Education Commons^™

A Case Study Of Strategic Governance In The Implementation Of Guided Pathways At Scale At California Community Colleges, Hayley Ashby

Dissertations

Purpose: Community colleges across the United States are implementing systemic change models such as guided pathways to increase student success. The purpose of this multiple case study was to describe the role of strategic governance in the implementation of guided pathways at scale at California community colleges.

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative study used a multiple-case embedded case study methodology to collect data aligned with the four imperatives of strategic governance theory. Semistructured interviews were conducted with campus leaders involved in guided pathways implementation at three California community colleges. Archival records and documentation were used to triangulate the data.

Findings: Colleges …

Career Coaching: A Study Of Veterans Health Administration (Vha) Leaders', Jerelyn Dugas

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore and describe the impact of career coaching on the career performance growth and retention as perceived by healthcare’s emerging leaders who participated in selected coaching program institutes for a minimum of 1 year at VHA hospitals in Southern California.

Methodology: The researcher selected a qualitative multiple case study to explore and describe VHA leaders’ perceived impact of coaching on their career performance growth and retention. Further, the researcher conducted semi-structured, interviews with 15 participants to gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of the participants at the …

Sustaining A Career In Community And Technical College Leadership By Coping With Job Stress Through Emotional Intelligence, Claire Korschinowski

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe and explore the use of emotional intelligence for coping with organizational role stress as perceived by senior-level leaders serving as college presidents, vice presidents and deans in the Washington State community and technical college system. A second purpose of this study was to describe the differences in perceptions amongst senior-level leader’s use of emotional intelligence as a stress coping strategy.

Methodology: For this qualitative phenomenological study, data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews from 15 senior-level leaders. Participants identified a variety of ways emotional intelligence factors into coping with organizational …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Exemplary Middle School Principals Leading Through Conversation, John Ashby

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors that exemplary middle school principals practice to lead their organization through conversations using Groysberg and Slind’s (2012) four elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality.

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative study described the lived experiences of exemplary middle school principals in Orange County, California. The researcher was part of a thematic research team of 12 peer researchers and 4 faculty advisors. Through purposeful sampling, the researcher selected 10 exemplary middle school principals who met at least 4 of 6 criteria identifying someone as exemplary. Data collection …

Exemplary California School District Superintendents Leading The Social Media Charge, Jamie Hughes

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to identify the social media tools used and the role of social media when communicating with parents as perceived by exemplary California school district superintendents. In addition, the purpose of this study was to describe the benefits and challenges perceived by exemplary California school district superintendents when using social media to communicate with parents.

Methodology: A mixed-methods study was applied to identify the social media tools used, the role of social media, and the benefits and challenges of using social media to communicate with parents as perceived by exemplary California school district …

A Qualitative Study To Describe Behaviors That Exemplary Municipal Police Chiefs And Sheriffs Practice To Lead Their Organizations Through Conversation, Vincent Plair

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors exemplary municipal police chiefs and sheriffs practiced leading their organizations through conversation using Groysberg and Slind’s (2012) four elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, intentionality.

Methodology. A phenomenology qualitative method was used to describe the behaviors of exemplary municipal police chiefs and sheriffs in southern California and their lived experiences related to conversational leadership. The study combined semi-structured interviews, observations, and artifact collection. These qualitative tools helped the researcher gain insight into participants’ conversational leadership behaviors. The researcher analyzed the data with the aid …

Creating Systems Of Continuous Improvement: A Phenomenological Study Of California Districts Engaged In Transforming Into Learning Organizations, Kira Shearer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of district teams that created and implemented systems of continuous improvement as part of the Systems Leadership Collaborative using the Coherence Framework.

Methodology: This phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews to provide a narrative of four California school districts’ experiences with the transformation process. Data were collected from interviews and coded for patterns and themes, using Fullan and Quinn’s (2015) Coherence Framework for analysis.

Findings: Key findings illustrated that selecting 2-3 actionable goals to focus and guide the district, creating collaborative structures, and developing collective capacity are key …

Understanding And Describing The Impact Of Self-Concept On Weight Loss As Perceived By African American Women, Tchicaya Missamou

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to understand and describe the impact of Bracken’s (1992) six domains of self-concept (affect, academic, competence, family, physical, and social) on weight loss as perceived by African American women.

Methods. This study employed a sequential mixed-methods exploratory design. A web-based survey was administered with 66 respondents, followed by in-person interviews with 10 participants. Data were collected from African American women who participated in a fitness and weight loss challenge and lived in the greater Los Angeles Area.

Findings. The extent to which each domain affected participants’ ability to lose …

Conversational Leadership: A Phenomenological Study Of Exemplary Elementary Superintendents And The Behaviors They Practice In Leading Their Organizations, Kristin Brogan-Baranski

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors that exemplary elementary superintendents practice to lead their organizations through conversation using Groysberg and Slind’s (2012b) 4 elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality.

Methodology: The phenomenological qualitative inquiry method was used to describe the behaviors of 10 exemplary elementary superintendents in Southern California and their perspectives of lived events related to conversational leadership. The study combined semistructured interviews using an interview guide, observations, and artifact collection. These qualitative tools helped the researcher gain insight on study participants’ conversational leadership behaviors defined in the study’s …