Educational Leadership Commons^™

Building Adaptive Leaders: Examining The Relationship Between Undergraduate Co-Curricular Leadership Roles, Change Readiness, And Leadership Self-Efficacy, Reneldo N. Randall

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The contemporary workforce is characterized by ongoing organizational change, requiring individuals to demonstrate adaptability and the capacity to lead within evolving conditions. Institutions of higher education increasingly emphasize leadership development as a mechanism for preparing students for these demands; however, limited empirical research has examined how participation in formal co-curricular undergraduate leadership roles relates to students’ readiness to engage with organizational change. This study addresses the gap by examining the relationship between leadership self-efficacy and resistance to change among undergraduate student leaders.

Guided by the Leadership Identity Development (LID) model, this quantitative study employed a non-experimental, correlational design. Data were …

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Case Study On Principals’ Attitudes And Practices Toward The Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities, Charlene Marie Briggs

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Despite decades of federal legislation mandating inclusion, many schools still struggle to serve students with disabilities effectively, resulting in persistent achievement gaps and limited postsecondary success. Research consistently identifies principals’ attitudes and practices as the most influential factor in inclusive school success, yet existing studies have examined these elements in isolation rather than as interconnected parts of a school system. This hermeneutic phenomenological case study explored how ten Virginia elementary school principals understood and enacted their attitudes and leadership practices toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in their schools. The study used van Manen’s (2014) hermeneutic phenomenology to understand …

The Leadership Lens: A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Sensemaking Experiences Of School Leaders Implementing Virginia's New Standards Of Accreditation And Accountability, Paul M. Wilson Jr.

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological study exposes the complex cognitive and organizational processes school leaders navigate as they translate high-stakes state mandates into localized action. By examining the implementation of Virginia’s revised Standards of Accreditation and Accountability (SOA), this study challenges the prevailing managerial paradigm that views policy implementation as a linear, mechanical execution of directives. Instead, grounded in sensemaking theory and SDT, this research conceptualizes implementation as a situated and interpretive act shaped by leaders’ prior experiences, beliefs, and psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Using a qualitative phenomenological design, data were collected through semi structured interviews with 12 school and …

How Women Community College Department Chairs Experience Leadership Work, Stephanie L. Goldenberg

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Women remain underrepresented in higher-level administrative roles in community colleges, a disparity shaped by systemic barriers, limited mentoring, and inconsistent pathways into leadership. Department chairs occupy a critical midlevel position that influences faculty, students, and the implementation of institutional priorities, yet little is known about how women experience this role or how their pathways into leadership take shape. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how women community college department chairs experience leadership work and what experiences influence their entry into leadership roles. Guided by feminist standpoint theory and grounded in narrative inquiry methodology, this study centers the …

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Community College Presidential Job Announcements And The American Association Of Community Colleges Competencies For Community College Leaders, Leslie M. Boon

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Women are overrepresented as students and employees of community college, yet they are underrepresented in presidential leadership roles. Prior research has examined the career trajectories and experiences of women aspiring to community college presidencies; however, less research has examined how discourse shapes expectations of leadership. Because community colleges have been described as gendered, the language used to describe leadership competencies may reinforce gendered assumptions about effective leadership. The purpose of this study was to examine the discourse of community college presidential job announcements and the American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) Competencies for Community College Leaders (4th edition) to examine …

Assessing Shifts In Leadership Language: A Comparative Study Of The Aacc Competencies For Community College Leaders, Bethany A. Siehr

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Leadership competency frameworks are widely used in community colleges to guide hiring, professional development, and succession planning. However, little is known about how leadership expectations evolve within these frameworks over time or how revisions reflect shifts in what the field values as legitimate leadership preparation. This study examined longitudinal change in the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Competencies for Community College Leaders across four editions published in 2005, 2013, 2018, and 2022.

Using a structured comparative document analysis, the study applied an extraction grid, a modification classification framework, and the Semantic Aspect Scale to identify additions, deletions, augmentations, separations, …

Sensemaking By Rural Community College Mid-Level Academic Leaders During Localized Disruptions: A Critical Incident Technique Study, Donata Worrell

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Mid-level academic leaders in community colleges play a critical role in the success of community colleges. Beyond performing administrative tasks, they advocate for faculty, staff, and students as well as implement directives. Their work is affected by localized disruptions. However, limited research has examined how these leaders experience such disruptions. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how mid-level community college leaders experience and make sense of those unexpected operational disruptions and their emotional responses to those events. Guided by Weick’s theory of sensemaking, this study used the critical incident technique (CIT) to collect detailed accounts of the …

Perceptions Of The Community Eligibility Provision (Cep) Program, Angela H. Napier

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study examined how educators and families perceive and experience the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and its influence on student attendance, engagement, well-being, and school climate within one public school division. While prior research has established quantitative links between universal meal programs and academic outcomes, limited research has explored how stakeholders interpret and experience these effects in practice. Addressing this gap, this study employed a convergent mixed-methods design, integrating archival attendance data, surveys, and semi-structured interviews with principals, assistant principals, teachers and families. Quantitative findings revealed modest but inconsistent changes in absenteeism following the CEP implementation, while qualitative findings provided …

Identifying Professional Development Needs Of Deans At California Community Colleges, Matilda D. Chavez

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This quantitative, descriptive study examined the professional development needs of deans, associate deans, and directors in the California Community Colleges System. Using the American Association of Community Colleges leadership competencies, the study analyzed how mid-level leaders rated the importance of leadership tasks and their ability to perform them. It also compared results by gender, race or ethnicity, years in the role, district type, and preferred professional development methods.

Data were collected with a 47-item, fixed-format survey using Qualtrics. The sample was a nonprobability quota drawn from 17 California community colleges (N = 71). Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, including t-tests …

Proactive Onboarding Services Model As An Academic And Social Integration Strategy For First-Time In College Students At A Virginia Community College, Jhansi V. Eturu

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

A recent survey by the Education Advisory Board (EAB) found that of the 1000 community college students surveyed, 56% nearly quit before classes started due to challenges during college onboarding. Similarly, admissions data from the Virginia Community Colleges System (VCCS) indicated that more than half of the students who apply do not enroll in classes, highlighting a need to closely examine the onboarding process and support services provided to understand what is effective and what is not. The purpose of this study is to understand the predictive utility of certain student onboarding services, such as an appointment with an admissions …

The Paradox Of Discipline: Equity, Standardization, And Black Student Outcomes In Public Schools, Latricia T. Davenport

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Despite efforts to address profound discipline disparities impacting Black students, the implementation of alternative disciplinary approaches like Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Restorative Justice (RJ) has failed to eliminate significant disproportionality in school discipline. This study investigates how teachers navigate the challenges of disciplining Black students within a paradoxical school environment that juxtaposes equitable, human-centered methods with a historically rooted managerial paradigm emphasizing uniformity and zero tolerance. Drawing upon systemic racism and the concept of 'apprenticeship of observation,' this study explores how teachers' implicit biases about Black students are formed by long-held institutional norms and personal experiences. It …

Who Gets To Lead? Policy, Systemic Barriers, And Leadership Norms In Education, Kathryn A. Cirilli

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study investigated the underrepresentation of women and racially marginalized individuals in the superintendent position, the highest leadership position within K-12 public education. The superintendent position has been overwhelmingly represented by males, even though women were the majority of the teaching workforce. Grounded by institutional theory and viewed through a phenomenological lens, I examined how organizational norms, hiring practices, and access to mentorship contributed to and upheld systemic barriers to the superintendent position. Through exploring the interpreted lived experiences of current female superintendents across public school districts that reflected the national patterns, this research addressed the disparities in …

The Influence Of Individual And Collective Social Capital On Teachers’ Decisions To Move Districts, Melinda Dawn Hodgkiss

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Understanding what contributes to teachers’ decisions to stay or leave in a school district is complex. There is a need to further investigate factors that influence teacher retention and attrition so that policy makers and school leaders can be informed about practices that may replenish and sustain the educator workforce. In an effort to understand the essence of the lived experience of teachers who previously made a decision to move districts, this study used phenomenological methods for the purpose of discovering the role that access to individual and collective social capital played in teachers’ decision making. Semi-structured interviews were conducted …

A Reformation Of The Status Quo: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Organizational Structure And Social Justice Reform In American Public Schools, Jaielle Manning

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the correlation between organizational structure and social justice reform in American public schools. The study specifically aims to answer the following research questions: What are the lived experiences of school leaders as they navigate and enact social justice reform? How do school leaders experience the ways organizational structures shape their opportunities and challenges in implementing social justice reform? How do school leaders experience and make sense of the influence of local, state, and national policy on their efforts toward social justice reform in American public schools? The literature review examined organizational structure through the lens of Ecological …

Research To Practice Gap: Impact Of Principal Perceptions & Communication On Change Initiatives, Jennifer Sagendorf

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences, perceptions, and practices of school principals related to evidence-based change initiatives and the continued divide between the findings of educational researchers and the use of these findings by school practitioners. Since the prevalent dichotomy of theory and practice is detrimental to school improvement efforts, it is important to examine the underlying values and beliefs that contribute to perpetuating this divide. For this qualitative phenomenological study, semi-structured interviews with seven elementary school principals provided first-hand accounts of the principals' lived experiences. Through an iterative process of coding, clustering, and cross-case analysis, …

Un-Tempering The Tempered Radical: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Female Superintendents In Neoliberal Education Systems, Melanie Fitzgerald Daniel

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The persistent and severe underrepresentation of Black women in K-12 educational leadership (just 1.4% of superintendencies) is a critical manifestation of Epistemic Injustice (Fricker, 2007) and the Architecture of Hostility. Dominant managerial paradigms in education structurally suppress the voices and devalue the expertise of Black women, leading to both testimonial injustice (credibility deficits) and hermeneutical injustice (misinterpretation of experience). This context forces them to pursue advancement within systems fundamentally structured to exclude them. This phenomenological study utilizes a nested theoretical framework, comprising Neoliberalism (macro-context), Epistemic Injustice (meso-critique), and Tempered Radicalism (Meyerson & Scully, 1995; Ngunjiri, 2012) (micro-agency), to illuminate the …

Community College Student Parents And Their Experiences With Mindfulness Training, Polly Nesselrodt

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Community college students who are parents (student parents) are highly motivated to succeed but face many challenges, including finances, transportation, and childcare, which leads to high levels of stress and anxiety. Mindfulness practices of returning to the breath and staying present in the body have been shown to help people manage stress and anxiety and live with greater ease. Using the stress and coping theory of Lazarus and Folkman (1984) as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of student parents who participated in mindfulness training. Participants attended mindfulness classes, facilitated by an instructor …

Toward More Challenge-Engaging Stem Students: A Narrative Inquiry Into Student Persistence In The Face Of Failure, Stephanie R. Fahey

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) postsecondary graduates greatly contribute to advances in technology and research, and STEM fields promise graduates careers with positive long-term outcomes. Many postsecondary students initially choose STEM majors; however, less than half of those students graduate with a STEM degree. High STEM attrition is a problem that continues to vex educators and researchers. One attributable factor to high STEM attrition is students adversely reacting to initial academic failure in challenging STEM educational contexts. However, there are a lack of studies that investigate the individual experiences of students who persist despite academic failure to better understand …

A Comparative Case Study On Special Education Administrator’S Education And Experience: Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of The Support Provided To Probationary Special Education Teachers, Diane Smith Glover

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to explore the education and experience of special education administrators (SEAs) and their perceptions of the effectiveness of the support they provide to probationary special education teachers (SETs), particularly in relation to the teachers' professional growth and job satisfaction. This qualitative study employed an interpretive approach, focusing on the perspectives of SEAs regarding their knowledge in special education, the workplace supports they provide, and the impact of these supports on SETs' professional development and career decisions. Data was collected from interviews with 11 SEAs who had experience supervising probationary SETs.

The findings revealed …

Relationship Between Local Fiscal Effort And High School Graduation Rate, Zachary Michael Haney

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Education is an investment in human capital, but the cost to provide this public service is significant. Understanding the return on this investment is essential for informed and effective financial decision-making. While previous school finance studies have examined the relationship between funding and various indicators of student achievement and student attainment, most have focused on spending practices rather than the level of investment itself. Although the literature affirms the need for educational resources, further research is required to determine which types of investment most positively affect student outcomes. Therefore, funding must be analyzed prior to budgetary allocation to evaluate its …

Navigating Recovery: Community College Student Journeys Through Collegiate Recovery Programs, Eric Scott Klein

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

There is an inherent regional need to support students in recovery, and often their demographics and lived experiences coincide with the student body of a community college. This is particularly salient to the segments of this population which concurrently suffer maltreatment due to other intersectional biases implicit in many health care and education-based systems inside the United States (Cole, 2009; Mance et al., 2010; Rosenthal, 2016). Community colleges are not doing enough to equitably support students in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) and help buoy their recovery capital (Appiah, 2021; Ashford, Curtis, et al., 2018; Association of Recovery in …

Mapping Perspectives: Community College Career Advisors’ Viewpoints For Enhancing Economic Mobility And Career Selection—A Q Methodology Study, Christopher Ryan Harrison

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In an era of rapid workforce transformation and increasing demand for postsecondary career readiness, community college career advisors play a critical role in supporting students’ economic mobility and informed career decision-making. Traditional academic advising, which primarily focuses on course registration and degree completion, may not fully address students’ evolving career development needs. This study employed Q methodology to examine the subjective viewpoints of career advisors in North Carolina community colleges regarding strategies to enhance students’ career outcomes. Grounded in human capital theory and career construction theory, the study investigated how advisors integrate labor market data, wage trends, and workforce expectations …

Institutional Pressures On School Leadership And Innovation After Pandemic-Related School Closures: A Phenomenological Study, Gary Eugene Skeen

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic was a phenomenon that caused immediate change to global institutions, including education. As schools created new systems during the pandemic, as restrictions began to be eased, many divisions felt pressure to continue virtual options after schools fully reopened to students. This pressure influenced the decisions made by school leaders, with internal and external pressures dictating how leaders navigated the decisions made regarding virtual learning after pandemic-related school closures. In the presence of the widespread phenomenon of the pandemic, school leaders faced pressures to reimagine learning through innovation or revert to institutional structures normalized prior to pandemic closures. …

Unveiling Resilience And Motivation Through Testimonios: Exploring The Influence Of Trio Student Services On Motivation And College Completion, Emily Leonard Garrison

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores the impact of TRIO Student Support Services (TRIO SSS) on the motivation and college completion rates of first-generation rural community college students. Utilizing a qualitative approach centered on testimonios, this research captures the lived experiences of students at a rural community college in North Carolina, focusing on how TRIO SSS influences their educational journeys.

Through narrative inquiry, the study documents the personal stories of TRIO SSS graduates, highlighting the program's pivotal role in enhancing student retention and success. The findings demonstrate that TRIO SSS is essential in providing targeted support that aligns with the students' unique challenges …

Literacy Leadership: Power In The Discourse Of Learning, Melissa Guinn Crawley Twisdale

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The phenomenon of teacher learning, especially within literacy education pedagogy, has rarely been a topic of educational research. The nature of ongoing teacher learning is as challenging to study as student learning in that, learning in and of itself is not widely defined in the educational research literature. Equally challenging is the topic of literacy for which there are numerous and varying definitions, many of which carry political and controversial connotations (Aukerman & Schuldt, 2021). The term science of reading, for example, often carries an intensive focus on assessed reading proficiency as the primary goal of reading instruction, although the …

Short-Semester Courses: Mitigating Unfavorable Precollege Issues For Students At A Technical College, James T. Moore Jr.

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Technical colleges serve a distinct student population and provide an open access point to higher education for students not wishing to attend a university. Graduation and retention rates continue to demonstrate a gap between what technical colleges wish to achieve and the actual achievement. Technical college leaders continue to embrace policies and programs intended to support students at university system schools and which poorly serve the needs of technical college students. As a result, little is known about the lived experiences of technical college students. Data were collected through a six individual semi-structured interview. The six participants of the study …

Navigating Identity And Belonging: Itinerant Teachers Of The Deaf/Hard Of Hearing And The Blind/Visually Impaired As Structural Hole Spanners In Educational Ecosystems, Rj Horstmyer

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Itinerant Teachers of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Itinerant Teachers of the Blind/Visually Impaired are highly specialized teachers and service providers who provide services to students who make up less than two percent of all students eligible for special education services and subsequently experience high levels of mobility between many schools. This study unearths the lived experiences of IToDs and ITVIs and examines how their itinerancy and ecological factors shape their identity and organizational belonging within and between multiple social networks. Participants were those currently employed as either Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing or Itinerant Teachers of the …

Institutional Responses To The First Amendment: Inclusivity And The Protection Of Free Speech Rights On Campus, Christina Lipuma

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This collective case study explores institutional responses to First Amendment events to determine how institutional policies impact a sense of inclusivity and the protection of free speech rights on public college and university campuses. This study identifies the practices of a sample of public, university campuses that have experienced a free speech incident to determine how the experience shaped their policies on free speech, how administrators describe their experiences following the incident, and how institutional leaders rate the outcome of their efforts in relation to balancing inclusivity in the campus environment. Due to the complex nature of public university campuses, …

Decriminalizing Academia: Black First-Generation Community College Students In Unsatisfactory Academic Standing, Gerome Maurice Bell, Jr.

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Community colleges serve as critical access points to higher education for Black students. However, current outcomes suggest that Black students are not being properly served in America’s community colleges. Although well-meaning institutional leaders often create policies and programs aimed at improving success rates for students from marginalized backgrounds, too often, the voices of those directly impacted by the policy are not considered. Consequently, little is known about the lived experiences of Black first-generation community college students, especially those in unsatisfactory academic standing. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black first-generation students on …

A Comparison Of Specialized And General Orientation Courses For Community College Students, Heather R. Sorrell

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the effect of specialized orientation courses on community college student academic achievement and retention. The study utilized a quantitative design and compared the outcomes of specialized orientation courses to a more generalized orientation course. Due to the lack of previous research, there was little to suggest either a positive or a negative influence on student success measures for a targeted, specialized version of orientation courses. The study found that achievement outcomes did not differ between specialized orientation courses and general orientation courses. The study did find retention differences based on the type of orientation course completed. Students …