Nearly every graduate school, especially professional schools, claims to train, educate, and develop leaders. However, the leader-development literature offers little evidence of how a graduate level leader-development course might actually do that. Developmental theory informing experiential and constructivist leader-development methods suggest that those methods might be useful in promoting development, and one’s capacity to lead, however there is little empirical evidence of impact. This dissertation is comprised of three studies. The first two used a constructive-developmental lens to explore the interaction between participant’s stage of development and two different leader-development courses that deploy experiential and constructivist pedagogies: Adaptive Leadership and Authentic Leadership. These studies collected participant stage of development at the beginning and end of each course in addition to interview questions about participant learning in each course. The first study focused on Adaptive Leadership. Findings from this study suggest that experiential and constructivist methods that bring dominantly socialized levels of consciousness to the limit of their meaning making provoked developmental growth for those participants. Dominantly self-authorized participants did not demonstrate developmental growth, but did demonstrate compensational learning—learning that uniquely compensates for the limitations of the dominantly self-authorized stage. Study two compared findings from the first study against findings from an Authentic Leadership course. That comparison revealed a very statistically significant correlation between the Adaptive Leadership course and developmental growth among dominantly socialized participants. An analysis of the tasks used in each course suggested that dialectical tasks are correlated with development over dialogical tasks. The third study focused on efforts at the professional school to integrate the experiential and constructivist methods I examined in studies one and two into the management curriculum. For that study, I organized and analyzed documentation regarding the establishment of Yale’s School of Organization and Management in 1973 and the schools restructuring in 1988. That restructuring effort eliminated the experiential and constructivist methods the school was established upon in 1973. I found that the school was not strategic about the purpose of experiential and constructivist methods and generated a divided learning experience for students, which fueled a dynamic that subsequently split faculty along ideological lines.

Research and theories of leadership development link the capacity for complex thinking to effectiveness at leading adaptive change. However, few empirical studies examine how this link operates in natural work settings, or explore its implications for practicing the kinds of leadership being called for in higher education today. In this study, I address this gap using post-positivist, ethnographic methods to examine how three higher education leaders, who are publicly recognized as effective change agents and demonstrate the capacity for complex thinking via research-validated instruments, use complex thinking to understand and lead adaptive change in natural work settings. Drawing on a conceptual framework that spans multiple theories of leadership and human development, including Torbert’s developmental action inquiry, Kegan’s subject-object theory, and Heifetz’s adaptive leadership theory, I interpret the data in the context of two research questions: (1) How, if at all, do three developmentally mature leaders in higher education use complex thinking to understand their adaptive leadership work?; and (2) How, if at all, do participants' uses of complex thinking shape their decisions and actions on the ground? I find that participating leaders use their ongoing awareness of the constructed nature of reality, combined with high attunement to convergence and divergence of local and broader situational factors, to help their communities identify and address three types of value-reality gaps: part-whole tensions, critical ambiguities, and identity fractures. I provide rich illustrations of how these individuals draw on complex-thinking capacities to pursue six action strategies: (a) dynamically balance autonomy and oversight, (b) create shared frames illuminating larger realities, (c) engage and reorient the community, (d) co-construct and dynamically interpret goals, (e) cultivate strategic relationships grounded in mutual trust, and (f) create conditions that help people weather uncertainties, build new identities, and shape the future. I also discuss five, complex thinking informed action themes that run robustly through these three participants’ leadership practices: (a) cultivate expansive multicentered purposes, (b) illuminate the invisible, (c) redefine and recalibrate, (d) keep things connected, and (e) orchestrate co-construction. I discuss implications for leadership practice and outline opportunities for future research.

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

This qualitative study explored the experience of professional transition from student to practitioner among six Canadian occupational therapists in the first year of their career, with a focus on how beginning practitioners learn about doing practice. A sociocultural theory of learning provided the framework to understand the role of context and activity in learning. Data collection consisted of two semi-structured interviews and a series of journal entries. An initial interview was conducted with each participant beginning in their third to fifth month of practice to discover their perception of transition, their learning needs, and the role of collaborative interactions in supporting their learning. Each participant then maintained a journal of their experience of transition and their learning experiences for one month A second interview was held with the participants in their eighth to tenth month of practice, which focussed on their change in knowledge and skills. The transitional experiences of the research participants revealed that the support of colleagues and peers was critical to their learning and eased their adjustment to practice. They preferred to learn from an experienced occupational therapist, and the availability of this support influenced the new practitioners' choice of their first job. In their initial months of practice they struggled with their lack of practical experience, responsibilities of client care, challenges to client-centred practice and competing work demands. Their relationship with clients was particularly valuable to the participants' learning and professional identity. Mentoring and implementing practical learning experiences in the university curriculum were suggested as strategies for easing the transition from student to therapist. The role of client interaction as a valuable source of learning was also recognized.

In the last decade or so, the work of Lave and Wenger (1991) on situated learning has become increasingly popular: "Rather than asking what kinds of cognitive processes and conceptual structures are involved, they ask what kinds of social engagements provide the proper context for learning to take place" (p.14). Wenger (1998) extended his previous work with Lave by elaborating a conceptual framework called Communities of Practice. This framework presents a social theory of learning based on the following assumption: engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which we learn and so become who we are. Up to now this conceptual framework has been mainly used in workplace and education settings. This research aims to derive from these settings by describing the process through which individuals learn and become moose hunters. The main question that guides our research is: How do individuals become moose hunters? To answer this main question a qualitative research approach using a multiple case study design was chosen. Data were collected through open-ended and semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed on an ongoing basis, throughout the process of data collection which took place over three distinct phases. Phase 1 consists of five cases each including an initial participant and a peer. This phase looks at the existence of communities of practice within the context of moose hunting, as well as documents the process of transformation of identity for the five initial participants. For phase 2, five more participants were added, increasing the number of cases to ten. During this phase, the focus was placed on childhood learning as a prerequisite for gaining access to a moose hunting group later on. For phase 3, 20 more participants were interviewed to complement and validate the findings of the previous phases. The present research confirms the presence and formation of communities of practice in the context of recreational moose hunting. The research also demonstrates the process of transformation of identities as the participants learn from engagement within the context of practice. Moreover, the findings reveal an important period of learning during childhood, prior to engagement in practice. Consequently, the research shows that interest for the activity is developed at a young age and a considerable amount of learning occurs during childhood as children engage in various outdoor activities with parents. The findings of the research contribute to both the theoretical and the practical levels by highlighting the versatility of Wenger's conceptual framework to study learning across various social contexts and by revealing that the current training strategies for hunters are not efficient and need to be revised.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the education and training of retail managers through management training programs in three apparel retail organizations and to inform educators and retailers about recommended retail management training practices in order to better prepare their students and employees. Methodology was based on qualitative research, using the multiple-case study method, with an open-ended questionnaire type of interview. Interviews of apparel retail managers and trainers gave insights into the objectives of the study. These objectives were to review: (a) the content of education and management training programs used by three apparel retailers, (b) the training methods, (c) the assessment tools, and (d) the evaluation techniques used in those training programs. The findings show that, since the restructuring of the selected companies during 1995 and 1996, overall educational reimbursement had decreased. Training programs used both on-the-job and classroom methods, and were conducted primarily in stores. Managers were responsible for most of the training. Participants of the study perceived the goals of their company's management training to be profit, managerial continuity, employee development, and career or self-improvement related. Assessment tools varied, with observational techniques, examinations, self-evaluations, and reviews reported. Participants commented on the lack of overall program evaluation, training consistency, and communication. Conclusions of the study indicate that apparel retail management training content was limited in technological advances and had little content pertaining to the changing demographics of employees. Methods and assessment tools used in training were conducive to learning. Program goals and objectives were not always clearly defined. Evaluations of the overall effectiveness of a training program were rarely conducted. Recommendations to retailers and educators were to: (a) update programs to meet the technological and human relation needs of a changing retail environment, (b) consider all company employees as potential trainers, (c) utilize different assessment techniques and methods of teaching, (d) standardize and evaluate training programs, (e) improve communication among retail company personnel, and (f) continue to develop curricula that include communication, feedback and assessment techniques, and field practica.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.