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Black Male Probationers' Perceptions Of Juvenile Probation Officers' Role In Reducing Recidivism, Fern H. Clarke Jan 2017

Black Male Probationers' Perceptions Of Juvenile Probation Officers' Role In Reducing Recidivism, Fern H. Clarke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The high recidivism rate of Black male juvenile offenders is a problem in the United States that continues to be of great concern. Probation has gained popularity as being a means of addressing and reducing the high recidivism rates of juvenile offenders. However, there is a lack of research regarding Black male juvenile probationers' perceptions of their probation officers' role in reducing their recidivism. This study examined the following: a) the predictive relationships between Black male probationers' perceptions of their probation officers, their perceptions of the probation officers' job, and their recidivism within 3 years of being place on probation; …

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Strategies To Improve Corporate Financial Investment In Care Coordination Programs, Shameka Coles Jan 2017

Strategies To Improve Corporate Financial Investment In Care Coordination Programs, Shameka Coles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Key drivers for care coordination programs may include reducing inflated health care cost and improving the quality of care for high-risk populations. However, health care leaders lack methods to support financial investment in care coordination programs. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that health care leaders use to improve corporate financial investment in care coordination programs that include the triple aim of reducing cost, improving population health, and increasing patient satisfaction. The triple aim model provided the conceptual framework for the study in which 6 health care leaders from Southern California with experience garnering …

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Creativity In Asynchronous Online Discussions, Timothy D. Corfman Jan 2017

Creativity In Asynchronous Online Discussions, Timothy D. Corfman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

It is vital for online educators to know whether the strategies they use help students gain 21st-century skills. One skill that has been identified as important in the 21st century is creativity; however, a gap existed in the literature concerning whether online courses could help students to develop creativity. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine whether participation in online courses can help students develop creativity using asynchronous online discussions, textbooks, and teacher developed materials. Amabile's componential model of creativity formed the study's conceptual framework. A case-study approach was used to examine the question of whether asynchronous online …

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Instructional Practices Of Upper Elementary General Education Teachers Of English Learners, Jamie Lynn Cardwell Jan 2017

Instructional Practices Of Upper Elementary General Education Teachers Of English Learners, Jamie Lynn Cardwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For the past 7 years in a public Midwestern school district, 75% of the English learners (ELs) in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades have performed below proficiency on the state examination. To address the declining academic achievement, district administration required that K-5 teachers attend professional development (PD) that featured culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) instructional practices for ELs. Despite district wide PD, school administration did not monitor implementation of these practices and student achievement continued to decline. This qualitative bounded case study was grounded in Vygotsky's constructivism and Krashen's second language acquisition theories. The purpose of this study was to …

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History Teachers' Perspectives Of Time Constraints, Engagement, And Relevance In The Curriculum, Christy Mimie Davis Jan 2017

History Teachers' Perspectives Of Time Constraints, Engagement, And Relevance In The Curriculum, Christy Mimie Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the last 20 years, many state school administrators have reduced social studies instructional time in favor of time dedicated to reading or math skills due to the pressure of standardized testing. The purpose of this qualitative case study, which was based on constructivist theories about learning and schema theory, was to analyze teachers' perspectives on teaching history lessons, in terms of engagement and relevance, while working within new time constraints. Purposeful sampling was used to select 6 teachers for interviews; all had experience teaching social studies courses at the upper elementary and middle levels in a public school district …

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Healthcare Executive Leadership Development And Succession Planning, Robin Ford Dillard Jan 2017

Healthcare Executive Leadership Development And Succession Planning, Robin Ford Dillard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business leaders face leadership crises as executives from the baby boomer generation retire, creating a shortage of experienced and knowledgeable leaders. Some business leaders are unprepared for the replacement of retiring senior-level executives and lack strategies for succession planning. The findings of this study indicate succession planning and leadership development play a significant role in preparing future healthcare leaders in their ability to improve the quality of patient care and improve the strategic and financial health of the organization. Guided by the human capital theory the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies used by healthcare …

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Perceptions Of Ingratiation From The Perspective Of Retired Air Force Leaders, Kevin C. Dunn Jan 2017

Perceptions Of Ingratiation From The Perspective Of Retired Air Force Leaders, Kevin C. Dunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ingratiation is a deceptive, psychological tactic subordinates use to convince their supervisors to treat them better than other subordinates. Subordinate ingratiation is relatively well-known, but the concept of a manager promoting and encouraging ingratiative behaviors to subordinates is less common and seen as uncommonly deceptive. Little is known about how managers feel about ingratiation why any manager would encourage it. The purpose of this study was to explore how people in management positions percieve manager-encouraged ingratiation. Research questions addressed how people in management positions might respond to a scenario wherein a manager encouraged a subordinate employee to act out ingratiation. …

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Lived Experiences Of Secondary Victims During The Parole Process: A Phenomenological Approach, Jessica Millimen Jan 2017

Lived Experiences Of Secondary Victims During The Parole Process: A Phenomenological Approach, Jessica Millimen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Secondary victims of traumatic violent crimes are subject to continuing the process of fighting for the loved ones they have lost. Once the offender is incarcerated, such victims may still have to face the process of parole if the offender has been granted a possibility of parole after years served. There is a gap in the literature and a need for research in the area of lived experiences for secondary victims as they progress through the parole process. For this study, a phenomenological study was utilized with 10 secondary victim participants. Participants were interviewed questions via telephone and the data …

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Predictors Of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination In Georgia, Ashley Nash Jan 2017

Predictors Of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination In Georgia, Ashley Nash

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and is available for males and females, completion of the 3-shot series in Georgia remains relatively low. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors of HPV vaccination initiation and completion for male and female adolescents, ages 13 to 17 years old, in Georgia between 2013 and 2015. The theoretical foundation of the study was the structural model of health behavior which is an ecological model. Logistic regression was performed to determine if there was any relationship between the independent variables of parental …

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Leadership Development For The Formal Nurse Leader, Lori Neu Jan 2017

Leadership Development For The Formal Nurse Leader, Lori Neu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse leaders are essential to the advancement of healthcare because of their ability to bridge the gap of knowledge between clinical practice and the business of healthcare. Developing nurse managers is imperative to the future of nursing given their influential role in healthcare. The central topic of exploration in the project was how nurse managers use the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) Nurse Manger Inventory Tool to assess their management skills after exposure to the leadership development program currently available to them. In this project, the novice to expert theory was used to evaluate the existing leadership development program …

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Factors Impacting Hiv Post Exposure Prophylaxis Among Health Care Workers, Ulunma Njemanze Jan 2017

Factors Impacting Hiv Post Exposure Prophylaxis Among Health Care Workers, Ulunma Njemanze

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health care workers are at risk of contracting HIV as a result of occupational exposure while treating infected patients. HIV postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) is an effective antiretroviral treatment course used in preventing potential HIV infection following an accidental occupational exposure to HIV. The objective of this cross sectional study was to identify the factors that impact the practice of HIV PEP among health care workers at the National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey using self-administered, structured questionnaires was conducted on 182 health care workers at the National Hospital comprising of medical doctors, nurses, and laboratory scientists. A chi-square test …

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Translating Evidence Of Skin-To-Skin And Rooming-In To Practice, Francisca Njoku Jan 2017

Translating Evidence Of Skin-To-Skin And Rooming-In To Practice, Francisca Njoku

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The old practice of separating the mother-baby-dyad was without measurable benefits to mothers or their infants. Evidence has shown that skin-to-skin care (SSC) prevents hypothermia and hypoglycemia, decreases crying during painful procedures in newborns, and reduces maternal anxiety, stress, and postpartum depression. Rooming-in care (RIC) has been linked to an increase in the rate of breastfeeding and mother-infant interaction, as well as a decrease in the infant morbidity rate. This project assessed the effect of an educational intervention to increase rates of SSC and RIC in an obstetric unit, in addition to measuring nurses' attitudes and barriers in relation to …

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E-Commerce Adoption By Small And Medium Enterprises In Nigeria, Anthony Obioma Nwosu Jan 2017

E-Commerce Adoption By Small And Medium Enterprises In Nigeria, Anthony Obioma Nwosu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The future survival of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is inextricably linked to their implementation of e-commerce systems. The lack of e-commerce strategies among SME business owners has contributed to a low level of e-commerce adoption by SMEs. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that Nigerian SME business owners used to implement e-commerce systems. The population consisted of retail SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria, that have functional e-commerce systems. The conceptual framework supporting the study was dynamic capabilities framework. Data for the study were derived from semistructured interviews of 4 SME business owners/managers and documentation …

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Strategies To Mitigate Losses From Product-Harm Crises In The Agri-Food Industry, Leslie Owen Paull Jan 2017

Strategies To Mitigate Losses From Product-Harm Crises In The Agri-Food Industry, Leslie Owen Paull

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some agri-food managers of United States-based companies use strategies to mitigate product-harm crises.The loss of brand and corporate sustainability increases for companies not utilizing mitigating strategies to reduce losses from agri-food product-harm crisis.The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies managers use to mitigate losses from agri-food product-harm crises. Coombs' situational crisis communication theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. A sample of 3 managers from 3 agri-food companies in the southern United States shared their mitigating strategies to reduce losses from a product-harm crisis. Methodological triangulation assisted in reviewing and analyzing information from …

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U.S. Young Adults Stds, Risk Perception, Risk Behaviors, And Health Information Seeking, Amanda Robison-Chadwell Jan 2017

U.S. Young Adults Stds, Risk Perception, Risk Behaviors, And Health Information Seeking, Amanda Robison-Chadwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are preventable conditions for which treatment failure (specifically in gonorrhea) is becoming problematic. U.S. young adults (20-29 years) have high rates of STD incidence and prevention of these diseases, but reaching them to provide primary prevention educations is challenging due to low perceived susceptibility to infection and lack of knowledge about how young adults seek health information. The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to assess the association between perceived susceptibility to STDs, sexual risk behavior, and the acquisition of health information as it pertains to sexual health topics in young adults. The Health Belief …

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Predictors Of Compliance With The Food Safety And Inspection Service's Listeria Rule, 2012-2015, Amadou Samb Jan 2017

Predictors Of Compliance With The Food Safety And Inspection Service's Listeria Rule, 2012-2015, Amadou Samb

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 1987, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has implemented a zero-tolerance policy for Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products, which culminated with the implementation of the Listeria rule in 2003. While researchers have extensively examined human listeriosis and its causative agent, Lm, there remained a significant gap in the current literature regarding how, singly or in combination, establishment size, RTE product type, Listeria alternative used, and FSIS district of production predict compliance with the Listeria rule. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between establishment size, RTE product type, …

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Understanding Self-Management Decision Making In Heart Failure, Constance Louise Schumacher Jan 2017

Understanding Self-Management Decision Making In Heart Failure, Constance Louise Schumacher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Heart failure patients are responsible for managing fluctuations in symptoms between exacerbations by employing treatment adherence, active monitoring, and management strategies based on expert guidelines. Despite education, delayed help seeking persists among those in the need of acute medical intervention, as evidenced by high hospital admission and readmission rates. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to explore the decision making processes undertaken by heart failure, community-dwelling individuals as they experience symptom changes. Eighteen face-to-face interviews were conducted with participants who had heart failure and received self-management education from a home care agency in Southern Ontario, Canada. Data …

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U.S Marine Corps Veterans' Perceptions Of Screening For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Tiffany Lawing Schweitzer Jan 2017

U.S Marine Corps Veterans' Perceptions Of Screening For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Tiffany Lawing Schweitzer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious issue for post-deployment United States Marine Corps (USMC) veterans, especially because PTSD can increase the risk of suicide. Marines are screened post-deployment, yet little is known about Marine veterans' perceptions of the PTSD screening process. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore USMC male veterans' perceptions of the Post- Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA). The social cognitive theory constructs of a triadic relationship among person, environment, and behavior were the framework for understanding this population's perceptions of the PDHRA and potential stigma. Two research questions focused on how people, culture, and behavior …

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Initial Findings Of A Medicare Annual Wellness Visit Program, Hesper B. Nowatzki Jan 2017

Initial Findings Of A Medicare Annual Wellness Visit Program, Hesper B. Nowatzki

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the emphasis of benefits on preventive health, many older adults are not receiving the recommended age specific, evidence based screenings and vaccinations. The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) is designed to address modifiable risk factors with aging adults and close gaps in care not captured in routine office visits. Although a free Medicare benefit to patients, and a reimbursable service to health care providers, participation in the AWV is low nationwide. The purpose of the project is to introduce an AWV program to a rural health clinic in Northwest Illinois that has a population consisting of over 25% of …

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Fire Officer Leadership Strategies For Cost Management, Leo R. Sedlmeyer Jan 2017

Fire Officer Leadership Strategies For Cost Management, Leo R. Sedlmeyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fire departments in the United States accounted for 31% of municipal budgets with increases of 85% spending between 2015 and 2016. The purpose of this single case study was to explore leadership strategies fire officers used to manage costs associated with hazardous operations. The conceptual framework grounding this study was transformational leadership theory. The participants in this study were 10 fire officers who manage hazardous operations in central Wisconsin. The data collection process included open-ended questions in a semistructured format resulting in transcripts, a review of fire department staffing documents, and personal journal notes. Methodological triangulation was used to compare …

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The Experiences Of African American Women Participating In Church-Based Weight Loss Programs, Mangle L. Shanks Jan 2017

The Experiences Of African American Women Participating In Church-Based Weight Loss Programs, Mangle L. Shanks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While obesity is a nationwide phenomenon, African Americans - especially women - continue to be more severely affected than any other ethnic group. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 20% of African American women are obese compared to 15.6% of Caucasian women. The church is an important community center for many African Americans, and is often a site for health promotion programs, though little is known of the effectiveness of these programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to study the experiences and attitudes of African American women who have gone through a church-based weight-loss …

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Realigning Community Policing In A Homeland Security Era, Alfred Stanford Titus, Jr. Jan 2017

Realigning Community Policing In A Homeland Security Era, Alfred Stanford Titus, Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The priority shift from community policing to homeland security in local police departments in the United States has threatened the relationships and successes established by community policing, though little empirical research explored the relationship between funding and implementation of homeland security versus community policing objectives among local law enforcement agencies. Using Karl Popper's conceptualization of the liberal democracy as the framework, the purpose of this descriptive study was to examine how trends in funding and implementation of both community policing and homeland security objectives changed among American law enforcement agencies between 1993 and 2013. Data were acquired from the Law …

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An Analysis Of Teachers' Perceptions Of Bullying At The Elementary School Level, Tiffany Wilson Thomas Jan 2017

An Analysis Of Teachers' Perceptions Of Bullying At The Elementary School Level, Tiffany Wilson Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers in elementary schools are often faced with countless disruptive bullying behaviors, which cause them to lose valuable classroom instruction time. In addition, bullying victims have shown a decline in academic success as compared to students who are not bullied. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to explore teachers' understanding and awareness of bullying behaviors and policies at the elementary school level, particularly in an elementary school in a southeastern state that has experienced large increases in student disruptive behavior over the past 2 school years. Bandura's social cognitive theory served as the conceptual framework. Semi-structured interview …

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Nurses' Reflection, Compassion Fatigue, And Work Burnout - A Correlational Analysis, Sarah Urban Jan 2017

Nurses' Reflection, Compassion Fatigue, And Work Burnout - A Correlational Analysis, Sarah Urban

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compassion fatigue and work-related burnout are harmful reactions to patient situations and work environments that negatively affect nurses' well-being and ability to provide safe, effective patient care. However, research is needed to understand how reflection as a self-care response to patient situations is related to nurses' development of work burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress, a type of compassion fatigue. The purpose of this correlational, cross-sectional quantitative study was to determine the relationship between hospital-based acute care nurses' levels of reflection and their levels of compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and work burnout. The study was based on Hentz …

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Understanding The Radicalization Process Of U.S. Homegrown Terrorists, Jose Manuel Vargas Jan 2017

Understanding The Radicalization Process Of U.S. Homegrown Terrorists, Jose Manuel Vargas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Radicalization is an aspect in the development of homegrown terrorists; however, researchers have been unable to establish a path to radicalization, uncover how individual and social factors influence radicalization, and identify how the Internet and social media mediate this process. The purpose of this case study was to explore individual and environmental factors that contribute to the radicalization of U.S. homegrown terrorists and identify interventions. Conversion theory was used to develop an understanding of the radicalization of U.S. homegrown terrorists. Data were derived from interviews of local and state law enforcement, military antiterrorism officers (AT), and security personnel from military …

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Agent-Based Overlapping Generations Modeling For Educational Policy Analysis, Connie Hou-Ning Wang Jan 2017

Agent-Based Overlapping Generations Modeling For Educational Policy Analysis, Connie Hou-Ning Wang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educational systems are complex adaptive systems (CAS). The macroeffects of an educational policy emerge from and depend on individual students' reactions to the policy. However, educational policymakers traditionally rely on equation-based models, which are deficient in reflecting the work of microbehaviors. Using inappropriate tools to make policies may be a reason why there were many unintended educational consequences in history. A proper methodology to design and analyze policies for complex educational systems is agent-based modeling (ABM). Grounded in the theories of CAS and computational irreducibility, ABM is capable of connecting microbehaviors with macropatterns. The purpose of this study was to …

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Lived Experiences Of Mothers Returning To Work After A Child-Rearing Hiatus, Brenda Marceline Yahraes Jan 2017

Lived Experiences Of Mothers Returning To Work After A Child-Rearing Hiatus, Brenda Marceline Yahraes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mothers who leave the workforce to raise children may face personal and professional difficulties when returning. There was a lack of qualitative research on what these women experience in their return to work. The purpose of this study was to discover and describe how a mother in a professional or managerial position experiences a return to the workforce after a hiatus of 2 or more years to raise children. The philosophy of Husserl and the methodology of Moustakas guided this transcendental phenomenological study. Through purposive snowball sampling, 12 women participated in semistructured interviews. Data analysis followed the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method leading …

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The Impact Of An Online, Mastery, And Project-Based Developmental Math Curriculum On Student Achievement And Attitude, Steven Ray Zollinger Jan 2017

The Impact Of An Online, Mastery, And Project-Based Developmental Math Curriculum On Student Achievement And Attitude, Steven Ray Zollinger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to anxiety, low confidence, and inadequate content knowledge, many college students struggle to complete their developmental math coursework. As colleges redesign their programs to address these issues, careful research is imperative to determine the factors that best meet the needs of these struggling students. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of one college's redesigned program (integrating online, mastery, and project-based learning) compared with the traditional program. Using Weiner's attribution theory of achievement motivation and emotion as a guide, this mixed methods case study used a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design in conjunction with a qualitative …

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Nurse Practitioners' Guide On Consumption Of Hundred Percent Fruit Juice By Children, Monisola Adeyemo Jan 2017

Nurse Practitioners' Guide On Consumption Of Hundred Percent Fruit Juice By Children, Monisola Adeyemo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Childhood obesity has reached an epidemic level in the United States, growing exponentially and posing a great risk to the current and future health of the American people. The trend of increasing incidence of overweight and obesity in children has been occurring for decades; there is a need for multimodal preventative solutions to control the rate of growth. Sufficient evidence has shown a correlation between the feeding of 100% fruit juice to infants as dietary supplements and childhood obesity. Therefore, the purpose of this project was development of a guideline for 100% fruit juice feeding in children that is adaptable …

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Higher Education Leaders' Transformative Learning And Leadership Experiences Responding To Student Drug Abuse, James Vernon Battin Jan 2017

Higher Education Leaders' Transformative Learning And Leadership Experiences Responding To Student Drug Abuse, James Vernon Battin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Today's academic and social environment creates uncertainties, new roles, frequent changes, and challenging situations for student affairs academic leaders. The purpose of this study was to explore how student affairs academic leaders described their recent challenging experiences in addressing student drug abuse in higher education. The conceptual framework was based on adult transformative learning theory and applied transformative leadership perspectives. An interview format with open-ended questions was used to explore the experiences of 8 student affairs leaders who had faced challenging situations in the context of student drug abuse. A qualitative interpretive analysis was used that involved open coding of …

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