Winona State University
University of Richmond
Antioch University - PhD Program in Leadership and Change
St. John's University / College of St. Benedict
Abilene Christian University
University of San Diego
Western Kentucky University
Governors State University
Unconscious Bias In United States Marine Corps Leadership Doctrine: Examining Microaggressions Through Document Analysis,
2022
University of San Diego
Unconscious Bias In United States Marine Corps Leadership Doctrine: Examining Microaggressions Through Document Analysis, Patrick Butler
Dissertations
This dissertation employed a document analysis format to examine Marine Corps leadership education doctrine for microaggressions. The United States Marine Corps (Marine Corps or USMC) is the military service with the least diverse officer cadre in terms of sex, gender identity, and race. The study results show a pattern of repeating unconscious bias-related content within the Marine Corps’ documents. Such patterns can negatively affect minority members in terms of their health, acceptance, and performance within the organization. The results also document an overriding bias-culture which puts Marine Corps leadership in a dilemma of trying to encourage conformity to traditional organizational ...
Executive Peer Advisory Groups: Who They Are? What Are Their Benefits? Why Do Members Join And Stay?,
2022
University of San Diego
Executive Peer Advisory Groups: Who They Are? What Are Their Benefits? Why Do Members Join And Stay?, Andrew Feghali
Dissertations
Executive peer advisory groups (EPAGs) are exclusive organizations in which chief executive officers (CEOs) and presidents of businesses can problem solve business challenges, discuss business strategies, share best practices, and solve critical growth and performance issues. Executive peer advisory groups are based on the premise that the collective experience and resources of peer groups empower like-minded executives to solve challenges more effectively and more rapidly than they could do on their own. A key component of EPAGs is the forum, in which six to 16 members meet, typically monthly, in small-group sessions to function as each other’s personal advisory ...
Examining The Cross-Cultural Competence Of United States Christian Missionaries Engaged In Developing Indigenous Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study,
2022
University of San Diego
Examining The Cross-Cultural Competence Of United States Christian Missionaries Engaged In Developing Indigenous Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study, Craig W. Goodman
Dissertations
For the past two millennia, missionaries have crossed from one culture to another to bring the Christian message to all cultures of the world. Questions about the effectiveness of these mission efforts have been asked and researched by many; however, one key question remains unanswered: what personal attributes help a person to be more competent at crossing cultures as they interact with people from other cultures? Although cross-cultural competence has been studied in a variety of fields over the past 50 years, the models and assessments used have never been applied to Christian missionaries.
To address this deficiency, this parallel ...
Improving The Retention Of United States (U.S.) Government Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Employees,
2022
University of San Diego
Improving The Retention Of United States (U.S.) Government Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Employees, Jeffrey Myers
Dissertations
The U.S. government workforce has been consistently shrinking since a peak in the 1990s. At the same time, the need for technologically-savvy government workers has dramatically risen in this same period. This divergence in the demand for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) employees challenges government leaders to retain these highly demanded workers in the public sector.
Decades of psychological research across many industries has investigated what motivates workers and how best to incentivize them to increase productivity. Maslow and Herzberg, among others, theorized that adult workers have both intrinsic and extrinsic needs that drive their behaviors and resultant ...
God’S Plan For Life: Training Drill Sergeants To Better Serve Their Neighbor By Developing Moral Character Utilizing The “Transformational Moral Leadership” Model,
2022
Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis
God’S Plan For Life: Training Drill Sergeants To Better Serve Their Neighbor By Developing Moral Character Utilizing The “Transformational Moral Leadership” Model, Matthew Christensen
Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project
Instances of moral failure within the U.S. Army raises the question of whether an individual’s character may be developed and improved by utilizing a moral decision-making process. If so, is it possible to measure this improvement? From a Lutheran perspective, is it possible to improve moral character without appealing to the boundaries provided by God’s Word and a Christian community influencing the spiritual dimensions of one’s life.
This project set out to build upon an eighteen-hour Transformational Moral Leadership training model being utilized to strengthen the moral character of drill sergeants at Fort Benning, Georgia. The ...
Lead…For Father’S Sake: An Autoethnography On Leadership Growth In Western And Indigenous Contexts,
2022
Drake University
Lead…For Father’S Sake: An Autoethnography On Leadership Growth In Western And Indigenous Contexts, Dau D. Jok
The Qualitative Report
This autoethnography examines the juxtaposition of Western and Indigenous ideas of leadership through my lens and experiences as a refugee, student-athlete, a patriarch in a sub-Saharan African culture, and Soldier. I utilized existing literature on leadership perspectives from multiple regions (McManus & Perruci, 2015) to contextualize the study, revealing insights into differences in leader-follower relationship, decision-making, and responsibilities. Although the Western context, specifically the United States, is predominantly individualistic, I highlight the versatility and plurality of its leadership—sports and the military provide the most potent examples. Leaders in the Western context are judged on their leadership role, whereas Indigenous leaders ...
Nuestra Fuerza: Understanding The Resilience Of Latinx, First-Generation Students From Single-Parent Families,
2022
University of San Diego
Nuestra Fuerza: Understanding The Resilience Of Latinx, First-Generation Students From Single-Parent Families, Alejandra Gonzalez-Zuniga
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
This study explored resilience among Latinx, first-generation students at the University of San Diego who are products of single-parent families. Being a product of a single-parent household while holding these other identities affects students in a variety of ways throughout their educational journey. Even when controlling for economic and racial differences of the family, students from two-parent families outperform students from one-parent families across a plethora of measures (Barajas, 2011). Despite having extra challenges, some of these students have learned to be quite resilient to achieve their goals and educational aspirations. This study aimed to answer the following questions: (1 ...
Walk The Talk: Value Congruence For Social Change In Panhellenic Sororities,
2022
University of San Diego
Walk The Talk: Value Congruence For Social Change In Panhellenic Sororities, Anjelica Cespedes
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
As a result of the ongoing wave of civil unrest in the United States, many university organizations have re-evaluated their current structures and policies to increase emphasis on social justice principles. In particular, the leaders of the University of San Diego Panhellenic Council have verbally expressed an interest in creating a more socially just Panhellenic experience. However, feedback from community members via anonymous reports and social media posts, coupled with observations of the Council reveal leadership has yet to take tangible and sustained action. This project investigated the value congruence of USD Panhellenic leadership to better understand the process between ...
Wellbeing @ Work: The Holistic Development Of On-Campus Student Employees,
2022
University of San Diego
Wellbeing @ Work: The Holistic Development Of On-Campus Student Employees, Matthew Mciver
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
In this action research project, I sought to learn how on-campus student employment affects students’ academic success, their leadership development, and their mental health. This project worked with current student employees in the Campus Recreation department at the University of San Diego (USD) to learn both how day-to-day responsibilities and commitments affect a students’ ability to succeed academically, and how it relates to their mental health. The project also sought to help depict whether the department’s student development system successfully or unsuccessfully develops students’ transferable and leadership skills. Participants completed a survey and participated in a one-on-one interview to ...
The Making Of College Student Leaders: Implementing Reflective Practices For Self-Awareness Of Personality Traits And Leadership Styles,
2022
University of San Diego
The Making Of College Student Leaders: Implementing Reflective Practices For Self-Awareness Of Personality Traits And Leadership Styles, Valerie Gurrola
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
As a higher education professional, I seek to develop the next generation of leaders. The purpose of this research study was to explore how student leaders’ self-awareness, in terms of leadership styles, changed through engaging in self-reflection. The research questions were: (1) What do students know about their personality and leadership style after having taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)? and (2) Can engaging in self-reflection impact their leadership? Addressing these questions through research and implementing new practices would expand students’ skillsets. This is important because not many student leaders have access to tools and instruments that can help them ...
Exploring Restorative Justice As An Adaptable Resolution For Gender-Based Misconduct,
2022
University of San Diego
Exploring Restorative Justice As An Adaptable Resolution For Gender-Based Misconduct, Jessica D. Naidu
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
Restorative justice, an approach to harm rooted in Indigenous culture, asks three central questions: 1) What is the harm? 2) Who is impacted? 3) How can we repair it? This is a vastly different approach to most criminal justice procedures that instead seek to determine who broke what rule and how they should be punished. Although a modern resurgence of restorative justice has exploded across college campuses, higher education has been slow to adopt the approach for relationship violence and sexual harm. In this study, victim advocates, conduct professionals, and university administrators at the University of San Diego participated in ...
Disrupting The Deficit With Latinx Cultural Wealth: Creciendo En La Excelencia,
2022
University of San Diego
Disrupting The Deficit With Latinx Cultural Wealth: Creciendo En La Excelencia, Stephanie Pineda
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
By applying concepts of community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2006) and an asset-based framework (Johnson and Bozeman, 2012), this action research project identified the different types of capital Latinx individuals hold and how their cultural wealth should inform the next steps of institutional practices. This study focused on Latinx students and graduated working professions in the greater San Diego area. Individuals were asked to identify and share their varying capital and how it has influenced their holistic success in navigating academia. Data emphasized what skills and realities fuel Latinx cultural resilience, as well as suggested initiatives to build on Latinx students ...
Blaqueer And Here: Black Queer And Trans Students’ Path To Thriving,
2022
University of San Diego
Blaqueer And Here: Black Queer And Trans Students’ Path To Thriving, Marvens Pierre
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
In this study, I have investigated the ways in which Black queer and trans students have (or have not) fostered community, lived authentically, and benefitted from support of their identity development. I explored what support (or lack thereof) and identity development that exists within the realm of predominantly White higher educational institutions as well as San Diego community resources at large. This study approach consisted of conducting strategic outreach to universities in San Diego, California, and building community circles to facilitate processes of qualitative narrative analysis. This led to an intentional focus group dialogue space that allowed the participants to ...
The Effects Of Military Education Benefits On First-Generation Military-Dependent Children’S College Experience And Independence,
2022
University of San Diego
The Effects Of Military Education Benefits On First-Generation Military-Dependent Children’S College Experience And Independence, Jemefer Angela Cruz
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
The phrase first-generation (FG) college student describes a student who is the first in their family to attend a higher education institution. This definition encompasses students from diverse backgrounds, such as military-connected students who are students with military affiliations (e.g., veteran, active duty, reservist, or dependent). Existing studies analyze the overall college experiences of FG and military-connected students, but not many studies explore the population of FG military-dependent children. The purpose of this study was to analyze the college experiences of FG military-dependent children and the impacts, if any, of receiving military education benefits. I conducted a precycle which ...
Exploration Into The Graduate International Student Narratives,
2022
University of San Diego
Exploration Into The Graduate International Student Narratives, Diana Budoff
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
Multiple researchers have conveyed an abundance of problems international students face when choosing to study abroad in the United States. A range of emotional, psychological, and physical issues prevent students from fully succeeding. Every international student faces different challenges, and every educational institution has its own prominent issues. In my study, I examined the challenges graduate international students at the University of San Diego (USD) face that might impede them from fully transitioning and adapting to their new environment. I used a mixed-methods approach (interviews and focus groups) to understand the issues impacting the transition and adaptation of international students ...
El Éxito De Mamá E Hija: Uplifting And Valuing The Assets Latinas Bring To Higher Education And Beyond,
2022
University of San Diego
El Éxito De Mamá E Hija: Uplifting And Valuing The Assets Latinas Bring To Higher Education And Beyond, Daisy Martinez, Elitania Meza
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
A central Latinx cultural value is familismo, which involves dedication to family and seeking the family’s advice for important decisions, such as educational goals. According to Chicanx feminism, familismo framework, there is a gap between the values of Latinx families and higher education which tends to reward independence. This gap leaves many first-generation college (FGC) Latinx students feeling like their culture is excluded from their college experience. In my study, I examined how Latina immigrant mothers and FGC daughters have navigated educational barriers utilizing familismo and other cultural capital. I identified what prompted their resiliency to distinguish ways to ...
Uncomfortable But Necessary: White Faculty Identity Development And Race Conversations,
2022
University of San Diego
Uncomfortable But Necessary: White Faculty Identity Development And Race Conversations, Monique B. Appel
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
In recent years, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have been highlighted in college mission statements, but there is a gap between college-wide initiatives and classroom practices. Research shows that White Americans, in particular, remain silent, express colorblindness, and incorporate avoidance strategies when discussing race (Bryan et al., 2012). As classrooms become increasingly diverse, White faculty must be equipped to serve all students equitably. To address White faculty discomfort with discussing race in their courses, I provided educational resources and used restorative justice circle practice to create a safe, low stakes environment for faculty to explore this topic. Through circle practices ...
Public Safety Presence And Response In Campus Housing: Using Restorative Justice Interventions To Mitigate Harm And Restore Trust In The Residential Community,
2022
University of San Diego
Public Safety Presence And Response In Campus Housing: Using Restorative Justice Interventions To Mitigate Harm And Restore Trust In The Residential Community, Sydney Pidgeon
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
In the wake of social unrest and demands of police reform (Childress et al., 2020; Davidson, 2020; Rogers & Gravelle, 2020), institutions of higher education have a unique opportunity to model a system of campus safety that mitigates harm and restores trust. This research explores the complex relationship between campus safety officers and residential life staff and student leaders at a mid-sized private institution and implements restorative justice interventions to rebuild trust between the two populations. This research created an intervention framework that improved the ongoing partnership between the Office of Residential Life and Department of Public Safety and facilitated a ...
Increasing Student Employee Engagement And Knowledge Retention Using Grounding And Mindfulness Practices,
2022
University of San Diego
Increasing Student Employee Engagement And Knowledge Retention Using Grounding And Mindfulness Practices, Jeffrey Fox
M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects
Higher education students have a critical need to be fully present and engaged in the learning space that they participate in. Incorporating grounding and mindfulness practices at the start of student employee training and team building seminars was tested to determine if their engagement level and knowledge retention increased. Grounding and mindfulness practices have predominantly focused on the classroom experience, failing to address additional shared learning environments that students occupy. In my action research, I implemented a multifaceted and fundamental grounding and mindfulness-guided practice for student employees in the Student Activities and Involvement department. I used control groups, whole-group guided ...
Strength, Beauty, And Resilience: The Impact Of Self Reflection & Exploration Of Memory On Postmodern Feminist Educators, Inside And Outside The Classroom,
2022
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Strength, Beauty, And Resilience: The Impact Of Self Reflection & Exploration Of Memory On Postmodern Feminist Educators, Inside And Outside The Classroom, Maryjo M. Rosania-Harvie
Education Doctorate Dissertations
This study utilizes an autoethnographic methodology, informed by narrative inquiry, to explore the impact of memories on feminist educators. The participants in the study included two of the researcher’s former colleagues and one former student. The study's goal was to examine how the relationships between researcher and participant and the memories they shared impacted them as educators; in the process, the concept of authenticity in educators was examined in relation to the research and the participants’ feminist and postmodern approach. The researcher collected qualitative data through interviews, personal journals, timelining, and an epistolary writing exercise to define authenticity ...
