Higher Education Commons^™

Portraits Of Hispanic And/Or Latino Leadership Development In The Military, Michael Lugo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The study presented denotes a continuous transition among the Hispanic and/or Latino demographics in the military and the cadet accounts of military inequality incidents while in the military (Cabrera et al., 2017; Eckel & King, 2004). To assist Hispanic and/or Latino needs based on demographics and environment (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). Military leaders contribute to growing a diverse, inclusive, and equitable military force for all ethnic groups. The Department of Defense (DoD) is the most racially and ethnically diverse workplace in the United States (Daniel et al., 2022). Nevertheless, racial/ethnic harassment and discrimination in the military continue …

Building Dynamic Capabilities Towards Innovation And Flexibility, Marianne Iaboni Marando

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

In March 2020 most Higher Education Institutions around the world quickly moved to online learning and work with only one week to prepare. While the pandemic forced us to do this quickly and without a well thought out plan, most of us met this challenge. The World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency on May 5, 2023, but many institutions had started the return to “normal” before then. This Organizational Improvement Plan starts with the vision that rather than retrenching back to “normal”, Ontario Polytechnic, a large polytechnic institution in Ontario, Canada, should be …

Transforming Leadership Pathways For Humanities Professionals In Higher Education, Roze Hentschell, Catherine E. Thomas

Navigating Careers in Higher Education Series

Transforming Leadership Pathways for Humanities Professionals in Higher Education includes thirteen essays from a variety of contributors investigating how humanities professionals grapple with the opportunities and challenges of leadership positions. Written by insiders sharing their lived experience, this collection provides an authentic look at the multiple roles humanities specialists play, as well as offers strategies for professional growth, sustenance, and satisfaction. The collection also considers the relationship between disciplinary areas of study, academic training, and the valuable skill sets and habits of mind that serve higher education leaders.

While Transforming Leadership Pathways emphasizes that a leadership route in higher education …

Graduate-Level Leadership Training For Speech-Language Pathologists: Perceptions, Attitudes, And Potential Effect On Career, Sandra Kemper

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The aim of this study is to determine how a perceived lack of leadership training at the graduate level contributes to inadequate preparedness for the clinical, professional, and supervisory leadership roles professionals hold within the field of speech-language pathology (Kummer, 2017). More specifically, this study will seek to identify current leadership concerns of practicing SLPs, exploring whether and/or how lack of leadership training has affected their professional growth or career. The information can serve to guide the development of leadership training opportunities in speech-language pathology graduate programs. This descriptive, non-experimental study utilized purposive sampling of speech-language pathologists licensed in the …

Transformational Leadership Strategies In U.S. Public Universities, Jason C. Hardman

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the transformational leadership strategies used by university leaders to transform their respective institutions of higher education in the post-pandemic era. The study builds on Bass's (1985a) transformational leadership model, and the guiding research question is, "What transformational leadership strategies do university leaders use to transform university environments?" The study utilizes a narrative inquiry approach to collect and analyze data from publicly available and accessible sources. The data analysis highlights four themes of transformational leadership practices, including idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. The findings reveal that transformational leaders exhibit high moral standards, personal …

Leadership Skill Development In Master’S-Level Counselor Education, Charity A. Godfrey, Richard J. Cicchetti, Craig R. Blum, Gary Michael Szirony, Tamara Harris

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Student leadership identity is fast becoming one of the most critical challenges educational institutions face today. However, mental health counselors may be limited in the amount of education and training received as they become leaders in the field. There is currently no known mandate at the master’s level for leadership embedded within the counseling curriculum in the educational environment, although research suggests otherwise. The purpose of this correlational predictive empirical study was to investigate leadership identity characteristics as measured by the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale, Revision 2 (SLRS-R2), moderated by demographic factors. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine outcome …

Leadership Styles And Effective Leadership Among Higher Education Leaders In The North American Division Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Patrice A. Wright

Dissertations

Problem

Leadership has been shown to be crucial in the success of organizations, especially in higher education. However, little research has been done about leadership styles and effectiveness in North American Division (NAD) of Seventh-Day Adventists (SDA) higher education institutions. My study examined transformational, transactional, and passive avoidant leadership styles and leadership effectiveness in these higher education institutions.

Method

To examine leadership in Adventist colleges, I used the online MLQ-5X short form. I secured participation from 12 colleges and after repeated emails secured 168 responses. I analyzed the relationship between leadership styles, several leader characteristics and leader effectiveness, using SEM, …

Leader Development Of The Health Information Management (Him) Professional, Theresa Jones

Dissertations

This study contributes to the body of knowledge in leader development by examining how higher education programs in a female dominated profession assist learners in developing person-related characteristics that support leader development. A ten-part online survey was sent to directors of health information management (HIM) programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM). Results suggest an opportunity for improvement in the curriculum for development of person-related characteristics critical for leadership positions. In the interest of the progression of women these results should be taken into consideration.

A Faculty-Based Approach To Engaging University Alumni, Osman Hamid

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Alumni engagement is widely defined as the level of relationship graduates have with their alma maters. Universities have an opportunity to leverage benefits from having strong connections with their alumni. Furthermore, graduates generally have a stronger affinity to the academic departments they graduated from than to the universities where these departments are based. Additionally, the fiscal and regulatory pressures facing Canadian universities within the province of Ontario highlight the advantages that come with having an engaged alumni community. The Problem of Practice (PoP) investigated in this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is the lack of alumni engagement within a faculty of …

A Comparative Case Study Exploring The Experiences Of Women Leaders In Academic Affairs And Administration In Higher Education Through The Lens Of Intersectionality, Johniqua S. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

There is an increasing concern about the absence of women in senior positions in academia and administration within institutions (Johnson, 2016). There is limited research to compare the journeys of women leaders in academics and administration. This study is an examination of women’s experiences of perceived barriers to leadership roles in faculty and administration. Using comprehensive interviews, this study explores personal accounts to emphasize apparent barriers to career advancement. The goal of the study is to explore women in senior positions in academia and administrative paths to leadership. The male dominated society has made it challenging for women to grow …

Assessing Healthcare Leader Competency Proficiency Levels In Evaluating Graduate Healthcare Leadership Student Competency Proficiency Levels And Curriculum, Brandi A. Sillerud, Heather C. Winkler

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Healthcare leaders must possess specific competencies to perform their job requirements by identifying what competencies may need development and take steps to further their education, knowledge, and proficiency. This exploratory research aims to utilize industry data when evaluating student competency proficiency and how that data might impact curriculum development. The research question that is addressed: At what competency proficiency level do working healthcare leaders rate themselves utilizing Benner’s Novice to Expert Theory (1982)? Graduate programs should evaluate current industry data to evaluate how students’ progress in their programs and determine if curriculum changes are needed. Graduate programs should …

Continuous Improvement Leadership In Applied Research, Silvana Maclean

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The purpose of this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is to assist leaders in Ontario colleges in understanding the barriers and challenges of engaging faculty to enact applied research practices. Undergirding this OIP is social cognition theory and the analytical discipline of improvement science theory. Taken together, these theories align with systems thinking and are a step towards a holistic understanding of the dynamics of a college learning culture. Underpinned by a set of simple principles including improving through communication, learning through collaboration, and changing through coordination, a continuous improvement (CI) leadership approach, which combines servant (Greenleaf, 1977), team (Kogler Hill, …

Intentional Curriculum Development For An Introductory Leadership Course At The University Of San Diego, Kayla Snow

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to better understand the needs of the Emerging Leaders courses at the University of San Diego. My overarching research question was: how do I utilize previous instructors, students, and campus partners to implement curriculum changes that will enhance classroom inclusivity and educational impact for this undergraduate leadership course? Using McNiff’s cycles of action research as a guiding framework, I explored the intentionality behind developing a curriculum that guides these classes. Reflecting on student feedback, I was able to see an overall satisfaction in the implemented curriculum changes. Ultimately, this work was significant in understanding …

Emotional Intelligence And Decision-Making In Higher Education Administrators In Post-Secondary Institutions In Eastern Tennessee, Rachel Ellis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the impact of emotional intelligence on decision-making in higher education administrators. A qualitative research design was used for this study. Data was collected in three phases from the following sources; survey, case study submissions, and open-ended face-to-face interviews. The research data, about emotional intelligence and decision-making, were collected form ten higher education administrators. Constant comparative method was an important part of the data collection process for this study. Range of participant leadership experience was 3-8+ years and participant roles were either, Department Chair, Program Director, Dean, Provost, and President. The findings …

Black Women's Journey To Executive Leadership, Belinda Higgs Hyppolite

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an understanding of the journey of Black women into executive leadership positions at predominately White institutions of higher education within the United States. One research question guided this study: What are the experiences of Black women at predominately White institutions (PWIs) of higher education serving in executive leadership positions? Participants were a purposeful sample of 10 Black women executives who currently serve in executive leadership at various institutions across the country. The data collection instruments were structured interviews, member checking interviews, and a personal reflective narrative. The typological analysis approach …

Increasing Support For Victims Of Sexual Assault Through The Adoption Of A Victim-Centered Approach To Police Investigations, Kara Brooks

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Police services across North America have been criticized for their lack of support for victims throughout the investigative process, especially when investigating crimes involving sexual violence. The Problem of Practice addressed in this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) focuses on the lack of victim support throughout sexual assault investigations in a large police service in Canada. Taking a victim-centered approach to sexual assault investigations pushes the police organization to consider victims’ needs and rights ahead of strictly gathering information throughout a sexual assault investigation.

A gap analysis identified two main areas of focus for this (OIP): the need for enhanced training …

Increasing Success With Online Degree Courses And Programs In The Vccs, Thomas Chatman, Dave Dick, Paula Ford, Pamela Henry, Kim Hobert, Miles Keller, Kevin Riley, Christina Tidwell, Roberta Wright

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Over the last three years, 724,116 online courses were attempted within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). From these attempts, 206,533 resulted in a grade of D or F or a withdrawal, accounting for 29% of all attempted online courses (Virginia Community College System, 2015). This does not account for the students who may have dropped the course early in the semester to avoid academic and/or financial consequences. Studies have shown that students who do not experience success in their courses drop out significantly more than their counterparts (Thayer, 1973). Additionally, these students experience delayed degree or certificate completions, higher …

Taking The Leap (Learner Engaged Advising Programs): Vccs Advising Practices And Recommendations, Valerie Burge-Hall, Latoya Garrison, Leigh Giles-Brown, Dan Lepore, Melanie Mcnall, Christine Pauly, Andrew Quinn, Lisa Vaughn Jordan

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) administration identified the need for adequate and proactive advising programs to foster student success. This paper presents a review of “best practices” in advising to determine commonalities, provides a comparison with current VCCS advising practices, and offers recommendations that support the goal of ensuring high quality advising programs.

The Impact Of Leadership And Change On Job Satisfaction, Team Effectiveness, Employee Engagement And Workplace Culture: An Organizational Improvement Plan, Victor Jimenez Gonzalez

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan presents an actionable plan to the problem of low job satisfaction in the International Department of an Institute of Technology. The connections amongst leadership, workplace culture, employee engagement, and team effectiveness are explored with a view to implementing changes to leadership, employee engagement and team effectiveness that will foster a positive workplace environment with improved job satisfaction. Leaders and staff in the International Department are aware that some members systematically engage in behaviours that are anathema to the institution's ethical principles. Consequently, this has resulted in a plethora of adverse outcomes such as lack of trust …

The Organizational Structures Of Instructional Design Teams In Higher Education: A Multiple Case Study, Jason Drysdale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how organizational structures influence leadership over online learning initiatives for dedicated instructional designers in higher education. A qualitative research method was used for within-case analyses for 3 individual universities and a comparative case analysis of all 3 studied institutions. Purposive sampling was used to identify each university that participated and operated within 1 of 3 organizational structure profiles. Data were collected through document analysis and semistructured interviews with participants in 3 key roles at each institution: dedicated instructional designer, online faculty member, and online learning administrator. The organizational structure that most positively influenced the ability for dedicated …

Creative ‘Class’: Leading Innovation With Digital Pedagogy In Cultural And Creative Industry (Cci) Programs, Dana Morningstar

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Leaders of cultural and creative programs (CCIs) in Ontario community colleges are key to realizing potential in higher education related to digital pedagogy, creativity, industry partnerships, entrepreneurship and innovation. In this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP), the role of an academic leadership group is considered from Ontario-centric creative industry and innovation policies and college processes. The problem of practice is the gap of harmonized leadership strategy between higher education classroom practices and regional and provincial overarching educational strategy to increase innovation through digital pedagogy. Colleges have collective capacities in innovating with digital pedagogy in creative industry programs and providing graduates with …

Leadership From The Middle Pays It Forward: An Academic Administrator Of Color’S Career Development Narrative In Postsecondary Education, Cecil Dean Campbell

The Qualitative Report

The ongoing underrepresentation of administrators of color in higher education suggests that traditional career pathways make racial equities in administrative leadership elusive. This personal narrative explores middle-manager educational and career experiences—some often-overlooked aspects of higher education administration. Using leadership and career development theories, I draw on qualitative approaches to examine my own career journey as one academic affairs administrator of color who has experienced a history of career change, lay-off, and non-traditional moves within and across diverse institutions. Through an inductive approach for analyzing data in my career narrative, emergent themes incorporate data references “calling,” citizenship, and cultural change in …

Argument Education In Higher Education: A Validation Study, Paul E. Mabrey Iii

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Argument education can play an important role in higher education for leadership development and responding to increasing calls for post-secondary accountability. But to do so, argumentation teachers, scholars, and practitioners need to develop a clearer definition and research agenda for the purposes of teaching and assessing argumentation. The research conducted here contributes to this project by first establishing a definitional construct and observable behaviors associated with learning and practicing argumentation. Second, an argument education assessment instrument was created based off of the literature-supported definition of argumentation. Third, debate and argument education subject matter experts reviewed the definition, behaviors, and assessment …

Pathways To Student Success: A Multiple Case Study On Four-Year Colleges’ Organizational Change In Performance Funding States, Lindsay K. Wayt

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Federal and state policies have recently moved the higher education accountability focus from access to completion. As completion and other student success accountability measures are put in place, institutions are going through organizational change to accommodate these new policies and to adjust their focus onto student success measures such as retention and graduation rates. This multiple case study’s purpose was to describe the institutional efforts and changes at small- to medium-sized, four-year public institutions in states where at least 20% or more of state funds are or are planned to soon be allocated based on performance metrics. The findings of …

Architechture: Rebuilding The Traditional University For The 21st Century, Sarah E. Shearer

CMC Senior Theses

This senior thesis is an examination of the major complexities and considerations encountered in developing an e-learning program. In light of the changing landscape of higher education resulting from technological advancement, combined with changing pedagogies and financial pressures, traditional institutions are under heightened scrutiny and most in need of innovation. Online learning as been proposed as a solution to many of these issues, but creating a successful program is no small feat. Furthermore, experimental research on specific course designs and delivery often fails upon real-world implementation. Looking through the lens of Design-Base-Implementation Research (DBIR), an emerging research model that seeks …

Trends Shaping Society: Implications For Higher Education In The 21st Century, Nathan Phelps

Dissertations

The world is changing quickly and in complex ways, and this study addresses some of the key implications of these changes for higher education leaders today. Many leaders are facing the difficult task of determining which developments in the larger society are most important and what they may mean for their institutions and for higher education as a whole. This study presents a broad analysis of trends shaping society, highlights patterns within these trends that are important, and offers a framework based on these patterns that leaders might use to help them clarify and evaluate the implications of these changes. …

Future-Focused Leadership: Three Mega-Trends Influencing Distance Learning, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Faculty and Staff Publications

While many continue to question the skyrocketing costs and value of a college education, future-focused leaders are recreating learning experiences by blending technology with the human experience. What does the future of distance learning look like, taste like and feel like? It can be difficult to predict the future of education as the world continues to evolve at an increasingly rapid pace; however, distance learning administrators can use a future-focused leadership approach, which includes examining megatrends, to plan for the future. Megatrends are global shifts that influence society, the economy and the environment. The purpose of this paper is to …

Disrupting The Deficit Discourse On Historically Black Colleges And Universities: An Organizational Identity Case Study Of Philander Smith College, Shametrice Ledora Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines a historically Black institution of higher education as "any historically Black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principle mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans." Today, there are approximately 105 HBCUs, more than half private, the rest public, and a few two-year institutions (Allen, Jewell, Griffin, & Wolf, 2007). While currently only 14 percent of Black college students attend HBCUs, 70 percent of all Black doctors and dentists, 50 percent of all Black engineers and public school teachers, and 35 percent of all Black …

Going Beyond Contemporary Leader Development Practices: Assessing Leader Readiness Using Cognitive Stage Development And Experiential Learning Theories, Elizabeth Turesky, Leigh Mundhenk

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Consider the employee who is highly engaged and self-directed in her work, manages ambiguity well, genuinely engages in the journey of becoming an agent of change, seeks ways to understand herself as a leader, and relishes the possibilities of ideas. On the other hand, there is the employee who looks to others for direction and answers, finds the lack of clarity and ambiguity unbearable, resists new ideas, has difficulty making decisions, or jumps right into the decision-making process without careful reflection. These disparate behaviors in employees seem to occur unrelated to age, gender, and socioeconomic level. As teachers, managers, and …

Leadership To Run The World: A Mandate For Higher Education, Gregory Eastwood

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

“Leadership is an essentially moral act,” said A. Bartlett Giamatti, former president of Yale University, who later became Commissioner of Baseball. But consider these few news items, selected from a multitude of candidates: Eliot Spitzer, former governor of New York, resigned after his involvement with a prostitute was made public. Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois, was removed from office by unanimous vote of the Illinois State Senate after conviction on federal corruption charges. Bernard Madoff, former Wall Street executive and NASDAQ chair, currently is incarcerated in federal prison after conviction for investment fraud. Rev. Jeffrey Sarkies, a popular pastor …