<p> This study examines lived experiences of advisors and mentors during leadership development efforts and how understanding cultural differences enables leadership emergence. Work conducted by advisors and mentors in Afghanistan provided the focus for research. The qualitative approach used incorporated interviews of ten participants. The researcher used Moustakas&rsquo; phenomenological research method to explore the lived experiences. Findings provide understanding of how cultural differences influence leadership emergence development in marginalized societies and how cultural differences influence approaches to developing local leaders. </p><p> Conclusions from this study provide meaning because they address gaps in knowledge regarding experiences related to leadership development for society&rsquo;s marginalized elements, leadership approaches mentors report important in fulfilling their roles, and methods to develop emerging leaders. Conclusions indicate 1) mentor and advisor experiences stress the importance of adaptability, demonstrated competence and positive outlook; 2) building trusted relationships, leadership as a social process, and the emerging leader construct form foundational elements of mentoring in post-conflict marginalized societies; 3) trust, critical thinking, planning, accountability and expertise are leadership competencies that result in mentor success; 4) developing leadership emergence in cultures other than one&rsquo;s own require engagement strategies that enable rapid understanding of how to deal with cultural differences; 5) mentees in marginalized societies can alter mentors perspectives; and 6) developing leadership emergence is a non-gender specific process and should emphasize technical expertise. </p><p> This study offers recommendations for practice in developing leadership emergence and illuminates future research. Recommendations for practice include: providing intensive leadership development training for mentors and fostering increased multicultural understanding for emerging leaders; the importance of developing trusted relationships and networks; fostering curiosity in learning about other cultures; promoting the need for openness toward cultural differences; and integrating cooperative learning into leadership development practices. Recommendations for research include using actual field experience of leadership development that takes into account cultural differences; study on leadership emergence of youth in marginalized societies; study on indigenous cultures through the lens of cultural dimensions; and future meta-analysis of leader emergence in developing nations and vulnerable groups.</p>

<p> This research study is an attempt to learn how students with low socioeconomic status (SES) experience Appreciative Inquiry as an instructional literacy approach when compared to traditional (typically practiced) models of literacy intervention. Key findings will illuminate the effectiveness of strengths-based approaches to literacy achievement and experiences for marginalized students. This study will add to the growing research that policymakers must acknowledge as evidence that a complete overhaul of the deficit-based rationales as the dominant practice in education need to be reconsidered (Orr &amp; Cleveland-Innes, 2015). It can be postulated that a cultural shift to a strengths-based model within education will significantly impact student achievement for all student groups (Smith, Connolly, &amp; Pryseski, 2014). Arguably, this could close the achievement gap for marginalized students.</p><p>

<p> The concept of shepherding others goes back thousands of years, yet the shepherding metaphor received limited review in academic circles. A study transpired in order to better understand what shepherding entails. It was not known how self-declared leaders from the ecclesiastic, business, and education fields, perceived, described, and practiced shepherd leadership in the greater New York metropolitan area. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how 30 self-declared leaders from the ecclesiastic, business, and education fields, perceived, described, and practiced shepherd leadership. The researcher conducted a qualitative case study involving 30 experienced leaders from three Abrahamic faiths (Jewish, Christian, Islamic) and three fields (ecclesiastic, business, education). All 30 participants completed the Shepherd Leader Inventory and the Brodie Ranking of Shepherd Leadership Skills. Combining 13 open-ended interviews with the two surveys enabled the researcher to triangulate the data. When participants were asked to describe practices unique to shepherding, the leaders in the study mentioned that the shepherd leader cares about others, behaves in a professional manner, builds up others, thinks through actions, builds relationships, shares authority, develops others, shows flexibility, and provides guidance. The researcher discovered that shepherding consists of similar constructs as several positive leadership models. Shepherding proceeds from Theory Z where the leader maintains authority in times of crisis and shares authority in times of ease. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: Leadership, Shepherd leadership, Shepherding, Servant leadership, Spiritual leadership, Positive leadership, Transformational leadership, Leader-member exchange, Agapao love, Ecclesiastic, Business, Education, Leadership theory, Spirituality</p>

<p> This is a posttest only, with control-group experimental research, which aimed to evaluate the changes in performance of kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) schools in Minnesota from a perspective of principals and administrators, as a result of having participated in Target's Take Charge of Education program, one of the largest cause-related marketing (CRM) education-based campaigns in the United States. To evaluate the performance improvement, a Program Survey was designed to collect data from school principals and administrators. The general findings of this dissertation research confirmed that the overall performance of Minnesota K-12 schools had been improved, from the perspective of principals and administrators, by participating in a CRM program. Additionally, the dissertation research findings also showed that there were positive impacts of CRM program on both public schools and nonpublic schools. Specifically, all five dimensions of school performance examined in this research, which contained mission, finance, customers, internal process, and learning and growth, had also improved significantly from the perception of Minnesota K-12 schools' principals and administrators. In future studies, the impact of CRM programs on educational institutions, specifically, the impacts of CRM on students could be assessed from more various aspects. Furthermore, it would be worthwhile to discover the possible relationships between the amounts received from a CRM program and the impact of the program on educational institutions in the future studies.</p>

<p> This dissertation determined the perceptions of school board presidents regarding their superintendent's leadership style and the self-perceptions of superintendents regarding their personal leadership style. The leadership framework of Bass and Avolio (2004) was used to focus on three specific leadership styles of superintendents: transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership. This information was vital because superintendents are considered the chief executive officers responsible for the day-to-day management of school districts.</p><p> The methodology for this study was quantitative with a correlational design. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire ([MLQ], 2004) was used to gather perceptions regarding transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles from school board presidents regarding the leadership style of their superintendent and from superintendents regarding their personal leadership style. Seventy-five matched pairs (school board presidents and superintendents from the same school district) were collected to analyze research questions.</p><p> To address research questions one and two, the researcher conducted descriptive statistics on the data to describe the school board presidents&rsquo; perceptions regarding superintendent's leadership style. In addition, a one-sample <i> t</i>-test was used to compare the mean leadership style scores to a hypothesized mean. Once analyzed, data indicated that school board presidents perceived their superintendents to exhibit transformational and transactional leadership styles and did not perceive their superintendents to exhibit a laissez-faire leadership style. Superintendents&rsquo; ratings of their own leadership style indicated a strong tendency towards transformational leadership, with some tendencies towards the transactional leadership style. Superintendents scored lowest in laissez-faire leadership style.</p><p> For research question three, the assumption of linearity was assessed using a Pearson <i>r</i> correlation analyses. There were no statistically significant relationships between public school board presidents&rsquo; and superintendents&rsquo; behavior scores.</p><p> This study illustrated the importance of finding a superintendent&rsquo;s leadership style and skills. It specifically highlighted the importance of ensuring a positive fit between a superintendent&rsquo;s leadership style, the needs of a school board, and the needs of the district. The research established a statistically strong link between school board presidents&rsquo; and superintendents&rsquo; perceptions of leadership.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perception, beliefs, and attitudes of church leadership on issues of bullying. The focus on church leadership is important as the impact that adults in key leadership positions have on issues of bullying and other forms of interpersonal violence is better recognized today. The role of church leadership is especially important in small, rural communities where churches are often the centerpiece of worship and social bonding. Church leaders from a rural community of eastern Kentucky were assessed on their willingness and capacity to support and lead anti-bullying efforts as well as on their current and future roles in anti-bullying efforts. Through in-depth qualitative interviews, six key themes emerged, including the strong connection between bullying and Christian values, the lifelong physical and emotional impact of bullying, and the lack of current and future action despite a strong belief in personal capacity to make a difference in issues of bullying. The results of the research provided deeper understanding and insight into church leaderships&rsquo; perception of bullying as well as future implications for practice.</p><p>

<p> This basic qualitative study addressed one research question: <i> How do African American male leaders in predominantly white K-12 independent schools describe their strategies for navigating social identity?</i> The study utilized the semistructured interview format (Merriam &amp; Tisdell, 2016). The criterion-based sample (Merriam &amp; Tisdell, 2016) included 16 participants who identified as African American men who were in their second year or more of a role that reported directly to a white head of school in a predominantly white K-12 independent school. </p><p> The study was grounded in the social identity theory of leadership, which &ldquo;asserts that leadership is a recursive, multi-dimensional process that centers on leaders&rsquo; capacities to represent, advance, create, and embed a shared sense of social identity for group members&rdquo; (Steffens, Haslam, Reicher, Platow, et al., 2014, p. 1002). The research question aimed to understand how nonprototypicality (Hogg, 2001) affects the experience of leadership for African American men in predominantly white work environments and the strategies they use to navigate those experiences. The study also had foundations in Wingfield&rsquo;s (2007) concept of gendered racism, which acknowledges that the experience of racism is different for African American men and African American women because of the intersection of race and gender. </p><p> Key findings from the study included identity entrepreneurship (Steffens et al., 2013; Hogg, 2016) and assimilation (Hornsey &amp; Hogg, 2000) as less utilized strategies for African American men leading in predominantly white K-12 independent schools. The key strategy used by the leaders was the cultivation of allies and mentors. The study also found that the leaders exhibited a sense of pride in being nonprototypical leaders as well as having feelings of anger, frustration, and isolation that align with other experiences of African American men in the workplace (Chavez &amp; Wingfield, 2018). Participants discussed the role of direct reports, colleagues, and their own supervisors in helping them navigate nonprototypicality&mdash;mainly the need for their colleagues to invest in their own diversity education. Implications of the findings are discussed for the social identity theory of leadership and for the concepts of intersectionality (Collins, 2015) and gendered racism (Wingfield, 2007). </p><p>