Operating from Burrell and Morgan's (1979) Radical Humanist Paradigm and using Foster's (1986) conception of moral, transformative leadership as a theoretical framework, this dissertation presents three empirical studies that demonstrate the potential for social justice efforts and leadership. Guided by a critical grounded theory approach, the first study represents transformation of self in its analysis of critical consciousness development and praxis in White, privileged individuals. The second study provides an example of school transformation and presents a re-conceptualization of transformational leadership and professional learning communities as a guide for inclusive practices. The final study demonstrates the mutually beneficial components of community/school transformation and responds to critiques of social justice recently presented by the author (2014) and Capper and Young (2014) that social justice efforts in schools have not included transformation of community and the greater society. Furthermore, the article demonstrates the use of motivational theory (Maslow, 1943), originally aimed in educational leadership to increase efficiency, as a guiding principle for social justice and community transformation.

The pervasiveness of injustices is rooted in structures and ideology that reinforce and reinvent oppression; there is a need to engage in transformative change to dismantle systems of domination and subordination. Educational leadership is essential in the social transformation of educational settings and the wider society. In the collective responsibility for transformative change, educational leadership preparation programs serve as spaces to encourage the development of students’ capacity to address issues of oppression and create new power relations for social justice. Faculty play a role in preparation programs to enact teaching that uncover to power dynamics of oppression and domination for social emancipation. The purpose of this critical qualitative study was to understand how faculty in doctoral educational leadership preparation programs teach to encourage students’ capacity development to engage in transformative leadership. The guiding question for this study is: How do faculty engage in teaching to encourage students’ capacity development to understand and transform social oppression affecting education? Using an interview methodology, data is generated through relational interviewing using artifacts. The conceptual framework of critical pedagogy, transformative criticality, and transformative leadership development guides a sociocultural approach to the analysis of the data. There were four major findings: The participants (1) integrated critical frameworks into curriculum and pedagogical approaches, (2) established spaces in and outside of the formal classroom to engage students, (3) centered student-faculty relationships for support and collaboration, and (4) evoked students’ transformative activism through academic practice. This empirical study will contribute to the research on critical perspectives in educational leadership preparation programs with a focus on faculty teaching as an expression of transformative power.

School leadership has been an evolving topic over the past several decades, with research examining the impact of leadership on school performance, school culture, and other elements in this field. However, only a few studies have examined the construct of leadership in alternative schools, where these specialized sites often serve as mid-points between traditional schools and juvenile detention centers. Considering the evidence related to the displacement rates of minority students, particularly Black males, from traditional schools to alternative settings, these specialized sites are ideal for exploring practices that perhaps can redirect students in the school-to-prison pipeline, back towards their traditional settings or perhaps help to push students towards high school graduation. In this study, leadership is examined at two alternative schools operating in the southeast United States, in two different districts where documented disparities have been published in the media as well as federal complaints filed due to the excessive displacement of Black students from traditional school settings as a result of suspensions, expulsions and/or school-based arrests. According to the literature review, alternative schools have grown exponentially over the past decade across the nation, with many having disproportional numbers of minority students placed in these schools. Often these schools serve as sites for segregating disruptive students, and tend to focus greater attention on managing student behavior as opposed to driving student achievement. Utilizing feedback from local district and business leaders, the two alternative schools included in this study were targeted for this investigation due to their perceived success, related to school outcomes, graduation rates and low suspension/expulsion rates. This study, through the collection of data using participant interviews, constructs portraits of each school principal and their enactment of leadership at each alternative setting. In this study, leadership is examined at two alternative schools operating in the southeast United States, in two different districts where documented disparities have been published in the media as well as federal complaints filed due to the excessive displacement of Black students from traditional school settings as a result of suspensions, expulsions and/or school-based arrests. According to the literature review, alternative schools have grown exponentially over the past decade across the nation, with many having disproportional numbers of minority students placed in these schools. Often these schools serve as sites for segregating disruptive students, and tend to focus greater attention on managing student behavior as opposed to driving student achievement. Utilizing feedback from local district and business leaders, the two alternative schools included in this study were targeted for this investigation due to their perceived success, related to school outcomes, graduation rates and low suspension/expulsion rates. This study, through the collection of data using participant interviews, constructs portraits

The aim of this study is to investigate leadership in sports organizations and business organizations. The study focused on common and important leadership components and the most important leadership processes in both business context and sports context. The study also investigated common and important leadership components, leadership challenges and which degree leaders used the transformative leadership. The study focuses on leadership components most importantly from the leaders view, including both sport managers and business leaders. The investigation was based on eight interviews, which are analyzed with content analysis. The theoretical frame of this study is based on a literature analysis of the most common findings in the field of leadership studies over the past decade. The findings show that the (1) most frequent leadership components are social skills, coaching skills and strategic skills, (2) that a great part of the leadership components included in the transformative leadership is a part of the interviewed leaders leadership and (3) that the most important leadership skills for sport managers is communication and being distinct, and for the business leaders feedback and communication. The findings also showed that business managers and sport managers had much in common regarding leadership, even though the study displayed some differences.

Denna enkätstudie undersökte anställdas skattning av sin ledares transformativa egenskaper. Frågeställningarna behandlade samband mellan skattade transformativa egenskaper hos ledaren och respondentens samt ledarens kön, ålder och utbildning. Även förekomsten av skilda skattningar inom privat samt offentlig sektor studerades. Transformativt ledarskap mättes med MLQ X5, utvecklat av Avolio och Bass 2002, översatt till svenska. Reliabilitet och validitet hos MLQ X5 kontrollerades. Signifikanta samband erhölls mellan ledarens utbildning i ledarskap, respondentens högsta utbildningsnivå och respondentens skattning av ledarens transformativa beteende. Inga samband erhölls mellan ålder, kön, privat eller offentlig sektor och skattning av ledarens transformativa beteende. En slutsats är att respondentens utbildningsnivå och ledarens kunskap om ledarskap påverkar anställdas uppfattning om ledarens transformativa beteende. / This survey examined employees’ estimates of their leader's transformative behavior. The research questions addressed the relationship between estimated transformative characteristics of the leader and the respondent's and leader's gender, age and education. The existence of separate estimates in the private and public sectors was also studied. Transformative leadership was measured with MLQ X5, developed by Avolio and Bass 2002, translated into Swedish. Reliability and validity of MLQ X5 was checked. Significant association was obtained between the leader’s education in leadership, the respondent's highest level of education and the respondent's rating of the leader's transformative behavior. No relationship was obtained between age, sex, private or public sector and rating of the leader's transformative behavior. One conclusion is that the respondent's education level and the leader's knowledge of leadership affect employee perceptions of the leader's transformative behavior.

abstract: High schools throughout the country posit leadership as one of the characteristics they develop while students are with them. All too often though, this leadership development is limited to those in title positions of leadership or is only accomplished through informal training mechanisms. The challenge for educators is to develop leadership that can critically address community problems, a challenge that is made more difficult in a broader social environment that is becoming politically, economically, and racially more polarized. This action research study investigated how high school students understand transformative leadership as one way to address this problem. Using a hermeneutic orientation, this qualitative study investigated high school students’ (N = 8) understanding of transformative leadership. Situated within a leadership class open to any 11th or 12th grader, participants engaged with a community-based, service-learning project as a method to enact their leadership in a meaningful way. The use of Catholic Social Teaching as a way to frame the service-learning project allowed for a direct connection with the school’s Catholic identity and mission. Data sources included reflection journals, interviews, focus groups, and a researcher observation journal. Findings from the study suggest that high school students understand and enact transformative leadership through participation in a service-learning project. Participants understood transformative leadership to different extents, indicating that transformative leadership develops in different stages. These results, along with implications for future research, are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2016

Syftet med studien är att fånga ledarens upplevelser och utmaningar kopplat till deras ledarskap och kommunikationen under pandemin. Studien bidrar med kunskap om hur olika ledares ledarskap och kommunikation har påverkats av pandemin, för att sedan dra lärdomar från det till framtida kriser. Det går tydligt att se utifrån resultatet i studien att ledarna har stött på utmaningar under pandemin i kommunikationen med medarbetarna som har tvingat ledarna att förändra sitt ledarskap och sättet de kommunicerar på med medarbetarna. Studien består av sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer med ledande positioner inom offentlig sektor i Sverige. Intervjuerna har sedan transkriberats och analyserats utifrån ledarskaps och kommunikationsteorier. Respondenternas svar visar att de upplever att de i egenskap av ledare har tappat delar av den fysiska och sociala kontakten med medarbetarna men upplever samtidigt att de har blivit mer tillgängliga och att mötena har blivit effektivare. Respondenterna har förändrat sitt ledarskap och kommunikation till följd av pandemin. Det går att utläsa då respondenternas ledarskap och kommunikation har förändrats genom att de har blivit mer tydliga och raka gentemot medarbetarna som en konsekvens av pandemin. / The purpose of the study is to capture the leader's experiences and challenges linked to their leadership and communication during the pandemic. The study will contribute knowledge about how different leaders' leadership and communication have been affected by the pandemic, and then draw lessons from it for future crises. It is clear from the results of the study that the leaders have encountered challenges during the pandemic in communication with the employees which has forced the leaders to change their leadership and the way they communicate with the employees. The study consists of six semi-structured interviews with people with leading positions in the public sector in Sweden. The interviews have since been transcribed and analyzed based on leadership and communication theories. The respondents' answers show that they, as leaders, have lost parts of the physical and social contact with the employees, but at the same time feel that they have become more accessible and that the meetings have become more efficient. The respondents have changed their leadership and communication as a result of the pandemic. This can be read as the respondents' leadership and communication have changed as they have become clearer and more direct towards the employees as a consequence of the pandemic.

The purpose of the study is to analyze the challenges of coaching leadership in practice, by examining middle managers’ perceptions of their leadership. The study analyzes the challenges based on Habermas’ (1995) communication theory, Krams’ (1983) theory of mentor relationships, but also Sobel and Holms’ (2019) description of coaching as leadership. Coaching as leadership results from the transformative leadership, specifically from the content "inspirational motivation" where the leader and the manager are in focus when it comes to being a good role model. The study is a qualitative survey based on semi-structured interviews where the respondents are managers closest to the employees, often referred to as supervisors. The respondents were selected on the basis of a goal-directed sample where these came to be relevant for the research questions that were developed and for the implementation of the study. Six interviews were conducted and then analyzed with a thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke (2006). When transcribing all the interviews, both main and sub-themes emerged, which were then analyzed and discussed between both of us authors. The choice of analysis method was based on the transcriptions contribution to creating a clear structure and thus facilitating the analysis of the material. The results showed that coaching leadership as it is theoretically described did not always correspond with the respondents' perceptions of their leadership. During the interviews, it was discovered that much of the leadership in the various organizations was situational with challenges that mainly revolved around communication, time and contextual factors. / <p>Godkänt 2022-06-15.</p>

Denna studie syftar till att belysa medarbetarnas värderingar under organisationsförändringar och därigenom få förståelse för hur Generation Z skiljer sig från tidigare generationer. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka och jämföra värderingar av ledarskap mellan Generation Z och tidigare generationer vid organisationsförändringar. Studien söker svar på vilka aspekter av ledarskap Generation Z och tidigare generationer värderar vid organisationsförändringar och om dessa värderingar skiljer sig mellan generationerna.   Undersökningen grundas på en kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie där data samlats in genom enkäter. Enkäterna har skickats ut via sociala plattformar och har sammanlagt 137 respondenter som alla förvärvsarbetar fördelat på fyra generationer. Mätverktyget är en omarbetad form av “Developmental Leadership Questionnaire" (DQL) av Gerry Larsson. Datan har analyserats med hjälp av medelvärdesanalys, T-test och en envägs ANOVA (variansanalys) med tillhörande post-hoc-test.  Studiens resultat tyder på att det finns statistiskt signifikanta skillnader i vad generationerna värderar för ledarskap vid organisationsförändringar. Resultatet visar på en statistiskt signifikant skillnad där Generation Z generellt sett värderar de transaktionella ledarskapet aspekterna högre än övriga generationer. Resultatet visar att samtliga generationer motsätter sig aspekterna för icke-ledarskapet. Jämfört med tidigare generationerna visar resultatet att Generation Z har ett högre intresse av att vara delaktig vid organisationsförändringar, samtidigt som de värderar att känna ansvar för enhetens mål lägre jämfört med övriga generationerna.   Studien konstaterar att Generation Z skiljer sig från tidigare generationer i ett flertal aspekter men i större utsträckning gentemot Generation X än Millennials. Studiens resultat indikerar att det blir allt viktigare för arbetsgivare att anpassa sitt ledarskap, där generationernas unika drag kan vara en god utgångspunkt. / This study aims to shed light on employees' values during organizational changes and thereby gain an understanding of how Generation Z differs from previous generations. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare leadership values between Generation Z and previous generations during organizational changes. The study seeks answers regarding which aspects of leadership Generation Z and previous generations value during organizational changes and whether these values differ between the generations. The research is based on a quantitative cross-sectional study where data was collected through surveys. The surveys were distributed via social platforms and a total of 137 respondents, all of whom are employed, participated, representing four generations. The measurement tool used is a modified version of Gerry Larsson's "Developmental Leadership Questionnaire" (DQL). The data was analyzed using mean analysis, t-tests, and one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) with accompanying post-hoc tests. The results of the study indicate that there are statistically significant differences in what the generations value in leadership during organizational changes. The results show a statistically significant difference where Generation Z generally values transactional leadership aspects higher than the other generations. The results also indicate that all generations oppose the aspects of non-leadership. Compared to previous generations, the results show that Generation Z has a higher interest in being involved in organizational changes while valuing a sense of responsibility for unit goals lower compared to the other generations. The study concludes that Generation Z differs from previous generations in several aspects, but to a greater extent compared to Generation X than Millennials. The results of the study indicate that it is increasingly important for employers to adapt their leadership, where the unique characteristics of the generations can be a good starting point.

Thesis advisor: Rebecca Lowenhaupt / Critical Consciousness (CC) refers to a critical theory that recognizes oppressive systems and provides those oppressed with a framework to overcome and act against these structures. Although the theory’s origin addressed illiterate adults and empowered them to become critically aware, critically reflective, and active agents of change, researchers have applied this theory to marginalized students in school and other oppressed communities. This study focused on the development of white school leaders as active anti-racist leaders using critical consciousness as a framework for this growth. Exploring white school leaders as transformative leaders - ones who become aware of their whiteness and leverage their positions to address inequities in the face of opposition - may provide a blueprint for other white school leaders. This study lends to the current research because few studies exist on critical consciousness development in white school leaders, the specific leadership strategies they employ, and the seeming effectiveness to foster critical consciousness in their schools. Ultimately, this study explored the development of critical consciousness and the leadership practices white leaders utilized to develop critical consciousness and to nurture active anti-racist educators as a praxis against inequities and oppression. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.