Leadership Studies Commons^™

Empowering Teachers, Empowering Leadership: A Multisite Case Study Of School Restructuring And Accountability For Student Achievement, Sally Jean Bennett Edd

Dissertations

Accountability is the watchword of the 1990s, particularly in education. In exchange for greater flexibility and autonomy, schools have been asked to assume greater accountability for student outcomes. Implicit in this shift of authority and responsibility is the belief that changing the locus of control will result in changes in student achievement. Decentralizing accountability thus has multiple implications for the teaching and learning process, governance and decision making, and school site leadership. In 1993, San Diego City Schools adopted a student achievement accountability policy and initiated a demonstration program to develop an accountability system model for the district. This ethnographically-oriented …

A Measure Of Perceived Power In Influencing Change Among Selected Education Participants In Alberta, Frederick Arnold Preston Edd

Dissertations

The educational landscape in the province of Alberta is undergoing change. The government's agenda includes changes in funding, reducing the number of school jurisdictions and local school boards, the provincial appointment of superintendents, increasing school-based decision making and accountability, and increasing parent, community, and business involvement in the delivery of education. It is expected that these changes will be completed during 1997. Considering the climate of change in Alberta education, it is of paramount importance that in the implementation process, participants in the change recognize their personal power to operationalize what is proposed. Government legislation can demand compliance, but without …

Leadership From The Perspectives Of Filipino-Americans: A Delphi Study, Pablo J. Mendoza Edd

Dissertations

The majority of the texts and other materials on leadership have been written from the perspective of people from Western culture. A number of scholars have called attention to this lack of a more diverse literature, inquiring as to the reasons why academicians primarily offer leadership literature that has a predominantly Western culture perspective. Since social and political contexts represent diverse cultural views, leadership literature should also reflect that diversity. This issue is particularly important in the San Diego area for Filipino-Americans because of their increasing numbers and active participation in social and political endeavors. The absence of culturally and …

Total Quality Management: Bridging Theory To Practice, Richard Ross Brydges Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the practice of Total Quality Management (TQM) in an organizational culture using Deming's System of Profound Knowledge (1993) as a construct that combines the philosophical and methodological dimensions of TQM. As with TeleServices Resources (TSR), the evaluative case study subject for this research, organizations worldwide have adopted TQM to establish a culture that would make them more capable of producing quality products and services. Many of these efforts never realized their potential. My premise for this study is that the potential of their efforts are not fully realized, because organizations do not …

Romanticizing Leadership: A Historical And Cultural Critique, Elisa Maureen Sandra Carlson Edd

Dissertations

Romanticism, a cultural and intellectual ideology of the late 18th and early 19th century, left a historical legacy of ecstasy and disaster upon subsequent generations. Manifestations of neo-romanticism are evident in many areas of contemporary culture. These modern manifestations, which include an infusion of the spiritual into everyday life, pantheistic adoration of nature, glorification of the self, fascination with the irrational, focus on the power of the imagination, subjugation of the individual to the common good, and apocalyptic hope for a new world, are influencing, theories and practices of leadership. This research set out to find out whether leadership studies …

The Political Behavior Of California Community College Nursing Facilities In Response To Budget Cutbacks, 1982-1987, Karen J. Berger Edd

Dissertations

This study explored the political behavior of community college nursing faculties during a unique period of California history, 1982-87, when the community colleges were struggling to adapt to the economic and political consequences of Proposition 13. Using a two-phase qualitative design, it examined the effects of budget cutbacks on the nursing programs at 38 community colleges statewide, including twelve targeted for faculty layoffs, and identified the political behavior of their nursing faculties in response. It then focused on six districts, varying in size, structure, and location, for a series of in-depth case studies. In four districts, nursing programs were targeted …

Common Higher Callings To Social Compassion: A Phenomenological Study Of Civic Praxis, Herbert J. Barker Edd

Dissertations

In recent decades there has been an increasing interest in the ethical dimensions of leadership. James MacGregor Burns' (1978) watershed work, Leadership, heralds an intellectual breakthrough for grasping the significance of a moral level of consciousness that is universal. Although Burns (1978) writes that humanistic psychology now allows for generalization about leadership process across cultures, there remains little research which frames leadership in a Global Ethic, in humanistic psychological constructs or as philosophical ideas of a universal ethical consciousness. Therefore, it is the purpose of this phenomenological study to gather and analyze narratives of altruistic leadership praxis for disclosures of …

Implementation Of Continuous Quality Improvement In A Community Mental Health Care Center: Effect On Morale, Gary Dean Zomalt Edd

Dissertations

Morale is important to all service organizations because quality is dependent upon the nature of face-to-face interactions. Because the workers in mental health service organizations must care for patients, morale is especially important. Although studies suggest that rapid change due to cutbacks, privatization, and managed care, have demoralized mental health workers, the literature suggests that management is the problem. Mechanistic organizations with top-down, command-control management typically exclude and alienate workers. Continuous quality improvement (CQI) can improve morale as well as the bottom-line. However, there are no studies of how to implement CQI, from the perspective of workers, to improve morale …

Teammind: A Case Study Of Collective Synergism, Team Development, And Decision-Making Under Time Constraints, Norina E. Finley Edd

Dissertations

Advances in technology are challenging our concept of time and cognitive abilities to process and digest information in a dynamic environment. To develop a quality product that meets user's needs and to perform within budget and program milestones, requires the expertise and shared understandings of an intact multidisciplinary team in design decision making. Collaboratively team members need to communicate on solutions for integrated product development, from their different disciplinary perspectives. To survive in today's global competition, time-to-market gives research and development organizations the competitive edge in new product development, using emerging technologies. Therefore, there is a need for qualitative research …

The Role Of The Principal When Parents Are Increasingly Involved In Decision-Making, Inge Ellefson Edd

Dissertations

The role of the principal has been changing in relation to the increasing parent involvement in decision making and the educational restructuring in Alberta, Canada. The purpose of this study is to describe and examine a selected principal in her role in a school, during the 1994-1995 year, where parents from the school council and staff from the school share some of the decision making. The school chosen for this study had the principal working collaboratively with the parents and staff. A case study methodology is used to describe and examine interviews with the parents, teachers, superintendent's designate and the …

Integrating Knowledge And Action: A Study Of Leadership In The Development Of Master's Degree Programs In Liberal Studies, Janet L. Littrell Edd

Dissertations

Master's degree programs in liberal studies (MALS programs) have proliferated in the United States over the past twenty years. Studying the leadership relationships that faculty and administration form during the MALS program development process provides insight into how non-traditional graduate programs may be developed in the future. The purposes of the study were to investigate the development of MALS programs, and to examine the leaders and followers who successfully advanced the MALS program development agenda. The specific objectives of the study were (1) to examine the theoretical bases and curricular frameworks of MALS programs; (2) to explore how individuals and …

The Experiences Of Mid-Career Elementary Teachers, Susan H.L. Johnston Edd

Dissertations

The demographics of the teaching population in British Columbia indicate a significant number of teachers in mid career. Their cares, concerns, and interests dramatically influence educational activity in the province. The experiences of these educators lie within a context of major restructuring of the entire provincial school system and substantive educational change mandated by the government of British Columbia. Using a phenomenological approach, this study explores the experiences of seven, mid-career, elementary school teachers in one British Columbia school district; investigates how these teachers experience system-wide, mandated, educational change; and suggests implications of these understandings for leadership practice. During three, …

Involving Latino Parents In The Middle-Level School: A Study Of First-Generation And Second-Generation Mexican And Mexican-American Parents, Elva Hernández Mora Edd

Dissertations

The middle school level years demand critical attention in educational reform. Culturally diverse students in the United States show levels of academic achievement which are lower then those of other students. Children from oppressed minority groups often show high rates of dropping out as well as poor academic achievement. They are often profiled as students who are unmotivated and who have parents that are unresponsive to their growth and development in terms of educational attainment. However, this conception of poor academic achievement and lack of parental involvement is unfounded since research indicates that culturally diverse parents value education and have …

Women Mentoring Women: A Phenomenological Study, Jacqueline Jachym Fitzpatrick Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experience of ten business and professional women who have experienced a mentoring relationship as a mentor or protegee with another woman, to understand the essence of their mentoring experience, and to know more about their participation as mentors. This study began with the assumption that women who experienced mentoring whether from women or men would be active mentors themselves. However, the data reveal an important contradiction.

Since women are entering the business and professional ranks of the work force at an increasing pace, there are greater numbers of women who …

An Evaluation Case Study Of The Effects Of A Learning Style Awareness Program For Ninth Graders At An Independent School, Dorene Casey Mclaughlin Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of a year-long learning style awareness program and its effects on locus of control and academic achievement in a ninth grade population. This study was also designed to collect subjective data from students on their perceptions of responsibility for their own achievement, ability to identify their individual learning style, a willingness to ask for help, and in addition, over parental conflict. This study was conducted, using a sample of 76 ninth graders, at an independent college preparatory school in a large Southern California city. All subjects were administered the National …

The Wrath Of Ignorance: Schizophrenic Policies In Access To Health Care For Undocumented Latinas, Antonia J. Spadaro Edd

Dissertations

This study focuses on the problems of health care access experienced by undocumented Latinas: women from Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Those who are undocumented may encounter significantly reduced access to health care, for the risk of discovery causes them to be more furtive in their activities. Undocumented immigrants to the U.S., especially Latin women, confront myriad obstacles in obtaining health care that are sociocultural, political, economic, and personal. The problem of competing policies in the health care arena represents one of the most formidable obstacles for undocumented persons. These conflicting conditions are such that some services …

School Reform: Leadership Through Shared Decision-Making, Mary Juliet Martel Edd

Dissertations

Educational reform has a long history and schools have gone through cycles of change. This study, however, focuses on the last ten years of reform, often referred to as the restructuring movement. Shared decision making is one of the fundamental changes promoted by this current reform effort. Restructuring the decision-making process to include teachers and parents is a significant change from the hierarchical process that has been in place in most of today's schools. It is time to recognize that schools are complex social institutions that experience change only through its people. By giving those closest to children a stronger …

Voices Of Midlife Tomboys: A Narrative Study, Jan Secrist Edd

Dissertations

Women's lives have been increasingly researched in the last thirty years, offering greater understanding of their roles and relationships within our patriarchal culture. It is now readily understood that adolescence tends to mute the positive sense of self and authentic voice of young girls in our current culture, and midlife tends to relax these restrictions, allowing self and voice to emerge once again. Many women in their middle years rediscover the spirited, independent, and competent identity left behind when they accepted cultural restrictions to conform to a world that was not of their own making. In spite of the increased …

A Decade Of Home Schooling In Saskatchewan, Canada (1984-1994): A Case Study, Sandra Christine Hill Edd

Dissertations

The efficacy of alternative education has had a significant impact on public education. The diversity of cultures, lifestyles, and needs of home-schooling families compelled the public educational sector to make available educational alternatives. The purpose of this study was to build upon previous research (Hill, 1988) by interviewing a sample of the same families and their children to investigate the longitudinal experiences for a follow-up study. The representative sample participated in a study entitled An Investigation of Home Schooling in Saskatchewan (Hill, 1988). Twenty families (18 parents and 25 children) were interviewed; 10 were selected as case studies. Home schoolers …

The Phenomenon Of Flow As Experienced By Classroom Teachers: Implications For Leadership Practice, Alyson B. Caouette Edd

Dissertations

The purposes of this qualitative study were to investigate the phenomenon of flow as experienced by classroom teachers and to determine the implications of the understanding of flow for leadership practice. The phenomenon of flow, as described by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, is reported to be experienced when individuals are engaged in activities that have (a) a balance of challenge and skills that can be varied and controlled, (b) a structure with clear goals, and (c) a structure that provides immediate and relevant feedback. The questions addressed within the study involved determining the specific experiences of classroom teachers of the phenomenon of …

The Secondary School Assistant Principal, Victoria W. Halsey Edd

Dissertations

School leadership research typically centers around the high profile roles of the site level principal and the district superintendent. The resulting scarcity of information in regard to the role of the assistant principal is contributing to ineffective training, fewer initial guidelines and an overall lack of clear conceptualization of the position. The purpose of this study was to construct a realistic portrayal of the assistant principal's daily professional life in the educational arena. This qualitative, ethnographic study stressed depth, richness and accuracy to depict the singular and collective voices of the participants. Eight practicing Junior and Senior High School assistant …

Development Of A Participative Approach To Guide Organizational Change: Reviewing The Sawtooth Technique, Port Robert Martin Edd

Dissertations

In a world economy that bears scant resemblance to the one dominated by the United States following World War II, many American companies have found it increasingly difficult to keep pace with their foreign competitors. The public sector, too, has found itself under significant pressure to provide needed services but with significantly reduced resources. In each individual case leaders have been seeking new solutions to both old and new problems, and organizations have been faced with change and its impacts. The purpose of this study was to design a methodology that could be used to structure organizational changes in such …

Historical Case Study: San Diego And Tijuana Border Region Relationship With The San Diego Police Department, 1957-1994, Adolfo Gonzales Edd

Dissertations

Large numbers of undocumented persons cross through the hills and canyons along the San Ysidro/Tijuana border region, on a nightly basis. As these helpless victims cross, border bandits and other criminals stalk these people and prey on them like predatory animals. The San Diego Police Department is charged with the responsibility of providing public safety along the United States/México international border. The purpose of this research was to investigate the circumstances which led to the establishment of the San Diego/Tijuana international border (1846-1848), the role and policy of the San Diego Police Department along the international border, and the relationship …

Awakening Intuition: A Delphi Study, Verna Veronica Schmidt Edd

Dissertations

This study was framed by three key questions: How is intuition characterized, how is intuition in adults best developed, and what influence might the development of intuition have on individuals, organizations, and society. The data for the study was collected using the Delphi method. The panel included twenty females and twenty-three males from three Canadian provinces and eighteen American states. Eighty-three percent of the panel had post secondary degrees in over twenty different disciplines. Twenty-three percent of the panel held doctorate level degrees. Thirty-one different occupations were represented. All forty-three participants who started the study completed all three rounds. Data …

Women And Men In Collaborative Working Partnerships: Connecting Two Disparate Modes Of Experience, Steven Blue Robbins Edd

Dissertations

This study provides an in-depth description of mixed gender working partnerships in a collaborative effort over a one year period. The research identified differences between men and women in mutually collaborative working partnerships at the undergraduate level in order to also discover what was productive or problematic between those women and men in the partnerships. The research studied twenty-two UCSD undergraduate women and men who worked together in partnerships with mutual goals. The research utilized phenomenological interviewing techniques. The focus was the perceptions and experiences of the participants. The interviews were designed to address two primary research questions: 1) What …

Experiences Of Moral Commitment: A Phenomenological Study, Suzanne West Macrenato Edd

Dissertations

This study's purpose was to increase understanding and meaning of the lived experience of moral commitment as practiced by participants at the time of the study, not in retrospective. Phenomenology was the research methodology selected to elicit participants' understanding of moral commitment through in-depth interviews. Study participants were referred using selection criteria which included: demonstration of sustained selfless service to others outside of one's work life and a demonstrated tendency to inspire others to engage in similar service. The four women and six men in the study, ranging from 33 to 78 years of age, represented blue-collar and professional occupations. …

The Impact Of Community Service-Learning On Student Development, As Perceived By Student Leaders, Judith Starr Rauner Edd

Dissertations

Since the mid-1980s, leaders in higher education have promoted the resurgence of student service linked with learning, but limited research exists on expectations or outcomes for these students or for the communities they serve. The literature review revealed that students' experiences of community service leadership had been a previously unexplored phenomenon. This study investigated the experiences of college students as community service leaders over a two-year period at two universities. According to data generated by four case studies, these leaders perceived significant personal changes in themselves as being different from changes they experienced when they volunteered. They grappled with their …

The Identification Of Behavioral Indicators Of A Superintendent's Leadership Success: A Delphi Study, Douglas George Player Edd

Dissertations

In British Columbia, as well as other Canadian provinces, an annual report is produced by every school district. The report informs the citizens using a variety of indicators that demonstrate the level of success of the district. These reports do not include specific indicators on the level of success of the superintendent or other administrators in the district. This study sought to identify and describe behaviors that could serve as indicators of a superintendent's leadership success. It also sought to ensure that the indicators were aligned with the leadership behaviors applicable to a Total Quality Management model. The research methodology …

Leadership: Personal Narratives Of Practitioners, R. Daniel Israel Edd

Dissertations

Leadership scholars and researchers have still not come to an agreement as to what the nature of leadership is. Most research within leadership studies has been grounded in preconceived or stated definitions of leadership. However, very little information exists about people's experiences of leadership. This project addresses the lack of experiential clarification of the leadership relationship. It utilizes a new leadership research method grounded in the experience of people. Leadership narrative research uses the stories people tell about their leadership experiences as a form of data collection This study is designed to discover if Rost's (1991) definition: "Leadership is an …

Spirituality And Leadership, Dana M. Walling Edd

Dissertations

The language of leadership is becoming increasingly spiritualized. Terms more often found in the sanctuary are now being applied to the leadership domain. Without a clear understanding of each, confusion results. This research explored the common boundaries between spirituality and leadership. Ten persons with leadership experiences were interviewed with regard to what relationships existed between their leadership and their spirituality. There were five women and five men in the study who also reflected diverse ethnic and spiritual perspectives. The researcher used a qualitative interview methodology. Each person was given the chance to review and edit the transcript of the interview. …