The purpose of this study was to examine how academic deans perceived the characteristics of facility built environment and its impact on learning in higher education. Q methodology was used as the means to explore the subjective opinions of academic deans within the State of Florida regarding the facility built environment’s impact on learning in higher education. For this Q study, the concourse statements were the result of communications taken from the subject literature and participant responses to this study’s online concourse questionnaire. The resulting 32 item Q sample was sorted online by 43 academic deans, associate and assistant deans. In completing the survey, the participants ranked statements representative of the characteristics of facility built environment according to their own beliefs and subjective opinions. From the resulting data and subsequent analysis, three distinct factors emerged that represented the collective opinions of this study’s participants. The emergent factors for this study were named Traditionalist – Focused on Functionality and Universal Rationality; Modernist – Technology Conscious Seeking Innovation and Flexibility; and Abstractionist – Contextual and Expressive.

This research project examines Presidential and Congressional attempts to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the United States government. It describes prior reform efforts and then focuses on President George W. Bush's management agenda.

Research on employee engagement revealed a positive correlation between employee engagement and positive business outcomes. Within a university setting, positive business outcomes can be measured and demonstrated through higher-than-benchmarked employee engagement, student engagement, and student retention. To effect these desired outcomes, the literature revealed the need for employees to work together; to be fully invested in their work; and to advance the university’s mission, vision, and core values towards positive student success outcomes. There is a full complement of research regarding employee engagement, student retention, and student engagement as specific topics within the literature. A deficiency in the literature existed concerning the correlation of these topics as one body of research. This study examined these interrelated topics within a large, private, not-for-profit research university setting. Principal components analysis and logistical regression were used to determine the relationship between student engagement and student retention, the relationship between employee engagement and student retention, and to determine if employee engagement and student engagement predict student retention. Study results suggested that student engagement alone was not a statistically significant factor in predicting retention at the research setting. However, employee engagement was associated with student retention at the university level. When analyzed together, both student engagement and employee engagement were revealed as a statistically significant predictor of student retention at the university level.

Advocacy and leadership style are essential concepts in education. This qualitative case study was undertaken to demonstrate how Robert K. Greenleaf’s servant-leadership framework could be a useful framework to adopt by educational leaders and child advocates. Servant-leadership identifies the needs of others as a primary goal of leadership. The study contributes to understanding the value of exemplary servant-leadership and advocacy in public education as demonstrated by David Lawrence Jr. The researcher addressed questions regarding how Lawrence embodies servant-leadership traits and explored how a servant-leader has been positively influencing early childhood public educational policy in Florida to benefit all children. There were 16 interviews conducted with individuals from four interest groups in Florida: business leaders, political leaders, local South Florida leaders and educational leaders. In addition, data were gathered by observing and interviewing Lawrence. His speeches and other archival documents were also analyzed. The findings illustrated the ten traits of the servant-leadership framework and identified five additional traits modeled by Lawrence that have contributed to his influence on public educational policy. A paradigm shift from authoritarian leadership to an authentic servant-leadership style that advocates for young children and promotes the importance of early childhood educational policy. The dichotomy examined throughout this research focused on servant-leadership and advocacy that is instrumental to make a difference in education as an educational leader navigates through political agendas. Lawrence leads a “Children’s Movement” in Florida that includes an ongoing bi-partisan individuals movement that has changed early childhood education in Florida. The findings of this investigation validate that servant-leadership framework could influence the transformation of public education.