Leadership Studies Commons^™

Point Of Transition Service Integration Project: A Multiple-Case Study Of A Systems Change Intervention, David A. Noyes Edd

Dissertations

The Point of Transition Service Integration Project (POTSIP) was initiated in 1997 in California as a three-year model demonstration grant funded by the Department of Education. The goal of the project was to improve the level of cooperation and collaboration among public schools, the State Department of Rehabilitation, and the State Department of Developmental Services related to efforts assisting students with severe disabilities who are transitioning from school to adult life. This qualitative study examined a stakeholder-centered perspective on the transition process within the POTSIP model. The purpose of this study was to identify the critical incidents and factors that …

Aircrew Adaptive Decision Making: A Cross-Case Analysis, Constance Ann Gillan Edd

Dissertations

Although the accident rate for military aviation has declined significantly from earlier decades, during the 1990's it reached a plateau. Human error in the cockpit still accounts for over 80% of the aircraft mishaps resulting in loss of life or over one million dollars in damage. Decision error has been a contributing factor for approximately 60% of these mishaps. The purpose of this research was to investigate aircrew process performance variables as predictors of decision-making outcomes. This study was modeled on elements of previous research in naturalistic decision making. Data were collected for cross-case analysis of the role experience plays …

Heritage College: Partnership Leadership As Catalyst To A Multicultural Learning Community, Mary Ann Joan Elizabeth Kaczmarski Edd

Dissertations

Heritage College, a four-year, fully accredited, independent, nonprofit college located in rural, south central Washington, serves multicultural populations that have been educationally isolated. It was created against tremendous odds in 1981 by a small, diverse group of committed individuals. An initial study of Heritage College, conducted in 1991, yielded such compelling findings in the areas of leadership, mission, and community, among others, that a more rigorous, in-depth research study was called for. This dissertation is the follow-up study. The president of Heritage College states that the College sees itself as a leadership- and team-oriented institution with a distinctive focus on …

The Implementation Of The Least Restrictive Environment Provision Of The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (Idea) For Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities On Guam, Nieves P. Flores Edd

Dissertations

This study examined the implementation of the least restrictive environment (LRE) provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for secondary students with learning disabilities on Guam. The research questions for the study addressed the following areas: (a) perceptions of the definition of LRE, (b) factors influencing the implementation of LRE, and (c) determination of LRE in relation to the national trends and literature. This research utilized the qualitative method of collecting and analyzing data that included interviews and review of written documents. Parents and school personnel from the secondary schools, involved in the implementation of the least restrictive …

The Role Of A Middle School Assistant Principal In Establishing And Maintaining Positive School Climate, Charles R. Girvin Iii Edd

Dissertations

Organizational theorists have for over 50 years used the concept of organizational climate to study and describe the effects of environment on the attitudes and behaviors of individual members and subgroups within organizations. Within the school setting, researchers and practitioners have increasingly used the concept of organizational climate to evaluate school effectiveness, particularly in middle schools where school climate plays a central role in middle school strategies and philosophies. Though extensive research has examined the relationship between climate and leadership in business, industry, and government, relatively few studies have eyed the linkages between school climate and leadership within the school …

First Nations Students: What Some Teachers Do That Make Them Successful, Robert M. Peacock Edd

Dissertations

With the European settlement of North America, the education of First Nations children shifted from being carried out in a natural setting by all community members, communicated through observation and trial, and instructed through values, needs, and traditions; to a whole-group learning model founded on a standard curriculum based on successes and failures. For at least the past fifty years First Nations adults have demanded greater control over their children's education. Recently, the Ministry of Education in British Columbia (BC) has advocated for greater success of First Nations students by providing funding for additional support and by increasing the number …

Teacher Portfolios In The Supervision Process: A Journey Of Discovery, Halyna M. Kornuta Edd

Dissertations

Facilitating the personal and professional growth of teachers is a very effective way to positively impact students' self-esteem, skills development, and behavior. Certain professional development strategies, for example, developmental supervision, enable teachers to plan for their own growth. Developmental supervision is a nonevaluative approach to providing feedback that meets individual needs of teachers. The process utilizes research in the areas of professional development, teacher supervision, and adult learning. Portfolio projects could be a component of developmental supervision. However, there is minimal empirical research to support the use of portfolio projects in nonevaluative supervision. The purpose of this qualitative study was …

Changes In Navy Leadership Theory And Practice: Post-Vietnam, Nicholas A. Trongale Edd

Dissertations

Since the Vietnam War, Navy leadership theory and practice has changed, becoming more like current civilian leadership theory and practice than traditional leadership of old. Indicators of this change have been seen in journal writings, the new Navy performance evaluation structure, current Navy leadership training, and by the birth of a Navy Command Leadership School. This study was designed to explore the evolution and recent history of the Navy's leadership theory and practice for indications of change. Combining a qualitative and quantitative methodology, this study used a 5-point Likert-type scale survey that included a written comments section. Over 70% of …

Cultural Factors Influencing Japanese Female College Students' Perceptions Of Learning In A Web-Based Environment: Implications For Web-Based Instructional Designers, Theresa L. Lally Edd

Dissertations

The burst of the Japanese bubble economy in 1992 brought about many reforms in Japanese education. One example of these reforms is the recent introduction of web-based instruction into Japanese classrooms. Since traditional Japanese education has been greatly influenced by elements of Confucianism, many educators are concerned about the integration of web-based instruction with traditional Japanese teaching methods. The purposes of this study were to investigate Japanese female junior college students' attitudes and/or perceptions of learning in a web-based environment, and to measure performance between students in a traditional teacher-centered course with another group of students learning via web-based instruction. …

Career And Family: A Qualitative Study Of Working Mothers, Barbara Crummer Lincoln Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the lives of working mothers. The dramatic increase of mothers in the workforce in the past 40 years has led to an increasingly common lifestyle: women filling the roles of mother and professional concurrently. This dissertation used the personal narrative qualitative methodology to examine the lives of working mothers. Ten female graduates of the University of San Diego's Law School (JD), Business School (MBA) and Educational Administration Programs were interviewed by the researcher. These women have been in the workplace for an extended period of time, are currently raising at least one …

Lifting The Veil Off Widowhood: Portraits Of Transformation, Louise A. Stanger Edd

Dissertations

This qualitative research study has explored the lives of 13 women who were widowed before the age of 55, who are professionals, educators, businesswomen, and community activists, to learn how their lives have been transformed since the death of their spouse. For this study, the death of a spouse was seen as a transforming event in the life of a married woman. The nature of this transformation varied with each respondent. Portraiture was the primary biographical methodology used. Purposive sampling provided the opportunity to interview women from diverse backgrounds. Five global, open-ended interview questions were used and demographic data were …

Giving Up And Giving In: Young Adolescents' Dilemmas When Caring For A Grandparent With Alzheimer's Disease, Diane Lee Beach Edd

Dissertations

Caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease have been studied extensively; the vast majority of caregiver research has focused on spouses and adult children, negating the impact caregiving has on younger family members. Importantly, 75% of caregivers are female; 31% of these women have children at home under the age of 12 and 23% live with a child aged 12–17. As such, adolescents will be increasingly involved in the care of Alzheimer's victims. This study sought to examine the experiences of these individuals. Specifically, what is it like for an adolescent to provide care for a grandparent afflicted with Alzheimer's disease? …

Observing The Spirit Of Resilience: The Relationship Between Life Experiences And Success In Higher Education For African-American Students, Cheryl Getz Edd

Dissertations

Some African American students with challenging early life experiences appear vulnerable to failure in higher education. This vulnerability may be exacerbated when educators fail to recognize the relationship between the life experiences of African American students and their academic performance and college success. African American students are challenged further as they attempt to successfully adjust to collegiate environments which often do not validate them or their experiences. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate this challenge with selected African American students, to learn about how the life experiences of African American students can enhance their success in higher …

An Analysis Of The Pedagogical Methods Of Hindu Gurus, Pearl Anjanee Gyan Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the pedagogical methods of Hindu gurus that could be applicable to elementary school teaching for the inner development of students. With severe cutbacks to classroom instruction and demands by economic, political, and educational leaders for education to produce a highly skilled work force for the future of the economy, teachers are forced to use precision teaching for measurable learning. The review of the literature in this study presented a historiography of Western pedagogical methods. It showed how Western teaching methods have been defined by the seventeenth-century Newtonian objectivistic-reductionistic-mechanistic paradigm and later enforced …

Identification Of Core Multidisciplinary Competencies In An Integrated Public Health And Human Service System, Brian Winslow Thomas Moffitt Edd

Dissertations

In response to economic, legislative and social forces, public health and human service systems are becoming more integrative, requiring direct service practitioners to acquire new competencies to successfully perform in these new settings. In a review of the literature, competencies pertaining to team effectiveness, interprofessional collaboration and cross-functional knowledge and skills all appear to be relevant considerations. Moreover, an examination of competencies must consider individual, team and organizational dimensions in a context of health and welfare reform. However, the current literature is fragmented, limited in scope and empirically inconclusive. A descriptive, qualitative study was therefore warranted. The following research question …

Voices Against Discrimination And Exclusion: Latino School Leaders' Narratives For Change, Jaime J. Romo Edd

Dissertations

Many scholars, practitioners, and policy makers know very little about individual Latino administrators' cultural and professional experiences, responses to discrimination, and patterns or institutional conditions which relate to K-12 ethnic minority administrators' success. Moreover, many are also unaware that as ethnic diversity increases, the relative proportion of minority administrators, many of whom could be role models, shrinks. Once we can recognize this as seeds for inequity in society, we might be able to consider the ways in which our educational institution reinforces or counters societal inequities. By specifically exploring Latino administrators' experiences, because of the large Latino California presence, we …

Teachers' Perspectives From Within A School Leadership Team: A Phenomenological Study, Sheridan L. Barker Edd

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored a different type of leadership by investigating leadership among peers in a California School Leadership Team (SLT). Using a phenomenological approach, the researcher asked ten teachers to describe their experience as members and as leaders in a schoolwide change team. The teachers characterized the SLT as: a positive force in the school, a vehicle for communication, and a support group. They described the experience as: eye opening, unique, challenging, and transforming. Five themes emerged as the essence of the experience: (a) the interdependent relationship among the team members; (b) the teachers' growing capacity to discern fine …

An Analysis Of Dialogue For Understanding Educators' Stress: Implications For Voice, Listening And Leadership, Joanna R. Doonan Edd

Dissertations

Research indicates that educator stress is a widespread phenomenon that not only impacts the educational community, but society at large. This being the case, there is an urgent need to consider this phenomenon within responsible school leadership. In particular, understanding what creates stress for educators, and learning more about leadership responses that would support educators under stress, are critical to more holistic school leadership, and for enabling teachers to envision a viable future for themselves. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine how school principals and colleagues might respond to educators coping with professional stress, so that they …

Transborder Economic Development: A Collaborative Partnership In The San Diego-Tijuana Region, Piedad Garcia Edd

Dissertations

The study seeks to understand and develop insights into the San Diego-Tijuana transborder economic collaborative partnership, by examining the Binational Planning and Coordination Committee (BPCC). This entity was established in 1993 via a Letter of Agreement between the City of San Diego and the municipality of Tijuana. Pursuant to the Letter of Agreement the BPCC is examined against the backdrop of the global economy, the emergence of region-states, U.S.-Mexico relations and transborder relations in the San Diego-Tijuana region. A qualitative single case-study methodology is applied to explain the role, function, structure, decision making processes and collaborative leadership relationships of the …

Storytelling In Project Heart To Heart: A Means To Bridge Generational Gap In Post-1965 Filipino Immigrant Families, Juanita Toledo Santos Nacu Edd

Dissertations

As we share our experiences with others, we also explore its meaning to ourselves and to whomever it is being shared with. This is how stories are told. Most families usually develop a body of stories that is passed on from one generation to the next generation. These stories are used to preserve the family member's identity, history, and values. The stories touch not only our past experiences, but also influences our present and links it to the future. This study explored the Filipino American families' experiences of storytelling as a means of bridging together past, present, and future experiences …

Enter The Water Carriers: Embracing Parenting Experience In Work Teams, Christine Cecil Edd

Dissertations

Parenting experience is rarely valued or integrated with the work of a competitive society such as that of the United States. Despite the implementation of family-friendly workplace policies, institutional structures and practices continue to preclude the substantive acknowledgment of how parenting experience might contribute to the American workplace (Borrill & Kidd, 1994; Jenner, 1994; Rodgers, 1993). The dynamic complexity of parenting and the concomitant necessity to make constant response shifts and navigate incessant uncertainty, is not acknowledged as collateral for the responsiveness required by complex organizations. Familial commitments are often viewed as antithetical to productivity and profit (Bailyn, 1993): babies …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Leadership Of A Superintendent: Putting The California School Reform Movement To Work, Jennifer L. Jeffries Edd

Dissertations

Public education has been engulfed in a dramatic and turbulent time. In California, the drive for improvement in public education was codified in Senate Bill 813, passed in 1983. Each school district wrestled with the intent and the mandates of this massive reform document. During the implementation stage of this legislation, the organizational climate in school districts was ripe for leaders and followers to engage each other in dialogue and debate about the direction and form the legislation would take. This dialogue and debate rendered policies in response to the legislative mandates. Senate Bill 813 provided opportunities to promote and …