Teacher retention is a growing issue that plagues schools across America (Grissom, 2011). Consequently, urban high poverty, high minority schools face even greater challenges as they expect to lose approximately 50% of their teachers within their first five years on the job. According to Grissom (2011), school working conditions explain both teacher turnover and teacher satisfaction, and principal effectiveness has a significant positive impact on teacher retention, especially in disadvantaged schools. The purpose of this study was to examine leadership practices teachers and principals perceive to influence teacher retention in urban, high- poverty, high- minority schools. A basic qualitative research design was employed to gain an in-depth understanding of teachers' and principals' perceptions of how school climate and culture, instructional leadership, school mission and vision, and teacher development impact teacher retention in urban, hard- to- staff schools. Data collection included individual and focus group interview data from five principals and 17 teachers with longevity in urban, high-poverty, high-minority schools in Southeastern Virginia. An analysis of the data indicated that administrative support, principal-teacher relationships, shared leadership, clear expectations and instructional leadership are essential to teacher retention in urban, hard-to-staff schools. The results of this study may impact the recruitment and development of school leaders by both districts and school leadership programs. / Ed. D.

This study looks at Open Innovation in Research and Development projects and explores the nature of collaboration and leadership characteristics. Thereby perspectives of both industrial and academic partners are considered, focusing primarily on the project level of the collaboration. It is based on the understanding that leadership plays a crucial role in bringing the partners successfully together, based on the prior understanding that academia and industry are potentially different in the nature, objectives and working dynamics of research and development.   This thesis begins with examining the existing literature on the concept of Open Innovation, including benefits and drawbacks of such projects. This leads to uncovering the managerial challenges that such projects encounter which can be mitigated by effective leadership. For this reason, relevant theories on leadership are explored, especially focusing on leadership in R&D contexts, as these kind of projects have special requirements from leaders that differ from traditional projects.  This research is qualitative in nature and takes an abductive approach to theory. 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted, consulting with heads of R&D departments from industrial companies, professors in charge of research labs at universities and representatives from intermediary organisations. The study is exploratory and cross-sectional in nature, as open innovation collaborations in Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands were in the centre of attention. The process of analysis implied the use of a template analysis, which provided the researchers with enough flexibility to code, categorize, and interpret necessary findings. The results show that the nature of Open Innovation collaborations differs from case to case, from mere contractual relationships to collaborative partnerships with a high level of interaction on a daily basis. The key motive for both partners is finance-based, as the universities gain access to funding and the company can save on research expenses. Additionally, companies benefit from access to academic expertise and from potential governmental funding.  Further, there is not a single leader in an industry-university collaboration, rather each entity has a leader of their own and collaborative working is fostered by them. It is deduced that no single leadership theory fits best in the operational level of R&D open innovation functioning, rather it is a mixture of a few popular theories which were predominant in collaborative relationships. The characteristics of leaders in open innovation were deduced and autonomy, communication and joint problem-solving have a prominent role in furthering the R&D collaborative relationship. As a result, a connection between leadership and Open Innovation collaborations was explored.

Significant costs are associated with the turnover rate of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and turnover impacts the quality of care for residents of the SNFs through disruption of care. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to identify the leadership characteristics of supervisors most associated with the job satisfaction (JS) of CNAs in SNFs. Herzberg's dual factor theory was used as the theoretical framework to explain the relationship between the leadership characteristics and the associated JS. The research question was used to examine the independent variables of trust, teamwork, supportive supervision, leader-follower relationships, and empowerment of supervisors in SNFs that help predict the dependent variable, JS of CNAs. A random sampling of the population of CNAs from 120-bed SNFs located in Florida completed online surveys that included the Organizational Trust Inventory, the Conditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire II, and the Benjamin Rose Nurse Assistant Job Satisfaction Scale. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze data to determine the effects of the leadership characteristics on the JS of CNAs in SNFs. Results indicated that the increased levels of trust negatively impact the JS of the CNAs, whereas increased levels of empowerment increase JS. Implementing strategies to address the needs of CNAs positively impacts society by improving the lives of the workers and increasing CNA retention, thus improving the lives of vulnerable members of society through enhanced quality of care.

This study has had the purpose to explore, identify and develop a greater understanding of how females construct their identity as leaders. The focus of this study has been on eight female leaders with sufficient profession, knowledge and experience within male-dominated small and medium enterprises in Sweden and the Netherlands, where a comparison has been made between them. A qualitative study has been conducted where the focus has been on the abductive research approach. Together with this, semi-structured interviews have been used in order to arrive at the final research result. With careful consideration of research methods, ethical aspects, research quality and other essential aspects within the research, the study may thus be classified as credible with a high degree of validity. Nevertheless, the result of the study may not be generalized for the entire population, but since the selected participants are considered to possess sufficient knowledge and profession, their perceptions are considered essential and trustworthy in the research of female leadership and identity. After the collection of theoretical and empirical material regarding the notions of female leadership and identity, the results showed that aspects such as characteristics, adaptation, culture and obstacles within male-dominated industries had an (conscious and/or unconscious) influence on how the females construct their identity as leaders. The empirical results showed that a lot of aspects differ individually, and not nationality. In addition, we hope that this research will contribute to further interest in examining female leadership and identity. We believe that if a leader is aware of aspects that might influence the leadership and consequently, the identity, it might create a better leadership in general which may have an essential impact on the individual herself, the organization and the society overall.

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As the focal point of the school, the principal’s leadership is integral to its effective functioning. This study used a self-assessment to analyze the self-identified strengths of principals in Islamic schools within the five most populated states in the United States (which also have the largest number of mosques) and the commonalities in those strengths based on (a) the enrollment of the school; (b) year school was established; (c) the gender of the principal; (d) the principal’s professional preparation, e.g., degree in education vs. other fields and years of experience; and (e) geographic location. While only a small amount of statistical significance was evident (p < .05) in exploring the differences between groups, several conclusions were made. In analyzing the strengths of the principals, the least selected strength was Significance and the most was Analytical, which had the highest proportion of affirmatively responding principals as compared to any of the other strengths. Additionally, the relationship between principal strength and school enrollment resulted in for the strengths of Command and Developer at a significance level that was less stringent than the p = .002 dictated by the study; principals at schools that have a student enrollment of 151-200 ranked Command higher as compared to principals in schools of other sizes, whereas those with an enrollment of 150 or fewer students ranked Developer as a more preferred strength. In addressing principal strengths and gender, the results showcased males ranking Self-assuredness as their preferred trait more frequently than their female counterparts, who preferred Futuristic. Furthermore, the relationship of principal strengths and area of education resulted in the strengths of Activator, Maximizer, and Positivity as being iv ranked higher for principals who had a degree in education at the p = .05 level. The strengths of Empathy, Harmony, and Responsibility (p < .05) and Deliberative (p < .01) were ranked higher by principals who did not have a degree in education. Also, based on the average rankings of principal strengths, Achiever indicated the strongest association for principals with a degree in education and Deliberative for principals who did not. The results of the mean ranking of the strengths among principals of differing years of experience resulted in the ranking of Focus and Includer at higher levels for principals with 3-6 years of experience (p < .01). Furthermore, the average rankings showcased the strength of Achiever as the most strongly rated for principals with less than 3 years of experience, Focus for principals with 3-6 years of experience, and Analytical for principals with more than 6 years. Examination of principal strengths based on geographic location was conducted descriptively due to small group sizes. Among the five states of focus, average rankings of strengths indicated that Deliberative was the most preferred among California principals, Includer among Florida principals, Activator among Illinois respondents, Command among New York principals, and Analytical in Texas.

Studien har som syfte att undersöka hur framgångsrika ledare framställs idag och till vilken utsträckning samt i vilka situationer de brukar ett auktoritärt ledarskap. För att uppfylla studiens syfte har dagsaktuella ledarskapstrender samt fiktiva ledare i aktuell populärkultur analyserats genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet visar att vissa egenskaper är gemensamma hos framgångsrika ledare i såväl trender som hos fiktiva ledare. Det råder delade meningar samt avsaknad av en nyanserad förklaring av vad som är ett auktoritärt ledarskap. Genom att sätta ihop en samlad bild av ett auktoritärt ledarskap går det att urskilja hur vissa situationer efterfrågar och förväntar ett auktoritärt ledarskap. / The purpose of this study is to examine how successful leaders are portrayed today and to what extent as well in which situations they practice authoritarian leadership. To fulfill the purpose of the study have current leadership trends and fictitious leaders in recent popular culture been analyzed through a qualitative content analysis. The results indicate that some characteristics are mutual for successful leaders in trends as well as fictitious leaders. There is a disagreement and a lack of nuanced definition of an authoritarian leadership. Creating a collective definition of an authoritarian leadership makes it possible to discern how certain situations demand and expect authoritarian leadership.