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Gender Inequity In The Representation Of Women As Superintendents In Mississippi Public Schools: The "No Problem Problem", Deidre Joy Seale Smith

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the phenomenon of continuing underrepresentation of female superintendents in Mississippi K-12 public schools. The study was conducted during the 2014-2015 school year. At the time of the study, women represented 23% of the overall population of superintendents in Mississippi public schools. Fourteen women who were serving as superintendents in Mississippi during the 2014-2015 school year participated. Interviews were conducted, and the qualitative data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The data were analyzed using constructs associated with feminist theory, feminist postsructural and feminist standpoint theoretical frameworks. Two primary themes emerged as a result of this …

Military Millennials As Next Generation Leaders: Do Leadership Traits Matter?, Phillip Michael Green

Dissertations

Employers are constantly evaluating individuals to fill leadership roles within their organizations to extract the highest return from their resources and investments. Millennials, born between 1982 and 2000 (Howe and Strauss, 2000), represent the youngest and newest generation entering the workforce. A sub-population of this generation consists of military veterans returning to the United States after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This quantitative study examines the leadership traits of the military Millennials that have transitioned to civilian life and compares this population segment with Millennials without a military background. To compare the two groups of the generational cohort, a …

Treasures Of Their Truth: Selected Conversations On The Context For Leadership In Southern Malawi, Martin Renee High

Dissertations

Western knowledge of African philosophy, culture, leadership, and pre- and post- colonial history reflects both myths and truths that originate from Western ways of doing research. This ethnographic study (Creswell, 2009; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007; O'Leary, 2004) seeks to develop an understanding of the context for leadership in Malawi, a Sub-Saharan country. Using the indigenous research paradigm, which is a set of research beliefs or framework (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011) in which the researcher and the researched are connected, knowledge is relational, truth is relational with the universe, and research methodologies are based on indigenous knowledge, …

Wheel Of Innovation : How Leaders' Attitudes And Behaviors Drive Disruptive Technology In The U.S. Navy, Eddy Wayne Witzel

Dissertations

Problem and Purpose

Innovative solutions in national defense are needed to respond to national security threats in our uncertain environment. Leader attitudes and behaviors have a substantial impact on innovation. Unfortunately we did not completely understand the effect of leader attitudes and behaviors on innovation and the team dynamics that lead to innovation, especially in the military. The purpose of this study was to determine how leadership attitudes and behaviors contribute to product innovation within the U.S. Navy and how leadership emerges within this complex adaptive system of innovation.

Method

The research was a qualitative design based on a multiple …

Leadership Loss Within Independently-Controlled Protestant Churches: Protecting Against Leadership Turmoil And Turnover, Daniel L. Rundhaug

Dissertations

Throughout leadership research, limited focus has been given to the highest levels within independently controlled Protestant churches. Specifically, what accounts for the quality of relationship that exists between the senior pastor (recognized as the CEO of the organization) and the governing board to which he or she is responsible? This study examines the leadership relationship issue through the lens of a complementary leadership approach using Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory with transformational leadership and transactional leadership theories. In addition, several other questions were asked to identify potential other independent variables that contribute to the quality of the relationship between the two …

The Rebel Leader: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Analysis Of Rebel Superintendents In Suburban Public Schools, Christopher Leigh Finch

Dissertations

The term rebel is virtually nonexistent in academic literature within the field of educational leadership and maintains a generally negative connotation. This research is intended to cast the term in a new light and allow for conceptualization of the word as a positive descriptor for educational leaders. This study explored the impact and efficacy of rebel superintendents within suburban K-12 public school districts. Following a sequential explanatory mixed method design, participant selection was conducted using the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) as a quantitative participant selection tool. Nine superintendents were identified using the KAI and interviewed. Three superintendents were identified as …

The Influence Of K-12 Christian Education On Leadership Development, Jeffrey S. Mcmaster

Dissertations

Problem. Christian schools are an environment that intentionally works to bring coherence to a student’s moral and ethical development, which is a critical component of leadership development. It is then important to understand how the effect of that educational experience has carried over into the later development of leadership. However, there is very little study on the influence of Christian Kindergarten through 12th-grade education, let alone the influence of Christian education on leadership. Therefore the purpose of this study is to explore the influence of Christian education on leadership development as perceived by people in leadership positions.

Research Design. This …

Leadership Programs Designed To Develop Creative Leaders : A Multi-Case Study, Karen Tilstra

Dissertations

Problem. The topic of this study is creative leadership and how it is developed. Three creative leadership development institutes were studied to determine how each provided leadership development: Leadership Development Institute on the campus of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida; International Center for Creative Leadership on the campus of Buffalo State College at University of New York, in Buffalo, New York; and the Banff Centre, in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The purpose of this study is to describe the approach and specific components of these three leadership development programs that attempt to deliver training that produces leaders who practice creative …

An Analysis Of Peer Leadership Competencies And Skills, John P. Baker

Dissertations

A significant leadership challenge exists while leading others without legitimate or formal authority. Leading without legitimate authority may require different and limited leadership skills and competencies, especially when leading peers. This quantitative study analyzed the leader competencies and skills needed for effective peer leadership.
A literature review identified four competencies cited frequently as important: (a) communication; (b) support; (c) mental/hard work ethic; and (d) reflection/feedback. Analysis of an ROTC leadership assessment database provided convergent validity for the literature review while adding one additional competency, physical. The lack of existing instruments measuring peer leadership competencies and skills necessitated the development of …

The Leadership Practice Of Museum Educators, Tina R. Nolan

Dissertations

This grounded theory study is an examination of the culture, context, conditions and competencies of a set of six museum educators from a large city in the United States. Participants were education department leaders from a variety of museum types, including: A science museum, an ethnic arts museum, a settlement house museum, a children‘s museum, an aquarium, and a zoo. An analysis of data points to an emerging framework that codifies particular leadership settings and domains of practice for leaders of museum educators. An array of data collections were employed in the study, including: Semi-structured interviews, unstructured observations, written reflections …

Principals' Perceptions Of Distributed Leadership In An Elementary School Setting, David Dwain Eggen

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Community College Succession Planning: Preparing The Next Generation Of Women For Leadership Roles, Angela Kaysen Luzbetak

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore strategies to enable community colleges to develop and cultivate women for leadership roles through succession planning. According to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the pace of administrative and other key staff retirements exceeds the pace at which these positions are being re-staffed (Shults, 2001). One might question why the purposeful development of future community college leaders is critical. Community colleges currently face a crucial leadership crisis in the United States. Pending retirements and the lack of succession planning to fill upcoming vacancies is reaching a critical turning point. The Chronicle …

Evaluation Of The Formal And Informal Curricula Of The North American Division Evangelism Institute, Calvin Novaraj Joshua

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to conduct a formal program evaluation of the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI). The goal of NADEI is to equip pastors and laity for ministry. It developed over 30 years, and has presented formal and informal educational programs during that time. This helped it emerge as an indispensable unit in the North American Division (NAD), Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (SDATS), and Andrews University (AU). However, the programs of NADEI had not been evaluated.

Method. This study followed an Evaluative Case Study Design to evaluate the formal and informal programs of NADEI. Formal …

Leadership In Partially Distributed Teams, Linda Plotnick

Dissertations

Inter-organizational collaboration is becoming more common. When organizations collaborate they often do so in partially distributed teams (PDTs). A PDT is a hybrid team that has at least one collocated subteam and at least two subteams that are geographically distributed and communicate primarily through electronic media. While PDTs share many characteristics with both traditionally collocated and fully distributed teams, they also have unique characteristics and issues.

This dissertation reports on a field study of PDTs conducted over two semesters with student participants, This research was conducted as part of a larger series of studies investigating PDTs, In these studies, participants …

An Exploration Of The Interest In And Challenges Of Fostering Undergraduate Leadership-Development At Andrews University, Frances Mae Faehner

Dissertations

Problem. Among the wide spectrum of definitions regarding the meaning of leadership there are also themes regarding a critical need for leadership-development, and the belief that leadership can be learned and should be available to all. Therefore, it can be said that higher education has both a responsibility and an opportunity to purposefully develop this a new generation of leaders. This study explored the potential of Andrews University to foster a culture of leadership-development that will transform students who will work in collaborative spheres of influence around the globe.

Methodology. I used an exploratory, mixed-methods design. Data from an electronic …

A Leadership Model For Roman Catholic Social Service Agencies, Richard A. Ketrow

Dissertations

U.S. federal and state governments involve faith-based agencies in public administration by contracting with them to implement social service programs. How can Catholic social service agencies effectively compete in procuring these social service contracts and securing the program funds? To answer this question,a leadership model applicable to Catholic social service agencies was proposed. Four strategy constructs, evolving from the literature review, comprised theleadership model. The constructs providing a framework for the study were: performing service process reviews, utilizing a commitment to religious faith, entering valuable collaborations, and adhering to a consistent mission. Data were collected using a mail survey to …

The Relationship Between Leadership Styles And Labour Disputes In British Columbia's Public Schools, Yanping Wang Edd

Dissertations

For the last decade, adversarial relationships between teachers' associations and district administrators in the British Columbia public school system have been commonplace, frequently resulting in formal grievances and arbitration. Since dealing with these issues imposes enormous costs on both teachers' unions and school boards, this study used hierarchical regression analysis to explain why some schools have fewer grievances filed than other schools in the province. Specifically, this study used data gathered from 160 principals in the British Columbia public school system to examine the extent to which school demographics and principal leadership style helped explain variation in the rate of …

An Evaluation Study Of A Community College Administrative Leadership Development Program, Cristina Chiriboga-Hahn Edd

Dissertations

The general purpose of this study was to examine a model for professional development designed to meet the needs of administrators who work within the community college segment of higher education. Specifically, the research project was structured as a formative evaluation of the California community college administrative development program entitled Administration 101 offered through the state's primary professional association for administrators, the Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA). The study employed a mixed research methodology that included qualitative approaches to assess: 1. The usefulness of the concepts presented in Administration 101 based on the perceptions of participants and presenters, …

A Study Of The Leadership Preparedness Of U.S. Public University Chief Business Officers, Daniel J. Hurley

Dissertations

Despite the enormous role that Chief Business Officers (CBOs) play in administering the business and financial affairs of American public universities, little research has been conducted on their leadership preparedness. The primary objectives of this study were to assess the self-perceived preparedness of U.S. public university CBOs at the time they assumed their first position in the role, and to determine if specific factors could be associated with their overall preparedness.

With support from the National Association of College and University Business Officers, a survey was developed and mailed to the entire population of CBOs at four-year public universities in …

A Study Of Emergent Leadership Factors In A Total Ministry Model, David C. Meyers

Dissertations

This study generalized emergent leadership research to the unstudied population of Total Ministry parishes in the Episcopal Church. The research population was 75 small congregations who chose parish members as their liturgical and pastoral leaders. A survey was designed to distinguish more satisfied from less satisfied parishes in areas of worship, climate, and pastoral care. Each group was given a questionnaire with 29 emergent leadership factors. It was hypothesized that more satisfied parishes would match the constructs of emergent leadership to a higher degree. A T-test was used to compare scores. Results were very strong in pastoral care and climate, …

The Leadership-Culture Dimensional Screening Scale: Development Of A Screening Tool To Identify Transformational Versus Transactional Executive Style In Settlement Versus Frontier School Cultural Settings, Lorrie C. Reed

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Transforming Leadership In The California Literature Project: Ethnographic Narrative As True Fiction, Jon S. Davies Edd

Dissertations

With rare exception leadership scholars and practitioners focus on individuals as leaders. However, to investigate leadership only through the activities of individual leaders is to miss its essential feature, namely, that leadership is a particular kind of relationship in which leaders and followers create changes. Relationships are difficult to describe because researchers cannot observe them directly; instead, they must infer them indirectly. This study investigated leadership relationships in the California Literature Project. An exploration of leadership relationships required that I implement research methods that would support the construction of detailed descriptions of transforming leadership processes. These methods developed in part …

Empowerment As A Dynamic Of The Leadership Relationship: A Study Of Two Local Governmental Organizations, Danell Scarborough Gavares Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the empowerment processes operating within organizations and to theorize about the relationship between empowerment and leadership. The study focuses on empowerment in two local governmental organizations--the City of Carlsbad, California and the City of Scottsdale, Arizona. The research design combined the key characteristics of naturalistic inquiry with the analytical approach of grounded theory methodology. The researcher interviewed the members of both management teams and spent time as a participant observer. The data were synthesized into a conceptual model--a picture of the empowerment practices within these two organizations. The …

Leadership In A Different Voice: An Ethnographic Study Of A Latina Chief Executive Officer In A California Community College, Lois Margaret Knowlton Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic research was to discover the influence of President Judith Valles' gender and ethnicity on her leadership behavior at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, and to determine if similar influences existed among the other eight Hispanic women presidents of community colleges in the U.S. A composite profile of the nine presidents was developed. More than 100 interviews were conducted from a broad spectrum of participants, including seven of the nine Hispanic women presidents. The researcher became a participant observer at Golden West College for the fall of 1991. All the presidents were strongly influenced …

California Pioneers In Speech Pathology: 1915 Through 1951, Looking Back For The Future, Sandra L. Singleton Edd

Dissertations

Speech pathologists are the only professionals educated and trained to treat human communication disorders. They work in a variety of settings such as schools, hospitals, and private practice. Despite the essential and integrated role speech pathology holds in society, it is continually threatened by internal concerns and external pressures. Regardless of the issues, those who cannot find resolve often call for leadership. When current situations do not yield solutions readily, an historical perspective may serve to provide answers or guidance. Historical documentation was available in detail regarding the foundation of speech pathology in Iowa and Wisconsin, in addition to published …

Miracosta College: The First Fifty Years, Sharalee Cressaty Jorgensen Edd

Dissertations

The objectives of this study were to record the history of the college and to describe and interpret the leadership behavior of various people in the college in order to determine where the leadership, power, and authority resided at various times throughout the history; record and interpret the marker events that punctuated the birth, growth, and development of the college during its 50-year history; analyze the interrelationship of marker events and leadership behavior in the growth and development of the college; and, describe the distinguishing characteristics that make MiraCosta College MiraCosta College. An historical research design, focusing of local history, …

The Relationship Between Leadership Style And Perceived Performance On Selected Tasks For Uniserv Directors Of The Michigan Education Association, David L. Myers

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between leadership style and perceived performance in selected tasks. Using the 99 UniServ Directors of the Michigan Education Association, the objective of the study was to provide additional criteria that could be used to assist organizational leaders in assignment of staff to areas of specialization. The selected task areas were (a) negotiations, (b) arbitration, (c) writing, (d) political action, (e) public relations, (f) member counseling, (g) leadership training, and (h) organizing.

Leadership style was defined using the two dimensional nature of leadership postulated by Fleishman (1957), Blake and Mouton (1964), Reddin (1980), Hersey and Blanchard …

A Study Of The Preparation Of The Assistant Principal For The Building Principalship, Thomas J. Madden

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Behaviors Of Elementary Principals Toward Informal Communication Systems, Phyllis O. Tate

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Competent Self: A Sociological Analysis Of The Education Of Community Leaders, Brian Moroney

Dissertations

No abstract provided.