Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Leading With Love: The Confluence Of Spirituality And Leadership In College Students, Eileen Patricia Doherty

Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between spirituality and leadership in college students, creating a conceptual framework for student spiritual leadership. Based in the prior work of leadership theory, college student leadership development, faith development, spiritual leadership, spirituality in higher education, and the environment of faith-based institutions, this research built upon previous research to create a framework for future study.

Using a case study method that considered a specific context, fourth-year students at a mid-size Catholic institution were interviewed, along with faculty and staff who offered observations of the students. While these students are a small sample of the college student …

A Principal's Perceptions Of Character Education In A Rural Public School, Sandra H. Harrison

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

A majority of rural public schools face difficult and challenging problems: geographical isolation, escalating crime, impoverished families, economic inequities, faculty nonretention, declining enrollments, and lack of success in meeting accreditation benchmarks. In the past decade, support for character education as a valuable pedagogy to complement instruction and academic achievement emerged. The obligation to meet federal and state standards created expectations that school principals have the leadership ability to facilitate strong academic curricula as well as programs fostering students' moral development through character education. Mobilizing resources for character education initiatives becomes the responsibility of school principals or their designees. The purpose …

The Impact Of The Nisl Executive Development Program On School Performance In Massachusetts: Cohort 2 Results, John A. Nunnery, Steven M. Ross, Shanan Chappell, Shana Pribesh, Elizabeth Hoag-Carhart

STEMPS Faculty Publications

School leaders are increasingly being asked, whether by rhetoric or policy, to measurably improve student achievement. The resultant need to assist school leaders in their ability to improve teaching and learning for all students in their schools led to the establishment of the National Institute of School Leadership's (NISL's) Executive Development Program. The NISL program emphasizes the role of principals as strategic thinkers, instructional leaders, and creators of a just, fair, and caring culture in which all students meet high standards. The current national focus on the importance of effective, instructional leadership has, in turn, led to calls for principal …

Changing The Way We Do Things Around Here: Strategies Presidents Use For Creating Organizational Change In Higher Education, Jared N. Tippets

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

As society changes, so must higher education. Therefore, colleges and universities and the presidents leading them must adapt to survive in today’s highly competitive marketplace. What must an institution do to stay abreast of the changes? Once the necessary changes are identified, what processes are used by a president of a college or university to go about deliberately creating change on campus? By understanding how to create planned change, leaders within higher education will be able to better ensure that their institutions remain relevant in today’s rapidly changing environment. For many colleges and universities, their ultimate survival may depend on …

Making The Honor Roll: Can Schools Learn From Business Excellence?, Oscar Humberto Salcedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Our schools and school systems are feeling crunched from different directions. Some stakeholders are clamoring for more accountability, others for better results, and still others to do more with less funding. It is not surprising then that school communities are trying different approaches in an attempt to be responsive to different voices. Several schools have decided to borrow the disciplines of the International Standard known as "ISO 9001:2000" (hereafter ISO 9001) from the business realm in an attempt to address these pressures. This research investigates the applicability and benefits of ISO 9001, as perceived by school administrators and educators …

Women And The High School Principalship: Metropolitan Detroit Principals' And Superintendents' Perceptions Regarding Barriers And Facilitators For Job Attainment, Heidi Schnabel Kattula

Wayne State University Dissertations

WOMEN AND THE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALSHIP:

METROPOLITAN DETROIT PRINCIPALS' AND SUPERINTENDENTS' PERCEPTIONS REGARDING BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS

FOR JOB ATTAINMENT

by

HEIDI SCHNABEL KATTULA

2011

Advisor: Dr. Michael Addonizio

Major: Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Degree: Doctor of Education

Through multivariate analysis, this study determined if there was a significant difference between the perceptions of men and women high school principals and superintendents in Metropolitan Detroit regarding barriers and facilitators for women who aspire to gain a position as a public high school principal in Michigan. Gender and other variables that may influence perceptions of high schools principals within Michigan's Oakland, …

The Impact Of Title I Program Funding Through A Comparison Of Schoolwide Assistance And Targeted Assistance On Fifth Grade Reading Achievement Scores In Illinois: Implications For Leadership In Public Education, Michael E. Robey

Dissertations

The ability to read with proficiency and comprehension is one of the basic goals of our educational system. Adequacy of funding these goals, particularly for lower income students, continues to be a challenge. Despite the efforts of a variety of educational reforms many students, particularly the economically disadvantaged, continue to struggle with basic reading skills.

The intent of this study is to help school leaders in identifying whether schoolwide or targeted assistance programs funded through Title I schools are associated with higher reading achievement. The study measured reading achievement for fifth grade students in Illinois using data from the Illinois …

Leadership Practices Of Science Department Chairs In Secondary Public Schools, Kathryn Marie Baal

Dissertations

This study was designed to explore the transformational leadership practices of science department chairs as perceived by both science department chairs and their principals as measured quantitatively by the third edition of the Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI) (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). In addition to transformational leadership, three other paradigms of leadership were essential to this study: transactional leadership, teacher leadership, and distributed leadership. Science department chairs are recognized as formal teacher leaders, primarily because their situational position makes them formal leaders; in addition science department chairs teach, to some degree, hence they are acknowledged as teacher leaders. The study further …

Examining Leadership Styles In Ten High Poverty Elementary Schools, John Will Cook

Dissertations

This qualitative research study examines the construct of leadership styles as perceived by the principals and the teachers. The personal experiences of the participants, their perspectives, and their insights will be an important element of this researcher's inquiry and significant to understanding how leadership is perceived at 10 elementary schools with a high poverty student population.

The research questions of this study are as follows:

1. What is the perception of principals and select teachers of the leadership style of five principals at low SES area elementary schools (kindergarten through eighth grade) that achieve adequate yearly progress overall for 3 …

Understanding Faculty Perceptions Of The Future: Action Research For Academic Librarians, Kara Josephine Malenfant

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The intent of this study was to aid academic librarians in examining their perceptions of the future of higher education, engaging disciplinary faculty members to understand their views, and determining actions to take to shape the future. In this mixed methods study, scenarios about the future of higher education served as the basis for collecting quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus group) data at one institution. During this study, staff, faculty, and administrators at one library developed new ways to craft strategies and make decisions, shifting their focus from strategic planning as an event to strategic thinking as a process, a …

Enhancing Psychology Students' Experiences: The Development Of An Undergraduate Leadership Programme, Lynne Cohen, Paul Chang, Joyce Hendricks, Vicki Cope, Bronwyn Harman

Research outputs 2011

Leadership is a practical skill, highly valued by employers but not formally taught in Australian psychology curricula. The Edith Cowan University School of Psychology and Social Science developed a programme aimed at addressing the lack of leadership training in undergraduate psychology students. This 12-month extracurricular programme provided theoretical and practical experience in leadership, and incorporated a formal series of workshops and seminars with three curricular components: leadership knowledge, leadership skills, and leadership in action. Students were then provided with the opportunity to develop and practise their leadership skills by participating in a series of expert-driven seminars, through role-playing, perspective taking, …

The Relationship Between Leader Decision Making And Student Achievement At K-3 Title I And Reading First Elementary Schools, Emily Kathleen Richmond

Dissertations

This mixed methodology study investigated the relationship between administrator and teacher perceptions of leader decision making regarding five variables (reading training, reading curriculum, program evaluation, financial support, and student assessment) and student achievement (in the single content area, reading, at the 3rd grade level) in Title I K-3 schools receiving Reading First Grants (RFGs) and Title I K-3 schools not receiving RFGs, in four states (Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, and Oklahoma). Respondent data and district data regarding percentages of students achieving proficient and above on state third grade reading assessments were analyzed via Pearson Correlations, Multiple Regression Analysis, and a MANOVA. …

Climbing The Ladder: The Experiences Of Women Senior Leaders In Southern Baptist Colleges And Universities, Allison Barritt Langford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interview study was to explore the career pathways, barriers, and keys to success experienced by women senior administrators in Southern Baptist colleges and universities. The researcher conducted an interview study with both open-ended and closed survey questions. The interviews primarily involved open-ended questions without response options and were conducted via the telephone. The researcher targeted the population of 42 women senior-level administrators. From this population, 20 women participated in the study. The researcher interviewed the 20 participants and collected a vita for 16 of the 20 women in the sample. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Member …

Talent Management In Higher Education: Developing Emerging Leaders Within The Administration At Private Colleges And Universities, Steven Riccio

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research focused on identifying a series of successful practices relating to administrative talent management within the higher education setting. The field study included a thorough examination of seven small to mid-size private colleges and universities that have incorporated employee development strategies. These strategies were aimed at growing future leaders from within the organization in order to achieve continuity and support institutional priorities. Specifically, several focus areas were investigated including presidential vision, leadership commitment, talent management’s place among institutional priorities, program characteristics, and program evaluation. Among the commonalities that were gathered included support at the senior officer level who serve …

Presidential Leadership During Strategic Transition: A Case Study Of Two Christian Institutions Of Higher Education, Douglas N. Searcy

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative research addressed presidential leadership during the strategic transition of the respective Boards of Trustees at Gardner-Webb and Wingate Universities (private, Christian institutions in North Carolina). In addition to interviewing each institutional President, personal 60-minute interviews were conducted with selected faculty members, trustees, administrators, and students and relevant documents were perused for substantiating information. The objective of the study was to learn how each institution’s President guided their respective constituencies toward acceptance of change while conveying a sense of stability and focus on visioning.

Leadership theories and studies were introduced illustrating presidential considerations, roles, and implications encountered during institutional …

Understanding The Influence Of Strengths On The College Experience: A Qualitative Case Study Of Undergraduate Business Students, Jennifer A. Mostek

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this qualitative, interview-based study was to identify the way that students and advisors utilized knowledge about students’ strengths in college. Strengths were defined by StrengthsQuest, a product of The Gallup Organization. Five college students and three academic advisors from the business college at a large, public research university, representing various cultural backgrounds, family statuses and ages participated in the study. Student and advisor participants explored the influence of strengths on self awareness, confidence, relationships, academic matters, as well as future plans. Advisor participants also discussed the need for additional courses or integration of strengths-based education in existing …

Leadership Implications For College And University Administrators As The Present Morphs Into The Future, Donald W. Good

ETSU Faculty Works

Colleges and universities are unique organizations and, as such, require a different type of approach to leadership than might be effective in other types of organizations. It is argued participative leadership is more desirable and effective than other approaches and such this leadership style will be even more important in the future. The effectiveness of participative leadership on structural units within institutions of higher education is discussed with the focus upon making decisions with the greatest benefit to students, now and in the future, as a top priority. The issue is examined within the context of available data concerning trends …

A Phenomenological Study Of How Anti-Racist Leadership Training Principles Impact The Actions Of Middle School Principals, John Gregory Kennedy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The national crisis of the academic achievement gap is one of the most impactful phenomena for the nations' public schools. This study used a phenomenological qualitative research design to capture the essence and perceptions of building principals' experiences related to principles of anti-racist leadership training. The researcher interviewed ten principals who had provided numerous questions in an interview format, to gain insight into the attitudes, beliefs, and leadership practices as they relate to the eradication of the achievement gap at their respective sites. The researcher conducted ten, in-depth, interviews with specific questions related to the achievement gap. All of the …

An Examination Of Principal Practices That Enhance Teacher Collaboration Through Professional Development In Literacy Collaborative, Marsha Susan Strosberg

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

While whole school reform requires the commitment and collaboration of the faculty to build capacity to effect academic improvement, the school leader plays a crucial role in establishing and nurturing a setting that facilitates this goal. This research described how elementary principals restructure their buildings to create and support professional learning communities in this change process.

Leadership Responsibilities Associated With Student Academic Achievement: A Study Of The Perspectives Of National Distinguished Elementary School Principals In An Era Of High Stakes Accountability, Michael Valenti

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Inclusive Education Training: Steps To Prosperity, Saima Khalid

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Education Through Technology: Prinicpal Leadership For Technology Integration In Schools, Lisa R. Rivard

Wayne State University Dissertations

Principals need to acquire understanding of, and proficiency in, technology skills and integration to be effective instructional leaders. As issues concerning the lack of systemic change in school reform and technology integration persist, little research has been published concerning the extent to which technology leadership behaviors identified in the National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A; International Society for Technology in Education, 2002) are being implemented in schools. The purpose of this study is to analyze the extent to which Michigan elementary principals employ behaviors that support their role as effective technology leaders.

Michigan K-6 school principals (n = 280) …

Building Level Principals As Change Agents In A Response To Intervention Reform Initiative, Kristen Elizabeth Ninni

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the principal in a systems change effort. Utilizing Response to Intervention (RtI) as a means of studying principals as change agents, this researcher examined the principals' ability to implement and sustain a reform effort such as RtI as perceived by the principal, problem solving team, and teachers. This study examined how the perceptions influenced the change process and the extent to which the principal demonstrated characteristics of change such as knowledge of change, self-efficacy or their belief in their ability to make changes, and skills of change as supported …

Voice And Volume Of Leader Self-Awareness, Michael J.M. Mcdonald

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study proposed that the level of self-awareness possessed by a leader has a direct relationship with the engagement level of the team he or she leads. A quantitative approach using the results of self-other leadership ratings and team engagement ratings were examined to explain employee engagement through perceptions of leadership awareness.

By understanding leadership through the integration of two instruments, one designed to measure seven specific demands of leadership (the L7 instrument) and another to measure employee engagement on twelve dimensions (the Q12 instrument), this study explored the relationship between leader self-awareness and the effect of that awareness on …

A Phenomenological Study Of Balanced Leadership, Ann K. Christy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe, interpret and analyze the experiences of six elementary principals in the Stewart district who have effectively balanced the instructional and managerial roles of the principalship. The research question for this study is: How do effective principals balance managerial tasks and instructional leadership responsibilities?

By analyzing these experiences, principals would be able to provide valuable insights into principal's needs and feelings about instructional leadership. This study centers around six elementary principals that provided information regarding the skills needed to become an instructional leader and their interpretation of experiences that contributed to their development …

Ethical Perspectives And Leadership Practices In The Two-Year Colleges In South Carolina, Shirley Butler

All Dissertations

This study examined the ethical perspectives and leadership practices of leaders in community colleges. The participants consisted of 68 presidents and chief institutional officers from the two-year colleges in South Carolina. All participants completed the Ethics Position Questionnaire and the Leadership Practices Inventory. Demographic data were also gathered on the participants. The survey responses were collected electronically, and analyzed to determine what relationships existed between the leaders' ethical ideologies and perspectives and their leadership practices. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's Product-moment Correlation tests, and ANOVA tests were computed to examine the data. The findings from the study indicated several associations between leadership …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of How Leadership Styles And Practices Of Principals Influence Their Job Satisfaction And Retention, Eric Matthew Denton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study addresses the challenge principals face in retaining highly qualified and effective teachers in their schools. Although efforts to recruit new teachers have proven successful, teachers are leaving education at alarming rates, especially in the first four years of their careers. The purpose of this study was to identify what school principals can do to increase teachers' job satisfaction and retention. To do so, 12 veteran teachers from four schools were interviewed from February to April 2009. The participants answered questions concerning their levels of job satisfaction, their perceptions of their principals' leadership styles, and their reasons for continuing …

Ethical Leadership In Higher Education: Evolution Of Institutional Ethics Logic, William Hanson

All Dissertations

In higher education, we face a decade in which institutional integrity and legitimacy is under fire. In the words of Charles Dickens, this is certainly 'the worst of times' both economically and ethically for our nation, as well as for our colleges and universities. While members of higher education call for student academic ethics reform, ethical infractions by institutional leaders and faculty permeate professional literature and news--student loan scandals, charges of plagiarism, and falsified research, are but a few. This study begins with the premise that perhaps our efforts toward reform should focus on a better holistic understanding of system …

Workplace Incivility And Conflict Management Styles Of Community College Leaders In The Nine Mega States, Michelle Bartlett

All Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the conflict management styles and perceived levels of workplace incivility of community college senior level administrators in the nine mega-states. Six research questions guided the study. Research question one described the self reported conflict management styles of the participants. Research question two described the participants' perceptions of workplace incivility. Research question three examined if relationships existed between conflict management styles and demographic variables. Research question four examined if relationships existed between workplace incivility and demographic variables. Research question five examined if relationships existed between workplace incivility and conflict management styles. Research question …

An Analysis Of The Connection Between A Principal Development Program And Executive Leadership, David (Jay) Jones

Education Dissertations and Projects

America faces the following problems related to the supply of school principals: shortage, poor understanding of the changed role, and inadequate training. In response to problems, the state of North Carolina has implemented the School Executive Standards to evaluate principals and drive the professional development of them. The purpose of this descriptive study was to report on the perceptions of principals and assistant principals regarding the connection between a district level principal development program and preparation to meet the "North Carolina School Executive Standards". A sequential QUAN-QUAL analysis was applied to data collected through a survey and individual interviews. Measures …