The present study investigated the relationship between collective leadership, team trust, and team performance longitudinally and with the inclusion of a performance feedback loop. Collective leadership was hypothesized to mediate the relationship between team trust and team performance; however, this hypothesis was not supported. Additional analyses support the conceptualization of collective leadership as an emergent state because collective leadership density increased significantly across two time-points. Further hypothesis testing revealed performance feedback to influence subsequent levels of team trust. / Master of Science

Leadership has been traditionally conceptualized as individual-centered and top-down. However, the fast growing environment creates demands beyond the capabilities of an individual leader and requires flexible and adaptive leadership structures in response. The current study built upon research in leadership and teams and employed an iterative experimental design to investigate the emergence of shared leadership through its antecedents (i.e., power structure and role assignment) and examine its impact on team outcomes (i.e., productivity, adaptability and innovation). The relationship between shared leadership and other team properties (i.e., collective efficacy and team cohesiveness) were also scrutinized. Social network analysis (SNA) and growth modeling techniques were utilized. Support for hypotheses was not found. Methodological and analytical limitations and future research directions were discussed. / Master of Science

In understanding leadership to be the single most important factor in shaping a school’s performance, and second highest factor influencing student achievement, it is a necessity for investigations to focus on what successful leaders do to have excelling schools. Research has alluded to the understanding that the principal can no longer serve as the sole instructional leader of a school. This need for collaboration within the organization places a weight on principals to incorporate others within the school decision-making process. This study examined how collective instructional leadership is currently influencing teacher efficacy in high performing central Kentucky elementary schools. Data were collected through individual principal interviews and focus-group interviews to gain perspectives about how collective instructional leadership is currently influencing teacher efficacy, individuals involved in collective instructional leadership, and actions leaders engage in to promote individual and collective teacher efficacy. The findings of this study identified themes to support a hypothesis around how collective instructional leadership is influencing teacher efficacy. Through the finding of this study a working model of collective instructional leadership was developed. Findings indicate the four working dimensions within the collective instructional leadership model will help raise both individual and collective teacher efficacy within schools.

Twenty-first century schools are complex organizations that serve individual students’ needs while meeting accountability and assessment demands. Effective leadership balances these diverse responsibilities through collective work of the shareholders in order to assure high levels of learning for all. This qualitative study examined Response to Intervention (RTI) implementation in two high performing high schools in Kentucky. Both schools were classified as distinguished on the 2014-15 Kentucky School Report Card. One school has a long-standing tradition of high performance. The other school’s journey to high performance involved moving from a Needs Improvement School to a School of Distinction. The 4-D Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Theory was used to explore the collective leadership practices of the two high schools. Data collection instruments and protocols followed the four AI phases (discover, dream, design, and deliver). Data were collected through observations, site visits, artifact reviews, individual interviews and and focus groups. The effective schools characteristics, RTI core traits, and collective leadership practices provided the context for the study design. In studying the RTI implementation process, evidence of effective schools characteristics, RTI core traits, and collective leadership practices were observed. Both schools focused intentionally on core instruction as an integral part of the RTI implementation process. The data concluded that the schools continue to make progress in meeting more students’ needs. Both schools have strategic plans to discover, dream, design, and deliver new ways to maximize the collective strengths of the school community. Evidence of each phase of AI emerged in the stories, conversations, and artifacts at both schools.