Digital Commons Network^™

Human Capital Leadership Insights: Solving Human Capital Challenges From The Business Perspective, Singapore Management University

Student Publications

In 2016, the Lee Kong Chian School of Business launched the Master of Human Capital Leadership (“MHCL”) program with the strategic objective of growing leaders to champion evidence-based human capital practices. The 2019 MHCL cohort took this a step further with their quest to share insights gained from studies and projects with industry stakeholders. This goal resonates with our mission -- to create and disseminate knowledge.

A Phenomenological Study Of Emotion Amid Significant Organizational Change, Ian Menchini

All Theses And Dissertations

This study employed a phenomenological methodology to explore the experiences shared by leaders of a public university in the Northeast United States during an extraordinary period of organizational change. The university’s organizational transformation was particularly noteworthy because it came in the face of circumstances entirely out of the university’s control. These circumstances included its state’s declining population as well as its state government’s failure to invest heavily in higher education. These long-term challenges were exacerbated by the sudden onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and a near simultaneous proposal by its system’s former executive to radically and negatively change the university’s …

Traditional Principals’ Reaction To A Charter School Opening, Dana L. Bickmore

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education Faculty Research

© 2020 SAGE Publications. Using multiple case studies, I examined how three traditional principals reacted and responded over time to the opening of a charter school in their attendance boundaries. Findings suggest principals’ reactions to competition shifted based on their perceptions of their status and competitive advantage in the market. These perceptual changes were the result of interactions with parents/guardians, staff, teachers, and students. This study has implications for how principals’ perceptions over time may affect engagement in competitive markets.

A Program Evaluation Of The Implementation Process Of A Phonics First® Initiative, Amanda Picard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the Phonics First® program within one district to inform district level curriculum team decisions and program planning moving forward. As a level 4 Directed State Support district, the studied district was looking for ways to close the achievement gap and raise overall academic achievement in reading. To do so, the implementation of core reading program initiatives such as Phonics First® was assessed to determine how best to utilize and monitor the Phonics First® program to achieve the district’s desired outcomes. This study utilized a decision-oriented program evaluation using a …

Analyzing Human Resource Competency Development Through The Lens Of Adult Learning Theory: A Qualitative Case Study On Change Management Competency In A Global U.S.-Based Firm., Angela K. Jorgensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

HR as a profession has sought to be more strategic in order to address the increasing complexities of the business world, but many find that, in general, it is not happening in practice. Academic research has sought to define a set of competencies to guide the work and development of HR professionals; specifically, managing organizational change is one of the recommended core competencies. The extant literature suggests that there is a gap in the formal learning higher education offerings for HR professionals to be able to develop the set of knowledge, skills, and abilities required to be proficient in organizational …

Implementing A Professional Learning Community In A Private School In The Dominican Republic: An Instrumental Case Study, Miguelina Adelaida Coronado Cornelio

Dissertations

The initiative of turning schools into Professional Learning Communities (PLC) is being implemented by many schools and school systems in different countries. PLC processes have shown to be successful in enhancing teachers’ and students’ learning (Gumus, 2013; Michalak, 2009; Mullen & Schunk, 2010). The fact that the Dominican Republic (DR) is committed to improving the quality of education, the implementation of PLC processes seems to be a compelling option to reach this goal. The Dominican Ministry of Education has followed the guidelines that research in the U.S. and other countries have set and has recently adopted PLCs’ features and processes …

Digital Transformation In Higher Education: A Framework For Maturity Assessment, Adam Marks, Maytha Al-Ali, Reem Atassi, Abedallah Zaid Abualkishik, Yacine Rezgui

All Works

© 2020 Science and Information Organization. All rights reserved. —Literature in digital transformation maturity is scarce. Digital transformation in higher education, especially after COVID-19 is seen as inevitable. This research explores digital transformation maturity and challenges within Higher Education. The significance of this study stems from the role digital transformation plays in today’s knowledge economy. This study proposes a new framework based on Deloitte’s 2019 digital transformation assessment framework with Petkovic 2014 mega and major higher education process mapping. The study triangulates the findings of multiple research instruments, including survey, interviews, case study, and direct observation. The research findings show …

Teacher Perceptions Of Social Emotional Learning Supports In Freshman Academy, Nadia Saint-Louis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ninth grade year is the most important challenging year of high school. Many students struggle adjusting to the transition to high school. If supports are not in place, many ninth-grade students are at-risk of dropping out of school. The purpose of this study was to identify and examine the social emotional learning supports in Freshman Academy that assist in the transition to High School. A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore these social emotional supports. This study used a phenomenological methodology, enabling the researcher to gather information from a purposeful selection of educators directly identified by their Academy Principals.

This …

Assessing K-12 Leaders’ Level Of Critical Consciousness And Social Justice Predisposition In An Effort To Address Inequity In Suburban School Districts, Lucia Kaempffe

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive phenomenological research study was to identify the level of critical consciousness of kindergarten through Grade 12 building leaders (principals and assistant principals) in suburban districts with graduation rates of 90% or above. The study also sought to understand the leaders’ predisposition toward social justice in an effort to redesign and implement educational structures that attend more holistically to a diverse student population. Through nine semi-structured interviews, reflection, and sharing, this study was able to gauge the participants’ existing levels of critical consciousness based on their past experiences. The data was coded and interpreted to …

Implementing Change: A Case Study Of Adaptive Leadership, Tina Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Persistent low levels of student achievement is a concern that has been the focus of many school improvement initiatives. Research has demonstrated that Professional Learning Communities are an initiative that leads to improved academic outcomes. Additionally, research has demonstrated the importance of effective leadership for a change initiative to be successful.

Using the conceptual framework of adaptive leadership as applied to implement a school improvement initiative, this study was conducted to understand how instructional leaders perceive their leadership changed as a result of implementing professional learning communities in their school. The participants were instructional leaders who led schools participating in …

Gamification Strategies For Music Educators: An Online Continuing Education Course, Luis Enrique Espinosa

Masters Theses

This curriculum project is designed to provide music educators in the public and private sector with introductory knowledge about the topic of gamification and game-based learning, framed within the scope of an online continuing education course. It is meant for adult learners who teach young musicians in the K-12 range. The course offers a set of strategies and step-based processes that help transform a traditional music lesson plan into an interactive and meaningful learning experience that leverages games. The games created by the students in the course can serve to motivate music students by incorporating a sense of competition and …

Disrupting Education: High School Principals’ Efforts To Lead Disruptive Innovation And The Influence Of Isomorphic Mechanisms, Katie Cummings Catania

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Students today require skills and dispositions different from those of the past. Despite ongoing efforts to initiate change in schools through reform efforts, little has changed within educational institutions. Current reform efforts do, however, create conditions for principals to lead disruptive innovation within their schools. Research is limited on innovation implementation in education and the various ways isomorphic forces may hinder or contribute to the design and adoption of disruptive innovations. The purpose of this study was to examine how high school principals lead disruptive innovation. Additionally, this study sought to understand how the mechanisms of isomorphism influence the adoption …

Perceptions Of Special Education Supports By School Administrators, Eric P. Oxford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study analyzed the perceptions of special education supports by school administrators. Specifically, this research discussed comparative findings of perceptions of special education supports between building principals and building-based special education team chairpersons in one Massachusetts public school district. The findings are grounded in the district’s inclusive philosophy and its capability to ensure that all students are provided educational opportunities in the least restrictive educational environment. The problem studied was that many students with disabilities who are unable to find academic success within an inclusive academic environment are typically transitioned into a more restrictive—or substantially separate—alternative education setting. It …

Development And Validation Of A Global Competency Framework For Preparing New Graduates For Early Career Professional Roles, Mark Strong, Gary J. Burkholder, Emily Solberg, Amy Stellmack, William Presson, Jean-Bernard Seitz

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: The current objectives include the development of a global competency model applicable across a wide range of jobs, industries, and geographies for university graduates entering the workplace.

Method: The competency model was developed utilizing a global panel of subject matter experts and a validation survey of over 25,000 students, faculty, staff, and employers across more than 30 countries.

Results: The results showed substantial consistency for the importance and criticality ratings of the competencies, with Achieving Objectives, Analyzing and Solving Problems, Adapting to Change, Communicating Orally, Learning and Self-Development, Making Decisions, Planning and Organizing, and Working Well with Others as …

A Nomological Network Analysis Of Innovation In Hospitality Education And Industry, Robert H. Rippee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The development of a theory of innovation for hospitality innovation finds heightened importance due to the COVID-19 Pandemic that has unleashed a devastating and sustained disruption on global hospitality and tourism. The problem for research is that the industry lacks a taxonomy for research on innovation in hospitality. This study addresses the gap in understanding the nomological relationship between innovation constructs and the observable manifestations of innovation in the hospitality industry. This study used an emergent basic qualitative design of a phenomenon through data collected in three phases. Two large samples of literature and a series of focus groups comprised …

Bidirectional Influences Of Decisions And Outcomes On Organizational Identity And Sustainable Viability In Small, Private, Nonprofit, Mission-Focused Higher Education Institutions, Brian J. Gilliam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As educational leaders in small, private, nonprofit, mission-focused higher education institutions confront challenges, their decisions influence organizational identity, culture, and viability. Decision-making is informed in a complex environment of internal and external influences. The purpose of this research is engaged scholarship to inform practitioners of decision-making in mission-focused institutions with better understanding of why and how adaptation is occurring, and provide a conceptual framework for decision-making and further study of organizational leadership in this important sector of higher education.

Four-year private, nonprofit, degree-granting institutions represent 34% of all accredited institutions in the United States and serve over 5 million students. …

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session November 4, 2020, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

• Acceptance of the Agenda – Bolger
• Approval of the Minutes (September 17, 2020 Meeting) – Bolger
• Remarks by the Chair – Bolger
• Remarks by the President – Montgomery
• Comments by the Faculty Senate President – Kritzman
• Comments by the Western Student Association President – West
• Comments by the Graduate Student Association President – Morris
• Presentation – The COVID Coalition – Bott, Bensley, Filpi, Mitchell, and Yelsma
• Public Comments Regarding Action Items – Schuemann

Action Items – Bolger

• General Revenue Bond Authorization – Van Der Kley
• Western Michigan University External Audit – Rinvelt
• Termination of the Western Michigan University Cooley Law …

The Effect Of School Discipline Processes On Student Perceptions Of Personal Safety In Rural Middle Schools, Jaslene Atwal

All Theses And Dissertations

There is a need to clearly communicate expectations and consequences of misconduct to deter students from engaging in negative behaviors that create a physically or psychologically unsafe learning environment at school. A poor school climate has been found to have a detrimental effect on student achievement. A positive learning environment can transform negative situations into positive ones and have a beneficial effect on student behavior and achievement. This study explored the effect of a proactive discipline program on students’ perceptions of their physical and psychological safety in rural middle schools. The research questions for this study asked what factors most …

Nontraditional University President: From Candidate To President, Mark J. Braun

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to understand a nontraditional university president’s transitional experience of the presidential search process and the competencies he believed he possessed and how those competencies have been utilized as a university president. The study utilized Creswell’s approach to phenomenology to document the experience of going through the search process. The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU, 2016) report, the AASCU State College and University Presidential Competency Model, provided the framework for this study. This study used that framework to evaluate whether the nontraditional president has the same competencies called for in …

Multi-Tiered Systems Of Support And School Leadership In High-Achieving Pennsylvania Schoolwide Title 1 Elementary Schools, Malinda Jane Mikesell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This explanatory case study illustrates how some Pennsylvania Schoolwide Title 1 elementary schools are thriving on state assessments while others are unable to achieve this success. The study was limited to this population of elementary schools to focus on how and why some schools with high percentages of students who receive free and reduced lunch are achieving excellent student achievement. First, the differences between Schoolwide Title 1 schools’ achievement on the Pennsylvania state assessments were categorized. Then Schoolwide Title 1 elementary schools with the highest percentages of students with low socioeconomic status (SES), who still achieved proficient school performance …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Professional Development On Accessibility To Online Courses By Students With Special Needs At A Regional Four-Year Public Institution Of Higher Education In West Texas, Dallas Anne Swafford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evaluation research, including qualitative and quantitative data, was used in this study to determine the impact of professional development on online courses’ accessibility by students with disabilities. The study focused on online courses and course content. Data collection took place in phases and included self-paced, online professional development and one-on-one support sessions, a pre- and postsurvey, and a focus group interview. The study took place at a regional 4-year public institution of higher education in West Texas. Change theory emerged as the primary theoretical lens guiding the research as the study unfolded.

Using The Cipp Evaluation Model To Examine A Bachelor Of Science In Health Systems Management Program, Somer Goad Burke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this formative evaluation was to explore the effectiveness of a Bachelor of Science in Health Systems Management (BS HSMT) program in supporting student success through gathering information that led to recommendations for program improvement. The evaluation setting was a public university in the southeastern United States that began enrolling students in the BS HSMT in the fall semester 2017. The BS HSMT was developed to meet the local workforce need for professionals trained in health management and to offer a non-clinical bachelor’s degree for students not competitive or not admitted to their first-choice selective major (described in …

A Quantitative Study Of Collaborative Theories Of Action, Teacher Collective Efficacy, And The Behaviors Of Student Self-Directedness, Melissa Ann Huff

Dissertations

This quantitative study was conducted to investigate the relationships among teacher collective efficacy, espoused theories of collaboration, collaborative theories in use, the gap between these theories, and student self-directedness. Costa and Kallick (2014) and Tough (2016) suggested student success is more than just academic. Frey, Hattie, and Fisher (2018) indicated student success is achieved when students develop a self-directed disposition. Based on the historical work of Argyris, Putnam, and Smith (1987), establishing the difference between espoused theories and theories in use, espoused theories of collaboration, collaborative theories in use, and the gap between these theories of action were investigated. The …

Racial Battle Fatigue And Black Male Higher Education Administrators, Joshua Walehwa

Dissertations

Racial Battle Fatigue was first coined by Dr. William A. Smith as a theory describing the burnout of African Americans in higher education institutions. While much of the current research focuses on the faculty and student experiences, in various formats, this provides an autoethnography capturing the various phases of a Black Male higher education administrators experience with experiencing and coping through Racial Battle Fatigue. The belief behind this approach focuses on the value of storytelling and autoethnography in particular in research, the interconnected nature of life experiences that impact professional life as well as the reverse, and a call to …

Leadership Styles Of Superintendents In The Developmental Disability System In Ohio, Kristine Hodge Edd, Karen H. Larwin Phd

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

The county boards of developmental disabilities in the state of Ohio have experienced significant change in vision, mission, programs, services, and funding over the last several years. In times of vast change, the ability to successfully lead an organization becomes challenging. In an effort to identify the leadership behaviors and styles of superintendents of county boards in the changing environment, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 5X ([MLQ Form 5X], Bass, 2007) was administered and analysis was conducted. The most common self-identified leadership style is transformational, followed by transactional and laissez-faire Implications of this study support the transformational leadership style in …

Design Thinking As A Common Language Between Higher Education And Employers, Johnna Denning-Smith

Dissertations

This qualitative study explores student skill preparedness for the work force through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with current college students, faculty members, and employers. Responses from study participants were transcribed, coded, and thematically organized into the following four categories of skills that employers seek in recent college graduates: critical thinking skills, resiliency, workplace skills, and discipline specific skills. The findings include participant perceptions of the importance of these skills and whether higher education effectively prepares recent graduates for the workforce. As part of this discussion, design thinking is presented as a bridge between these groups and as a solution …

“Am I Really Good Enough?”: Black And Latinx Experiences With Faculty Development, Sylk Santiago-Sotto

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This study focuses on the experiences of Black and Latinx faculty in academic medicine in relation to their educational and faculty development. Narratives by participants reflect on their career path and refer to faculty development programs as valuable but also as dominant group-centric, counter to their cultural backgrounds and the underrepresented faculty experience. Findings reveal the need for faculty development to be spaces for affirmation, validation, and accountability and suggest the need for tailored programs. Furthermore, implications on the research and practice of faculty affairs within higher education and academic medicine are outlined.

Principals’ Schema: Leadership Philosophies And Instructional Leadership, Sarah J. Zuckerman, Cailen O'Shea

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The Every Child Succeeds Act of 2015 signaled a shift toward the recognition of the importance of school leadership, reflecting a growing body of literature that demonstrates principals are second only to classroom instruction in supporting student success. This influence is the greatest when principals focus on teaching and learning, or instructional leadership. The ability to focus on instructional leadership requires knowledge, as well as the schema that creates mental models for instructional leadership tasks. This study draws on interviews with principals to examine the relationship between their theory of leadership, which are conceptualized as leadership schema, and their instructional …

A Comparative Study Of Managerial And Nonmanagerial Perceptions About Readiness For Organizational Change, Kathleen Ortiz

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

To remain competitive, organizations must learn to successfully manage change. Despite significant research on change management processes, a review of the literature indicated a need for further research on employee readiness for change. The purpose of this study was to compare employee perceptions about readiness for change in one organization. Factors of readiness between managerial and nonmanagerial employee groups (e.g., discrepancy, appropriateness, efficacy, principal support, and valence) were compared. Additional factors such as personal mindset, trust in leadership, respect for others, and employee involvement in organizational planning were also integrated for study purposes. This quantitative, nonexperimental research study utilized survey …

Exploring The Needs, Practices, And Attitudes Toward Technology Integration Of Community College Esol Instructors: Recommendations For Professional Development Through Action Research, Courtney Cunningham

Theses and Dissertations

Research has established both the importance of integrating technology in English language learning and of properly training teachers in order to integrate technology effectively. Inadequate teacher and learner training prevent technology from being utilized to its fullest potential in the English language classroom. A portion of the problem is due to lack of training for practicing teachers. While this is true for English as a second language teachers in all contexts, there is a strong need for instructors working with adult learners to utilize technology and be properly trained in technology integration. Professional development is a way to overcome barriers …