superintendents Leading With Transformational Strategies During The Covid-19 Global Health Crisis, Sandra Hernandez

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify and describe strategies exemplary urban unified district superintendents used to lead in crisis using the five critical tasks of strategic crisis leadership (sense making, decision making and coordination, meaning making, accounting, and learning) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it was the purpose to understand and describe the experiences of exemplary leaders during a time of crisis.

Methodology: In this qualitative multiple case study, interviews were used to secure data from exemplary urban unified district superintendents to identify and describe the strategies they used to lead during the …

Case Study: Member Perception Of A Federal Organization’S Employee Recognition Program, David A. Dietz

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative instrumental study was to clarify the purpose of Agency ABC’s Recognition Council, while identifying opportunities for staff recognition and appreciation to be optimized within Agency ABC to assist in creating and sustaining employee engagement. This purpose is in direct correlation to the study’s problem, to fill in research gaps due to a lack of existing documentation, best practices and research regarding federal recognition programs. Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory was the conceptual framework that the researcher applied to this study. The researcher performed semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with five former members of Agency ABC’s Recognition Council members. Interview …

Higher Education Business And Technology Leaders’ Behaviors That Drive Outcome Alignment, Katherine Lynch-Holmes

Dissertations

Higher education institutions (HEIs) face unprecedented challenges, including capacity alignment, financial sustainability, and even public confidence (Grajeck & Brooks, 2020; Grawe, 2019; Oblinger, 2019; Simone, 2020, Wheeler, 2020, Witt & Coyne, 2019). Financial challenges force HEIs to reduce costs by making decisions like cutting programs, laying off staff or merging institutions to reduce operating costs (Chen et al., 2019; Sellingo, 2017; Witt & Coyne, 2019). Higher education leaders (HELs) must act as trusted partners and broker technology to align processes, support, and outcomes (Luftman 2000; Petkovics, 2018; Reinitz, 2019). Unfortunately, higher education’s business-technology (BITA) alignment remains lower than other national …

Phenomenological Study On The Lived Experience Of Black Women In Positions Of Leadership In California State Government, Tonia Burgess

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black women in their roles as leaders in the California state government with respect to support received and barriers encountered.

Methodology: The phenomenological qualitative study involved exploring the lived experiences of 12 Black women in positions of leadership in northern California state government with regard to the supports they received and the barriers they encountered during their careers in California state government. Patton (2015) asserted that phenomenology's philosophical interpretation occurs when individuals only know what they experience. Additionally, "to fully understand the phenomenon, it must be …

Student Retention In Higher Education: Effect Of The Campus Fitness Center On Women, Leslie Marie Gordon

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Of the 3.5 million first-time in college, full time students who began college in fall 2017, 74% returned for fall 2018, with 61.7% retained at their starting institution. Covid-19 has negatively impacted retention; in addition to normal attrition, one of every five students did not return to campus in fall 2020. Researchers have gauged both academic and social factors that positively influence retention and note the use of the campus fitness center (CFC) as one social factor; however, women are less likely to use the CFC, are one third as likely to exercise, and experience more numerous fitness obstacles and …

A Seat At The Table: A Phenomenological Study Of The Gap In African American/Black Women With Nonprofit Executive Leadership Roles, Angela J. Griffin

Educational and Organizational Learning and Leadership Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of African American/Black women leaders in the nonprofit business sector in the Pacific Northwest. The intent was to understand how their experiences of inequitable opportunities in the workplace prohibited them from attaining and retaining executive leadership roles. A qualitative, transcendental phenomenological approach was used to explore the career pathway trajectory for African American/Black women in the nonprofit sector, to capture the essence of their experiences navigating inequities along the leadership pipeline. To examine their experiences, critical race theory and social cognitive career theory provided a multifaceted viewpoint of African …