Educational Leadership Commons^™

Leveraging Professional Learning To Impact Leadership Of Technology Integration, Tennille Woodward

All Dissertations

School and district leaders lack awareness of the depth and complexity of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Education Leaders and how the implementation of the leader standards provides for students and teachers to learn relevant skills and strategies. Continuing the work of Schoenbart’s 2019 dissertation, the Education Leaders Technology Survey (ELTS) provides a self-assessment for education leaders to reflect on their leadership of technology integration and provides baseline data for this study. Professional learning around the ISTE Standards for Education Leaders provided through a Canvas course provides education leaders with a theory of action to …

Leadership Development Through Service-Learning For First-Year Students: A Phenomenological Study Of The Significance To Leadership Studies, Jennifer E. Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the leadership development experiences of first-year undergraduate students who participated in service learning. The central research question is: What are the shared leadership experiences of alumni who participated in service-learning activities during their first-year courses? Ten recent graduates from a large public research university in the Midwest make up the sample for this study. The theory guiding this study is Kolb’s experiential learning theory as it aims to explore experiential leadership development through service-learning during first-year undergraduate studies. Data collection methods included a timeline and digital data collection, individual interviews, …

The Sustainability Of African American Female-Owned Businesses, Chantelle Daniel Thibeaux

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African American women–owned small businesses fail more often than non-Black-owned
businesses. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to describe successful
African American women small business owners’ leadership styles, traits, strategies, and
behaviors. Additionally, this study aimed to provide insights into specific leadership traits,
strategies, and behaviors that affect the sustainability of African American women–owned
businesses. Three leadership styles that have contributed to their business success were used to
frame this study: transformational, transactional, and situational leadership. All three of these
styles of leadership have been shown to help businesses succeed. Data were collected from
African American women business …

Public School Superintendents In Virginia: Innovating In The Educational Context, Daniel Firing Keever

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This research study, using institutional theory as a framework, examines the role of superintendents in promoting and impacting innovation in Virginia's public schools. The study engaged fourteen current Virginia superintendents in semi-structured interviews, exploring their perspectives on fostering an innovative culture within their school districts. Three primary themes emerged from the research: defining innovation, the role of superintendents in leading innovation, and the challenges and barriers to innovation. Generally, the findings highlight that innovation fundamentally involves thinking differently, finding creative solutions, and bringing about meaningful organizational improvements. The study emphasizes that innovation is essential for adapting to the evolving needs …

Women In Leadership: Journey To The School District Superintendency, Jessica Mcintyre

Dissertations

Educational leadership positions within school districts across the country are becoming more inclusive and representative of the diverse populations they serve; however, there is still a staggering gender gap within the school district superintendent position. This mixed methods research study was conducted to learn about the experiences of women who have already achieved this top position within a school district. The study involved a primarily qualitative approach through interviews with supplemental quantitative survey data. The three research questions guiding this study were: What are the unique barriers women face during their journey to the school district superintendency? What experiences and …

Exploring The Application Of Compassionate Leadership Behaviors In The Workplace, Tracy L. Laurie

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This qualitative case study answers the central research question “How are compassionate leadership behaviors encouraged and/or discouraged in the workplace?” Interviews with five individuals from one work team in an Am Law 100 law firm revealed how the compassionate leadership behaviors of integrity, accountability, presence, empathy, authenticity, and dignity (Shuck et al., 2019) were applied at work. This research explored four themes: leadership courage, growth mindset, empowerment, and coaching performance. Each theme has four subthemes further describing the data: Leadership courage: managing consistently and fairly, being transparent, communicating honestly, and taking risks; Growth mindset: working intentionally, developing others, learning continuously, …

Shared Experiences Of Novice School Principals' Mentor Training: A Phenomenological Study Of The Experience Of Peer Educators, Bryan Martyn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the shared experiences of novice school principals’ mentor training and to gain an understanding of the experience of peer educators. This dissertation employed a qualitative case study methodology to interview Arizona principals with less than three years of experience who did not receive district-provided, formal mentorship training during their first years as principals to determine their experiences and support needs. I assessed the current literature on inexperienced principal mentorship programs in the United States via the lens of Kram’s Mentoring Model and then linked this literature to the principals’ reported concerns. …

The Relationship Between Leadership Style And Faculty Members’ Job Satisfaction At King Abdul Aziz University In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Abdulrahman Alotaibi

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. My research focused on examining the relationship between leadership style and faculty members’ job satisfaction at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The main objective of this research was to analyze the connection in the styles of leadership and job satisfaction in the higher education sector in Saudi Arabia. My study aimed to provide insights necessary to help Saudi Arabian higher education institutions increase employee satisfaction.

I was guided in this research by the following research questions: (1) What is the prevailing leadership style of the heads of departments as perceived by their faculty members at …

School Accountability Within The Dominican Republic: A Qualitative Study Of School Principals’ Beliefs And Knowledge, Massiel Cohen Camacho

Dissertations

The school accountability system in the Dominican Republic (DR) involves the use of several national assessments, the reporting of such data, and the training of principals on how to use such data as part of school improvement efforts. While this type of indicator accountability system does not include specific consequences, there is still significant measuring and reporting of student achievement data, with the implied connotation of teacher and principal responsibility for specific school outcomes. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of research on what school principals know about such school accountability in the DR, and how they …

Communication Quality And Relational Self-Expansion: The Path To Leadership Coaching Effectiveness, Angela M. Passarelli, Mai P. Trinh, Ellen B. Van Oosten, Amanda Varley

Management Faculty Publications

Leadership coaching—a relational process by which a professional coach works with a leader to support their development—is a common component of learning and development portfolios in organizations. Despite broad agreement about the importance of the coaching relationship, relational processes remain undertheorized, failing to account for the growth and intertwining of coach-leader self-concepts as they engage in a generative and co-creative coaching process. To address these shortcomings, we reconceptualize the relational process within coaching as one of relational self-expansion and theorize that the communication channel and communication quality impact relational self-expansion which, in turn, influences coaching effectiveness. Our hypotheses are tested …

Go On…Shatter It! A Qualitative Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Gender-Based Prejudices Of Senior-Level Women Administrators At Community Colleges Across Texas, Janene Marie Dotts

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the qualitative transcendental phenomenological study aimed to understand the gender-based prejudices and obstacles and barriers for women pursuing senior leadership roles at community college in Texas. The Role Congruity Theory of Prejudice toward Female Leaders, plays an essential part in understanding how women were perceived when in a leadership position, guides this study. Semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and letter writing were conducted with 14 women who had achieved senior-level administration roles at a community college. By horizontalizing, reducing, and ultimately determining a composite structural description or substance of participants' experiences, Moustakas' phenomenological analysis method was used to …

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Christian Leaders' Competency Development Experience: Prepared To Equip The Laity, Shamekia Shonta' Smith-Tucker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Research indicates that missional or nondenominational U.S. churches may include more than 60,000 such churches, representing at least 12 million followers (Thumma, 2020). Additionally, some ministry leaders predict denominational affiliation will wane over the next decade (Earls, 2021a), as will the training and other support they offer. The purpose of this phenomenological study will be to assess and understand the experiences of missional ministry leaders after participation in a structured or unstructured competency development program and their ensuing dynamic engagement in ministry. Dynamic engagement will be defined as "fully engaged and intentional" (MacFarland, 2019, para. 1), as evidenced by implementing …

A Phenomenological Understanding Of K-12 Leaders’ Lived Experiences Of Changing From Teacher-Centered Practices To Student-Centered Practices, Claudia Burregi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to understand the process of changing from teacher-centered practices to student-centered practices for K-12 educational leaders at Blue Ocean school district (pseudonym) in Louisiana to equip students with 21st-century skills. The theory guiding this study is Lewin’s change theory, which undergirds the premise that as individuals embrace change, they are better equipped to support the vision of why change is needed, ultimately leading to lasting change. A transcendental study was used to capture the essence of the change from TCL to SCL experience of ten educational leaders from seven schools in BOSD …

Book Review: The Courage To Lead Through Values: How Management By Values Supports Transformational Leadership, Culture, And Success, Nidhi Aggarwal, Nana Manu, Eya Mahouachi, Jyoti Aggarwal

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

The Courage to Lead through Values: How Management by Values Supports Transformational Leadership, Culture, and Success is about being fearless and implementing the values in changing or sustaining the organization and its people. Transformational leadership is shown as an influential factor in the individual’s ability to deal with different circumstances and where leaders courageously provide support to maintain the employee confidence level. This book is also about the type of leader an individual can become, who may not have answers or solutions to every problem, but genuinely keep working on and acknowledge their inner sense of courage and values by …

Equity During The Pandemic: Exploring Rural Women Superintendents Perceptions Of Equity Leadership, Kelly Brown, Kathryn Washington

Tapestry: Journal of Research in Education

While the percentage of women in the superintendency has grown in the last 30 years, most superintendents (87%) are male compared to 13.2 percent female (Glass, 2021). The participants of this study were female superintendents leading rural school districts. Rural schools educate approximately 25% of the students in our country. Superintendents of rural schools face many additional challenges such as limited resources, declining student enrollments, high teacher turnover or chronic instability due to geographic isolation, a lack of professional development opportunities are just a few of the challenges these school districts face (Azano & Stewart, 2015; Baker et al.; 2014; …

2022 Tcpea Outstanding Dissertation Of The Year Research Summary, Ijeoma Anugweje Ed.D., Jennifer Grace Dissertation Advisor

School Leadership Review

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of administrative support on teachers in Title I schools during the Coronavirus pandemic. This study added to the knowledge base by providing information on teachers' work experiences in Title I schools during the Coronavirus pandemic. This study included a review of data collected from interviews of elementary teachers in a Title 1 district. A purposeful sample of 12 teachers who worked in Title 1 elementary schools during the Coronavirus pandemic were interviewed. The interviews provided an in-depth understanding of the teachers’ perceptions on administrative support during the pandemic in Title …

Special Education Teachers Leading Paraprofessionals: A Phenomenological Study Of How Special Education Teachers Develop Leadership Skills, Ellen Elizabeth Langley

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of special education teachers as they relate to teacher preparation programs and how they prepared teachers to work with and lead paraprofessionals. Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership approach and Adult Leadership Theory are the theoretical basis for this study. Qualitative data was collected through twelve semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that special education teachers do perceive that college preparation programs do not adequately prepare them to lead paraprofessionals. Data also supported the claim that a lack of adult leadership training did have a negative affect on workplace relationships …

A Program Evaluation Of The Reasons Some Educators Do Or Do Not Remain In The Teaching Profession, Joshua Karren

Dissertations

Abstract According to Sutcher et al. (2016), hundreds of thousands of teachers (eight percent of the overall United States teaching force) leave the profession annually for various reasons. These reasons include dissatisfaction with some parts of their jobs, including poor leadership, lack of control over teaching, family or personal reasons, pursuing a job outside of education, retirement, and financial reasons. The purpose of this study is to understand why teachers choose to stay at their school, why they leave certain schools and what school and district leaders can do to keep teachers in their classrooms. The context of this inquiry …

Transactional And Transformational Leadership In The Superintendency: A Phenomenological Study Of Three Upper Peninsula Superintendents’ Experiences, Lisa A. Coombs-Gerou

All NMU Master's Theses

This study aimed to analyze and provide an understanding of how three rural public school superintendents in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan practiced transformational leadership. Transformational leadership includes the elements of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration (Burns, 1978). Transformational superintendents must lead our schools to provide students with the best educational opportunity. The study focused on the superintendents experiences in deciding to become a superintendent, their beliefs about leadership, and how they approached decisions through a transactional or transformational process. The study also sought to provide insight into the relationship with their school board and how …

Leadership Styles In Ncaa Division I Athletic Administration And Their Relationships To Job Satisfaction, Valerie Gomez

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

As an industry, college athletics has become a focal point of much attention and scrutiny as a result of increasing moral and ethical scandals, as well as lucrative media and personnel contracts. Scandals such as admissions fraud, academic cheating, and financial crimes are a cause for concern regarding the leadership within Division I athletic departments. Organizational and individual outcomes have been associated with leadership. While extant research has focused on the leadership of coaches and the athletic director, the leadership of the senior-level leadership team has been largely neglected. Given the structure of many Division I athletic departments, the senior-level …

How Doctoral Students In A Formal Leadership Program Conceptualize Followership: A Mixed-Methods Study, Katy J. Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this exploratory mixed-methods study was to determine how doctoral students in a formal leadership program conceptualize followership. The methods used to conduct this analysis included distributing a Qualtrics (released in August 2022) survey and conducting one-on-one interviews with a sample of degree-seeking doctoral students within a formal leadership program. The researcher collected quantitative and qualitative data addressing students’ followership style, leadership attitudes and beliefs, and perceptions of followership. These data were analyzed concurrently using a triangulation design. A total of 67 students completed the survey, and seven students were interviewed. The findings revealed that the participants employ …

Leading A Community Promise: A Mixed Method Study Exploring The Dynamics Of Adaptive Leadership And Student Success, Elizabeth M. Narehood

Dissertations, 2020-current

The purpose of this study is to gain greater understanding of the dynamics between adaptive leadership strategy and the success of community college students. A strategic alliance formed between a community college and a college promise non-profit organization provides the complex environment to explore these phenomena. The establishment of a “Future Center” on the community college campus serves as the adaptive focal point of the study. The study’s theoretical framework is based upon the interaction of two perspectives: the ecological model of student development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and adaptive leadership theory (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997). Study design utilized a three-phased exploratory …

A Professional Profile Of Culturally Responsive Continuation High School Principals, Benjamin Charles Wardrop

LMU Theses and Dissertations

With more than 10% of all high school age students taking classes at a continuation school at some point in their high school career, this normally forgotten alternative learning environment is one that serves many of our most historically marginalized student groups: Black, Latinx, those with learning differences, and English Learners (Ruiz de Velasco et al., 2012). Leadership in schools is the difference-maker in student learning efficacy (Wahlstrom et al., 2010; Whitaker, 2020). This qualitative study was situated on the theoretical framework created by Madhlangobe and Gordon (2012), Culturally Responsive Leadership (CRL). The aim of this study was to build …

A Qualitative Study Of Leadership Tools And Traits That Foster Effective Relationships In Rural School Communities, Julie Boyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify leadership qualities and practices that nurture relationships in school settings. The central question framing this study was: What leadership tools and traits foster effective relationships in rural school communities? I conducted semi-structured interviews in a small Northwestern school district. Non-classroom leaders and classroom leaders, who will be referred to using pseudonyms, were recruited from the elementary, middle, and high schools based on recommendations from the district’s superintendent. Prior to conducting interviews, participants were provided with a framework based on Kouzes and Posner’s (2017) exemplary leadership practices and asked to choose five …

Assessment Of Community College Shared Governance: The Relationship Between Shared Governance And Institutional Performance, Shalee Hodgson

Doctorate in Education

Community colleges rely on shared governance to connect the people closest to institutional work, administrators, faculty, and staff, with the decisions that shape it. However, the relationship between shared governance and institutional performance remains underexamined, and the role of staff in particular has received limited scholarly attention. This qualitative case study examined employee perceptions of shared governance and institutional performance at one community college in the northwestern United States, exploring how shared governance supported institutional effectiveness and how the college sustained its assessment through committee operations and the strategic planning process. Data were collected through document review and semi-structured interviews …

Ethics And Contemporary Leadership: Do Ethical Leadership Theories Align With Scripture?, Anthony Scott Poston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Morals, ethics, and values are instrumental for leaders to know and choose between right and wrong. Leadership theories regularly discuss ethics, but where do these ethics come from? Frequently, the source of leadership ethics is glossed over or left out entirely. This study sought to address this gap in contemporary leadership literature by answering the question: how do contemporary leadership theories, which contain morals, ethics, and/or or values components, align with similar themes found within the Hebrew and Christian scriptures? The researcher used a thematic analysis of contemporary leadership literature to identify ethical themes within the literature. Next, the themes …

Teacher Attrition In Arkansas Public Schools: Perceptions Of The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Career Choices, Kirstyn Salehi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on teacher attrition in Arkansas, with many educators facing unprecedented challenges and stressors in their work. However, public data does not give context to why teachers chose to leave. This study aimed to investigate teacher perceptions of the impact of the pandemic on attrition in Arkansas through a survey. To do this, the study set out to determine what factors influenced Arkansas teachers to leave or consider leaving, their positions and the impact that the pandemic had on those choices, and what factors influenced, or could influence, teachers to stay in their position. …

A Narrative Inquiry Of Selected Women’S Career Pathways To State-Level Leadership In Agriculture, Timothy Keown

All Dissertations

In this study, I used a qualitative narrative inquiry to examine stories from three individually selected state-level agricultural sector women leaders as they described their career paths to leadership roles. This purpose of the study was to address the problem of a lack of practical understanding of women leaders’ experiences in pursuing, achieving, and keeping leadership roles within the agricultural industry. The existing literature shows that women are less likely to hold an agriculture leadership role in their career. To establish the research question, I used feminist educational theory. This theoretical framework and the associated epistemology of narrative inquiry served …

Leadership Development In Education For Sustainable Development: Evaluation Of Higher Education Students In Sustainable Development Programs, Michelle Dzurenda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has been working decades towards reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to create peace and prosperity for people and the planet. The 2030 Agenda was created as an urgent call to action, a global partnership, and a comprehensive plan to work towards the 17 SDGs. For this study, the focus is on Goal 4- quality education and the impact of leadership on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Leadership on ESD has been a more recent topic and under researched. By making advancements in leadership on ESD there will be positive …

Investigating The Most Valued Components Of The South Carolina Teaching Fellows Program By Graduates Who Have Remained In The Education Profession, Amanda Jane Darden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The vision of every elementary, middle, and high school in the United States is to deliver an excellent educational setting to each and every student who enters their school building. Educational research overwhelmingly demonstrates that a primary factor contributing to an “excellent educational setting” is having highly qualified and effective teachers (Rice, 2003). However, the teacher supply and demand issues currently facing our nation is significantly compromising the ideal of providing excellent educational settings in our schools. Teacher attrition is a problem that faces schools throughout the United States. The number of teachers leaving their positions to pursue other careers …