Educational Leadership Commons^™

A Critical Ethnographic Study Of The Sociological And Educational Factors That Contribute To Scholastic Disengagement Prior To Adolescence And The Nexus To The School To Prison Pipeline, David Diehl

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this critical ethnographic study was to examine the lived experiences of formerly or currently incarcerated, Hispanic males who attended elementary school in Central Coast County (pseudonym), and affiliated, or previously affiliated with, one of the two major Mexican gangs in the State of California. This study sought to investigate what influence or impact, if any, a student's educational experience prior to entering middle school may have on a desire to become involved with the gang culture. The unusually high teenage homicide rate occurring in a non-urban setting has garnered national attention. Teachers, school administrators, a probation officer, …

Economically Empowering Women As Foreign Policy: A Phenomenological Study On Building Peace In Northern Uganda Through Social Enterprise, Lisa Liberatore Maracine

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation advocates for the role of social enterprise in building sustainable peace by giving women agency and power in their communities. It examines this phenomenon through the lens of a social enterprise non-governmental organization, 31 Bits, that offers a valuable case study in the post-conflict Northern Uganda town of Gulu where over 100 women have been employed in the last ten years in a five-year training program that equips them to become fully self-sustainable through the creation of jewelry handmade from recycled paper. The holistic approach moves beyond the nonprofit model of charity and survival to giving their beneficiaries …

Best Leadership Practices Of Female Film Directors, Sara Carraway

Theses and Dissertations

Female film directors are highly underrepresented within the U.S. film industry, especially within narrative film (S.L. Smith, Pieper, & Choueiti, 2013). In 2019, only 12% of directors in the top 100 grossing films were female (Lauzen, 2020). There are several obstacles female directors face in their careers. Financing is more difficult to obtain for female directors due to stereotypes of women as risky investments (P. Smith et al., 2013). Closely tied to financing, gendered networks and homophily can prevent women from making relationships with gatekeepers and accessing the same opportunities as men (Jones & Pringle, 2015; Wing-Fai et al., 2015). …

Homicidal Loss And Disenfranchised Grief, Mothers Of Murdered Descendants: An Exploratory Qualitative Study, Michael Wayne Eagle

Theses and Dissertations

Violent acts of homicide committed against youth or children can lead to prolonged, devastating, and painful effects on their surviving mothers. Sudden unexpected deaths of descendants can lead to anger, guilt, sorrow, and isolation affecting survivors both emotionally and physically. Descendants’ deaths before the mothers’ deaths are unnatural and can lead to a decline in a survivor’s social actions, a rise in hospitalization rates, higher cases of mortality, complicated grief, and symptoms of PTSD. Cases of disenfranchised grief can surface after a survivor’s loss is ignored or no longer culturally allowed. Instances of empathic failure can result when empathy from …

Managing The Affective Responses Of Employees During Organizational Change In Higher Education, Brad Kennington

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education is facing a period of continual change driven by numerous external and internal forces. Consequently, higher education leaders are faced with the frequent and daunting task of planning and managing organizational change in higher education institutions, which are both complex and dynamic in nature. Adding difficulty to this task is the fact that employees often react to change with emotional responses that are both challenging to understand and complicated and to manage. Managing affective dimensions of change can be overwhelming to leaders, which can lead to failed organizational change efforts. This study explored and answered (a) how a …

Best Practices In Student Education: Inspiring Teachers To Make A Difference With Students Living In Poverty, Andrea Steinfeld

Theses and Dissertations

A large percentage of children enrolled in schools throughout the United States live in poverty. Therefore, educators across the country must develop education policies to ensure all children receive a high-quality education. To further support the need for education policy reform, the literature reviewed in this study indicated that students who live in poverty would have better outcomes when they are engaged in school behaviorally, affectively, and cognitively (Appleton, Christenson, & Furlong, 2008; Cai & Liem, 2017; Kelm & Connell, 2004). Moreover, professional development is necessary to provide teachers with pedagogical practices that will improve the educational practices of teachers, …

Harry Potter And The Shy College Classroom Student: A Perceived Sense Of Belonging Through Social Identity And A Hogwarts House, Mickey D. Harrison Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines self-identifying shy college classroom students. Using social identity theory, identified shy students are studied based on their inclusion in a Hogwarts House from the Harry Potter book series. The purpose of this research is to examine how group identity can cultivate and create a sense of belonging for these students and lead them to academic and personal success. The stories shared by these shy learners reinforce the need and importance of belonging to a social identity group to strengthen an individual's sense of self and personal growth. This study encourages the use of a fictional social group—like …

Next Evolution Of Workforce Experiential Learning For 21st Century Global Access Learners, Jasmine D. Darnell

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid pace of technological innovations has created opportunities, but also made it difficult for higher education institutions to keep up with 21st Century workplace readiness skills for students. By the time students graduate from college and enter the workforce, many are lacking the skills and capabilities needed to be proficient in their job functions. These skill and capability gaps are even wider for global access learners, or online learners. Due to new entrants possessing skill and capability gaps, leaders in workforce development, typically housed in learning and development, talent management, or other human resources arm, have taken ownership of …

A Case Study On Co-Teaching In A High-Performing Urban High School In Southern California, Natalie Jean Hofland

Theses and Dissertations

The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) component of IDEIA 2004, NCLB requirements, and research indicating increased achievement for students with disabilities in the general education environment, have led to the inclusion of students with disabilities into the general education classroom and the use of co-teaching model is increasing throughout the United States. Research indicates that, for inclusion to be successful, administrators and general education teachers need to receive adequate training in special education, supports, and resources to implement successful integration and inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education setting (Ainscow, 2000; Burton & Pace, 2009; Cox, 2008; Praisner, 2003; …

Self-Actualized Leadership: Exploring The Intersection Of Inclusive Leadership And Workplace Spirituality At A Faith-Based Institution Of Higher Education, Kerri Cissna

Theses and Dissertations

Today’s leaders are facing complex business problems that require a moral compass and more than one person to solve. Bill Gates extols that organizations must innovate or die (Lee, 2013) and it is becoming widely accepted that diversity and inclusion are key factors in cultivating the innovative workplace (Kurschner & Schmidt, 2017). Although religion has been relegated to the margins of organizational leadership studies, a new era of globalization has ushered in opportunities for spirituality to become a conduit for self-actualization and inclusive leadership. Therefore, inclusive leadership and workplace spirituality are needed to address some of these pressing matters.

This …

The "R" Factor: Perceptions Of Retirement As A Consideration In Small Business Owner Succession Planning, Debra L. Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study examines the phenomenon of retirement as a factor of consideration in small business owner succession planning in the United States (U.S.). A mixed methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative analyses, was used to answer the question: In what ways do perceptions of retirement influence small business owner succession planning? Small business owners (N = 102) primarily from the upper Midwest completed a 15-item online questionnaire which asked both closed and open-ended questions related to business and business owner demographics, as well as owner perceptions of retirement. Businesses included are both family owned and non-family owned. Small …

The Kairos Model: Best Leadership Practices For Small-To-Medium Sized Management Consulting Firms, Edward Eng

Theses and Dissertations

Breakthrough technologies and ever-increasing customer demands are paving the way for new entrants to disrupt the traditional management industry. With their capacious resources, industry incumbents have mitigated these emergent forces by integrating digital capabilities into their arsenal of services. Without the capacity of market leaders, small and medium-sized business consultants are struggling to compete effectively. To fill this research gap, this study strove to develop a practical framework to help small- to medium-sized business consultants act more purposefully amidst growing competitive pressures.

The researcher chose a qualitative grounded theory design to collect data through face-to- face, semi-structured interview questions. Insights …

Best Teaching Practices To Increase Student Interest In Stem Subjects, Talar Gullapyan

Theses and Dissertations

More than ever, jobs at all levels, not just for scientists, are requiring STEM knowledge and specific abilities that are associated with a STEM education (Lacey & Wright, 2009; Rothwell, 2013). Additionally, The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (Vilorio, 2014) reports that STEM occupations will continue to grow faster than other occupations. While the demand for jobs in STEM fields continues to grow, many of these positions remained unfilled due to an unskilled labor force. Students in the U.S. also pursue far fewer degrees in STEM subjects compared to other competitive countries (National Science Board, 2012). The results from the …

Exploring The Effects Of An Afrocentric Learning Community On The Retention Of African American Students In Community Colleges: A Quantitative Study, Andre Crenshaw

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of African American students who begin postsecondary educational pursuits do not graduate within 6 years, resulting in one of the lowest postsecondary completion rates in America. As of Fall 2019, the degree applicable retention rate for African American students in California community colleges was 62%, compared to all students 87.65%. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to examine whether a learning community positively affected retention and success rates of African American students in community colleges, comparing outcomes with cohort Fall 2016 with cohort Fall 2019. This analysis applied Tinto’s Student Integration Model Theoretical Framework with supporting …

Leadership Development In East Africa: A Case Study Of A Multi-Year College Student Leadership Program, Gregory Armen Muger

Theses and Dissertations

Effectual and ethical leadership is a top need throughout all sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa (Adadevoh, 2007; Ncube, 2010). Unfortunately, there is currently very scant literature on Sub-Saharan African leadership theory or programming (Bolden & Kirk, 2009). A large Christian nonprofit organization operated a multi-year servant leadership-based Christian leadership program for thousands of college students throughout sites in East Africa called the Leadership Development Program (LDP). The LDP endeavored to groom local, ethical, and capable leaders. Therefore, studying the LDP model and its impacts could add significant value to Sub-Saharan African leadership practitioners as well as add to the limited body …

A Quantitative Descriptive Study Of The Self-Perception Of Southern Oregon Entrepreneurial Leaders, Rebecca Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The study helped to identify what are the leadership styles of adult entrepreneurs, and what if any factors contribute to an entrepreneurs' leadership style. The study focused on entrepreneurial leaders, over the age of 18, who own and started their own business. These entrepreneurs are a member of one of the following Southern Oregon-based business networking groups: Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SOREDI), and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of Southern Oregon. The study explored the self-perceived leadership styles of entrepreneurs in Southern Oregon through a quantitative descriptive survey method that utilized a 45-question, Likert scale from the …