Digital Commons Network^™

A Phenomenological Study Exploring Superintendent’S Perceptions On Four Servant Leadership Characteristics For Developing High-Performing Teams, Katie Chin-Berry

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe public school superintendents’ perceived impact of four servant leadership characteristics established by Spears (2010) on developing and maintaining high-performing teams. Methodology: This phenomenological research study explored and detailed how superintendents perceived the influence of four servant leadership characteristics on developing and maintaining high-performing teams. Eight participants were chosen using nonprobability purposeful and convenience sampling based on specific criteria, which required at least 4 years of experience in their district, a minimum of 10 years of experience in the K–12 public school system, and employed in a K–12 district …

A Delphi Study Of Effective Strategies For Addressing The Most Significant Barriers That Prevent The Successful Implementation Of Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices As They Relate To Alleviating The Achievement Gap For African American Students, Candra Loftis

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to determine how expert fifth- to eighth-grade teachers who have demonstrated competence in the implementation of culturally responsive teaching practices for African American students identify and describe barriers they have observed that prevent the successful implementation of culturally responsive teaching practices, to rate the difficulty of overcoming those barriers, and to identify and describe strategies for overcoming the five most difficult barriers.

Methodology: This study is characterized as a Delphi normative study. An expert panel received three rounds of online surveys. The first round open-ended question asked, “How do expert teachers identify …

Leadership’S Impact On Employees’ Perception Of Their Safety Culture In A Public Transportation Organization, Paul Hadley

Dissertations

Purpose: This nonexperimental quantitative study aimed to examine the relationship between various leadership styles using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ; Bass & Avolio, 1995) and employees’ perceptions of their organization’s safety culture based on a developed Safety Perception Questionnaire (SPQ) within the context of a public transportation agency. Methodology: This study used a quantitative approach to collect data from employees in a public transportation agency. Leadership characteristics were assessed using the MLQ, which is a self-report tool designed to measure three distinct leadership styles. The employees’ MLQ scores were correlated with their results on the SPQ, which evaluates perceptions of …

Best Practices In Developing Self-Efficacy: A Case Study In Preparing Rural, Predominantly Disadvantaged, High School Students For College And Career Readiness, Rudy Cardona

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this case study was to identify the best practices used by faculty and administrators at exemplary, rural, California high schools, with predominantly disadvantaged students, to develop self-efficacy in reaching college and career-readiness. A further purpose was to identify supports and barriers affecting student self-efficacy in stimulating expectations, interest, and choices in goals and actions toward college and career readiness.

Methodology: This case study examined the best practices for developing student self-efficacy in the top 13% of college- and career-ready, rural, socio-economically disadvantaged high schools in California. It also explored perceptions of supports and barriers to college …

Personal Disruption In The Career Advancement Of Female Executives In Medical Education, Ifeoma Dawodu

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to identify and describe the perceived impact of Johnson and Mohr’s (2013) five disruptive career skills on female medical education executives on their advancement to executive leadership positions.

Methodology: This study employed a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach to explore the career advancement strategies of female leaders in academic medicine. First, a quantitative survey using Likert scales assessed the use and impact of personal disruption strategies among female executives; next, semistructured interviews provided deeper insights into their experiences. The sample focused on senior female leaders in California medical schools who …

Delphi Study Of Possible, Probable, And Desirable Futures For California Community Colleges By 2035, Christopher Frymire

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify and describe the educational changes to California Community Colleges that are possible and probable by 2035 as perceived by a panel of experts. In addition, the purpose was to determine the level of desirability of educational changes identified as probable by a panel of experts. Finally, the purpose was to describe the actions necessary to promote the desirable educational changes by 2035 as perceived by the expert panel.Methodology: This Delphi method was used to survey 18 community college experts from diverse disciplines. Four survey rounds gathered qualitative and quantitative data …

How Teachers Use Adversity And Challenging Organizational Environments To Achieve Exceptional Organizational Goals, Matthew Avalos

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods thematic multivariable Delphi study was to identify the personal qualities effective teacher–leaders possess when faced with adversity using Maxwell’s (2021) selected practices leaders employ to overcome adverse situations. Methodology: This mixed methods multivariable Delphi study recruited expert Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSA), or TSA, to serve on a Delphi panel to gather consensus through three rounds of surveys. TOSAs were asked to answer three questions focused on the personal qualities teacher leaders use to meet their instructional goals by connecting their teaching to the organization’s vision, making appropriate decisions or good choices, and …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring Servant Leadership Characteristics For Developing High-Performing Teams As Perceived By Public School District Early Childhood Leaders, Reggi'e Faye Webster

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe how exemplary public school district early childhood leaders apply four key characteristics of servant leadership (listening, stewardship, building community, and commitment to people’s growth), as defined by Spears (2010), to develop high-performing to support early learning programs.

Methodology: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was selected to explore participants’ experiences and perceptions of how they use four servant leadership characteristics to develop and sustain high-performing teams within early childhood programs on public school elementary and secondary school campuses. Participants were purposefully chosen based on specific criteria and recommendations from an …

The Impact Of Quality Management Principles On Army Aircraft Maintenance Outcomes, Matthew S. Caporossi

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to identify and describe the perceptions of organizational managers on the impact of quality management principles on helicopter maintenance outcomes at the California Army National Guard’s Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot (AVCRAD). This study also explored the perceptions on the organizational culture as it pertained to leadership and employee engagement of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 quality management systems.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological research examined the perceptions of Army aviation managers regarding specific ISO principles of leadership and

improvement on AVCRAD maintenance outcomes. The researcher conducted open-ended qualitative interviews …

A Delphi Study On Strategic Behaviors From The Adaptive Leadership Framework Used By Successful Cxos For Business Agility In A Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, And Ambiguity Environment, Sevak Markarian

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify the strategic leadership behaviors, as outlined in Heifetz et al.’s (2009) adaptive leadership framework, that CXOs use to develop agile and adaptive organizations that succeed in volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) change environments. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the effectiveness of these behaviors and determine specific actions that CXOs recommend for implementing them successfully.

Methodology: This mixed-method Delphi study collected data from 20 technology executives through surveys and interviews, using purposive, convenience, and expert sampling. In Round 1, participants identified strategic adaptive leadership behaviors from Heifetz et al.’s …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring Servant Leadership Characteristics For Developing High-Performing Teams As Perceived By Public School District Early Childhood Leaders, Reggi'e Faye Webster

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe how exemplary public school district early childhood leaders apply four key characteristics of servant leadership (listening, stewardship, building community, and commitment to people’s growth), as defined by Spears (2010), to develop high-performing to support early learning programs.

Methodology: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was selected to explore participants’ experiences and perceptions of how they use four servant leadership characteristics to develop and sustain high-performing teams within early childhood programs on public school elementary and secondary school campuses. Participants were purposefully chosen based on specific criteria and recommendations from an …

Skip-Level Meetings: Perspectives Of Skipped First-Tier U.S. Tech Leaders, Samuel Blacher

Dissertations

Although significant research exists on numerous intersecting theories, such as adaptive leadership, leadership communication, and employee voice, and although they are discussed in business publications and widely yet inconsistently implemented in industry, skip-level meetings are little scholarly studied. Such meetings offer benefits for employees, direct (skipped) managers, and skip-level leaders, and through them, to organizations, yet they also hold risks and pitfalls, and are influenced by various contextual factors, such as stakeholders’ national culture and age. This exploratory qualitative study employed elements of interpretive phenomenology, followed by thematic analysis, to examine the experiences, perceptions, and emotions of a diverse set …

Adaptive Leadership: Strategies Used By U.S. Navy Command Senior Enlisted Leaders To Build Adaptive Capacity In Times Of Great Change, Derek Wayne King

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe strategies used by U.S. Navy command senior enlisted leaders (CSELs) to build an adaptive capacity based on the five key characteristics of adaptive leadership identified by Heifetz et al. (2009).Methodology: This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of U.S. Navy CSELs. Purposeful, convenience sampling was used to identify 10 participants who met the study’s criteria. The semistructured, open-ended interview protocol was developed by a thematic research team of nine peer researchers and three faculty advisors. Data collected from the interviews and artifacts were analyzed to identify themes related …

The Impact Of A Paid Work Experience On High School Students With Mild To Moderate Disabilities From The Parental Perspective, Lori Lee Schleinkofer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe how the parents/guardians of high school students with mild/moderate disabilities in Southern California perceive the impact that working while in high school has on their students with respect to confidence, independence, motivation, responsibility, self-advocacy, self-esteem, and social skills. The central research question was “How do parents/guardians of high school students with mild/moderate disabilities perceive the impact that working while in high school has on their students?” Methodology: Interviews were conducted with 11 parents of participants in paid work experience programs. A qualitative interview question development matrix was used …

How Supervisors Can Help Their Subordinates Manage Stress Post-Covid-19: A Phenomenological Qualitative Research Approach Focused On The Lived Experiences Of Police Sergeants And Their Role In Helping Mitigate Stress Among Police Officers, Elvis Nti

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative research was to explore how police sergeants effectively lead their police officers in managing stress post-COVID-19 using the leadership traits of collective interest, moral purpose, personal temperament, and resilience (Fast, 2021).

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative research approach focused on the lived experiences of police sergeants and aimed to explain how they reduce stress among police officers. Participants were selected using purposive and convenience sampling. Semistructured interviews were conducted with police sergeants from the Los Angeles Police Department. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded. Themes naturally emerged and were compared across participants to identify …

Phenomenological Study Of Personality-Driven Leadership In Social Justice Nonprofits Of The Pioneer Valley, Kelvin Molina-Brantley

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine how executive directors of nonprofit organizations leading social justice initiatives implement leadership styles shaped by their unique personality traits, and how these styles influence employee attitudes, team functioning, and organizational performance.Methodology: Guided by Hogan and Kaiser’s (2005) leadership model, which asserts that “who we are determines how we lead,” this qualitative study used semistructured interviews with 10 executive directors of social justice-focused nonprofits in the Pioneer Valley. Participants reflected on their leadership development, the role of personality in decision-making, and its influence on organizational life. Data were collected through virtual …

They Do Not See What I Carry: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Male Educational Leaders And The Quiet Weight Of Imposter Syndrome, Malik A. Richard

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how Black male educational leaders experience and cope with Impostor Syndrome (IS) as defined by Zorn’s (2005) nine elements—anxiety, lack of self-confidence, depression, perfectionism, procrastination, self-presentation, emotional exhaustion, fear of failure, and fear of success, within their organizational, social, and cultural contexts. Methodology: Guided by Moustakas’s (1994) phenomenological approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and reflective journals from Black male leaders in K–12 educational settings in the Boston region. Purposeful sampling (Patton, 2014) ensured participants had significant leadership experience. Data were thematically coded, aligned with Zorn’s nine elements, and …

A Study On Betrayal And Safety: Understanding The Experiences Of Community College Employees, Jennifer Marie De La Rosa

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the experiences of community college employees who perceived their psychological safety had been compromised, leading to a sense of institutional betrayal. Its second purpose was to identify the experiences participants believed most impacted their psychological safety and contributed to feelings of institutional betrayal.

Methodology: This qualitative study employed a phenomenological approach to explore how community college employees made sense of their experiences related to psychological safety and institutional betrayal. Participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling strategies, representing a range of roles across California’s community colleges. Semistructured interviews …

Administrator Leadership And Collective Efficacy: Enhancing Math Education In Public High Schools In California, Lina Ahmadieh

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative, multicase study was to determine challenges that high school administrators experience when they establish the elements of collective teacher efficacy (CTE) based on the elements of common purpose, collective teacher accountability practices, protocols for collective practices, and interventions in their mathematics department and to determine the strategies that high school administrators use when they establish CTE in their mathematics department.Methodology: In this qualitative, multicase study, five interviews were conducted with public high school administrators in California. The researcher employed qualitative methods to explain the challenges that high school administrators experience when they establish the …

A Phenomenological Study: Implicit Bias In The Hiring Practices Of Health Care Organizations (Perception, Impact On Workforce Diversity, Mitigation Methods, And Implementation Assessment), Mohamed Boubrik

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how implicit bias influences hiring practices within health care organizations. Specifically, it investigated the perceptions of hiring professionals regarding implicit bias, its impact on workforce diversity, the strategies used to mitigate it, and the effectiveness of those strategies in real-world implementation.

Methodology: This qualitative study employed a phenomenological approach to capture the lived experiences of hiring professionals in Southern California health care organizations. A random sampling method was used to select participants across various health care facilities. Data collection was conducted through semistructured interviews, using a validated interview protocol as …

Breaking Barriers: A Delphi Study On Strategies Military Women Of Color Use To Advance Into Senior Leadership In The California Air National Guard, Michelle Leon Carrasco

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to determine what strategies military women of color (in ranks of E–8 and above or O–4 and above) used to overcome workplace barriers to advancement in the California Air National Guard (CAANG), to rate the importance of the strategies identified in Research Question 1, and to determine the methods by which they employed the top five most important strategies.Methodology: This study used a three-round Delphi method to collect data from women of color senior leaders in the CAANG. In Round 1, the expert panel identified strategies to overcome workplace barriers to advance …

Resetting The Imposter Phenomenon Reality: A Mixed Methods Research Study Of An Immediate Cognitive Behavioral Intervention On Stem Practitioners, Peter D. Smith

Dissertations

Imposter Phenomenon (IP) remains an essential framework for understanding how professionals attribute success to chance or misconceptions rather than genuine abilities. IP is especially pertinent for individuals who feel like frauds when attaining higher positions, convinced the promotions resulted from luck rather than accomplishments and credibility. The misguided mindset cultivates feelings of inadequacy or deceit, even when accolades, experiences, and qualifications prove the contrary. The prevalence of IP is widespread, impacting numerous individuals who have faced or continue to endure episodes of varying intensity. The psychological state makes individuals vulnerable to feelings of inadequacy, leading to reduced productivity, increased procrastination, …

Attracting Secondary Public School Teachers Through Servant Leadership In South Carolina, Chetara Lee

Dissertations

This study investigated the impact servant leader administrators have on the recruitment of secondary public-school teachers in South Carolina. The purpose of this study was to identify effective servant leadership behaviors that align with teacher recruitment. This research sought to enhance the existing body of knowledge on servant leadership in education by offering a comprehensive understanding of how school leaders can recruit career changers as teachers by aligning their servant leadership behaviors with the motivations of prospective educators for transitioning into teaching.

This research assessed 16 secondary public-school teachers and 3 school district HR personnel employed within various school districts …

Bookmarked: A Study Of Reading Engagement, Miranda W. Dickson

Dissertations

In many Science of Reading programs, the focus on foundational skills like phonics and fluency can overshadow the importance of reading engagement in elementary classrooms. This dissertation investigates the effects of a balanced literacy intervention designed to incorporate purposeful engagement strategies across 12 lessons for at-risk third-grade readers. The six-week intervention integrated skills instruction with reading engagement strategies in the subcategories of social, cognitive, affective, and behavioral engagement. Grounded in Engagement Theory (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000), the study's instructional framework and literature review explore foundational theories of reading engagement within these subcategories: behavioral, cognitive, affective, and social. The research was …

A Phenomenological Study Of Gender And The Leadership Of Female Academic Library Directors, Julia D. Grace Dr

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how the gender of female academic library directors affects their leadership. The theory guiding this study was Acker’s theory of the ideal worker, as it offers a framework for examining the impact of worker gender in the workplace. The central research question of this study examined how the gender of female library directors at medium nonprofit private universities and colleges in the U.S. affected their leadership. This study utilized a phenomenological approach, conducting semi-structured interviews of female academic library directors at medium nonprofit private universities and colleges in the U.S. The …

Assessing Best Practices Of Facilitation Of The Free Exercise Of Religion By Army Chaplains Utilizing The Success Case Method, Geoffrey N. Bailey Phd

Dissertations

This mixed-methods study examined how U.S. Army chaplains experience and facilitate the free exercise of religion. The research explored compelling narratives of best-case facilitation experiences, identified leadership qualities associated with successful religious support, and analyzed similarities and differences between best and worst-case scenarios. Using Brinkerhoff's Success Case Method, the study distributed a quantitative survey to 1,478 active-duty chaplains (achieving a 23% response rate) followed by twelve guided interviews with participants representing diverse ranks and faith traditions. The research revealed six major themes: significant gaps in education for pluralistic ministry, tension between personal religious convictions and professional duties, crucial impact of …

Moral Identity And Its Relationship To Higher Education Mentoring And Community Service Engagement, Maria O. Rodriguez

Dissertations

Problem

A moral action is a result of the engagement of multiple psychological processes set in motion when an individual faces a moral conflict. Research suggests that an individual's moral reasoning and moral identity strongly influence the psychological processes that precede a moral action. Recent studies have shown that higher education positively influences students' moral reasoning; however, there is a lack of understanding as to the degree to which higher education can influence the moral identity of students.

Method

This study performed a quantitative cross-sectional study to investigate the relationship between independent variables—mentoring experiences and community service engagement—and dependent variables—moral …

Support Needs Of Agrarian Women To Build Household Livelihood Resilience: A Case Study Of The Mekong River Delta, Tran Thi Ngoc Tran

Dissertations

Problem

Rural livelihood faces significant challenges due to the increasing frequency and severity of climate change impacts. However, the development of women’s livelihood resilience remains constrained by gender-blind policies, limited sex-disaggregated data, and a lack of integration of gender-specific needs and priorities in resilience-building interventions. This study aims to address these critical gaps. This study aims at exploring the perceived support needs of rural agrarian women in building household livelihood resilience to climate change. Specifically, it seeks to (1) understand how household livelihood resilience is perceived by rural agrarian women, and (2) identify the support they require to effectively adapt …

Burnout And Quality Of Life As Predictors Of Compassion Fatigue In Inner-City Teachers In The United States, Helen Richelle Ceballo-Hernández

Dissertations

Problem

Teachers are under great stress which can result in burnout and the feeling of being overloaded with work. In turn, burnout can induce compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is often referred to in the literature as repeated exposure to others’ trauma endured by first responders, nurses, and other medical professionals as well as others in the helping profession such as therapists and social workers. The empathy of helping professionals incites compassion fatigue for those whom they help. Teachers, though not originally classified as part of the helping professions, are susceptible to compassion fatigue due to their empathy and the amount …

Stories Of Seventh-Day Adventist Teachers Of Color And Their Voluntary Job Mobility During Their Early Years Of Teaching, Dollene Trott-Smith

Dissertations

Problem

Teachers of Color in the Seventh-day Adventist school system experience voluntary job mobility and attrition, contributing to increasing teacher turnover rates in the U.S. Since the 1954 federal mandate to desegregate U.S. public schools, this phenomenon has become more pressing. Despite racial and ethnic diversification in school staffing, the White teacher population remains around 80%, with Teachers of Color making up only 20%. While extensive research exists on public school teacher turnover, limited studies focus on private school educators, including those in the Seventh-day Adventist school system.

Method

This transcendental phenomenological qualitative study explored the voluntary job mobility of …