The field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) traditionally encompasses care and education for children aged from birth to eight years. In this study, the focus is specifically on the field that provides services for children in prior to school settings, that being the birth to five sector. This sector is highly feminised and has emerged over the last century from philanthropic roots. Despite considerable work into leadership in other areas, until recent times, attention to aspects of leadership has been limited within the ECEC field and much of the research undertaken has focused heavily on centre-based leadership. This study investigated how personnel, from a range of services, understand and enact leadership. In terms of data analysis it draws heavily on symbolic interactionism as a methodological tool and engages standpoint feminist theory to inform the analytical process. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with twenty-six participants who also identified artefacts, which they considered influenced and supported their understandings of leadership. In addition, two focus groups were conducted to explore themes emerging from early analysis of the data. Findings indicate two categories, which emerge as relevant to how leadership is understood and enacted by participants. The first of these is the concept of interpreted professional identity, which reflects participants' interpretations of who they are as early childhood professionals informed by their own views and the views of others. How individuals interpret their sense of self (manifest in their professional identity) is influential in the secondary category, which is interpreted leadership capacity. This category reflects participants' leadership activity or inactivity. The analysis reflects a complex interplay between how participants interpret their professional sense of self (interpreted professional identity) and their capacity and willingness to enact leadership (interpreted leadership capacity). Individuals in the formation of their professional identity interpret factors, both internal to the ECEC field and external (through social expectations). The culture of the ECEC field (internal factors) includes competing elements such as a discourse of niceness juxtaposed against examples of horizontal violence. Factors external to the field suggest there are lingering social associations between heroic male images and leadership, which make women as leaders problematic. Within a highly feminised field such as ECEC, this study brings new perspectives to understandings of leadership and its enactment.

The purpose of this study was to understand the reasons the four female participants decided to pursue electrician technician training, their perspectives of the apprenticeship program, their perceptions of successful employment in a male-dominated occupation, and differences in treatment based on their gender. The exploratory questions that guided the study were: what led the females to make the decision for applying to the electrician technician apprenticeship; what was the nature of the education and training experiences of the participants in the electrician technician apprenticeship program, what were the participants’ perceptions of being successful in advancement within the workforce as a female electrician technician; and what gender differences did the participants experience as female electrician technicians? The theoretical framework for this study is based on feminist standpoint theory (Harding, 1991, 1993, 1987; Hartsock, 1997, 1998a 1998b; Smith 1987, 1997). Data collection methods consisted of a demographics questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, participant journals, researcher’s reflexive journal notes, and electrician apprenticeship program data. The cross-case analysis generated five major themes: family support, independence, mentors, self-directedness, and gender stereotypes. These five themes included discussions of the micro, meso, and macro levels in a male-dominated occupation. Implications for practitioners and policy makers are described. This study contributes empirical research on feminist standpoint theory and females in male-dominated occupations. It also adds to the body of literature on female electrician technicians’ decision processes, which are rarely studied, and success in a male-dominated occupation.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Candyce S. Russell / Marriage and family therapists (MFTs) over the past twenty years have increased their visibility by using their clinical skills and a systemic framework in other areas outside of therapy (i.e., business, school, medicine). Many of these individuals have pioneered roads of systems theory application through a creative process. Traditional creativity research has focused mainly on individual factors. However, Csikszentmihalyi’s theories of flow and creativity have offered important insight on the systemic nature of the creative process. Recently, research regarding intrinsic motivation and group creativity has provided more insight on how Csikszentmihalyi’s theory could be further developed. Furthermore, applying an ecological systems theory framework to his current model provides additional levels of influence to be examined in regards to maximizing creative potential in individuals and groups. Using deductive and inductive methodologies, an ecological systems theory of creativity is presented providing a framework for studying how MFTs that have successfully entered into non-traditional realms of systemic application go through the creative process of entering into their endeavors. Interviews with successful MFTs applying skills in non-traditional areas of applications were conducted using a modified phenomenological approach. Creative processes were outlined based on themes and patterns that emerged during the analysis. Implications of these findings are made regarding how to improve creativity in MFTs at the individual, academic, and professional field levels. In addition, implications are made regarding how to improve student recruitment and maximize potential in MFT trainees. Finally, implications regarding the maximization of productivity in university settings and applying systemic creativity to business, school, government, and education settings are presented.

With the rise of "helicopter" parents within primary and secondary education, school officials nationwide have started to address how to manage parental involvement in the educational system, specifically with regard to parent-teacher communication. Beginning in the 1980s, school administrators actively implemented programs targeting increased parental involvement in K-12 public schools, though the use of contact and relationship building strategies, in order to substantiate school-teacher-parent communication and further parental influence over decision making processes. While administrators and parents may view parent-teacher interactions as productive, teachers' negative experiences with parents may lead to stress, burnout, and attrition. Researchers have indicated that between 20 and 50% of first through third year teachers leave the profession due to increased, long-term stress, unrealistic workload, and an overall feeling of decreased personal and professional fulfillment. Likewise, through educational reform initiatives to standardize curriculum and increase parental involvement within public schools, teachers' roles within the educational system have shifted from positions of power, to figureheads for the system. The purpose of this study is to examine public school K-12 teachers' standpoints as they relate to parent-teacher communication.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis sought to understand the messages Black women receive from contemporary images and how these messages may be used to help them develop a sense of womanhood. The framework for the analysis used in this research lies within the feminist standpoint theory and Black feminist thought. The interviews conducted for this research helped to reveal that young Black women recognize patterns within the images of Black women in contemporary media. The images help them to understand the treatment of Black women and about the Black women they want to be.

This thesis explores the interrelations between the cultural dimensions and the establishment of trust, within the context of foreign distribution partnerships. The empirical data of the research is based on the activities of a Swedish startup during its Chinese market entry. With this study we aim to look closer at the changes of startup’s original cultural standpoints when they find themselves in a situation where they have to react appropriately to the differing cultural positioning of the foreign distribution partner. Further, we analyzed the consequences that have been triggered by the changes in the startup’s original cultural dimensions. Moreover, we have also assessed and speculated on the importance and the possible outcomes of the high and low degree of accuracy in the evaluation of trustworthiness of partners’ competences.We believe that our exploratory study is a first step in the direction to evaluate the importance of developing trust in partnerships accurately by carefully considering the adaptation of cultural codes and its implications. The propositions provided in this thesis can further be developed and tested with a considerably larger sample size across all of the variables of interest.

The study starts with a historical overview of the notion of gender and sexual identity and belonging in the German Christian church as seen from a queer and intersectional gender studies perspective. The following study moves to explore three individual experiences and encounters with the Christian church. The experiences are contemporary and have been made by queer Christians inside the church and during the creation of a personal faith that is suitable for their needs. With the analytical help of the feminist standpoint theory and queer theory, the researcher examines a limited empirical corpus based on three interviews. The study centers on the experiences of these participants and asks fundamental questions about how to unite two significant belongings that seem to be contradictory. These sample stories include individuals who openly belong to the queer community. They have worked in and for the church or study theology. The stories of such double belonging have been investigated through semi-structured interviews. The discussion and analysis outline similar experiences made by the participants. The main findings include the lack of language and role models that lead to experiences of loneliness and exclusion. How they construe their sense of faith varies as faith is individual. Nevertheless, and as highlighted, is the immense significance of being religious, the importance of spirituality and faith for the inquired members of the LGBTQIA+ community, but not necessarily church as an institution.

Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion have no issues telling men how they can satisfy women. While WAP is considered vulgar and crude by some, the overall message is about outspoken intersectional feminism based on sex positivity and empowerment. Unapologetic of women’s sexuality, Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion promote women’s right to sexuality and pleasure through power. They reject the male gaze and reverse the societal narrative by describing their standards for men’s sexual performance and stature. While the over-sexualization and objectification of women is societally acceptable in the patriarchy, Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion’s rap in WAP aims to encourage the audience to critically think of how to combat and dismantle the power imbalance between genders in the current societal structure. Presenting women being assertive and demanding as a positive thing, as well as empowering women to own their sexuality places them in a dominant position which is uncommon in popular culture, especially in Hip-Hop. It can be debated that the over-sexualization and objectification of men is just as inhumane as it is for women, but is that not how sympathy is created? By putting oneself in another’s shoes? This tactic has been criticized in the media. Within the patriarchy, it is socially acceptable for men to be open about having their sexual needs met by women. The promotion of women owning their sexuality and therefore, advocating for themselves and their desires so that they can be satisfied by their partner, is actively discouraged. What Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion are aiming to portray in WAP is the double standards enforced by men within the patriarchy which frames power as a positive in men and a negative in women, and make a point of this by extensively critiquing this in their song. While men are comfortable objectifying women and holding power over them, women making men feel uncomfortable when their power is stolen, is a means by which men can be compelled to increase their emotional intelligence and social awareness. There is no shame in taking power from men when it comes to the lyrics in WAP, and for research purposes, this makes an interesting and unique dynamic to thematically analyze through sexual script theory.

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