Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2002. / Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 194-202).

Principals with effective leadership practices may positively impact the success in schools. Although the topic of leadership has been researched extensively, more research may be beneficial in determining how leadership practices may develop or change over the course of the career of a school principal. This study was designed to determine if the leadership practices of principals have changed over time and what factors may have influenced this change within their leadership practices. A qualitative research method with a grounded theory design was used in this study. After obtaining permission from several school districts in East Tennessee, the 11 participants were recruited through emails and phone calls. Interviews were semistructured with questions crafted to encourage discussion on the topic. After each participant was interviewed, the transcripts were coded to determine themes. After analysis of the coding, common themes emerged. Most participants reported that on-the-job experiences, previous roles in leadership, and a network of colleagues were the factors that influenced changes in their leadership practices. These findings supported research that found leadership practices evolved over time. Research also supported the common theme that experience is more of an influencer on leadership practices than content classes from principal preparation programs. The study may be useful for universities that offer principal preparation programs in planning more authentic experiences. Further research may be needed to determine the amount of time needed in authentic experiences to best prepare future principals.

Mainstream leadership studies are concerned mostly about western values. To fill the gap between Western and Eastern perspectives on leadership, this study examines female leadership from a Daoist perspective. Daoism is a valuable and rich philosophical system from China and has a history of more than 2,500 years. Key concepts from Daoism (e.g., harmony, Wei Wu-Wei, Yin-Yang, water-like leadership, and its high regard for females and mothers) were used as alternative and resourceful theoretical foundations for this study. This study was a between-subject 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design (leader candidate’s gender: male vs. female; leadership style: agentic vs. Daoist; and participants’ gender: male vs. female). Four vignettes were created and assigned as stimulus materials to each of the four conditions in the study (agentic male, agentic female, Daoist male, and Daoist female). Participants (N=383) were asked to read one leader candidate vignette and evaluate this candidate on seven aspects (positivity, likeableness, effectiveness, follower empowerment, follower autonomy cultivation, democracy, and leader emergence). Data were collected from MTurk and analyzed using MANOVA. The results indicated a significant main effect for leadership style and a significant two-way interaction effect for leadership style and leader gender. These findings demonstrate that Daoist leadership style was more preferable than agentic leadership style on positivity, likeableness, effectiveness, empowerment, follower autonomy cultivation, democracy, and leader emergence. Additionally, the Daoist female leader candidate was perceived more positively, likeable, empowering, and democratic, than agentic male leader candidate.

No description available.

The study was specifically designed to explore the leadership density in selected secondary schools by examining how leadership at the middle tier is conceived and implemented. This focus was predicated on the increasing demand to acknowledge the layers of leadership that exists in schools. Additionally, there is a growing need to direct attention to this tier by building their leadership capacities as the expectations regarding accountability in the educational system increases. In pursuing this investigation, a qualitative research design was used and therefore the main data collection tool was in depth semi-structured interviews. In addition, a ranking activity was done by the respondents as well as observations and review of documents were also included in the data gathering procedures. These tools while providing rich data, also served an integral function of triangulation. This provision was made possible from respondents drawn from a pool of middle managers in selected secondary schools using purposive sampling. The data revealed that both categories of middle managers saw their roles as very important to the effectiveness of the organization. Their significance was supported by the principals of the schools in which the middle managers operate. While middle managers expressed their understanding of some fundamental leadership practices through the ranking activity, the evidence of alignment in their conversations about their own practices reflected gaps between their beliefs and the description of their practices. The data further revealed that variation was evident in the conceptualization and implementation of leadership practices within and across the schools. Clear identification of a sustained plan for leadership development for the team members led by the middle managers was not easily detected. This was not surprising as it was clear that middle managers were not exposed to a preparation program to transition from classroom teacher to middle manager. Keywords: leadership practices, middle managers ’practice, and team leadership. / Educational Leadership

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the link between FranklinCovey&rsquo;s The Leader in Me (LIM) implementation and school improvement. Specifically, this study sought to identify whether or not longitudinal student data improved during LIM implementation, teacher perception of the LIM implementation, and the relative impact of the four LIM process components on school improvement. These process components include school vision of leadership, staff-created implementation, 7 Habits (Covey, 1989), and student leadership. By employing a mixed methods approach, the study incorporated both quantitative and qualitative data to gain a more comprehensive analysis of the impact of the LIM on school improvement. Longitudinal quantitative student data sets in the areas of attendance, DIBELS reading assessment, and discipline referrals was examined to determine whether or not there were data improvements during LIM implementation at one school. Quantitative data from closed-ended survey responses from staff members at four LIM schools was collected and analyzed to determine teacher perceptions of the LIM process as a whole, as well as the implementation levels of the four process components. Qualitative data in the form of focus group interview responses were collected and analyzed in order to determine the underlying causes of the student data improvements and overall school culture/climate improvements from the perspective of teachers at one LIM school. The data revealed that there appears to be a link between the LIM implementation and school improvement. Student data sets over time at the case study school did improve, and the teachers at that school indicated vast improvements in school culture/climate throughout the LIM implementation. In addition, the data analysis indicated strong positive feelings expressed by teachers at LIM schools, as well as a statistically significant positive correlation between the four process components.</p>

<p> While the American dream could have different meanings for Americans today, one dream for many middle and high school students is to have the opportunity to attend college; however, a challenge facing students across the United States is that they are graduating from middle and high school unprepared to enter the postsecondary institution of their choice. Despite over thirty years of educational reform attempts since &ldquo;A Nation at Risk&rdquo; (1983) was published, there continues to be a growing concern that middle and high school graduates are not college and career ready (Choy, Horn, Nunez, &amp; Chen, 2000; Conley, 2010; Jackson, 2009). Consequently, middle and high school students deemed college-eligible are often not college-ready. Students who are not in the top academic quartile in middle and high school may have aspirations of attending college, but often fail college entrance exams (Leonard, 2013). They contend that middle and high school graduation course requirements are often less than rigorous, or misaligned with courses necessary for college admission. Due to the lack of early academic preparation, students may need to take remedial courses once in college (Adelman, 1999). Public universities across the United States invest billions of dollars remediating about one-third of their incoming freshman, which in turn costs students more time and money (Bettinger &amp; Long, 2009; Wimberly &amp; Noeth, 2005). This study explores the fundamental distinctions of college readiness through the examination of a grant project received under the federal college-ready program, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). The study could reveal important information, which may bring about necessary changes in middle and high schools. By investigating how GEAR UP students describe their experiences with the project, as well as how these experiences contribute to college readiness, student voices and stories may benefit policymakers and administrators as they plan for academic and social supports for future middle and high school students.</p>

<p> The pressure on teachers to use data has become common place in schools as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This research explores the association between data-to-action process, critical thinking, and how one comes to know or understand by examining the actions teachers take when using data to make instructional decisions to better understand the relationship between teachers and their use of data. Elementary, middle school, and high school teachers in southwest Louisiana participated in an on-line survey that required them to rate their level of confidence on various data task. The study was unable to determine teachers&rsquo; confidence level at each knowledge dimension as teachers rated all of the tasks as high confidence or low confidence. This tells one that teachers see all data use tasks as either easy or difficult; there is no distinction between the levels of complexity. The data did show that teachers who have high confidence in using data when making instructional decisions were teachers that have more experience and have earned a higher degree. Teachers with higher levels of education and more experience are more confident in using data to make instructional decision, therefore; it is necessary for educational leaders to provide supports to teachers without the higher education and experience.</p>

The main aim of the study was to compare the state of women's political representation in the leadership structures of South Africa and Cameroon after almost two decades of multi-party politics in these two African states. The objectives were: to examine the structures and mechanisms that have been put in place in both countries to promote and advance gender equality and women's empowerment; to find out the obstacles which inhibit women's political representation or their advancement; and to explore whether improved women's representation could change Africa's political culture. The study has been conceptualized within the theories of leadership, liberal feminism, patriarchy and social dominance. The unit of analysis was women in leadership structures of parliament, political parties and government. The study used a qualitative research approach, and designs used were comparative case-study, phenomenology and historical designs. A stratified purposive sampling approach was used in the selection of 120 participants from political parties, NGOs and academia. There were 75 participants in South Africa and 45 in Cameroon, inclusive of males and females. A collective case or triangulation method of data collection was also utilized which consisted of interviews, a focus group discussion, an open-ended questionnaire, observation and secondary data. The study found that comparatively, there were many more women represented in political leadership in South Africa than in Cameroon. In addition, many structures and mechanisms have been put in place in South Africa to cater for gender equality and women's empowerment. However, even with a high number of women at the helm of government, this has not made the South African society less patriarchal. Indeed, women in both countries still face many obstacles in their quest for advancement in the political arena. Ultimately, the study found that, evidence from South Africa, Rwanda and Liberia showed that increased women's representation in political leadership positions could obviously change Africa's political culture. Indicators raised were that, women in politics would be involved in development and peace issues, gender-sensitive policies, women's empowerment and there would be participatory democracy. The study recommends among other things that, though gender equity is commendable, women's voices and grassroots opinions of both women and men should guide processes of putting women in leadership positions. Moreover, gender equality and women's empowerment at the community level is still a struggle. Hence the need for educational and consciousness-raising programmes aimed at communities which still regard women as incompetent and unable to contribute positively to their societies. / Thesis (Phd in Peace studies) North west University, Mafikeng Campus, 2012.

Thirty-six Alabama College System community colleges were surveyed to determine whether a significant difference existed between the satisfaction and effectiveness of community college administrators, faculty members and computer professionals with manual, partially automated and fully automated administrative computer systems. The survey results were also analyzed to determine which system(s) provided the least satisfaction and effectiveness. Effectiveness and satisfaction instruments were used to elicit respondents’ opinions regarding twenty-five administrative applications approved by the Alabama Department of Education, Department of Postsecondary Education for implementation by the Alabama College System Board. Both instruments used a five-point Likert scale to assess the respondents’ opinions. One hundred forty-one responses were evaluated using the Analysis of Variance, with an alpha level of .05, to determine if there were any significant differences between the satisfaction and effectiveness of administrators, faculty members and computer professionals with manual, partially automated and fully automated administrative systems. Though all of the colleges surveyed had their administrative applications automated, colleges were defined as manual, partially automated or fully automated depending upon the number of applications that were automated. No significant satisfaction difference was found. However, administrators were found to be more effective than faculty members. Additionally, manual systems were found to be more effective than fully automated systems. A Leaf Scale analysis was conducted utilizing sample means to define the applications providing the least satisfaction and/or effectiveness. The survey found that among the 25 applications surveyed, fund raising, student receivables, general ledger, budget, cash receipts, accounts payable, recruiting, continuing education, curriculum development and work orders automation provided the least satisfaction and/or effectiveness. Based upon the findings, the writer recommended that further effectiveness and satisfaction research be conducted of community colleges to either corroborate or deny the findings.