The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine perspectives of attorneys who have transitioned into community college leadership. The study sought to answer questions concerning why attorneys decided to change careers, how they transition into new careers, and to what extent their legal backgrounds helped them in educational leadership. Interviews were conducted of 20 former attorneys across America on their perspectives about career transition and leadership competencies to determine whether they might serve as a viable source for leadership. Participant perceptions revealed a transition to make a difference, the transition process was smooth, and transition was made for a better work environment. Participants recommended for career changers coming from law to informally learn about community colleges, gain work experience therein, and to earn another degree. Participants reported high abilities in communications and professionalism, which are current AACC leadership competencies. Some participants reported low collaboration competencies. Participants also recommended positive reinforcement, teamwork, and problem-solving as additional AACC leadership competencies. Moreover, participants reported other transferable skills including legal expertise, business sense, and analytical skills. Recommendations from this study include a policy and practice of considering lawyers for educational leadership provided they demonstrate work and commitment toward a transition into community college leadership. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Research into transitions which explore the personal changes of those undergoing them, especially men, are still rare, particularly in regards to a changing sense of self and life world. Research into the movement of men out of hierarchy, the dominant structures of work institutions in the western world, is rarer still. Using hermeneutic and phenomenological frameworks, this study tracks the journeys of six men by in-depth interviews and discussions as they move out of hierarchical structures to recreate their work and, in varying degrees, themselves. As a means of looking beyond events, and for their metaphoric and philosophic perspectives, the Hero and Phoenix myths are used to further explore levels of meaning identified within the transition processes. Drawing on the work of Jung, Bridges, Neville, Campbell, O’Connor and Gareth Hill, the six stages into which I have organised the transitions are compared to the six key phases of the Phoenix myth. A Jungian framework informs the interpretation of the underlying significances demonstrated in the men’s processes of regeneration. The men’s individual responses to their transitions are also identified and described, from subjective and proactive perspectives. Changes in the men’s self perceptions and their changing relationships to authority, brought about by their shifting loci of control, are documented. Analysis of the stages most likely to be suitable for proactive intervention (as conscious or organised responses to the process), are indicated. Primary and secondary preconditions for successful transitions out of hierarchies are postulated. The men’s self-reflections illuminate experiences of uncertainty and clarity, confidence and exploration, compartmentalisation and synthesis. The role of an ‘inner voice’ (an unchanging core identity) and their changing relationship with these aspects of Self, is articulated as critical factors in the men’s ‘successful’ transitions. Integral to this research is the concept that the power of an individual’s experience can inform those who share a similar experience. Therefore applications of the research, and strategies to manage and facilitate transitions out of hierarchical environments, are suggested. This thesis is written in support of my hypothesis that transitions can be mapped; that they are journeys on several levels of personal and practical transformation; and that to proactively engage with transition processes requires not only an understanding of the stages of the process itself, but also an understanding that changes in self-perception and self-relationship will also occur for those undergoing them. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Project report (D. Min.)--George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, 2002. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-128).

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Though turnover researchers have called for a deeper understanding of the temporal and contextualized process of individual voluntary turnover, little empirical progress in this direction has been made. Adopting Price's (1977) dynamic conceptualization of turnover as moving from one social system to another, and drawing upon knowledge across organizational, social psychological and psychological domains, this exploratory thesis uses in-depth topical life histories to examine individual experiences with stay/leave decision processes in their construed context. / Findings challenge longstanding assumptions of linearity and continuity in turnover decision processes, as well as the conventional wisdom that utility-maximizing logic underlies these decisions. The data suggest that the pursuit of context-self congruence is a driving force in stay/leave decision processes, and that self-concept, emotions and psychological states may be under-studied influencers of these decisions. Results further uncover decision process characteristics previously rendered inaccessible to researchers, due to the predominant use of correlational studies in turnover research. These characteristics include: a) pivotal points of transition; b) the story lines that underlie influencing factors; c) the nature and role of context; and d) the consequences of engaging in these decision processes, for participants and for their workplaces, regardless of the outcome. / This idiographic study, using a purposive sample from a single population of Quebec physicians, is intended to provide turnover researchers with a starting point for cross-group retrospective and longitudinal comparisons. It also aims to stimulate hypothesis generation that accounts for time and the contextual conditions under which particular factors are likely to affect the turnover decision. From a practical viewpoint, this thesis begins to answer the call from Canadian and Quebec Health Care Human Resource specialists for a deeper understanding of the psychosocial aspects of Canadian healthcare worker turnover and retention (British Columbia Office of the Auditor General, 2004; Dubois & Dussault, 2002).

This thesis explores thoughts, observations and theoretical research associated with work-related career shifts, adult learning and education. In contemporary society, work-related values are changing. Workers need to be flexible, adaptive and in terms of skills, up-to-date. Since an individual may experience a variety of career shifts during the course of her working adult life, learning and education are essential. But how should work-related learning occur and what avenues are available for those who require it? Workplace learning occurs in many forms and settings, and since learning is a personal process, it is difficult to ascertain ideal learning situations for each employee. The purpose of this study was to reflect on and analyze the just-in-time learning experience of one individual who underwent a career shift in the high tech industry. This thesis recounts the learning journey of the author, a high school English teacher and graduate student, who embarked on a new career as an education consultant. It is a multifaceted and multidisciplinary narrative that explores three distinct areas: the narrative and personal observations central to the author's learning and work experience; theoretical perspectives relating to the contemporary workplace and adult learning; the characters, themes and metaphors from The Tempest that illuminate the author's learning journey. Principles of adult education and theory pertaining to workplace and other settings for learning, along with characters from The Tempest, are invoked to deepen the author's understanding of what occurred during her high tech adventure. The author highlights contradictions between corporate jargon and educational theory, and dwells on dilemmas problematic for protean workers and others destined for corporate education and training. Concepts relating to knowledge management, organizational learning and elearning are challenged in conjunction with issues of power and knowledge. Caught between the demands of the continuously changing corporate world and protected realm of academia, the narrator is forced to combat a storm. Her survival is testimony to her capacity to learn, adapt and rely on previous skills garnered from years as a graduate student and English teacher. Survival does not come easy—there are fumbles, frustrations, and follies along the way. This narrative provides a personal account of what it means to learn and work in the high tech industry. Although this is one person's story, the insights developed and theory invoked have utility that extends to other workers and settings.

This dissertation studied the work-life stories of seven graduates of teacher education programs who did not enter the teaching profession. The study's intent was to achieve an understanding of the social, cultural, historical, and personal factors that led to the decisions of fully qualified teachers to enter into work other than that for which they had been prepared. All participants were women who had graduated from teacher education programs in Canadian universities in the past twelve years but who had never held continuing teaching posts. Their current occupations included: daycare worker, university recruiter, receptionist, graduate student, realtor, computer helpdesk, and office manager. The interviewer and each participant met for single two-and-a-half-hour sessions that were recorded and later transcribed and analyzed using syntagmatic and paradigmatic analysis. These complementary methods of analysis examine a dialogic interview as if it is a complete story; with a starting point, markers of transition, a turning point, and a conclusion; along with symbols and other expressive motifs that fill in a story and help the teller illustrate his or her experience as it is being told. In addition, the concepts of secular vocation as formulated by Hansen (1995), and reality shock as described by Veenman (1987) and others were used as a foundation upon which to base the analysis. Analysis of participants' stories suggested that the desire to teach began in childhood and was described by participants as a `calling' or a `gift.' Family and related social influences appeared to reinforce and expand participants' sense of a desire to teach, as well as being helpful, or of service to others, that often accompanied this notion. Subsequent collapse of the vocation left participants with a feeling of loss, or of a calling not fulfilled. Analysis further indicated participants' decisions not to continue in the teaching profession were prompted by outside agents, including parents, spouses, and other significant persons. Although participants expressed disillusionment with teaching, often appearing before the end of one's teacher education program, in every case the decision to abandon teaching was not made until initiated by an outside agent. The discovery in the present project that this small group of individuals would narrate very similar stories about their journey into and out of the teaching profession is noteworthy. Although an analysis of the stories individuals tell about their occupational decision-making may not allow researchers to make the same generalized assumptions that a quantitative study might, it provides us with a rich understanding of the influences and backgrounds that gave rise to these decisions, and suggests a positive relationship between occupational identity and family, social, and cultural influences

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Paul Begley.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Montana, 2007. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed Aug. 14, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-131).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-199).