Educational Leadership Commons^™

Joint-Admissions Explored: Determining The Existence Of A Transfer-Affirming Culture Between Owensboro Community And Technical College And Western Kentucky University-Owensboro, Angela Loretta Higdon

Dissertations

A growing number of postsecondary students transfer from a two-year to a four-year institution. The joint admissions program between Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) and Western Kentucky University-Owensboro (WKU-O) is a unique example of such a transfer relationship. Research is needed to understand the nature of the joint admissions relationship. The purpose of this case study was to explore the joint admissions relationship between OCTC and WKU-O, in order to determine the existence of a transfer-affirming culture, in accordance with Handel’s (2011) transfer-affirming conceptual framework.

The case study was bounded by time, including the previous three academic years (2014-2015, …

Winning On And Off The Court: An Interpretive Case Study Of A Leader’S Effectual Power And Influence, Eugene Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to study the leadership profile of a leader’s effectual power and influence. A qualitative research design is preferred to capture rich, thick personal responses from the interview participants. Semi-structured interviews were utilized with open-ended questions, which enabled the respondents to provide unique insights and reflections of their direct and indirect experiences with the research subject. Additionally, document inquiry and direct observations were used and, as an outcome, triangulation was achieved.

Effective use of power is studied in the context of a leader’s ability to influence others to induce a desired outcome. The subject’s influence …

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Higher Education Leaders As Portrayed In The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Colette Anderson Chelf

Dissertations

Leadership represents an abstraction of human thought. While functionalist theories propose leader-centric models, contemporary leadership theories embrace a postmodern paradigm acknowledging ontological and epistemological assumptions of qualitative study. This ideology suggests a multi-dimensional model of leadership that reflects the complexity and fluidity of leadership in practice. Emergent theories explore the social construction of leadership, rather than an individual leader’s traits or behaviors. Our collective understanding of leadership is manifest in the (re)creation of leadership as exemplified in social discourse such as newspaper reporting.

The purpose of the study is to reveal socially accepted archetypes assigned to higher education leaders, as …

Student Development: The Relationship Between Student Leadership And Self-Actualization, Norman G. Oliver

Selected Honors Theses

This study compared two groups of college students’ levels of self-actualization from Southeastern University, student leaders and non-leader students. The participants’ levels of self-actualization were measured using the Short Index of Self-actualization (SISA). The study followed a cross-sectional design. Participants were recruited through in-person communication, emails, and an on-campus study recruitment software called SONA. The participants completed a questionnaire containing the SISA and various demographic questions. Results indicated that the findings of the study were not statistically significant; therefore, it could not be determined whether or not student leadership is positively correlated with higher levels of self-actualization. However, a replication …

Nebraska Transcript (University Of Nebraska College Of Law), Volume 51, Number 1, Spring 2018

Nebraska Transcript

Dean’s Message

Professors Jack Beard, Jessica Shoemaker and Adam Thimmesch granted tenure in 2017. Professors Gus Hurwitz and Brett Stohs granted tenure in 2018.

Clinic Students participate in mobile consular clinic Atwood, Hertz and Nelson Advance to National Moot Court Competition Finals

New program helps students pursue careers in business

College partners with business school for undergraduate minor

Civil Clinic law students reach out to the community

Clinic Students participate in mobile consular clinic

Atwood, Hertz and Nelson Advance to National Moot Court Competition Finals

Heartland Optical expands mission under leadership of Conrad, ’03

The Power of Philanthropy: The latest …

The Perceptions And Lived Experiences Of African American Male Presidents In California Community Colleges, Tyree L. Robinson

Doctoral Dissertations

Current research has shown racial disparities and inequities among African American men who desire to be community college presidents in California, or already hold the position. This study explored why California has only 7 African American community college presidents on 115 campuses; how to overcome obstacles to attain the presidency position; what life/work experiences assists current presidents in their leadership positions in higher education, as well as each president’s trajectory that ultimately led them to the presidency. The study explored factors that have kept African Americans out of higher education leadership roles such as the presidency.

Leadon Alliance: Empowering Alaska's Youth Through Inclusive Programming, Megan Juneau

Capstone Collection

Alliance is an annual youth conference in Alaska designed to create inclusive and multi-cultural programming for Alaskan youth and their adult mentors. Alliance is a reimagining of a program formerly known as LeadOn. While LeadOn has been successful for the last ten years at providing workshops for Alaskan youth and adults on healthy sexuality, relationships, and leadership, it will now focus on making quality content for Alaskan Natives, Immigrants, and LGBTQ+ identities in Alaska. In the development of this idea past program participants and previous program coordinators were surveyed and interviewed to collect information about how inclusivity has or has …

A Group Leader’S Journey: Connecting Youth Development, Youth Empowerment And Social Justice Theory To Practice On The Experiment In International Living, Brian Sheffer

Capstone Collection

Youth development practitioners must be cognizant not only of youth development and social justice education theories, but also of how they—in the context of their lived experiences—engage with youth development work. My initial experiences with youth development lacked intentionality; however, as I began to critically examine my own experiences through the lens of theorists such as Freud, Piaget, Ericksen, hooks, and Freire, I realized the vitality of reflective practice. This paper unpacks my experiences as a Group Leader for The Experiment in Argentina, Nicaragua/Cuba, and South Africa, analyzing my approach to the Group Leader role and how it affected my …

Increasing The Buy-In And Effectiveness Of A Social And Emotional Learning Class Program In A Single Sex, Urban And Charter High School: Social And Emotional Learning Specialists And Student Perceptions Of Its Implementation., Kizawanda A. Olowe

Dissertations

Social-emotional learning has yet to be implemented in many schools in America. Without adequate social and emotional skills, students struggle to navigate their academic and social environments. Students attending a single-sex, urban charter school participated in focus groups and completed surveys about their perceptions of a social-emotional learning program that was implemented during the 2015–2016 school year. Social-emotional learning facilitators completed surveys and participated in focus groups to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of the program. Graphs and themes based on the information gathered from the surveys, open-ended questions, and focus groups were used to analyze the data. Both students …

A Collective Case Study To Examine Administrators' Instructional Leadership Perspective Of The Role Of Instructional Coaches And Teacher Librarians In California Public Schools, Melanie Ann Lewis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to develop an understanding of why California K-12 public school administrators distribute instructional leadership responsibilities to either instructional coaches or teacher librarians and how the two roles compare within the context of the implementation of the California Common Core State Standards in ELA/Literacy. The study addressed the following research questions: Why do administrators select instructional coaches/teacher librarians to help them provide instructional leadership? How do administrators and instructional coaches/teacher librarians work together to provide professional learning within daily instructional practice? How do administrators evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional coaches’/teacher librarians’ instructional …

Increasing School Social Worker Supports For Schools In Illinois: Policy Recommendations For Supporting Student Learning And Growth., Kizawanda A. Olowe

Dissertations

Administrators and board members at the Illinois State Board of Education recommended that schools with certain demographics hire one social worker for every 350 students. The policy has yet to be implemented despite high rates of student poverty, lagging test scores, school bullying, suspensions, and an increased number of school shootings. The Illinois State Board of Education’s social and emotional learning standards guide educators and policy makers to interact and educate each student. School social workers equipped with the necessary skill set provide services, implement district-wide social and emotional learning programs, and work with various stakeholders to monitor progress. A …

Case-In-Point Methodology: Creating A Studio-Laboratory Environment In Every Classroom, Emily Carlson, Kari Gibbs Prouty

Andrews University Teaching and Learning Conference

Participants will explore the unique approach of case-in-point methodology which utilizes student experiences to transform the academic space, harness failure, and process life’s challenges. Emphasis will be given to designing tasks that promote problem solving, communication, and self-reflection across all age groups and disciplines. Borrowing from best practices utilized at Harvard Business School, the University of Minnesota, and Andrews University’s Undergraduate Leadership Program, attendees will learn how to create tasks designed to make use of both the explicit and underlying issues that surface in the day-to-day lives of students and connect those issues to course content.

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 …

History Of Journalism Education: An Analysis Of 100 Years Of Journalism Education, Hilary Akers Dunn

LSU Master's Theses

This quantitative content analysis uses course descriptions to find changes in journalism education at the University of Missouri, Louisiana State University, and the University of North Carolina over 100 years. This study found that there are two influencing factors that are inherent to the journalism profession: advances in technology and the maturity of the profession itself. These two influencing factors produced changes in technology used in curriculum, course focus (e.g. skill, theory, general knowledge, and history), and course topics (e.g. advertising, broadcasting, public relations, etc.) This study also found that leadership is the most influential factor of change in journalism …

A Study Of The Lived Experience Of African American Males Who Transition From Out-Of-Home Care To Postsecondary Education, Marvin Cain Alexander

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While the literature is replete with studies of the factors contributing to the failure and social deviance of African American males, few qualitative studies have been conducted to determine the factors that support the success of African American males, and virtually none have focused on the transition of African American males from out-of-home care to postsecondary educational institutions. Despite the challenges faced preceding and during out-of-home care, African American males can transition to postsecondary educational institutions. There is a need to understand why some African American males who experience out-of-home care can accomplish this while others cannot. It is imperative …

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 …

An Instrumental Case Study On Testing An Integrated Framework For Tutoring Sessions, Alicia L. Holland, Chris Grant, Reshma Donthamsetty

The Qualitative Report

The objective for the current qualitative case study was to examine participants’ perceptions on the tutor coaching and session review frameworks. The location of the study was at the tutor coach’s place of business. At the beginning of the study, both tutor coach and tutors were trained on how to implement the specific frameworks associated with their roles in the tutoring process. Tutors who participated in the study kept weekly reflection journals regarding their tutoring experiences. After 6 weeks, the tutor coach participated in 30-minute open-ended phone interviews related to the tutor-coaching framework. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. Tutors …

The Excel Mindset: If I Excel And You Excel Then We Excel Together, Jake Golden Iv

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Making the decision to change is the the first step towards that change. Once a leader decides that change is warranted and puts actions towards implementing that change the universe has to align with the decision. The EXCEL principles are 5 principles that if implemented consistently with drastically change the lives of your students and add vitality to your school's climate/community. This program is specifically designed for any leader who wants to EXCEL in their lives professionally and personally.

Epistemological Ruptures: Flashback On Fieldwork Dilemmas While Doing Research On Friends At Home, Israel Aguilar

The Qualitative Report

While doing fieldwork at home and/or with people who are familiar can yield new knowledge, researchers using ethnographic techniques ought to first assume the role of apprentice and enact vulnerability before they can represent findings that represent what really happened. Doing otherwise can tarnish relationships or jeopardize a study. The history of narrative within ethnographic research is discussed as an introduction to the author’s own personal narrative, which is in the form of a flashback that illustrates the journey he embarked on in 2010 when he initiated dissertation research in his hometown of south Texas. It is here where he …

A "Different Kind" Of Christian, Thom Wolf, Erich Baumgartner

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

Dr. Erich Baumgartner teaches leadership and intercultural communication and directs the Ph.D. in Leadership Program at Andrews University. He combines his interest in Intercultural Communication with his passion to develop organizational leaders. This is reflected in the two core courses he teaches on leadership theory and diversity and culture. In the course Issues in Leadership Theory, he introduces experienced leadership professionals to the universe of theory. His seminar on Diversity, Leadership, and Culture brings participants face-to-face with the realities of our global workplace. Most of his recent time, however, has been spent working with doctoral students on their dissertation research …

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 …

Equity And Inclusion: Expanding The Urban Ecosystem, Tia Brown Mcnair, Judith A. Ramaley

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

As our nation grows ever more diverse, the need to ensure that our educational institutions are truly equitable and inclusive becomes more and more urgent. This sense of urgency plays out across a social and political terrain that threatens the very core of our identity as a nation. Our growing diversity is seen by some as a threat to our national security and as the primary cause behind the displacements and angers being created by the ever growing differences that are dividing our country. Our authors see our growing diversity as a much needed and valued source of energy, creativity …

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 …

“If Our English Isn’T A Language, What Is It?” Indonesian Efl Student Teachers’ Challenges Speaking English, Mukhlash Abrar, Amirul Mukminin, Akhmad Habibi, Fadhil Asyrafi, Makmur Makmur, Lenny Marzulina

The Qualitative Report

Research on students’ skill speaking English in a non-English speaking country such as Indonesia is limited. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to document Indonesian EFL student teachers’ experiences in speaking English at one public university in Jambi, Indonesia. Data came from demographic questionnaires and semi-structured interviews obtained from eight participants. We organized our analysis and discussion around Indonesian EFL student teachers’ perspectives and the contexts in which experiences they encountered emerge. Our analysis of the text revealed overarching themes and sub-themes including (1) language barriers (vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and fluency); (2) psychological factors (anxiety, attitude, and lack of …

The Resiliency Of Highly Mobile Military Children: Implications For Military And Education Leadership, Kim D. Hunt

Dissertations

The life of a highly mobile child brings educational and social challenges. Highly mobile children who move at least four to five times during their PK-12 grade years generally experience greater difficulty in their social interactions and education than children with a more stable living experience. One specific group of highly mobile children, military children, face these challenges and more, due somewhat to the unique culture of the military. Military children are called upon to move across state lines and/or international borders and typically face multiple school absences and stress related to deployments of their active duty parent(s). There is …

What College Presidents Need To Know About College Students And Student Affairs, Jennifer M. Miles

Journal of Research on the College President

The college presidency is filled with challenges and opportunities, ranging from maintaining communication with on-campus and off-campus stakeholders, coordinating work being done across campus, to simply keeping all of the institution’s operations up and running in an efficient manner. These activities are all designed around a specific purpose: providing opportunities for students to learn.

The Digital Self: A Qualitative Approach To Studying Female College Students' Use Of Social-Networking Platforms, Megan Christine Gore

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to understand how female college students make use of social networks, specifically how they use the medium to connect with others. Researching socialnetworking use pertaining to the phenomenon of connection will give a richer understanding of female students’ lived experience of social networking. Many quantitative studies have been conducted about social networking, but more qualitative measures are needed to explore social networking. With the continuously changing social-networking platforms, there is little research that sheds light on social-networking use among female college students. My goal was to conduct a qualitative research study that examined female …

Deaf In Her Own Way: The Role Of Identity In Social Justice Leadership, Judy Drescher

Student Coursework: Ed.D. program

The following fieldwork chronicles the personal and professional trajectory of Cindy Greenspun, a social justice leader at Yale University Library. At the age of eighteen months, Greenspun suffered an illness that resulted in the loss of her hearing and spent nearly the first half of her life fully immersed in the hearing world. Through significant self-reflection and perseverance, Greenspun evolved beyond the binary paradigm of oralism–the exclusive use of speech and lip reading–to ultimately embrace the essence of being both bilingual (speech and sign) and bicultural (hearing and non-hearing). These attributes not only enabled Greenspun to navigate between two distinctly …

What College Presidents Need To Know About Adult Learners In Higher Education, David Deggs

Journal of Research on the College President

American higher education has undergone a metamorphosis over the past three decades that has resulted in the emergence of new paradigms for academic program content, modalities for instructional delivery, configuration and delivery of student services, and expansion of outreach models. Central to this metamorphosis is the adult learner in American higher education. Once thought to be the minority in American higher education, adult learners now comprise 74% of all undergraduate college students in the United States (Radford, Cominole & Skomsvold, 2015). This marked shift in the student demographics has caused many American higher education institutions to reconsider the mission, purpose …

Incivility In The Workplace: The Experiences Of Female Sport Management Faculty In Higher Education, Elizabeth A. Taylor, Robin Hardin, Natalie Welch, Allison B. Smith

Faculty Publications

Access to higher education for women has dramatically increased in the United States during the past 50 years. Female college graduates have reversed the figures and gone from being outnumbered by their male counterparts 3 to 2 in the 1970s, to now outnumbering male college graduates 3 to 2. Women also graduate from masters and doctoral programs at a higher rate than men.

However, increases in the number of women obtaining college and advanced degrees has not translated to comparable representation in faculty positions or leadership roles in higher education. This lack of women in leadership positions, as well as …