Leadership Studies Commons^™

Validating The Experiences Of Male Mexican American Community College Transfer Students Studying At Catholic Universities, Eliazer Ayala-Austin Edd

Dissertations

California's community colleges and public and private universities must collaborate to address the Tidal Wave II student enrollment surge composed mostly of Hispanic/Latinos and Asian students in order to meet the educational needs of community college transfer students (CCTSs). Avoiding the issue will result in continued neglect of CCTS within public and private institutions; possible outcomes include delayed graduation and potential attrition of at-risk students. Using Rendón's (1994) theory of student validation as the theoretical framework, this qualitative study uncovered the validating and other university experiences of male Mexican American CCTSs. This qualitative study included individual interviews of six CCT …

Effect Of Computer-Aided Instruction On Grades In Middle School Algebra, Patricia A. Taepke Edd

Dissertations

Computers and targeted software are increasingly common in the middle school algebra classroom, but the efficacy of computer-aided instruction on classroom achievement in middle school algebra remains unclear. Participants were 1452 middle-school algebra students who were seldom, occasionally, or often exposed to the algebra modules of Destination Math, an interactive mathematics software designed to be appropriate for in-school use. Data were collected over three years (2002–04) and included the cooperation of the algebra teachers, who were subsequently interviewed. Data were analyzed with ANOVA, ANCOVA, and multiple regression. Statistically significant effects were localized using pairwise tests with Bonferroni correction for multiple …

An Empirical Study Of Employee Relations And Managerial Malpractice Risks In A Four-Year Public Higher Education System, Robert Lee Brown Edd

Dissertations

Over the last decade, the rapid rise in college tuitions and fees has become a national priority, with congressional committees and scholars interested in solving this persistently stubborn and often intractable problem. Although a number of reasons for this phenomenon have been discussed, one theoretically plausible but untested explanation involves the extent to which campus climate may be empirically linked to the costs of managing various legal claims against the university, including workers' compensation, employment practice, and stress claims. To test the empirical validity of this hypothesis, this study gathered campus climate and claims data from 23 campuses and 25 …

Examining Stage Theories And The Predisposition To Lead Within The Homosexual Community, David Robert Blair Edd

Dissertations

An application of homosexual stage-based self-integration theory suggests that until gay individuals have become fully self-integrated, their capacity for leadership within the community is diminished. Unfortunately, now more than ever before, leadership is needed in dealing with such pressing community issues as the disproportionately high suicide rate among gay teens, the ongoing struggle for gays to become fully self-integrated individuals, bringing equal rights to the gay population, and of course, developing a base of strong gay leaders to meet the ongoing challenges facing this population. To test the self-integration-leadership hypothesis, this study surveyed 150 men in gay Internet chat rooms …

Integrating Total Disability Management In A Climate Of Change: A Case Study, Mary E. Jesko Edd

Dissertations

Integrated disability management (IDM) is a cost-containment strategy increasingly being employed by human resources and risk management departments to address occupational and non-occupational illness and injury in a consistent manner. The goal is to both reduce on-the-job injury and minimize the loss of work time due to injury or illness. Although a large number of organizations have embraced the IDM concept, implementing IDM often is difficult because of the complex array of contracts, policies, procedures, corporate cultures and structures. Although extensive research has examined leaders' influence on change in various types of businesses, to date, research has not specifically explored …

Experiences Of Sacramental Marriage, James Patrick O'Brien Edd

Dissertations

This study interprets the stories told by eight couples about their experiences approaching marriage as a religious sacrament. The eight couples represented a purposeful sample selected using the following criteria: (a) They self-identified as having a sacramental marriage within the Roman Catholic tradition; (b) they appeared to be information rich sources who could provide an emic, i.e., an insider, view of the sacramental marriage experience; (c) they participated in the Catholic Cursillo movement; (d) they engaged in observable religious practices; and (e) they parented children. Research methods included guided conversation, participant observation, and a timeline activity that asked participants to …

Emerging Elements Of Leadership In A Complex System: A Cognitivist Approach, Kirsten Suzanne Hanson Edd

Dissertations

As our world grows increasingly complicated at an intensified pace, leaders must be facile managers of complexity if organizations and society are to productively and peacefully evolve. Today’s global corporations are microcosms of complexity and have the potential to affect life for almost all other species. However, many organizations have not yet become aware of themselves as “living” and still operate as industrial age institutions with rationalist thinking traditionally dominating management practice. Many factors impact an organization’s overall effectiveness. Yet, executive leaders are seen as having the ability to influence change and play a vital role in helping people navigate …

What’S So Hard About Algebra? A Grounded Theory Study Of Adult Algebra Learners, Michael Steele Reese Edd

Dissertations

In California community colleges, fewer than half of students who enroll in basic algebra courses finish with a grade of C or better. Such a low success rate creates an intense demand on institutional resources, including faculty efforts, tutorial services, classroom availability, and financial aid. Furthermore, students who do poorly in algebra also tend to struggle in other quantitative courses. While research suggests that child algebra learners tend to exhibit specific misconceptions, not much is known about misconceptions held by adult algebra learners. Research does indicate, however, that certain general learning characteristics are common among adult learners. The present study …

An Evaluation Of Performance As It Relates To Leadership Training In The United States Coast Guard, Chad Arron Long

Dissertations

Problem. Training programs that focus on leadership and management are becoming more prevalent in society with little regard to the training’s impact. This study’s purpose was to determine if there was a relationship between leadership training and performance in the United States Coast Guard.

Method. The sequential mixed-method study examined the impact o f a 33-day resident training course on the graduate’s performance. The measurement o f performance was obtained quantitatively through annual performance evaluations and qualitatively through interviews. The performance evaluations were collected from 40 graduates of the Coast Guard C hief Petty Officer Academy and analyzed using a …

Wherry Revisited: An Empirical Examination Of The Nonperformance Factors That Influence Variation In A Performance Rating, Raymond B. Roll Edd

Dissertations

In a perfect performance rating system, both the recall and rating of an individual's behavior would precisely mirror the performance of that ratee. However, the reality of performance rating systems is that often times the rater's recall and subsequent rating fails to reflect the true performance of the individual. The difference between actual and perceived performance has been attributed in the literature to conscious or unconscious rater bias. In 1952, Wherry developed a rating theory based on a series of mathematical equations that precisely defined the relationship between the performance of the ratee and the recall of that observation. Key …

Politics And The Glass Ceiling In American Law Enforcement: Why Not More Women Chiefs Of Police?, Madeline G. Meistrich Edd

Dissertations

Law enforcement is one of the last male-dominated occupations. Out of 18,000 police departments in the United States, only 200 to 250 have women chiefs. Such under-representation reflects the "glass ceiling" effect of a gender-based metaphorical barrier that prevents women from rising to the top of an organization, regardless of qualifications. The research examined three questions: what are the issues and problems articulated by women officers attempting to move upwards; what strategies were employed as they attempted to advance; and what strategies could help other women reach the top? Nine female primary participants in law enforcement leadership were interviewed, as …

Pedagogy In Online Graduate Business Learning Environments, Alicia Maria Gallegos Butters Edd

Dissertations

Many higher education institutions have decided to offer graduate business online courses and full degree online programs. Offering a quality education for graduate business students online is of concern to business school professors, administrators, and students. Instructors are concerned with the content, delivery method, and level of student achievement. Instructional design support for the online instructors is often lacking in the online curriculum and pedagogy, leaving the faculty with a great deal of freedom to create their own course content, structure, and delivery without any formal distance education training. For this reason, it is imperative for universities to establish online …

An Evaluation Of Reserve Component Leaders' Attitudes And Motivation As They Relate To Situational Leadership Theory In A Peacekeeping Operational Environment, Clark C. Barrett

Dissertations

Program. This study investigated the relationships between Reservist leaders' attitudes and Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership Theory (SLT), and Thomas's Integrative Model of Intrinsic Motivation during a 2004 Sinai, Egypt, peacekeeping mission.

Methodology. This descriptive study provided quantitative and qualitative results. Three instruments were used with a convenience sample of leaders within one forward-deployed National Guard infantry battalion. The LEADSelf instrument determined the SLT style of unit officers and non-commissioned officers. The Thomas Empowerment Survey profiled participants' intrinsic motivation. A researcher-developed survey determined preferences for intrinsic versus extrinsic motivator factors.

The study centered on the following issues: (1) Are the …

Investigating Professional Development In Technology For Literacy Teachers, Michanne Hoctor Edd

Dissertations

Citrus Heights (a pseudonym) School District is an award-winning exemplar of technology integration. This small urban district has focused its resources on the re-design of its K-8 classrooms and curriculum to support educational reform through the use of technology, including hardware, software, and teacher professional development. Current best practices suggest that while staff development may begin with conventional in-service training, it should move quickly beyond to efforts that support teachers’ development as professionals involved in decision-making, inquiry, and leadership in their classroom teaching. In order to develop as professionals, teachers specifically need help and support in integrating new knowledge and …

An Exploration Of Supportive Relationships In The Lives Of Academically Successful Individuals With Autism, Jodi Ann Robledo Phd

Dissertations

This study explored 17 dyads of academically successful people with autism and individuals whom they identified as supportive. Four research questions guided this study: 1) How do individuals with autism and the people who support them describe their relationship? Specifically, how was the relationship established, how has it changed, what are the benefits and challenges, what works and what does not, and how is the relationship maintained? 2) From the perspective of both the individuals with autism and the supporting individuals, how do their relationships provide support for the individual with autism? 3) How does the mode of communication influence …

Reconsidering Academic Dishonesty: A Critical Examination Of A Complex Organizational Problem, Tricia Bertram Gallant Phd

Dissertations

Academic dishonesty, traditionally framed as a problem of student agency, plagues higher education institutions. In order to facilitate leadership toward the resolution of the problem, this study reconsiders academic dishonesty as a symptom of the complex interplay among agency, structure, and culture. The theoretical framework utilized, which I call Systemic Interactionism, builds on existing sociological, leadership, and organizational theories to provide a more robust explanation of academic dishonesty and other complex organizational problems. This reconsideration of academic dishonesty occurs in the context of three American higher education institutions. I employed a variety of field methods (interviews, observations, and document analysis) …

Connecting Art And Science: An Interdisciplinary Strategy And Its Impact On The Affective Domain Of Community College Human Anatomy Students, Kevin Petti Phd

Dissertations

Educational objectives are often described within the framework of a three-domain taxonomy: cognitive, affective and psychomotor. While most of the research on educational objectives has focused on the cognitive domain, the research that has been conducted on the affective domain, which speaks to emotions, attitudes, and values, has identified a number of positive outcomes. One approach to enhancing the affective domain is that of interdisciplinary education. Science education research in the realm of interdisciplinary education and affective outcomes is limited; especially research conducted on community college students of human anatomy. This project investigated the relationship between an interdisciplinary teaching strategy …

Officers' Use Of Leadership Skills Learned In The Navy's Intermediate Officer Leadership Training Course: A Replication Study, Terrence Eugene Hammond Edd

Dissertations

All Naval enlisted personnel and officers are required to attend Leadership Continuum courses at designated career intervals. One of the required courses for officers is the Intermediate Officer Leadership Training Course (IOLTC). This study replicated William F. Conroy III's 2001 dissertation study of graduates of the IOLTC offered in San Diego with graduates of a similar course offered by the Center for Naval Leadership (CNL) at Naval Amphibious Base (NAB), Little Creek, VA. Like the Conroy study, this study attempted to identify barriers and incentives that IOLTC graduates encounter on-the-job that either encourage or discourage their use of leadership skills …

The Dilemma Of Disclosure For College Students With Attention Deficit Disorder, Teresa L. Spoulos Edd

Dissertations

Many college campuses are striving to recruit and retain a diverse student population, and one population making its presence known are students with disabilities. As a result of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, students with disabilities are ensured equal access to education through the removal of architectural barriers and the provision of reasonable accommodations. Despite the existence of these laws, however, many students with attention deficit disorder (ADD) choose not to request classroom accommodations from professors. Students choose not to disclose out of fear of having inaccurate labels placed on them, being …

Mentoring Of Special Education Administrators, Deborah Mcdonald Toups Edd

Dissertations

Mentoring powerfully develops human potential but little has been known about mentoring in special education administration. Because mentoring has a centuries-long record of success, because of the importance of special education administrators, and because of the paucity of empirical knowledge on mentoring in special education administration, this study examines mentoring in the special education administration community. The population for the study was approximately 1,465 practicing special education administrators in the state of California identified by the Center of Personnel Studies in Special Education (COPSSE). Electronic mail was used to introduce the on-line survey, Mentoring for Special Education Administrators. The instrument …

Acts 2:42 In 2006: Examining Small Group Discussion In An American Mega-Church, Sheri Guseman Edd

Dissertations

During the last century, Americans have become increasingly isolated from one another, resulting in feelings of loneliness and creating a void of community (Frazee, 2001). However, as attendance at mainline churches continues to decline (Stafford, 1998), attendance and participation in mega-churches, defined as those serving more than 2,500 individuals and offering a multiplicity of services, continues to increase (http://www.hirr.hartsem.edu/org ). One popular explanation for this phenomenon is that mega-churches are often characterized by an organized small group ministry---something absent in more traditional churches. Although this trend has clearly swept the nation (Gladwell, 2005), related research on the efficacy of the …

Gender Influences In The Graduate Classroom: An Investigation Of Female And Male Student Perceptions, Gerald B. Blanton Edd

Dissertations

Defined by Mary Rowe (1977) as micro inequities, seemingly insignificant gender bias behaviors create an inequitable academic environment and marginalize groups and individuals in the American classroom. Popularized by Hall and Sandler's 1982 report on the "chilly" classroom, gender bias is subtle and differs from the more obvious behaviors associated with sexual harassment. However, gender bias research appears incomplete. Study findings contradict each other, few studies explore gender bias in the graduate classroom, and fewer yet compare the perceptions of women and men concerning gender influences in the graduate classroom. This dissertation investigates perceptions of the influence of gender in …

The Reluctant Sorority: Stories Of American Wives Of Prisoners Of War And Missing In Action, 1965–1973. Lessons In Exercising Leadership In The Absence Of Power, Steven L. Smith Edd

Dissertations

Increasingly, political action committees and special interest groups dominate the national policy-making process. Critics charge that campaign contributions buy access to and influence with policy makers, and that the differential ability to make such contributions results in disproportional representation. The question then becomes: how do ordinary citizens who are unable to use substantial financial contributions to "purchase" access to power mobilize people to influence public policy. To state the question another way: how can people provide leadership when they possess neither positional power nor the means commonly used to influence those with positional power? This historical study examines these questions …

The Effects Of Participating In Youth Theater, Mark Plato Arapostathis Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of student participation in youth theater on the students. Research suggests that theater arts have aided in building student cognition and contributed to the development of literacy. Davenport (1999) concluded that the experience and knowledge that one gains from theater arts form the basic building blocks for the skills needed to learn and to become literate. He added that creative expression is the actual production of a work of art, and this direct, personal involvement provides the experience base upon which cognitive development occurs. This cognitive development has practical application …

So You Think It's Inclusion…Think Again: A Quantitative Analysis Of Stakeholder Perceptions In Community Youth Organizations, Mary Mcallister Shea Edd

Dissertations

Over the last thirty years, a cultural transformation has occurred in public schools as students with disabilities have slowly moved from segregated sites and special day classes to more inclusive classroom environments. Although this change has largely been driven by legislative mandate, including the requirement that students be supported in the least restrictive environment possible, the benefits of inclusion have been exceedingly well documented in the literature. Unfortunately, the inclusiveness seen within schools has not extended to the provision of out-of-school programs, and as a result, sixteen years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, children with disabilities …

Personalization For English Learners At A Small Conversion High School, Mary Jewell Edd

Dissertations

One of the most notable ways in which large, comprehensive high schools are working to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs), and other students who may be struggling with academics, is by subdividing into smaller schools. One of the most appealing features of small schools is their emphasis on personalized instruction for students. While it takes many forms, personalizing education means knowing all students well and designing curriculum that meets their individual needs. Personalized learning environments hold enormous potential for improving the educational experiences, and even very lives, of English learners. The purpose of …

They Who Persist: A Longitudinal Quantitative Case Study Of A University Student Cohort, Kenneth J. Marra Phd

Dissertations

Since the first published work on student persistence in 1929 by Edgerton and Toups, there have been literally thousands of studies that have attempted to unravel the mystery of why some higher education students persist through to graduation while others do not. Many of these studies have been qualitative in nature, restricting their generalizability, while those that have used the few existing national databases to quantitatively study persistence have been restricted to looking within a single year at multiple institutions. What is clearly missing from the literature are methodologically sound, year-to-year persistence studies conducted at individual institutions. This deficiency in …

The Relationship Between Leadership Traits And Church Growth Among Pastors Of Free Churches In Germany, Edgar Machel

Dissertations

Problem. Many German Christian denominations have been losing members year by year for the past five decades. There are more and more voices that question the way pastors function as leaders. Therefore, this study looked at the differences of personality traits among pastors of Free Churches in Germany in the context of church growth. The leading research question was. What kind of leadership traits, behaviors, and attitudes are favorable to lead a church toward growth and to return stagnating churches to vibrancy?

Methodology. The “Business-focused Inventory of Personality” was sent out to 1,100 Pentecostal, Baptist, and Adventist pastors, of …

Connecting The Dots: A Study Of An Innovative Principal Preparation Program's Impact On The Mental Models And On-The-Job Behaviors Of Aspiring School Leaders, Rich Newman Edd

Dissertations

Despite years of criticism aimed at university-based principal preparation programs, most of these programs continue to be judged less than successful in producing effective school leaders. Furthermore, there is also little rigorous and systemic research about principal preparation in general; there is even less work focused on understanding how preparation programs might assist emerging school leaders in developing the sorts of intellectual capacities needed to be successful in an era when principals are expected to be instructional leaders and work with teachers to improve student achievement. Consequently, little is known about how principal preparation programs can help individuals (a) incorporate …

Enhancing Motivation Using The Constructs Of Flow In Museum Education Activities, Maria C. Grant Edd

Dissertations

While many extol the general value of museum fieldtrips, few can describe the specific parameters needed to make the excursion an educational benefit. Oftentimes, a day at the Museum of Natural History or time spent at the local art gallery is casually put into place with little forethought or attention to activity details. This research intended to utilize the parameters of flow theory and children's interest to investigate the phenomenon of student motivation while viewing an exhibit. Informal learning environments offer educators the opportunity to look beyond the halls of their campus in a manner that allows augmentation of curriculum …