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UMUC - European Division - Mason G Daly - Farewell speech for Col. and Mrs. Parsons - January 12 1967 - Heidelberg
No full textEurope;Hoffmann, RosemaryDr. Mason G. Daly
Director
University of Maryland
European Division
12 January 1967
Casino
Hq . USAREUR
Heidelberg, Germany
Farewell speech for Col. & Mrs. Parsons
This is another one of those gatherings to say good-bye to departing rats. There is a variation in this case because these rats, the Parsons, will soon return. That is why the words on the cake are so appropriate -"Aufwiedersehen" literally means "until we see you again."
In the inevitable tradition of Maryland departures you must now be subjected to singing. This remarkable trio is not called the Kingston Trio, nor are they Peter Paul and Mary. Rather, we have finally hit upon the right name for them. The name is especially fit on this occasion because Colonel Parsons is a veteran of World War I. The trio is henceforth referred to as "Poison Gas."
Logistics and security
Maryland, my Maryland
How to advance and how to flee
Maryland, my Maryland
No one's taught so much History
About and to the milit'ry
With half as much gentility for
Maryland, my Maryland.
The very place where you'd begun
Maryland, my Maryland
You marched the Dean around Verdun
Maryland, my Maryland
You drew your war maps by the ton
Showed every man and every gun
But you left out Dean's house of fun.
Maryland, my Maryland.
The Colonel taught our military men
Maryland, my Maryland
Who now know how and why and when
Maryland, my Maryland
The wars that Alexander won
And Hannibal, Napoleon
Were fought to make the others run.
Maryland, my Maryland.
Let's all sing out our praises here.
Maryland, my Maryland
To a gentleman and a cavalier
Maryland, my Maryland
We wish good fortune, health and cheer
The health is free, the wealth's too dear
To our Gentleman and Cavalier.
Maryland, my Maryland.
This man retired from the U.S. Army on 31 August 1954 after 37 years of service. The retirement statement included the three words -"fit for duty.” It was Maryland's good fortune to prove that he was, indeed, fit for duty. He applied to teach for us on 10 December 1954. He began teaching in January of 1955 on a "Daly interim clearance." His first class was, appropriately, at Verdun. There were 28 students and 27 completed.
I have proof here that Colonel Parsons learned very soon what the University of Maryland in Europe was, and we just as quickly learned about him. From that first report that he sent in to our office concerning that first class I have selected two items
1. He wrote that he was having some difficulty because half of the class had the 1950 edition of the text and half had the 1954 edition.
2. He went on to state
"There was much conflict of military duties with class attendance. I insisted that absences be made up. It was impossible to get the absentees together at one time. For the most part, make-up classes were given to single individuals whenever I could corral them and wherever I could find an unoccupied space. As a result I estimate that I gave the course at least six times!"
A quick count in his file shows us that the Colonel taught 73 classes in his years with us. If you multiply that by six you have 438 classes taught!
There was a letter from Colonel Parsons to Daly dated May 1956 which tells us something about our association:
"Mrs. Parsons joined me last Friday and will spend the last two weeks of the course in England. The schedule prevents my seeing her except on Saturday afternoon and Sunday but she is entranced with England, now at its best, and I have arranged a schedule which I am sure will give her great pleasure. This was by way of celebration over the new contract."
(It was during that month of May 1956 that Colonel Parsons ceased to be a free-lance part-timer and joined the faculty as a fulltimer.)
There is another typical Maryland letter addressed to this good faculty member, dated September 1958. It was written by Ernest Hofer and it was assigning the Colonel to Verona. It said:
"I believe you board the train at 10 in the evening and get off at 6 in the morning which will give you a whole day to draw maps on the blackboard at Verona."
In February 1957 there is proof in the file that there were administrators in this division who shared Mrs. Parsons' concern about the Colonel’s conscientious qualities and his health. On that occasion Daly wrote to Colonel Parsons saying:
"I sincerely hope that you will consider making this as easy as possible for yourself. I realize that such a split is never easy (Wurzburg and Darmstadt), but I think you sometimes do overdo things in your conscientious treatment of the individual student. Remember that we do not want you to knock, yourself out. We want you to carry out your mission and still have the strength to go on to the next mission. I am very sure there is no teacher in the entire overseas set-up who works as hard or as conscientiously or as far beyond the call of duty.”
It is inevitable, Mrs. Parsons, that you will have to place this rather "schmaltzie” Heidelberg mug in a prominent place in your apartment because you have chosen to live in our midst. The mug simply states - "In Appreciation to Colonel and Mrs. Parsons, 1955/1967."
And now, because we know he doesn't have any, we are inevitably presenting Colonel Parsons with a map. It is a special geographic map of the Champagne area of France. An area known so well by the Colonel. An area about which he is no doubt the most informed man alive. The map claims in Latin to show the so-called toll districts of this part of France "accurately and clearly", published by Johan Baptist Homann, his Imperial Majesty's hereditary geographer, of Nurnberg. And the map dates back to 1720.
Finally I have noted that, at the time the Colonel retired, a General Ford wrote what, in most parts, was a rather typical letter of appreciation. General Ford did, however, capture the right phrase when he said for the Army then, and for Maryland now, that those who know the Colonel have a "high regard for your humanity and fellowship.
Winning through conflict: Successful management of multiple goals in the online education environment
No full textAbstract: People often have multiple goals, and pursuing them at the same time creates a sense of inter-goal conflict, which is detrimental for successful goal pursuit. For example, majority of adult learners balance multiple important goals (such as successful career, family), while simultaneously trying to achieve their academic goals (getting a degree). In this project, the researcher assesses the impact of multiple goal conflict on behavior of online students, such as decisions about course load, difficulty of course taken, self-reported level of goal conflict, progress towards the online degree and success in goal pursuit (GPA and graduation). The research discusses the implications of multiple goal conflict management as it relates to online education, students’ academic success and retention.Successful Management of Multiple Goals in the Online Education Environment Anna Seferian UMUC
Anastasiya Pocheptsova UMD WARM -UP Goals compete for people’s time, energy, and money.
Emmons & King 1988; Fishbach & Ferguson 2007;
Kruglanski et al 2002; Louro et al. 2007
Can create a sense of conflict.
Most people have multiple goals that they wish to pursue at any given time (Dhar & Fishbach, 2005).
Consequences of goal conflict - negative affect, physical symptomatology, complete disengagement from goals pursuit (Emmons & King, 1988; Garland, 1982; Matsui, Okada, & Mizuguchi, 1981; McKeeman & Karoly, 1991; Riediger & Freund, 2004).
Goal Balancing (Dhar & Simonson, 1999; Kivetz & Simonson, 2002; Fishbach & Dhar, 2005; Huber, Goldsmith & Mogilner, 2008)
Explore the antecedents of employing a goal balancing strategy in the domain of online education
Goal Conflict Literature
Stage 1: In- Depth interviews with Master’s students (HR, PR, HC, Non-profit) in several online classes
The interviews were conducted via Wimba
Participants took 1-3 online classes a semester and were at different stages in their degrees
Purpose: understand how students balance education goals with outside responsibilities, and whether they had difficulty assessing themselves relative to classmates.
Two study research project
Students were highly motivated to finish their degree and felt more committed toward their education as they approached graduation.
In addition to education goals, participants balanced professional goals with personal responsibilities; family
Resolving goal conflict – feeling stressed in balancing goals; different approaches
Time allocation is a major challenge.
Goal misdirection
Findings Study 1
Random sample of 300 students in master’s program of UMUC
2008 Fall – 2012 Spring
36 credits required for graduation (~2 years with 2 classes per semester, 3 semesters per year)
What we know:
Number of credits (enrolled and completed)
Grades/ GPA
Age: 22-64
Gender: male = 122, female = 167, unknown =11
Marital status: single = 91, married = 51, separated = 6, unknown = 152
Program completion within 4 years
Study 2
From Study 1: multiple goal pursuit is challenging, and most of our students don’t have clear strategies as to how to cope with it
One of the challenges is how one defines “success” in this context?
GPA?
Number of credits taken (acceleration to graduation)
Interaction of these two factors (perhaps in a step-wise fashion)
How do people learn in this complicated context? Can we identify students with better multiple goals strategies?
Research Questions
76 of 300 students (25.33%) successfully completed the program
Does performance of the first semester predict successful completion of the program?
Completion = b0 + b0 GPA1 + b2 Enrolled Credit1 + b3 Completed Credit1
χ2 (3) = 35.808, p < .001
Effect of GPA (b = .935, Wald = 11.843, p = .001)
Effect of number of completed credits (b = .639, Wald = 3.075, p = .08)
Interaction between gender and GPA (b = 1.196, Wald = 5.158, p < .05)
GPA only predicts completion for female students
1. Completion of the Program
Proxy for motivation
Influence of prior enrollment on current course load
Enrolled Credit t = b0 + b1 GPA t-1 + b2 Enrolled Credit t-1 + b3 Completed Credit t-1 + b4 Cumulative GPA t-1 + b5 Cumulative Credit t-1+ interactions
(R2 = .297, F (5, 1028) = 87.013, p < 0.001)
Effect of Enrolled Credit t-1 (b = .447, t = 6.882, p < .001)
Effect of Completed Credit t-1 (b = .109, t = 1.714, p = .087)
No Effect of Cumulative Credit t-1 (no learning or speeding up at the end of the goal)
Negative effect of Cumulative GPA t-1 (b = -.253, t = -1.887, p = .059)
2. Enrolled Credit at Each Semester
Proxy for success rate
Influence of prior performance and number of enrolled credits on GPA
GPA t = b0 + b1 GPA t-1 + b2 Enrolled Credit t-1 + b3 Completed Credit t-1 + b4 Cumulative GPA t-1 + b5 Cumulative Credit t-1 + b6 Enrolled Credit t +interactions
(R2 = 0.179, F (6, 954) = 34.643, p < 0.001)
Effect of Cumulative GPA t-1 (b = .469, t = 7.222, p < .001)
Negative Effect of Enrolled credit t (b = - .057, t = - 3.765, p < .001)
Interaction
3. GPA at Each Semester
GPA at Each Semester
Cumulative GPA t-1 × Enrolled Credit t (p < .05)
Motivation: Number of enrolled credits is affected by cumulative GPA: “Bad” students enroll in more classes than “good” students
No effect of the stage in program suggests no learning occurs
Success: “Bad” students are also more negatively affected by the number of enrolled credits than are good students, so they should really benefit from learning!
Summary
The importance of the first semester is hard to overestimate. Performance in the first semester can be a predictor of successful program completion.
Need for proper advising
High number of credits in prior semester leads high number of credits in the following semester. This is even more pronounced further in the programs. However, prior GPA does not affect enrollment choices for the next semester. Students do not adjust their behavior after unsuccessful performance i.e. they do not reduce their load.
Special outreach to encourage the adjusting the behavior
Recent change of policy is along the same lines
Implications
Goal highlight or goal balance
More resources and support to assist in goal balancing for our students.
Students who are underperforming are more likely to choose focusing on one goal vs. balancing.
Implications 2 Thank you!
Thank you to Jay Liebowitz for
coordinating and administering Faculty Research Gran
The effect of post-laboratory discussions on student understanding and content retention in entry-level biology courses
No full textAn important part of the science process is sharing and discussing experimental results and
approacheswith peers. Validation of knowledge by experiment replication (each student performing
the sameexperiment, then sharing their results) and the opportunity to evaluate the experimental
approach applied by others is important according to Domin (2009), which could be achieved through
post-lab discussions in the online classroom. Hammond and Moring (2007) listed post-lab discussions
as an important component in an active, inquiry-driven approach to science laboratory education, and
peer-review introduces students to the nature of science according to Trautman (2009). However, such
post-lab peer interactions have not yet been systematically tested in the onlineclassroom until now.
Domin (2009) suggested that “open-inquiry instruction” is more suitable for older or more experienced
students in regards to the delivery of science content. Many of UMUC’s students are older and bring a
significant amount of life experiences into the classroom so we believe the addition of more “open
inquiry” instruction could be beneficial to our students. In addition, several recent studies address the
effect of pre-lab activities on student understanding of concepts and achievement of course outcomes
(Jones and Edwards, 2010; Gregory and Di Trapani, 2012), but we were unable to locate studies that
directly measure the effectiveness of post-lab discussions. We hypothesized that entry-level biology
students, who participated in post-lab discussions, would perform significantly better on a
standardized assessment than their peers, who did not participate in such post-lab dialogues
[UNAVAILABLE] Developing a model corporate intelligence program and assessing its utility and potential for integration within UMUC
No full textTHIS WEBCAST IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE VIA THE LINK.
Abstract: The research project seeks to identify and define the salient characteristics of a "corporate intelligence program", provide a functional differentiation and typology for the various activities that are considered "intelligence" by the private sector, and provide a generic model of a corporate intelligence. Using the Megacommunity concept, it is anticipated that both the model and the process of developing it will be fully integrated within the INMS courses, thereby partially addressing current curriculum needs
Does Pennsylvania sedge inhibit tree regeneration?: Applied research for a general biology assignment on the scientific method
No full textScientific literacy is an integral component of a well-rounded undergraduate education. Hypothesis testing and data analysis are two critical skills students should attain in general education science courses. I used field data from a research project in forest ecology to design an assignment for general biology classes that gives students practical experience in the scientific method, as well as engagement in a real-world ecological problem. The concern is whether the recent expansion of a perennial ground species, Pennsylvania sedge, inhibits the regeneration of tree species that dominate old-growth forests in the Upper Midwest. This is important because Penn sedge may cause these mature forests to decline from lack of reproduction, and it may also decrease the biodiversity of the ground cover. To date the evidence regarding the impact of the sedge on tree growth and biodiversity is inconclusive. In recent years I have established several large permanent plots in regional forests. A study area with patches of sedge cover was chosen to gather data for the students to test hypotheses that sedge deters tree reproduction and decreases biodiversity.Does Pennsylvania Sedge Inhibit Tree Regeneration? – Applied Research for a General Biology Assignment on the Scientific Method
Dennis A Riege
University of Maryland University College
Long term research program in 5 mature white pine-hardwood forests in Upper Midwest
Penn sedge (Carex pensylvanica) mat
deer herbivory – probable indirect cause of sedge
Penn sedge patch in Trout Lake Point woods
Hypotheses
A – Pennsylvania sedge inhibits regeneration
of white pine
B – Pennsylvania sedge inhibits regeneration
of sugar maple
C – Pennsylvania sedge decreases biodiversity
Fig. 1. Transect line entering Penn sedge patch
Fig. 2. Sample quadrat of 2 x 2 meters
Excel spreadsheet for Assignment (189 quadrats)
Student Assignment
analyze data with tables and/or graphs
make conclusions on hypotheses A, B, C
discuss factors other than sedge that might affect results
build on results by generating a new hypothesis
Student Performance
~80% - very good understanding and report
~20% - off target in analysis or comprehension
example of good student graph
example of good student table
common error – totals per category rather than means per quadrat
example of unclear graph
Happy Testimonial
Dr. Riege,
I would have sent this earlier but I wanted to wait till after the grades were posted so as not to appear that I was sending this to help my grade. I really enjoyed your Bio 101 class this semester and the way that you incorporated your own work to give us "real world" experiments to work on was fantastic. I have always done well in science but because of your class it has inspired me to pursue the natural sciences.
Negative Testimonial
Sorry, to me, the assignment was very confusing and not appropriate for this class. The instructions weren’t clear for someone who hasn’t done anything close to this assignment.
(in anonymous feedback conference Week 7, should post earlier)
EVALUATION OF BIOLOGY IN THE REAL WORLD ASSIGNMENT
I would like your feedback on this new assignment. Please be frank - I will not read the comments until after I have given course grades. To ensure anonymity, I will print out your responses and mix them up so I will not know who wrote what. Thanks! Dennis Riege
1. Did the assignment help you understand the practical application of the scientific method? 11 yes 3 no
2. Did it seem to be an appropriate assignment for an introduction to biology course?
3. What suggestions do you have to improve the assignment?
4. Do you recommend that the assignment continue to be given in BIOL 101/103 courses? 10 yes 4 no
5. Any other comments?
Suggestions for improvement
give assignment early in course with study of scientific method, allows more feedback to students
add more photographs of site and methods
revise the hints for analysis in the assignment instructions to avoid common graphing errors
examine other data sets with better spread of % sedge distribution
Assignment under consideration for BIOL 101/103
PublicationsData collected will contribute to papers from the long-term project
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSDeb McLaughlin - Academic Director Natural SciencesJay Liebowitz – Faculty Research GrantHuron Mountain Wildlife Foundation Dairymen’s Club FoundationUniv. Wisconsin Arboretu
A Critical Examination of Crisis Decision-Making Models: Are They Adequate for 21st Century Organizational Environments?
No full textThis research examined the applicability of current decision-making frameworks in 21st century organizational environments for the purpose of exploring whether these frameworks adequately address 21st century crises contexts. These contexts include organizational and environmental factors that consider organizational leadership, culture, structure, systems, and environmental drivers that shape modern crisis scenarios. Evidence from a synthesis of scholar-practitioner research suggests the Model of Flexible Decision Making is applicable in 21st century pre-crisis and crisis contexts. Characteristics associated with this naturalistic decision making (NDM) approach include expertise, judgment, sensemaking, and decentralized decision making in field settings. The framework when applied in 21st century crisis contexts suggest crisis decision making in modern operating environments is associated with flexible, adaptable, and context-based decision processes. Further, frameworks grounded in NDM approaches and heuristics and biases approaches (HBA) may be applicable in 21st century pre-crisis and crisis environments when applied collectively. HBA approaches consider the ethical and moral context of modern crisis into management decisions. Three important findings emerge from this research. First, the pre-crisis context is a critical factor in the applicability of crisis decision-making frameworks and may have greater influence in shaping the context of crisis as well as dictating choice of response.
Secondly, the applicability of crisis decision-making frameworks in 21st century pre-crisis and crisis contexts is more associated with flexible and adaptable decision making applied within the framework of the Model of Flexible Decision Making that enables full consideration of environmental factors and accelerated decision-making processes that keep pace with ongoing changes in the decision context of complex environments. Third, conditions that link 21st century pre-crisis situations to crisis environments create the context that dictates the choice of decision approach. Crisis decision-making approaches that are pre-determined or situated in the past do not fit into current contexts of modern crisis. The value of this research is that it illustrates what frameworks from the past adversely affect crisis response in modern environments. Implications for practitioners and scholars include considerations for the application of a new context-based decision-making framework and recommendations to successfully mitigate crisis by incorporating factors identified in this research into current crisis management policies and to address emerging contexts that may signal future crisis. Opportunities exist for further research that applies the findings of this study to case analyses of 21st century crisis events to test the applicability of the Model of Flexible Decision Making in different organizational environments. Further research could also test the applicability of NDM and HBA approaches when used as a collective decision-making framework for crisis management and response decisions.i
Abstract This research examined the applicability of current decision-making frameworks in 21st century organizational environments for the purpose of exploring whether these frameworks adequately address 21st century crises contexts. These contexts include organizational and environmental factors that consider organizational leadership, culture, structure, systems, and environmental drivers that shape modern crisis scenarios. Evidence from a synthesis of scholar-practitioner research suggests the Model of Flexible Decision Making is applicable in 21st century pre-crisis and crisis contexts. Characteristics associated with this naturalistic decision making (NDM) approach include expertise, judgment, sensemaking, and decentralized decision making in field settings. The framework when applied in 21st century crisis contexts suggest crisis decision making in modern operating environments is associated with flexible, adaptable, and context-based decision processes. Further, frameworks grounded in NDM approaches and heuristics and biases approaches (HBA) may be applicable in 21st century pre-crisis and crisis environments when applied collectively. HBA approaches consider the ethical and moral context of modern crisis into management decisions. Three important findings emerge from this research. First, the pre-crisis context is a critical factor in the applicability of crisis decision-making frameworks and may have greater influence in shaping the context of crisis as well as dictating choice of response.
Secondly, the applicability of crisis decision-making frameworks in 21st century pre-crisis and crisis contexts is more associated with flexible and adaptable decision making applied within the framework of the Model of Flexible Decision Making that enables full consideration of environmental factors and accelerated decision-making processes that keep pace with ongoing ii
changes in the decision context of complex environments. Third, conditions that link 21st century pre-crisis situations to crisis environments create the context that dictates the choice of decision approach. Crisis decision-making approaches that are pre-determined or situated in the past do not fit into current contexts of modern crisis. The value of this research is that it illustrates what frameworks from the past adversely affect crisis response in modern environments. Implications for practitioners and scholars include considerations for the application of a new context-based decision-making framework and recommendations to successfully mitigate crisis by incorporating factors identified in this research into current crisis management policies and to address emerging contexts that may signal future crisis. Opportunities exist for further research that applies the findings of this study to case analyses of 21st century crisis events to test the applicability of the Model of Flexible Decision Making in different organizational environments. Further research could also test the applicability of NDM and HBA approaches when used as a collective decision-making framework for crisis management and response decisions. iii
Dedication I dedicate this doctoral dissertation to the most important person in my life, my loving and dedicated husband Kenneth Roy Dunbar Jr., who has supported me through this journey over two continents and numerous relocations. Memories of reading by street light and keeping warm in the car as it snowed outside, uploading papers using the library‟s Wi-Fi signal while sitting outside on a bench well after midnight--no internet or cable yet installed at home, and driving the English countryside to Cranfield or taking the Tube to the University of London. These are my most precious memories of us in this journey. Thank you for your love, devotion, and support. To our tribe, Logan and Jordan, Mrs. Donna and William, Karen and Billy, Jay, Joel, Robbie, the Mace‟s, and the Bedfords of England, we are so grateful to have your enduring care and support. iv
Acknowledgements I am a product of the Head Start program. It was the first time caring people instilled in me a feeling, and a sense, that learning was important. I am here today because that same feeling grew into curiosity, awareness, and ultimately the tangible results achieved from lifelong learning. I thank the people behind this wonderful program. It made a life-changing difference. The road to this accomplish has been paved by mentors, friends, colleagues, and family members who all must be acknowledged. I thank them for their faith and fellowship. I particularly want to acknowledge my father the late Izel Sanders and my mother Lucille Brooks, my grandmother Lauretta McCray, and my aunts and uncles -- Earl and Cynthia, Betty Jean and Lacey, Elaine, Belinda, and Brenda. To my siblings, Glenda, Mose, Steven, Ranee, Nicki, Anthony, and Jasen, you all have contributed to my personal growth and learning. I must acknowledge two special teachers whose lessons continue to guide me, Mrs. Vivian Lee, my high school English teacher and Soror, and Mrs. Leomia Locklear Unold. You extended care and compassion beyond your own level of awareness. Next, I extend my deepest appreciation to my dissertation committee, Dr. Claudine SchWeber and Dr. John Sherlock. Thank you for your unwavering support and guidance. To my research advisor, Dr. David Denyer, I thank you for giving so generously of your time, leadership, and resources. Your insight and expertise opened my mind to the questions and possibilities this research could bring to bear. Each visit to Cranfield was a breakthrough moment that gave me the courage and confidence to continue.
I extend a special acknowledgment to Mr. William Craig Fugate who extended a learning opportunity and a seat at the table as the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand unfolded. You introduced me to John Boyd and the rare opportunity to be a part of an in-the-moment v
practitioner perspective that reinforced the importance of this research. I am forever grateful to you for that moment and the experience and knowledge you shared. You made a difference. I also want to express my deepest appreciation for the subject matter experts (SMEs) whose feedback and suggestions were an invaluable part of my dissertation. They are Col. Chad Manske, Mr. Robert A. Young, Dr. Arjen Boin, Dr. David Denyer, and Dr. David A. Welch. This dissertation is so much stronger because of your input. I‟d like to thank my cohorts, Elgloria, Kuan, Milu, Jeff, and Tony for your unwavering support, encouragement, and commitment to finish -- together. You made the trips across the pond all the more meaningful and the road ahead steadier. Lastly, I want to thank Pat Evans for taking care of my affairs during our deployment. To Ms. Cassandra Reynolds (AKA my other Mom), my long-time friend Stacey Reynolds-Carruth, and Michael, I thank you for taking the trip England to see your long lost friend. You are family. Also, I must acknowledge the Mildenhall Officer‟s and Spouses Club (MOSC) and the MyCAA program. vi
A Critical Examination of Crisis Decision-Making Models: Are They Adequate for 21st Century Organizational Environments? Valecia L. Dunbar A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty Of University of Maryland University College In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Management Claudine SchWeber, Ph.D. Dr. John Sherlock, Ph.D. March 27, 2013 vii
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT: ……………………………………………………………………………….. DEDICATION: ………………………………………….…………………………………. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: ….……………………………………………………………. TABLE OF CONTENTS: ………………………………………………………………….. APPENDIX: ……………………………..….……………………………………..………..
i iii iv vii ix
Chapter 1:
INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………….. ………… 1.1 Background of the Problem…………………………………………… 1.2 Statement of the Problem …………………………………………….. 1.3 Research Question ……………………………………………………. 1.4 Purpose of the Study ………………………………………………….. 1.5 Significance of the Problem ………………………………………….. 1.6 Value to the Field of Management……………………………………..
1 1 3 4 4 5 5
Chapter 2:
LITERATURE REVIEW…………….…….…………………………………. 2.1 Concepts of 20th & 21st Century Organizational Contexts, Culture, & Change…………………………………………………………………. 2.1.1 20th Century Pre-Crisis Organizational Contexts…………….. 2.1.2 21st Century Pre-Crisis Organizational Contexts…………….. 2.1.3 20th & 21st Century Contexts of Pre-Crisis Culture & Change Leadership……………………………………………………... 2.2 Crisis Decision-Making Contexts…………………………………….. 2.2.1 Organizational Crisis Contexts...………………..……………. 2.2.2 Administrative Decision Making Contexts…….……….…….. 2.2.3 Crisis Decision-Making Frameworks………………………… 2.3 Crisis Decision Making in 21st Century Organizational Contexts……. 2.3.1 Decisions in Contexts of Crisis Leadership…………………… 2.3.2 Decisions in Contexts of Normal Accidents……………….. … 2.3.3 Decisions in Contexts of High Reliability Organizations (HROs) 2.3.4 Decisions in Contexts of Environmental Velocity ……………. 2.4 Research Propositions………………………………………………….
7 8 8 9 10 12 13 16 18 26 26 28 29 30 31
Chapter 3:
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK………………………………………….. …. 3.1 Integrating Scholarly Knowledge ……………………………………..
32 32 viii
3.2 Graphical Analysis & Synthesis……………………………………….
37
4.0
METHODOLOGY………………………………………………….………… 4.1 Evidence-Based Research Synthesis (EBRS)…………………………. 4.2 Evidence-Based Management (EBMgt)………………………………. 4.3 CIMO Approach to EBRS Research Design………………………….. 4.4 Methodology………………………………………………………….. 4.5 Literature Search………………………………………………………. 4.5.1 Identification of Keywords……………………………………. 4.5.2 Electronic Database Search of Keywords……………………... 4.5.3 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria………………………………. 4.5.4 Quality Assessment……………………………………………. 4.5.5 Search by Name of Scholar……………………………………. 4.5.6 Reference List Search…………………………………………. 4.5.7 Results…………………………………………………………. 4.6 Identification of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)……………………… 4.7 Data Extraction………………………………………………………… 4.8 Thematic Synthesis Using Open Coding…………………………….... 4.9 Data Analysis Approach……………………………………………….
39 40 42 44 47 49 49 49 52 53 54 55 55 59 61 62 63
Chapter 5:
FINDINGS………………………………………………………………….… 5.1 Research Question Status 5.2 Presentation of Findings and Analysis of the Evidence……………….. 5.2.1 New Characteristics of 21st century Pre-Crisis Environments... 5.2.2 New Characteristics of 21st Century Crisis Environments……. 5.3 Applicability of Crisis Decision-Making Frameworks in 21st Century Organizational Environments ………………………………………… 5.4 Emergent of New or Revised Argument………………………………. 5.5 Revised Conceptual Framework………………………………………. 5.6 Summary of Findings…………………………………………………. 5.7 Limitations of the Study ……………………………………………….
66 67 67 68 71 76 86 87 90 91
Chapter 6:
CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………………………… 6.1 Implications for Management Practice and Theory…………………… 6.2 Further Research………………………………………………………. 6.3 Implications for Future Management Trends………………………….. 6.4 Summary……………………………………………………………….
95 95 102 102 103
References……………………………………………………………………………………
105
ix
Appendix List of Figures &Tables………………………………………………………………………...125 Definition of Terms……………………………………………………………………….……127 Table 2: Crisis Decision-Making Frameworks ……………………………………………......129 Table 4: Crisis Decision Making: Synthesis of Themes Using CIMO-logic……………….….130 Research Data Tables…………………………………………………………………….….…134 Table X: Crisis Decision Making Frameworks...……………………………………....134 Table Y: Organizational Crisis Literature………………………………………..…….136 Table Z: Organizational Change/Environment Literature……………………………...145 Data Extraction Form…………………………..………………………………………………148
1
Chapter I Introduction The purpose of this research is to examine the applicability of crisis decision-making models in 21st century organizational environments. This research is rooted in the proposition that the modern organizational environment has changed. Therefore, the application of current theoretical frameworks of crisis decision making to address contemporary crisis events may be inadequate. This research uses the protocols of evidence-based research synthesis (EBRS) to synthesize the evidence from diverse sources of scholarship to determine whether an updated conceptual model of crisis decision making is needed to better illustrate the relationship between 21st century crisis decision making and environmental factors. The significance of this association with managerial leadership is explored from a scholar-practitioner approach to crisis management decision making. 1.1 Background of the Problem Hermann‟s (1963) seminal work on organizational crisis positioned a crisis as an “occasion for decision” situated within the field of organizational change (p. 64). Early theories of administrative decision making (Simon, 1955) and the relationship to organizational culture and leadership Schein (1990, 2004) expanded concepts of crisis to include factors that suggest a relationship between crisis and an organization‟s pre-crisis or non crisis context.
Scholars interested in the relationship between crisis and decision making informed the literature primarily through case studies on past political conflict and international crises situated in government and bureaucratic contexts of the Cold War era (Hermann, 1963; Janis, 1972, 1989). The implication is a bureaucratic perspective of crisis decision making („t Hart, Rosenthal, & Kouzmin, 1993) wherein crisis frameworks were bounded by bureaucratic 2
management processes and post-industrial organizational structures. Two predominant views informed crisis literature. Research originating from psychology and sociology fields positioned crisis as a stimulus (i.e., disaster, threat, time pressure) that operationalized crisis as a behavioral variable (i.e., stress, anxiety, tension, panic) (Robinson, 1970; Fiedler, 1971; Fielder & Garcia, 1987). Political scientists and cross-disciplinary theorists positioned crisis in the context of the situation. A disaster or international conflict became the crisis variable under study (Hermann, 1963; DeRouen & Sprecher, 2004). The effect of these variables on leadership and group behaviors received considerable discussion in crisis literature (Fielder & Garcia, 1989; Janis, 1989; Neck & Moorehead, 1995). In contrast, modern crises are not perceived as external, isolated events, but rather an internal or external occurrence which involves a continuous series of major and secondary crisis occurrences that result from a single triggering event. The decision environment is nonrational and bounded (Welch, 1989; Suedfeld, 1992) and attempts at resolution require an ambiguous decision process (Rosenthal, Boin, & Comfort, 2001). The decision complexity of modern crises was exemplified in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath wherein a crisis of “leadership failure” was only one element of a situation that went beyond crisis and into state of “chaotic crisis” that placed managers in an environment of “inconceivability and hyper-uncertainty” (Farazmand, 2007, p. 155).
The body of crisis management literature is diverse. Extant research is characterized by concepts such as „decision protocols‟ and problem solving models prevalent in emergency management literature concurrent with risk management concepts appearing in literature on corporate and financial crises. In environments of bureaucracy, emergency governance leadership is tasked with managing “modern crises” which are characterized by complexity, 3
interdependence, and politicization (Farazmand, 2007). Scholarship emerging from literature in global supply chain management associate crisis with the interdependency of value systems and stakeholder degrees of risk (Natarajarathinam, Capar, & Narayanan, 2009). Further, crisis management contexts of non-government organizational structures (NGOs) and nonprofit corporations may contrast with for-profit crisis management whose response systems may rely on their ability to acquire or purchase resources and relief (Peterson &Van Fleet, 2008). Under conditions of organizational crisis, the variable of decision making continues to frame management approaches. New research indicates that individual, organizational, and modern environmental factors not only influence crisis decision making, but also have a greater role in perception of threat and the management of decision choices (Rosenthal, 2003; Roux-Dufort, 2007). These factors that drive contextual and situational conditions of crisis environments are characterized by products, demand, competitors, technology, regulation, and products (McCarthy, Lawrence, Wixted, & Gordon, 2010). Crisis scholars and practitioners suggest new approaches are needed to keep pace with the changing context of 21st century crises environments and address implications for modern management (Rego & Garau, 2007). These implications suggest a shift in thinking and a new mindset is required to keep pace with unfolding crises and chaos arising from domestic, transnational, and global organizational structures in which managers are operationally, geographically, and emotionally embedded (Boin & Lagadec, 2000; Rosenthal et al., 2001; Mann& Götz, 2006; Farazamand, 2007). 1.2 Statement of the Problem
Modern crises require an updated decision framework to address the unique characteristics of 21st century operating environments that have inherited the technological, innovative, and competitive traits of modern organizations (Eisenhardt, 1989; McCarthy et al., 4
2010). The potential catastrophic effects of disruptions in these environments are capable of intersecting domestic, international, and global organizational boundaries in variant proportions of perspective, time pressure, and scale (Rosenthal et al., 2001; Farazmand, 2007). In these environments managers are met with new and evolving dimensions of crises brought forth from the interaction between forces of globalization, increasing stakeholder influence and real-time media intensity on crisis perspectives, new public policy, and rapidly evolving technological interconnectedness and dependency of organizational social systems (Smith, 2000; Rosenthal, 2003; Mann & Götz, 2006; Farazmand, 2007; Mei, Bansal, & Pang, 2010).). The intersection of these new organizational and environmental factors presents contexts of crisis and change unforeseen in 20th century crisis events. The affects on crisis leadership situated in 21st century crisis environments is the presence of continuous and increasing forms of organizational uncertainty and complexity for which quick and informed decisions are needed to advert catastrophic loss (Kapucu & Van Wart, 2008). 1.3 Research Question How applicable are crisis decision-making models in 21st century organizationa
Civility and Incivility Between Nurses and Administrators: A Model to Drive Successful Health Care Outcomes in the Department of Veterans Affairs
No full textThe purpose of this dissertation is to study the impact of civility and incivility on the relationship between nurses and administrators in the nursing units of the Department of Veterans Affairs to determine what is required to create a permanent civil environment. Workplace incivility was first defined by Andersson and Pearson (1999) as a less intense form of deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm, whereas civility is defined as an active engagement in creating, protecting, and participating in a community (Paveia, 2007).
A civility and incivility model was created using the social ecology and symbolic interactionism theories as a framework to understand and address incivility. A systematic literature review of these two bodies of knowledge was used to validate the model and determine civility and incivility prevalence, constructs, and effects. Incivility is linked to greater-than-anticipated turnover in nursing staff and a decrease in nurses’ physical and psychological health.. Increases in civility are linked to decreases in EEO cases and their associated costs, and to increases in patients’ perceptions of care received, increases in nurses’ perceptions of the quality of patient care provided, and increases in nurses’ job satisfaction. The model will help VA leadership understand and address incivility while instilling and supporting more civil environments in the nursing units of VA. The model will also inform future research.Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 1
Civility and Incivility Between Nurses and Administrators:
A Model to Drive Successful Health Care Outcomes in the Department of Veterans Affairs
Lisette Montalvo
A Thesis
Submitted to the
Graduate Faculty
of
University of Maryland University College
in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree
of
Doctor of Management
Dr. Sharon Hadary and Dr. Dennis Winters
December 7, 2012
Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 2
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank God for his care and love while leading my life unexpectedly and against all odds to achieve elusive dreams. I want to thank my husband, love of my life, who always stands by my side, like a pillar of love, care, and support; without him I would have not realized any of the achievements of my life. I am very grateful to my children and their spouses, who always supported my endeavors, accepted the many sacrifices imposed by my choices, and cherished me with their love. I am also very grateful to all my mentors and teachers who formally or informally helped me in my academic, career, and personal journeys. I want to particularly acknowledge with deep appreciation the support from my doctoral committee chairs, Dr. Sharon Hadary and Dr. Dennis Winters, who by believing in me opened the door that led to the culmination of my degree. Their support, guidance, and love of theory and academic inquiry inspired me to continue. Finally, I want to thank all who by their support or lack of it, in words, actions, or deeds (good or bad), shaped my future and helped me become who I am today.
Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 3
Dedication
I dedicate this dissertation to my awesome husband, whose constant support and love has made this dissertation possible, and to my children, my family, and the future generations of my family. I hope this dissertation inspires them in their search for knowledge and encourages them to always act civilly despite the circumstances. And finally, I want to dedicate this dissertation to all those who have been victims of incivility, discrimination, and/or violence. I hope that the product of this dissertation somehow gives hope and helps future generations achieve respect in all aspects of their lives, especially in the workplace, regardless of your differences.
Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 4
Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation is to study the impact of civility and incivility on the relationship between nurses and administrators in the nursing units of the Department of Veterans Affairs to determine what is required to create a permanent civil environment. Workplace incivility was first defined by Andersson and Pearson (1999) as a less intense form of deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm, whereas civility is defined as an active engagement in creating, protecting, and participating in a community (Paveia, 2007).
A civility and incivility model was created using the social ecology and symbolic interactionism theories as a framework to understand and address incivility. A systematic literature review of these two bodies of knowledge was used to validate the model and determine civility and incivility prevalence, constructs, and effects. Incivility is linked to greater-than-anticipated turnover in nursing staff and a decrease in nurses’ physical and psychological health.. Increases in civility are linked to decreases in EEO cases and their associated costs, and to increases in patients’ perceptions of care received, increases in nurses’ perceptions of the quality of patient care provided, and increases in nurses’ job satisfaction. The model will help VA leadership understand and address incivility while instilling and supporting more civil environments in the nursing units of VA. The model will also inform future research.
Key words: incivility, uncivil, civility, courtesy, politeness, etiquette, discourteous, rude, workplace, nurses, nursing units, Department of Veterans Affairs, model, behaviors, systematic review, social ecology, symbolic interaction theories, and constructs
Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 5
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ……………………..…………………………………………………………..2
Chapter 1: Introduction and Research Problem …………………...…………………………...11
Purpose of the Study …………………………………………………...………………………..11
Statement of the problem ….…………………………………………...………………………..14
Population studied ..……………..…………………………...…………………………..14
Background …….………………..…………………………….………………………...17
Civility and incivility definitions and prevalence in health care environments.............................24
Importance of the research to VA ……………………………………...………………………..27
Relevance for management …..………………………………………...………………………..28
Knowledge gap ………………………………………………………...………………………..38
Research questions …………………………………………………...………………………….39
Assumptions and limitations …………………………………………...………………………..40
Definitions ……………………………………………………………...………………………..41
Dissertation organization…..…………………………………………...………………………..41
Chapter Summary ……………………………………………………...………………………..42
Chapter 2: Literature Review ………………………………..…………………………………..44
Literature Review Framework …………………………………………………………………..44
Civility …………………………………………………………………………………………..44
Civility concept and definitions…..……..………………...……………………………..44
Civility behaviors………………..…………………………...…………………………..46
Civility and ethics………………..…………………………….………………………...47
Incivility………………………………………………………………...………………………..48
Incivility concept and definitions..……..………………………………………………...48
Uncivil behaviors………………..………………………………...……………………..53
Causes of incivility..……………..…………………………...……..…………………...55
Incivility perpetrators……………..……..…………………………...…………………..57
Incivility targets..………………..……………………………………..………………...61
Incivility observers……………..…………………………...…………...……………….63
Impacts of incivility……….…………………………………………………….……………….66
Achieving civility……………………………………………………………….………………..69 Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 6
Theoretical lenses…….………………………………………………………….……………….70
Symbolic interactionism theory..,………………………………………………………..71
Social ecology perspective…..…………………………………………………….……..78
Research propositions……………………………………………………………………………83
Chapter Summary ….……………………………………………………………………………90
Chapter 3: Theoretical Construct .………………………………………………………………92
Civility and incivility model……..………………………………………………………………93
Social Ecology Framework .……..………………………………………………………………94
Public policy factors……………………………………………………………………..96
Community factors…………..…………………………………………………….……..98
Organizational and institutional factors..………………………………………….……100
Health care environment……...………………………………………………………...102
Interpersonal factors………..…………………………………………………….……..104
Nursing Unit Environment....…………………………………………………….……..105
Units culture………………..…………………………………………………….……..106
Social conditions….………..…………………………………………………….……..110
Intrapersonal factors…………………....………………………………………….……117
Symbolic interactionism….……..……………………………………………………………...120
Mind concept………….……...………………………………………………………...126
Self-concept…….…...……..…………………………………………………….……..128
Society concept…...…………………....………………………………………….……131
The response……………………………………………………………………………………132
Chapter summary ……………………………………………………………………………....136
Chapter 4: Method ……………………………………………………………………………..138
State of knowledge ……………………………………………………………………………..138
Components of the research ..…………………………………………………………………..139
Stage 1: Evidence based review of selected studies…..………………………………..139
Stage 2: Theory testing and building……………...…..………………………………..140
Evidence based review…… ..…………………………………………………………………..140
Theory testing and building ..…………………………………………………………………..141
Data analysis and results…....…………………………………………………………………..142 Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 7
Quantitative analysis…..…....…………………………………………………………………..144
Systematic review sample .....…………………………………………………………………..146
Inclusion and exclusion criteria ………………………………………………………………..147
Data extraction and article assessment by topic………………………………………………..148
Quality Assessment Tool……………………………………………………………………….148
Levels of evidence……………………………………………………………………………...150
Expert Panel …………..………………………………………………………………………..151
Chapter Summary ….....………………………………………………………………………..152
Chapter 5: Analysis and discussion ..…………………………………………………………..153
Literature review sample ……………………………………………………………………….153
Civility literature sample…………………………. …..………………………………..156
Incivility literature sample……………….………. …..………………………………..158
Literature review results per research question…..…………………………………………….158
Research question 1 findings…………………………………………………………………...159
Proposition 1……………..……………………………………………………………..160
Proposition 2……………..……………………………………………………………..174
Proposition 3……………..……………………………………………………………..187
Research question 2 findings…………………………………………………………………...192
Other findings………………...………………………………………………………………...196
Alternative explanations…...…………………………………………………………………...196
Chapter Summary …….…...…………………………………………………………………...200
Chapter 6: Conclusions, implications, and trends …...………………………………………...202
Overall conclusions …………………………………………...………………………………………...202
Civility and incivility concepts......……………………………………………………..202
Effects of incivility and civility ....……………………………………………..…..…..206
Prevalence, reporting and proximity effects .…………………………………………..208
Model to address incivility and instill civility…..……………………………………………...210
Understanding and identifying incivility...……………………………………………..211
Reframing the response………......……………………………………………..…..…..212
Response evaluation………………………...…………………………………………..213
Environmental response ……………….…...…………………………………………..215 Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 8
Instilling civility……… ……………….…...…………………………………………..217
Selection to the profession……………………………………………………………………...218
Civility and incivility concepts relationship with other concepts ……………………………...220
Implications of trends……………… ……..…………………………………………………...226
Generalization of the study and future research……..……….………………………………...227
Future of research ….……………… ……..…………………………………………………...228
Reporting, supporting and repairing...……..…………………………………………………...230
Summary………………… ………... ……..…………………………………………………...231
References …………………..……... ……..…………………………………………………...232
Appendix A ……………………….... ……..…………………………………………………...306
Table of Tables
Table 1.1 - Overview of VHA Resources as of 2011………………………………………...….16
Table 1.2 - Summary of VHA’s Nursing Staff Composition as of July 2011.………………….17
Table 5.1 - Incivility Definitions from Literature Review…………………………………...…161
Table 5.2 - Other Incivility Definitions in Nursing Education…………………………………162
Table 5.3 - Civility and EEO Complaints: Facility-Level……………………………………...179
Table 5.4 - Sample Descriptive Statistics………………………………………………………183
Table 5.5 - Sample Descriptive Statistics………………………………………………………185
Table 5.6 - Recommendations to Address Incivility…………………………………………...192
Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 9
Table of Figures
Figure 1.1. - Graphs depicting the demographics of VA nurses as of December 2011....………18
Figure 1.2. - Comparison of reported violence in VA and the U.S. Postal Service...……………22
Figure 1.3. - Role of nurses in VA’s specialty care model……………………………………....24
Figure 1.4. - Best predictor of informal and formal EEO complaint rates: percentage of unfavorable civility ratings at facility...............................................…………………………….32
Figure 1.5. - Combined data of all CREW administrations as of 2010………………...……….36
Figure 3.1. - A civility and incivility model……………………………………………………..93
Figure 3.2. - Levels of influence………………………………………………………………... 96
Figure 3.3. - Interpersonal factors affecting the nurse-administrator relationship……………..104
Figure 3.4. - Theoretical model for symbolic interaction………………………………………121
Figure 5.1. - Sample selection inclusion and exclusion criteria………………………………..154
Figure 5.2. - Numbers of articles per year of publication………………………………………155
Figure 5.3. - Subtopic composition of the civility and incivility articles in the sample………..155
Figure 5.4. - Literature review sample composition……………………………………………156
Figure 5.5. - Civility articles included in sample per year of publication……………………...157
Figure 5.6. - Civility articles included in sample per journal and year of publication…………157
Figure 5.7. - Incivility articles included in sample per year of publication…………………….158
Figure 5.8.-Incivility articles included in the sample per journal per year of publication……...159
Figure 5.9.- Scatter plot showing the relationship between quality of patient care and environmental civility as the product of administrator’s civility at the facility level with a trend line…………………………………………………………………………………………….. .182
Figure 5.10.- Scatter plot showing the relationship between changes in the quality of patient care and environmental civility as the product of the change in administrator’s civility at the facility level with a trend line…………………………………………………………………………...184
Figure 5.11.- Model of effect of civility on patients. The figure represents the spillover model for civility in health care………………………………………………………………………..186 Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 10
Figure 5.12. - CREW Works: Mean Civility Changes for CREW 1 & 2 Interventions versus Non-CREW Comparison Sites. Graph shows the results of CREW interventions versus non-CREW comparison sites against VHA civility mean…………………………………………..194
Figure 6.1.- Civility and incivility model………………………………………………………203
Figure 6.2.- Model to address incivility and instill civility. Adapted from Husseman’s (1998) Social-Cognitive Information Processing (SCIP)………………………………………………210
Figure 6.3.- CREW model……………………………………………………………………...217
Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 11
Chapter 1: Introduction and Research Problem
This dissertation explores the effects of civility and incivility on the relationship between nurses and administrators at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the outcomes of their interactions. This relationship is explored using social ecology and symbolic interactionism theories to build a model that will help the department improve productivity and health care outcomes. The research answers the question of how civility and incivility affect the relationship between nurses and administrators, the impact of those interactions in the VA nursing unit on health care outcomes and productivity, and why it matters. This dissertation also provides a framework to address incivility and instill civility in the nursing units of VA. This dissertation responds to an ever-growing need to ensure a healthy and productive health care workforce because of its criticality in ensuring successful health care outcomes while decreasing operational costs. The customer in this setting is another human being who is extremely vulnerable and scared since his/her life may depend on the treatment received. The face of that care most of the time is the nurse. Nurses require the support of the administrator in order to provide the care patients need. The administrator is in charge of the allocation of resources in the nursing unit while monitoring the nurses’ performance and compliance with existing rules and regulations. In a stressful environment, such as a health care setting, the quality of this relationship is pivotal to the quality of the services delivered. Addressing incivility will have a direct impact on productivity, employee retention, and facility accreditation. These are key components required in order for a hospital to remain operational.
Purpose of the Study
This dissertation provides a comprehensive understanding of the concepts of civility and incivility in nursing practice and the effects of civility and incivility on the relationship between Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 12
nurses and administrators in the nursing units at VA. This research explores this relationship using social ecology and symbolic interactionism theories to create a model of how civility and incivility impact this relationship through an evidence-based synthesis analysis. This research answers the question of how civility and incivility affect the relationship between nurses and administrators, and the impact of the outcomes of those interactions in the VA nursing unit on health care outcomes. In addition, this dissertation provides a framework to address incivility and instill civility within the nursing units of VA.
The model resulting from the synthesis explains the impact of civility and incivility in this relationship and proposes a framework to instill civility. This dissertation uses the predominant definitions of nurses’ productivity as well as patient satisfaction, lower mortality rates, and quality of patient care as health care outcomes. According to Curtin (1995), productivity in nursing is most commonly measured in terms of resources used. For the purpose of this dissertation, productivity is defined as the ratio between the resources nurses use to provide patient care and the number of patients and/or procedures provided. The ability of nurses to provide patient care is dependent on effective allocation of resources, which are provided by the administrator. In the presence of incivility, the relationship between nurses and administrators deteriorates, and the nurses will not be able to have appropriate or sufficient resources to fulfill their duties, because they will avoid communicating with each other, which will have a negative impact on the quality of care patients receive. This is consistent with previous research in which the availability of resources and support by nurse managers and administrators has been linked to lower mortality rates (Aiken, Clarke, Sloane, Lake, & Cheney, 2008) and to higher ratings of patients’ overall satisfaction with quality of care (Kutney-Lee et al., 2009). Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 13
The workplace is one of the few environments where people are “forced” into relationships with others. People are seldom in a position to choose the people they work with, so if an individual must interact with a person with whom he or she does not get along, the potential for antagonistic behavior increases (Dillard & Fritz, 1995). Other external factors such as overload, multitasking, and environmental stress can cause people to behave in ways likely to create negative relationships. Economic downturns affect VA’s operational budget, which in turn impacts VA’s ability to fully staff its health care facilities. These factors create a need for increased productivity in the nursing staff, and a better relationship among nurses and administrators, to support VA nursing units’ operations. Rapid organizational growth due to an increase in demand for health care at VA facilities (e.g., aging of existing veteran population, the number of injured younger veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan), paired with the shortage of nurses in the U.S. workforce, means fewer people on staff to handle significantly increased workloads. If employees are unable to handle the increasing work pressure and environmental stress, they are less likely to exercise good judgment in terms of their interactions with others and more likely to view others as enemies (Johnson & Indvik, 2001a). However, it has been argued that when human interactions increase in complexity and frequency, the need for civility becomes greater (Carter, 1998; Chen & Eastman, 1997). Through use of an evidence-based research model of civility and incivility, this research shows how civility and incivility affect the relationship between nurses and administrators at VA nursing units and demonstrates how to prevent and/or eradicate uncivil behaviors. The model will provide managers an understanding of the antecedents, attributes, and boundaries of the civility and incivility concepts in nursing practice. The results will be summarized in a framework to address incivility while Civility and incivility between nurses and administrators in VA 14
increasing civility to avoid decreases in the qual
Dual enrollment in times of financial constraint: A community college perspective
No full textCommunity college leaders today must contend with a formidable challenge: dwindling state funding and declining resources. Increased enrollments without proportional increases in state and local financial support have placed colleges in the unenviable position of needing to do more with less—or in some cases, simply do less. Despite the popularity and proliferation of dual enrollment programs, little scholarly research is available from the community college perspective to provide compelling evidence that dual enrollment programs should be sustained above other mission-fitting programs at the college. The purpose of this study was to examine the case for community college administrators to sustain dual enrollment programs during difficult financial times by using an evidenced-based research methodology to explore the benefits and incentives to the college.
Dual enrollment programs are partnerships between colleges and school districts which afford high school students the opportunity to earn high school and college credit simultaneously. As dual enrollment programs approach a relatively mature stage in the U.S., researchers must begin asking about the impact of such programs on the institution and to understand the benefits to the institution. This study endeavored to advance existing research by also drawing a link to the Completion Agenda as an additional incentive for administrative support for dual enrollment programs by analyzing and synthesizing the research on the impact of dual enrollment on student enrollment, persistence, and completion.
Benefits and incentives revealed in the literature can be generally described as fitting into one of three categories: social values (including fit with mission and positive outcomes for students), political goodwill (including goodwill with the community as well as legislators and policymakers), or financial advantage (including direct revenue and state support). Positive outcomes for students emerged as one of the key drivers within the context of social values. To assist community colleges with analysis and decision-making at the institutional level, the author advanced a program review model which brings decades-old practice of dual enrollment into the modern-day context of intuitional effectiveness, as well as a simple model to guide administrators through the decision-making process.DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
Lori White Hockley
A Thesis
Submitted to the
Graduate Faculty
of the
University of Maryland University College
in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the
Doctor of Management
Degree
Patricia Keir, Ph.D.
Michael Evanchik, Ph.D. DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
ABSTRACT
Community college leaders today must contend with a formidable challenge: dwindling state funding and declining resources. Increased enrollments without proportional increases in state and local financial support have placed colleges in the unenviable position of needing to do more with less—or in some cases, simply do less. Despite the popularity and proliferation of dual enrollment programs, little scholarly research is available from the community college perspective to provide compelling evidence that dual enrollment programs should be sustained above other mission-fitting programs at the college. The purpose of this study was to examine the case for community college administrators to sustain dual enrollment programs during difficult financial times by using an evidenced-based research methodology to explore the benefits and incentives to the college.
Dual enrollment programs are partnerships between colleges and school districts which afford high school students the opportunity to earn high school and college credit simultaneously. As dual enrollment programs approach a relatively mature stage in the U.S., researchers must begin asking about the impact of such programs on the institution and to understand the benefits to the institution. This study endeavored to advance existing research by also drawing a link to the Completion Agenda as an additional incentive for administrative support for dual enrollment programs by analyzing and synthesizing the research on the impact of dual enrollment on student enrollment, persistence, and completion.
Benefits and incentives revealed in the literature can be generally described as fitting into one of three categories: social values (including fit with mission and positive outcomes for students), political goodwill (including goodwill with the community as well as legislators and policymakers), or financial advantage (including direct revenue and state support). Positive outcomes for students emerged as one of the key drivers within the context of social values. To assist community colleges with analysis and decision-making at the institutional level, the author advanced a program review model which brings decades-old practice of dual enrollment into the modern-day context of intuitional effectiveness, as well as a simple model to guide administrators through the decision-making process.
DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
ii
© COPYRIGHT BY
Lori White Hockley
2013
DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
iii
DEDICATION
I humbly dedicate this dissertation to my family: my siblings, in-laws, and particularly to my mother, Mary Ellen White, and to my late father, Robert J. White, Sr., who passed away during my first year of doctoral study. The sacrifice of my parents over many years and their devotion to providing a better life for their children afforded me the opportunity to pursue excellent schooling, to travel and study abroad, and to believe that I could accomplish great things through education. This work is also dedicated with love to my husband, Justin. His unwavering support and confidence in me were my source of strength and inspiration. DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to offer special recognition to the entire faculty of the DMCCPA program, and especially Dr. Charlene Nunley for her vision in developing a professionally rewarding and forward-thinking program for community college leaders. To my advisors, Dr. Patricia Keir and Dr. Michael Evanchik, thank you challenging me and pushing me to do more, even when I thought it wasn’t possible. I have grown deeply as a thinker, writer, and scholar under your mentorship. To Dr. Richard Tanenbaum, my coach in the Executive Leadership Development program, thank you for guiding our coaching cohort through the professional and personal challenges of doctoral studies and for empowering us with tools and techniques for a lifetime.
To my classmates, thank you for your friendship and especially for your encouragement during the loss of my beloved father. I offer special thanks to faculty member Dr. Martha Romero, for reminding me to “be gentle” with myself during the grieving process. Thank you to my past and present supervisors and colleagues at Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania for your encouragement and support of my educational pursuits. To Gabriella Oldham, thank you for providing assistance with editing and formatting the final dissertation document.
Finally, I must acknowledge with great love my family, my in-laws, my husband, and last but not least, my dog, Winston, who sat faithfully by my side for many, many hours during the research and writing process.
L.W.H.
DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter
1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1
Purpose of the Study .............................................................................................. 1
Statement of the Problem ....................................................................................... 4
Background and Context ........................................................................................ 4
Historical Context ........................................................................................... 5
Model Concurrent Enrollment Programs ......................................................... 7
State Policy .................................................................................................... 8
Scope and Proliferation ................................................................................... 9
Alternative Postsecondary Options at the High School .................................... 10
Advanced Placement ................................................................................. 11
International Baccalaureate ....................................................................... 12
Tech Prep ................................................................................................. 13
Discussion of Terminology .................................................................................... 14
Research Questions ................................................................................................ 17
Limitations and Assumptions ................................................................................. 17
Organization of the Study ...................................................................................... 18
2 LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................................... 20
Financial Implications ............................................................................................ 23
Mission Fit, Goodwill Generation, and Student Recruitment .................................. 25
Dual Enrollment Concerns and Challenges for the Community College ................. 27
Student Outcomes: College Enrollment, Persistence, and Completion .................... 30
National Studies ............................................................................................. 31
Aspirations and Academic Momentum ........................................................... 33
State Studies ................................................................................................... 34
Florida ...................................................................................................... 34
New York ................................................................................................. 36
Discussion ............................................................................................................. 38
3 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................... 43
Conceptual Model .................................................................................................. 45
Social Values .................................................................................................. 45
Political Goodwill ........................................................................................... 50
Financial Advantage ....................................................................................... 53
Interrelationship of Factors .................................................................................... 55
Propositions Emerging from the Conceptual Model ............................................... 56
Discussion and Summary ....................................................................................... 57 DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
vi
Chapter
4 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 60
Approach ............................................................................................................... 60
Use of the Expert Panel .......................................................................................... 61
Selection and Inclusion of References .................................................................... 64
Foundational Sources ..................................................................................... 64
Sources Selected for Evidence: Benefits, Incentives, Risks, and Disincentives of Dual Enrollment ............................................................. 68
Sources Selected for Evidence: Dual Enrollment Outcomes ............................ 71
Expert Panel Review of Evidence .......................................................................... 81
Expert Feedback on Empirical Paper .............................................................. 81
Relevance and contribution to the practice of management ....................... 81
Scholarly references .................................................................................. 82
Scope of research ...................................................................................... 83
Conceptual model ..................................................................................... 84
Writing quality.......................................................................................... 85
Overall comments and recommendations .................................................. 85
Implementation of Expert Panel Feedback ...................................................... 86
5 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS ............................................................................... 89
Findings Relative to the Research Questions .......................................................... 90
6 IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE, AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH, AND FINAL CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................. 117
Management Theory Framework ........................................................................... 118
A Program Review Model for Dual Enrollment ..................................................... 120
Future Research ..................................................................................................... 128
Dual Enrollment and the Community College Mission ................................... 128
Baseline of Adequate Resources ..................................................................... 131
National Data Collection ................................................................................ 131
Impact and Influence of State Support on Program Youth and Access ............ 132
Effects of Program Structure and Delivery on Student Success ....................... 132
The Role of Program Supports ........................................................................ 133
Faculty Perceptions and Conflict of Values Between Faculty and Administrator ............................................................................................ 134
Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 137
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 139 DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
vii
LIST OF TABLES
Table
1 Significant Studies on Dual Enrollment Outcomes ................................................. 39
2 Summary of Key Foundational References ............................................................ 67
3 Primary References ................................................................................................ 71
4 Primary References ................................................................................................ 78
5 Evaluation Forms Rating Summary........................................................................ 83
6 Dual Enrollment Program Review Model............................................................. 120
7 Summary of Dual Enrollment Data from Thomas et al. (2013) ............................. 130
DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1 Definitions of terms in alignment with NACEP standards used throughout the study ................................................................................................................ 16
2 Intersection of categories for the sustaining of dual enrollment .............................. 46
3 Elements of each category ..................................................................................... 46
4 Sample headings for a dual enrollment program logic model ............................... 124
5 Dual enrollment decision-making model for community colleges ......................... 126
6 Example of dual enrollment decision-making model in action .............................. 127
7 Dual enrollment stakeholder map for community colleges ..................................... 136
DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to examine the case for community college administrators to sustain dual enrollment programs during difficult financial times by exploring the benefits and incentives to the college as represented in scholarly literature, government and association publications, and state and institutional practice. Dual enrollment programs are partnerships between colleges and school districts which afford high school students the opportunity to earn high school and college credit simultaneously. Across the U.S., dual enrollment programs touch hundreds of thousands of students (Kleiner & Lewis, 2005; Marken, Gray, & Lewis, 2013) and reach over 82% of high schools nationwide (Thomas, Marken, Gray, & Lewis, 2013). Dual enrollment programs are not uniform; although each requires some type of partnership and agreement between the college and the school system, programs vary widely in structure and practice (Community College Research Center [CCRC], 2012; Girardi & Stein, 2001).
Typically, however, programs fall into two broad categories (Boswell, 2001): 1) dual enrollment on the college campus with college faculty, or 2) a version of dual enrollment known as concurrent enrollment, in which college courses are delivered at the high school by high school teachers during the regular school day (National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships [NACEP], 2011). Research by Kleiner and Lewis (2005), Waits et al. (2005), and Barnett, Gardner, and Bragg (2004) point to variations of dual enrollment which fall outside of DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
2
these two general descriptions, such as instances of college faculty teaching college courses at the high school or courses being delivered via distance education or online modalities. In any case, a common point is the delivery of college courses to high school students or, as Hofmann (2012) simply puts it, “college course-taking” by high school students (p. 4). The primary distinguishing features are the location of the delivery (college campus or high school) and the instructor’s affiliation (college faculty or high school teacher).
Dual enrollment may provide a challenge for students, improve student preparation for higher education, and save students both time and money while also providing a seamless transition from high school to college (Boswell, 2001; Smith, 2007). Beyond individual student benefits, dual enrollment should be of particular interest to community college leaders because such programs are arguably a partial fulfillment of the unique mission of the community college (Girardi & Stein, 2001) to offer affordable access to higher education, outreach to local schools and citizens in the community (Hoffman, Vargas, & Santos, 2009), and a gateway to a baccalaureate degree. Dual enrollment is not a new concept, yet much available research focuses on immediate benefits for students and parents or the use of such opportunities for school districts to augment, supplement or even supplant the final years of high school. However, the role of the community college administrator in sustaining dual enrollment partnerships has not yet been adequately represented in the literature, nor has the impact of dual enrollment on the institution been sufficiently addressed (Kinnick, 2012).
Indeed, the community college mission is more important today than ever as the U.S. is called upon to increase the number of educated citizens to compete in the world economy (Shannon & Smith, 2006). To address the need for a more educated citizenry, the American Graduation Initiative was launched in 2009 by President Barack Obama in his proclamation that DUAL ENROLLMENT IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT:
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERSPECTIVE
3
“by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.” Dubbed the “Completion Agenda” by educators, Obama’s initiative was endorsed by the 2010 American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) which pledged that community colleges would grow degrees and certificates by 50% by 2020 (The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 2009).
Nevertheless, community college leaders today must also contend with an opposing and formidable force: dwindling state funding and resources. Increased enrollments without proportional increases in state and local financial support have placed colleges in the unenviable position of needing to do more with less—or in some cases, simply do less. Limited resources have forced difficult choices and often cutbacks in student and academic supports (Mullin, 2010). Colleges are reconsidering and pulling back programs outside of workforce development and certificate or degree completion to focus
Learning to Innovate from the Globe: Developing Distributed Leadership in Professional Learning Communities through Transformative Learning Strategies for U.S. K-12 Educational Leaders
No full textK-12 schools are struggling to change from an industrial model to a model that will prepare
students for the 21st Century. Research has indicated that top-down transactional leadership is
not going to be successful in achieving this goal. Schooling is complex, and the school principal
cannot do it all. Since the 1990s there has been a focus on developing distributed leadership in
communities of practice through informal means as well as more formalized mechanisms,
professional learning communities (PLC), that bring teachers and principals together in leading
and learning. Using an evidence-based research systematic review meta-interpretation, the
purpose of this dissertation was to identify adult transformative learning strategies K-12 school
leaders around the globe employ to develop distributed leadership in PLC that are applicable to
U.S. schools. External factors included reform innovation mandates; internal factors included
isolated stakeholders. Pressing leading and learning issues included increased costs to support
drop-outs, ill-prepared future employees, increased cost for workplace learning, and decreased
U.S. global competitiveness. Using a realist thematic synthesis, findings include
12 interdependent and complementary dimensions found to develop distributed leadership in
PLC through transformative learning strategies and 14 transformative learning interventions for
PLC practitioners at multiple systems levels to build capacity for change and innovation
diffusion. Contributions of this dissertation include a quality appraisal tool for evaluating
evidence, an updated conceptual model of leading and learning, and a context-interventionmechanism-
outcome (CIMO) radar tool for educational leaders to monitor innovation diffusion
progress.Running Head: DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PLC i
Learning to Innovate from the Globe:
Developing Distributed Leadership in Professional Learning Communities through
Transformative Learning Strategies for U.S. K-12 Educational Leaders
Wanda Scanlon Wagner
Dissertation
A Thesis
Submitted to the
Graduate Faculty
of
University of Maryland University College
in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree
of
Doctorate of Management
Advisors:
G. David Andersen, Ed.D. (Primary)
Eric. B. Dent, Ph.D.
Kathleen F. Edwards, Ph.D.
James P. Gelatt, Ph.D. (Secondary)
DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PLC ii
Abstract
K-12 schools are struggling to change from an industrial model to a model that will prepare
students for the 21st Century. Research has indicated that top-down transactional leadership is
not going to be successful in achieving this goal. Schooling is complex, and the school principal
cannot do it all. Since the 1990s there has been a focus on developing distributed leadership in
communities of practice through informal means as well as more formalized mechanisms,
professional learning communities (PLC), that bring teachers and principals together in leading
and learning. Using an evidence-based research systematic review meta-interpretation, the
purpose of this dissertation was to identify adult transformative learning strategies K-12 school
leaders around the globe employ to develop distributed leadership in PLC that are applicable to
U.S. schools. External factors included reform innovation mandates; internal factors included
isolated stakeholders. Pressing leading and learning issues included increased costs to support
drop-outs, ill-prepared future employees, increased cost for workplace learning, and decreased
U.S. global competitiveness. Using a realist thematic synthesis, findings include
12 interdependent and complementary dimensions found to develop distributed leadership in
PLC through transformative learning strategies and 14 transformative learning interventions for
PLC practitioners at multiple systems levels to build capacity for change and innovation
diffusion. Contributions of this dissertation include a quality appraisal tool for evaluating
evidence, an updated conceptual model of leading and learning, and a context-intervention-mechanism-
outcome (CIMO) radar tool for educational leaders to monitor innovation diffusion
progress.
Keywords: distributed leadership, evidence-based decision making, innovation, loosely-coupled
systems, mandates, professional learning communities, reform, systematic review,
transformative learning, world view
DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PLC iii
Acknowledgements
“Every mental pursuit takes its reality and worth from the ardor of the pursuer” (Keats,
1899, p. 277).
In a letter dated 1818, Keats examined life through the perspective of life experiences and
the polarities of humanity. Similarly, the doctoral program expanded my personal perspectives
by exposing me to alternative views. My doctoral pursuit was enhanced through my
relationships with the faculty, cohort members, and the scholarship.
I would like to acknowledge my dissertation advisors who guided me in this learning
process. Dr. Edwards, you taught me to address my practitioner audience. You helped me
simplify my writing without simplifying the content. Dr. Gelatt, you taught me how to question
and appraise research. Your prompting questions made me a better researcher and consumer of
research. You reminded me when to drill down into the research and when to take a bird’s-eye
view. Dr. Dent, your scholarship on complexity science, polarities, and emerging world views
deepened my understanding of transformative learning. Dr. Andersen you supported my
learning and spirit. You helped me move from a self-directed learner to a self-determined
learner ready to attack the research until it surrendered. You encouraged me when I spoke about
how I was applying evidence-based practices in my workplace or presenting research at
conferences. You warned me when the dissertation process would test me. You helped me dig
deep into my scholarship to get through the trying times. Your patience calmed me. Always,
you were my supporter. Thank you. God bless you.
To all my advisors and faculty, I am a different person because of your influences.
Thank you, Dr. Wharff, Dr. Winters, Dr. Hadary, Dr. Sherlock, Dr. Watts, Dr. Bijlani,
Dr. Kelley, and Dr. Mierzwa. You taught me to look forward and backward at the same time.
The Roman god Janus looked to the future while thinking of the past; his Latin name (Ianua)
DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PLC iv
means door. Through this perspective, I see the doctorate as a gateway or doorway. There is no
going back. Because of your guidance, I am more than a scholar-practitioner. I am a scholar
advocate for the practitioner.
In addition to my advisors and faculty, I would like to acknowledge my cohort members.
Throughout every course, they supported me with nightly discussions on scholarship, expanding
my understanding with their experiences and lenses. Three doctoral students were part of my
original cohort and have been a constant support of my learning. Thank you, Joe Drasin, Holly
Cicconi-Eggleston, and Cheryl Devose. You continuously challenged and elevated my thinking.
Thank you for making me a better scholar and practitioner.
I would like to acknowledge the subject matter experts that reviewed my early draft
Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5. Thank you, Dr. Buono, Dr. Dombroski, Dr. Glisczinski, Dr. Johnson,
Dr. Pinto, Dr. Rayford, and Dr. Watson. They provided critical guidance and support for my
learning. I would like to thank the scholars that provided me direct guidance: Dr. Pawson (realist
synthesis); Dr. Wolcott (Innovation Radar); and Dr. Denyer (CIMO design science propositions).
They answered my questions with thought provoking responses that created an open dialogue.
Their openness reminded me to pay-it-forward if I am ever honored by someone asking me for
guidance. Lastly, I would like to thank the scholars whose research triggered my thinking. It is
magical when a certain phrase you read stops you in your tracks and then explodes into new
thinking. Thank you for blazing a path for my learning.
DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PLC v
Dedication
Thank you to my sister, Letha, who reminded me to re-write my dedication to reflect my
roots. Reflecting on my roots, my dissertation is dedicated to my parents, family, children, and
husband who shaped my thinking and being.
First, I dedicate my dissertation to my parents Francis Xavier Scanlon from Maryland and
Wandalee Walker from Arkansas. I know that if my parents were alive today, they would be
very proud. Frank and Wanda never attended high school. They had a greater calling to family
and country that included an appreciation for continuous, lifelong learning. My father was an
ironworker and an entrepreneur. With charm and grit, he created a successful engineering
company in the Baltimore area. When he retired and passed that company onto his oldest son, he
could not stay idle. He purchased and ran a successful motel on the Eastern Shore of Maryland
near Ocean City. The motel was a family business. This was when I realized my mother’s
business expertise and love of learning. In addition to taking care of a family, a farm, a motel,
and six children, my mother was a voracious reader. Between my father’s mechanical mind and
survivalist tendencies and my mother’s thirst for knowledge, I was impressed with the idea that if
I could think it, I could make it happen. I would like to acknowledge my parents as my first
teachers who prepared me for the world. They instilled in me a hunger and confidence for
continuous learning. They taught me to be competitive and fight for my beliefs. They taught me
to be thankful for all my blessings and respect the ideas of others.
Second, I was not alone in my primary discourse. I dedicate my dissertation to my five
siblings. My four brothers and one sister always guided me. Out of six children, I was the fifth
child. Therefore, I had many role models. I dedicate this dissertation to Larry, Gary, Letha,
Patrick, and Frank (Jr.). My oldest and youngest bookend siblings, Larry and Frank, are no
longer with us. I know that they are looking down from heaven and blessing my
DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PLC vi
accomplishment. They were always spit-fire spirits with wild and different perspectives. Gary,
Letha, and Patrick have put up with my incessant talk about my doctoral program. They are
forgiving of my absence to family while I pursued this endeavor. Thank you, Gary, Letha, and
Patrick, for your patience and support.
Third, I dedicate this dissertation to my children. While my children are grown and have
their own lives, they understood my disconnectedness and adjusted to my school schedules.
Thank you, dearest Meggan and Mary Pat. Meggan is married to my spectacular son-in-law,
Caner. During my doctoral program, Meggan and Caner blessed me with a grandson, Ash
Xavier Cooperrider. I remember leaving a UMUC residency to meet my grandson for the first
time in San Francisco. Dearest Ash, I hope that you realize how much balance you provided me
during this intensive time. You gave me a new perspective. Mary Pat, every time I visited the
DC area for residencies, you welcomed me to your home. You were always open to meeting my
cohort members. You graciously proofed my dissertation. You and Meggan always made me
feel proud that I was pursuing this endeavor. Thank you.
Lastly, I dedicate my dissertation to my husband, Terry, who provided endless and
unconditional support. Terry, from the moment that I mentioned the idea of enrolling in the
program, you were supportive. You never hesitated about the financial or potential time burden.
During the program, you understood that I needed time to process the deep learning. Without
hesitation, you automatically took on additional household duties, many times without my
realizing your commitment. You were patient with my nightly sessions online and weekends
filled with reading and writing marathons. Thank you, Terry. You are my rock.
DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PLC vii
Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii
Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE ............. 1
Background and Overview of Relevant Literature ......................................................................... 1
Distributed Leadership ........................................................................................................ 2
Loosely-Coupled Systems .................................................................................................. 6
Communities of Practice: Professional Learning Communities (PLC) .............................. 8
Transformative Learning and World View ....................................................................... 11
Summary of Background and Review of Related Literature ............................................ 12
Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................................. 13
Government Mandates Create a Sense of Urgency .......................................................... 14
Isolation Creates Disconnectedness .................................................................................. 17
Significance of the Problem .......................................................................................................... 19
Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 20
Importance to Management .......................................................................................................... 20
Research Question ........................................................................................................................ 21
Propositions.................................................................................................................................. 21
Leadership Context Propositions ...................................................................................... 23
Learning Intervention Proposition .................................................................................... 24
Learning Mechanism Proposition ..................................................................................... 24
Outcome Propositions ....................................................................................................... 24
Definitions.................................................................................................................................... 24
DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PLC viii
Distributed Leadership ...................................................................................................... 24
Professional Learning Community (PLC) ........................................................................ 25
Single-loop Versus Double-Loop Learning ...................................................................... 25
Transformative Learning .................................................................................................. 25
Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 25
Organization of the Dissertation ................................................................................................... 26
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 27
Discussion of Evidence-Based Research and Methodology ......................................................... 27
Evidence-Based Movement .............................................................................................. 28
Systematic Reviews (SR) .................................................................................................. 29
Rationale for Evidence-Based Research Methodology .................................................... 30
Configurative Synthesis on the Continuum of SR Types ................................................. 32
Realist Approach ............................................................................................................... 32
Discussion of Scholarly Research Evidence Tools ....................................................................... 34
Locating Evidence ............................................................................................................ 35
Search Sources .................................................................................................................. 36
Selected References .......................................................................................................... 38
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria ....................................................................................... 39
Quality Appraisal .............................................................................................................. 40
Thematic Synthesis ........................................................................................................... 42
Coding and Themes .......................................................................................................... 43
Themes and Categories ..................................................................................................... 44
Synthesis Stage ................................................................................................................. 45
Presentation and Discussion of Expert Panel................................................................................ 47
DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PLC ix
Expert Panel Purpose and Process .................................................................................... 48
The Panel Members .......................................................................................................... 48
Feedback from Expert Panel ............................................................................................. 48
Impact of Panel Members’ Comments ............................................................................. 49
Additional Methodology Experts ...................................................................................... 49
Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 50
CHAPTER 3: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...................................................... 51
Discussion of Theoretical Lenses ................................................................................................. 51
Theoretical Lens 1: Transformative Learning Theory ...................................................... 52
Theoretical Lens 2: Single-Loop and Double-Loop Change, Learning, and Reflection .. 56
Summary of Discussion of Theoretical Lenses ................................................................ 57
Systematic Review of Literature ................................................................................................... 58
Demographics ................................................................................................................... 59
Distributed Leadership ...................................................................................................... 61
District-to-district collaborative governance in federations ................................. 61
Distributed leadership within districts .................................................................. 69
School-to-school distributed leadership development .......................................... 78
Summary of distributed leadership in PLC. .......................................................... 90
Interdependency and Complementarity of PLC and Transformative Learning ................ 91
Trans-disciplinary strategies ................................................................................. 92
K-16 scholar-practitioner networks ...................................................................... 98
Schools-to-community strategies ........................................................................ 102
Inter-professional learning strategies .................................................................. 107
Participatory action research strategies ............................................................... 121
DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PLC x
Work integrated learning strategies .................................................................... 127
Summary of interdependency and complementarity of PLC and transformative
learning. .............................................................................................................. 135
Summary of the Systematic Review of Literature .......................................................... 136
Review of Research Propositions ............................................................................................... 136
Updated Leadership Context Propositions...................................................................... 136
Updated Learning Intervention Proposition.................................................................... 137
Updated Learning Mechanism Proposition .................................................................... 137
Updated Outcome Propositions ................................................................................