Digital Commons Network^™

Inclusive Campus Recreation: Creating A Space Where All Belong, Emelia Bebee

West Chester University Master’s Theses

This thesis examines discrepancies that marginalize students, faculty and staff from utilizing or working in campus recreation facilities. More specifically, Campus Recreation departments lack strategies that ensure inclusion for all abilities, identity backgrounds and genders. This critical action research thesis considers the experiences of stakeholders and will integrate research that has been supported by seasoned scholars. In this thesis, a three-day diversity and inclusion workshop is proposed supplemented by monthly programming for faculty and staff that focuses on inclusion techniques to incorporate into departmental planning. Solid leadership of this programmatic intervention would focus on collaboration and dedication to lifelong learning. …

Change At The Speed Of Leadership, Lee Fisher

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

“The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born—that there is a genetic factor to leadership. . . That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.”

“Lawyers are in the anomalous position of serving as leaders but generally lacking leadership training and skills. Competency in lawyering skills often functions as a proxy for leadership skills, despite the evidence that leadership skills are distinct and may take years to develop. Our neglect of leadership skills is reaching crisis proportions because nearly half of all current law firm partners will retire within the next ten …

Exploring And Expanding The Utility Of Cultural Distance: A Multi-National Analysis, Daniel Wiegert

Wayne State University Dissertations

In the current study, I utilized multiple cultural constructs to create and compare the utility of various forms of cultural distance as a predictor of national-culture-level outcomes, aggregated across multiple countries (i.e., a novel term: “Aggregated Cultural Distance”, hereafter ACD). ACD was first conceptualized in the current study by utilizing the nine Global Leader and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (hereafter Project GLOBE) Societal Values dimensions in the calculation of ACD. I incrementally added and compared Project GLOBE’s Societal Practices and Tightness-Looseness scores (i.e., norms) to the Values ACD construct in predicting self-isolationist leadership behaviors (i.e., Project GLOBE’s Autonomous and Self-Protective leadership …

The Role Of School And District Leaders In Discipline Systems In Positive Outlier High Schools, Catherine E. Guthrie

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Using secondary data from a NY Kids comparative case study conducted in 2017-2018 of two positive outlier high schools, the purpose of this dissertation was to learn more about their discipline practices and the role secondary school leaders play in shaping those discipline systems. Two positive outlier high schools were studied, as they were identified as achieving better than expected graduation outcomes for youth of color, but also have proportionate, or close to proportionate, rates of exclusionary discipline for the same population of students. Interview transcripts from the larger study as well as additional school documents (i.e., code of conduct, …

The Impact Of Implementation Drivers On Teacher Efficacy Beliefs Within A Multi-Tier System Of Support Framework, Heather Jennings

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Schools are implementing a Multi-Tier System of Support (MTSS) to address being met with increased pressures to ensure every student has an equal opportunity to reach proficiency standards and close the achievement gap. An MTSS is characterized as a systematic approach to identifying and problem-solving barriers to learning. In implementing an MTSS, teachers have experienced added responsibilities and have had to increase or refine their skill set in data analysis, data-based decision-making, implementing interventions, and managing academic and behavioral interventions. Through a case study, qualitative and quantitative in nature, the study identifies implementation drivers in the areas of leadership, competency, …

A Critical Feminist Case Study Of The Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen Program, Alison Kepola Nishiyama-Young

Doctoral Dissertations

Asian American women are chronically underrepresented in leadership positions in almost every sector including higher education, government, private, and non-profit (Youngberg et al., n.d.). Many researchers have suggested the need for more leadership development programs specifically designed to support the needs of Asian American women (Akutagawa, 2014; Canlas, 2016; Gee & Peck, 2015; Lin, 2007; Youngberg et al., n.d.). Though there are a number of leadership programs geared towards Asian Americans, there are very few that cater to Asian American women explicitly. Historically, cultural pageant programs in the Asian American community have played this role and one such program is …

School Leadership And Whole- School Support Of Struggling Literacy Learners In Secondary Schools, Margaret K. Merga, Saiyidi Mat Roni, Anabela Malpique

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The needs of struggling literacy learners beyond the early years of schooling warrant greater attention. For struggling literacy learners to attain their academic, vocational, and social goals, schools should position literacy as a whole school priority and enhance opportunities for student literacy learning across all learning areas. However, it is not known if literacy is typically supported as a whole school commitment in contemporary secondary schools. This paper draws on survey data from the Australian nation-wide 2019 Supporting Struggling Secondary Literacy Learners (SSSLL) project. Findings suggest that many mainstream secondary school teachers do not perceive that there is a whole-school …

Employee Perceptions Of Honesty And Integrity Within National Park Service Leadership, Christy Lea Strand

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study focuses on employee perceptions of leadership honesty and integrity within the National Park Service in response to the 2018 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey results. Answers to two questions on the survey returned highly negative reactions to employee perspectives on senior leaders’ honesty and integrity and low measures of employee motivation and commitment levels. The qualitative nature of the research presents a case study design that develops an understanding of negative employee perceptions of honesty and integrity within leadership and employee commitment and motivation. It addresses the general problem of negative employee perceptions of leadership honesty and integrity and …

Leadership Strategies Engaging Online Adjunct Faculty In Central Florida's Public Colleges, Lorraine Matos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The structure of higher education has changed with more remote part-time faculty superseding their full-time coworkers. Academic leaders are challenged to provide the support needed to ensure inclusion and engagement for online adjunct faculty. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to investigate the phenomenon of inclusion and engagement through the academic leader's view. The conceptual framework included elements from servant leadership theory, shared leadership theory, relationship leadership theory, and leader-member exchange theory. Data were collected through semistructured Zoom interviews with 15 academic leaders in Central Florida. NVivo coding was used to assist in data analysis. Results indicated that …

Effective Decision-Making Strategies That Support Long-Term Sustainability In Nondenominational Churches, Andre Paul Davis Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective financial decision-making has frequently led to nondenominational church failures and contributes to 4,000 to 8,000 churches closing each year in North America. Grounded in stewardship theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore effective financial decision-making strategies in nondenominational churches that support long term sustainability. Participants were 10 church leaders who successfully used financial decision-making strategies to support long-term sustainability in Central North Carolina was used for this study. Data were collected from semi structured interviews and internal church documents relating to church leadership's financial decision-making and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: budgeting …

Empowerment, Personality, And Leader-Member Exchange Quality In Physicians, Tony S. Reed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nearly 100,000 people suffer injury or death each year due to errors in the United States healthcare system. Researchers have identified that empowerment by physicians can address this significant social issue. Despite this knowledge, qualifications to empowering behaviors in physicians have not been identified. A quantitative nonexperimental correlation approach was used to determine the role that personality type and high-quality leader-member exchange may play in the physician’s ability to create empowerment at academic medical centers in the United States. The theoretical framework of empowering leadership, Jung’s psychological types, and leader-member exchange quality informed the research design and contributed to the …

Instructional Leadership Practices Of Middle School Principals Regarding Students With Learning Disabilities, Sharon Dixson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractA problem existed among middle school principals in that they appeared to inconsistently apply instructional leadership practices while supporting their teachers teaching students with learning disabilities. How the principals perceived these inconsistencies and the possible effects on practice was not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of middle school principals regarding their instructional leadership practices to consistently support teachers who teach students with learning disabilities. The conceptual framework comprised the instructional leadership theory of Murphy, Hallinger, Weil, and Mitman. The research question addressed the perceptions of middle school principals regarding their instructional leadership practices …

Factors Influencing K–12 Female Educators’ Decisions Not To Apply For The Superintendency, Tiawana Giles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractDespite holding 75% of certified positions in K–12 schools in the United States, women hold just 24% of public school superintendent positions. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an understanding of why female principals and central office personnel attained superintendent credentials and have not yet applied for a superintendent position. The conceptual framework for the study was feminist standpoint theory, which is often used to guide research regarding the knowledge and understanding of marginalized groups. Two research questions were used to explore why female K–12 principals attained their superintendent license and why they decided not to …

Higher Education Administrator Perceptions And Experiences In Predicting And Tracking Retention, Judee Lynn Mulhollen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe problem guiding this study is that many administrators of 4-year colleges do not have efficacious application practices in terms of tracking and predicting student retention. This basic qualitative study was conducted to explore perceptions and experiences of administrators of U.S. 4-year colleges regarding tracking and predicting retention. The conceptual framework was based upon the Attaran analytics model and the three V model. Both involve decision-making perspectives seen frequently in higher education. The research question guided exploration of the perceptions and experiences of higher education administrators of 4-year U.S. colleges in terms of the application of student data for tracking …

Leadership Strategies To Reduce Employee Turnover In The Health Care Industry, Sheila Redmond

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2018, over 3.1 million the United States health care employees vacated their jobs. Leaders who lack strategies to reduce employee turnover impose a significant financial burden on health care organizations. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies health care leaders use to reduce employee turnover. Participants were five health care leaders from a hospital in Virginia who implemented successful strategies to reduce employee turnover. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and document reviews. The themes extracted using the thematic data analysis were work-life balance, employee engagement, training, and job …

Interpersonal Conflict And Work-Related Stress Among Correctional Officers, Katarzyna Sowa-Lapinskas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increasingly, research has been conducted on the penal system, yet few researchers have focused on correctional staff. Due to the nature of their work, correctional officers (COs) experience a high degree of stress that is inmate related, occupational, organizational, and psycho–social. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the work experiences of COs in rural correctional facilities in Alaska and to learn how correctional staff perceive and mitigate work-related stress stemming from interpersonal conflict. The theoretical framework for this study was Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional theory of stress and coping. Data were collected using semistructured interviews conducted …

School Leaders’ Perspectives Of The Uva Model For Instructional Leadership Competency, Shelley Anne Halverson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research shows supportive partnerships between school districts and universities can enhance school district performance. Such a relationship was used to address the problem of lacking quality instructional leadership capacity of school leaders placed in target turnaround school settings to improve teacher efficacy and student achievement. The purpose of this study was to create deep understanding of the perceptions of target turnaround school leaders that participated in the target district’s partnership with the University of Virginia Partnership for Leadership in Education (UVA-PLE), to improve their instructional leadership competency. Guided by a leadership competency framework developed by McClelland and applied by UVA-PLE, …

Voluntary Diversity Training Strategies For Alleviating Leadership Gender Bias, Jason Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers showed that mandatory diversity training programs in large U.S. corporations adversely increase unconscious gender bias of promotion selection. The problem is that workplace diversity experts disagree about a consistent set of strategies to implement voluntary diversity training programs, adversely affecting the efficiency and productivity in training related to alleviating unconscious gender bias in selecting women to management. The purpose of this qualitative classical Delphi study was to determine how a panel of eight workplace diversity experts viewed the desirability and feasibility of forward-looking strategies for implementing voluntary diversity training programs to alleviate unconscious gender bias in selecting women to …

Leadership Strategies To Improve Employee Well-Being, Camille Black

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poor employee well-being because of a lack of job resources costs business leaders billions of dollars each year. Business leaders in the entertainment industry who fail to manifest strategies to increase employee well-being might decrease employee resources and increase the consequences of job demands, such as decreased organizational performance and profitability. Grounded in the job demands-resources model theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies entertainment leaders use to increase employee well-being. The participants included six entertainment executives employed at a large entertainment company in California who successfully implemented strategies that increased employees’ well-being. Data were …

Leaders’ Strategies For Reducing Unethical Behavior In Organizations, Miranda Evelyn Sawyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unethical conduct among business leaders and managers results in employee turnover. Senior business leaders who cannot mitigate unethical behavior risk increased hiring and training costs, decreased productivity, and reduce employee performance. Grounded in the ethical leadership construct and a composite of the social learning theory and the social exchange theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies senior leaders use to mitigate managers’ unethical conduct in their organizations. The participants comprised five senior leaders of a United Kingdom-based company in the northeast region of the United States who successfully implemented strategies to mitigate unethical conduct. …

Developing Culturally Versatile Leadership: Harnessing The Potential Of An Integrated World Through Global Managerial Talent, Uddhav Gupta

CMC Senior Theses

The world today is more integrated than ever before, with international trade and multinational corporations being a prominent part of global commerce. To lead successfully through such globalization, leaders must bring global mindsets and perspectives to their organizations to navigate critical differences in behaviors and worldviews by each unique country or culture. This study explores whether global, cross-cultural leaders make better decisions which ultimately lead to better outcomes for global corporations by exploring the relationship between cross-cultural leaders and successful organizations as measured by customer satisfaction, employee engagement and development, innovation, social responsibility, financial strength, and stock performance. This study …

Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Lived Experiences Of A Leadership Role During Clinical Practicum, Gisela E. Schmidt

Dissertations

Problem

Leadership is an essential component of professional nursing practice used in many aspects of the Registered Nurse (RN) role. Baccalaureate nursing (BN) programs have the responsibility of preparing graduating nursing students with leadership orientation and practice. Excellent professional preparation of RNs starts with their education during nursing school. The fast-paced and high-demand healthcare environment needs RNs who can be accountable for patient care that enables excellent patient outcomes and sound patient-centered care. Taking this into consideration, nursing educators are in a special position to promote nursing education which prepares their students with leadership education and training. The purpose of …

Creating Intentionally Inviting School Cultures During Crisis, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This qualitative study used Purkey and Novack’s (1988) Invitational Education as a conceptual framework to understand how 30 educational leaders in Ohio’s urban and suburban districts created intentionally inviting school cultures during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Findings indicated that leaders altered their leadership styles to focus on people rather than programs and policies in order to be more inviting. Challenges pertained to insufficient funding to provide professional development for teachers and parents and the need for more mobile devices and connectivity. This study is significant because it expands the invitational education framework to show how leaders are being intentionally inviting …

Understanding Perspectives Of Clinical And Non-Clinical Healthcare Administrators On Culture And Diversity In The Healthcare Workplace, Katherine Counts

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

The racial and ethnic composition of the U.S. population is becoming increasingly more diverse. The 2010 U.S. Census reported a 29% increase in minority groups other than non-Hispanic Whites. In response to these changing demographics, healthcare organizations have struggled to keep pace with these trends in their hiring of a diverse staff. Healthcare leaders appear to be lagging in their efforts to make adequate changes to increase diversity in their organizations. What factors may be contributing to this inequity? One possible explanation is a limited knowledge of healthcare leaders regarding culture and diversity within the workplace. To this end, this …

Faculty Leadership Practices In Graduate Hybrid Education, Weina Li Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Hybrid education is an instructional delivery format that includes both online learning and traditional classroom learning and is often seen as the best of two worlds. It is one of the fastest-growing trends in higher education because of its countless educational benefits. Studies reviewed about hybrid learning focused on various areas, including student engagement, student attitudes, faculty experiences, learning effectiveness, and supporting technology tools. However, a review of the literature revealed scant studies focused on faculty leadership, especially graduate-level education faculty's leadership strategies and their influence on teaching. Faculty leadership is a critical component that is directly related to effective …

Strategic Educational Leadership Within The Policy-Making Arena: The Promulgation, Passage, And Practice Of Tennessee's High Performing School Districts Flexibility Act Of 2013, Robert Lawrence Hullett Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

In 2010, Tennessee’s 106th General Assembly passed the First to the Top Act (2010), a companion legislation for the federal Race to the Top Act (2009) program launched by the Obama Administration. A provision of this state law required that half of teacher and principal evaluations be based upon student achievement, which included a component of required continuous academic growth. For school districts whose students scored at the highest academic performance levels, the continuous growth component would negatively impact their teachers’ and principals’ annual evaluations. In 2012, the Williamson County Schools (WCS) superintendent requested mitigation for relieve from the Tennessee …

Immediate On-Demand Emergent Administrative Training Program For First-Time Respiratory Therapy Supervisors With Little Or No Prior Supervisory Experience, Irving T. Spivey

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

First-time frontline clinical supervisors, such as Respiratory Therapy (RT) supervisors are management officials that are often hired with little or no prior supervisory experience, and the administrative duties required of an RT supervisor are not taught as part of a clinical RT college program. This project is designed to provide an overview and an immediate on-demand emergent administrative training program for the administrative responsibilities required of a first-time RT supervisor with little or no prior supervisory experience, that are required to supervise respiratory therapists that provide critical patient care, and ensure that these respiratory therapists do not harm patients. It …

Leadership Style And Communication Style Of Airline Pilots: Perceived Associations With Crew Members’ Satisfaction And Effort, Carlos Rouco, Maria Eduarda Soares, Eliana Mendes, Soraia Jamal

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Leadership and communication have been identified as paramount factors for flight safety and efficiency but research on the effects of these factors is scarce. This study analyzes which leadership styles and which communication styles are perceived by airline pilots to be associated with their teams’ satisfaction and extra effort. A survey was conducted with a total of 105 airline pilots, and a research model was tested with structural equation modeling. Results indicated that participative leadership is the only leadership style retained by the model explaining satisfaction and extra effort of crew members. Participative leadership is positively related to assertive communication …

Emotional Intelligence: A Bibliometric Analysis And Implication For Future Research, Furkan Yousaf, Mohamad Noorman Masrek, Farrah Diana Saiful Bahry

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Emotional Intelligence is a growing field that can be traced from the research publishing from the year when Salovey & Mayer coined EI terminology. However, this field is still lacking synthesizing, chronological, and systematic studies focusing on how EI field has flourished. The objective of current study was to extend the state-of-the-art research work in the field of EI, based on bibliometric research studies published during 2000-2020. The result of the study depicted under subsequent perspectives: growth trend of EI, influential institutions, countries, articles, authors, keywords, and journals, and international collaborations. A publication growth in EI research gradually increase but …

Black Women Leaders In Municipal Government: Leading With Ability, Agility, And Authenticity, Chao Mwatela

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

This research study explored skills and competencies that Black women need to achieve upward mobility into leadership roles in municipal government in the United States (US). The study also reveals how Black women navigate the intersection of race and gender in upward mobility. Three Black women in leadership roles in municipal government during the fall semester of 2021 participated in the study. Feminist leadership theory for social transformation and the theory of intersectionality supported this study. Responses provided insights into abilities needed for upward mobility, strategies Black women use to address the intersection of race and gender in upward mobility, …