732 research outputs found
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Sustaining a Career in Community and Technical College Leadership by Coping with Job Stress Through Emotional Intelligence
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this study was to describe and explore the use of emotional intelligence for coping with organizational role stress as perceived by senior-level leaders serving as college presidents, vice presidents and deans in the Washington State community and technical college system. A second purpose of this study was to describe the differences in perceptions amongst senior-level leader’s use of emotional intelligence as a stress coping strategy.
Methodology: For this qualitative phenomenological study, data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews from 15 senior-level leaders. Participants identified a variety of ways emotional intelligence factors into coping with organizational role stress.
Findings: Findings suggest having self-awareness, expressing one’s self to build mutual understanding and trust, using multiple sources of data to inform decision making, having support systems, and optimism were identified as the top themes across each key factor area. Differences were found among leader role type in response frequencies, and coping strategies identified.
Conclusions: This study drew eight conclusions on how community and technical college senior-level leaders use emotional intelligence to cope with occupational role stress. The conclusions of this study lead to several implications for aspiring community and technical college leaders, current college leaders who seek to advance in their career, emotional intelligence and occupational stress researchers, and organizational development practitioners.
Recommendations: Further study on emotional intelligence and organizational role stress is needed to obtain generalizable findings to include other types of higher education institutions, larger samples of senior-level community and technical college leaders for comparison of similarities and differences and correlate perceptions between more than one sample. Other research methodologies are recommended
Exemplary City Managers Leading Through Conversation
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to identify and describe the behaviors that exemplary city managers practice to lead their organizations through conversation using Groysberg and Slind’s (2012b) 4 elements of conversation leadership (intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality).
Methodology: This qualitative research study was used to describe the behaviors of exemplary Southern California city managers. The counties included in the study were San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino. The researcher selected 10 exemplary city managers that met 4 of the 6 criterion identified as exemplary. The phenomenological research design was selected to explain how these city managers lead through conversation. Data collection included semistructured interviews, observation, and collection of pertinent artifacts. The researcher used the NVivo software to provide analysis of the data and show the emerging themes. The themes were then examined to identify behaviors that the exemplary city managers practice to lead through conversation.
Findings: Examination of qualitative data from the 10 city managers, collected through in-depth interviews, observational data, and review of artifacts produced 20 themes and 299 frequencies within the conversational leadership elements. Ten key findings supported the conversational leadership elements of intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality.
Conclusions: The study supported Groysberg and Slind’s (2012b) 4 elements of conversational leadership and identified specific behaviors that exemplary city mangers practice to lead their organizations. The culmination of research identified four conclusions. City managers must (a) engage in conversations that promote trust and listening attentively to engage stakeholders in honest communication, (b) focus development strategies to cultivate a culture of open dialogue and a two-way exchange of information, (c) use strategies to gain active contributors to ensure a member’s commitment to organizational goals, (d) use conversation to create clarity of message, provide focus, and elicit feedback on goals and directions.
Recommendations: Further research is needed on city managers practicing conversational leadership in different regions of the United States. Additionally, research is needed on for-profit, publicly traded companies and professional sports organizations and the use of conversational leadership
Advancing Faculty Adoption of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A Delphi Study
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify and describe the perceptions of open educational resources (OER) higher education experts regarding the activities needed at colleges and universities in the United States in order to advance faculty adoption of OER over the next 10 years. Also, this study examined those activities that were most important and had the greatest likelihood of being implemented.
Methodology: The researcher utilized a mixed-methods Delphi study technique to identify and describe activities to advance faculty adoption of OER. The target population for the study consisted of a group of OER higher education faculty experts from postsecondary institutions within the United States. This study utilized a purposive criterion sampling method to identify 16 experts. The Delphi method employed questionnaires over 3 successive rounds to gather data from and build consensus among the expert panel. In Round 1, the researcher asked the expert panel for activities to support faculty adoption of OER. In Round 2, the expert panel rated the 35 activities for degree of importance and likelihood of implementation. In Round 3, the panel had an opportunity to revise their score, if desired, in order to move toward consensus.
Findings: Analysis of the quantitative data from the study revealed 17 OER activities that received consensus for importance and 11 OER activities that indicated consensus concerning likelihood for implementation. Finally, there were 6 OER research findings on which the expert panel came to consensus concerning equally importance and likelihood of implementation.
Conclusions: Based on the data and research findings, 6 conclusions were drawn related to faculty adoption of OER within colleges and universities over the next decade.
Recommendations: There were 8 recommendations for further research covering these topic areas: (a) replication of the study within different higher education arenas and across other stakeholder groups; and (b) examination of faculty receptivity and resistance to adopting OER, utilizing a change theoretical framework; (c) a model for open pedagogy; and (d) an examination of K-12 educators’ OER adoption practices
The Impact of the Adult Education Block Grant on the Operation of Adult Education in California from the Perspective of Experienced Adult Education Administrators: A Policy A Delphi Study
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this Policy Delphi Study was to identify the perceptions of California adult school administrators regarding the impacts of the Adult Education Block Grant (AEBG) on the operation of the adult education system, to rate the impacts as to their importance, and to identify strategies for addressing the impacts on existing adult education programs.
Methodology: The Policy Delphi method was utilized in order to gather data from an expert panel of Californian K-12 adult education administrators that have been impacted by the AEBG on the adult education system. The Policy Delphi study consisted of three rounds and 15 leading experts in K-12 adult education to gain consensus on the perceptions of expert California K-12 adult education administrators regarding the impacts of the AEBG on the existing adult education system, to rate the impacts as to their importance, and to identify strategies for addressing the impacts on existing adult education programs.
Findings: Analysis of the first round of data resulted in expert K-12 adult education administrator participants identifying the impacts that the AEBG has had on the operation of the adult education system, which was narrowed down in the second round to the top ranked 11 impacts. In round three, the expert K-12 adult education administrator participants then identified strategies for implementing the top five identified very strong impacts that the AEBG has had on the operation of the adult education system.
Conclusions: According to the expert K-12 adult education administrator participants, advocacy efforts to secure additional funding for adult education; creation of a common system to support transition services; leveraging resources with consortia members and partners; a data and accountability system; and an equalization between the adult education and community college systems is needed to address the impacts that the AEBG has had on the operation of the adult education system in California.
Recommendations: Recommendations for further research are described in Chapter V, including studies that search out the perceptions of California community college administrators and K-12 school district superintendents regarding the impacts of the AEBG
Exploring the Lived Experiences of Educated Women who Opted Back Into the Workforce After Working as a Stay at Home Mother: A Phenomenological Study
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to discover and describe the lived experiences of educated women who opted back into the workforce after working as a stay at home mother. The study explored how stay at home mothers honed their soft and hard skills which subsequently led to an effective transition back into the workforce. This study considered the internal and external motivations that women experience as they move throughout their motherhood journey by way of interviews. The need to interview these working mothers to discover how they effectively returned to the workplace was not only necessary resource for future reentry women but critical for businesses who will benefit from their potential return. Educated working mothers were selected for this study as a reference to describe their journey from opting out of the workforce to working as a stay at home mother, and their ultimate return.
Methodology: The study was qualitative with a phenomenological approach to research.
Findings: Findings from this study revealed that women are motivated by a deeper intrinsic level to return to the workforce, the need to find personal fulfillment not only in their home, but in their careers.
Conclusions: Stay at home mothers developed a high degree of empathy and compassion at home and apply it in the workforce. Stay at home mothers develop advanced multitasking skills and increased efficiency at home and apply in the workforce. Stay at home mothers need to be assertive and have a plan that will work for their family and themselves when reentering the workforce. Stay at home mothers who reenter the workforce need to ask for help and surround themselves with a supportive work/life balance environment to prevent them from leaving the workforce again.
Recommendations: Further research should be expanded regarding the often penalized and stigmatized reentry of mothers who have a gap in their professional resume so that society as a whole embraces their reentry as a positive accomplishment
Factors Associated with Attracting and Retaining Church Membership: A Phenomenological Study
No full textPurpose: Christian churches in American continue to struggle to maintain membership. This project is a combination research paper and contextual project that uses research gathered in the field to help evaluate the reality of what has taken place in membership and retention in this context. As such, this project aims to explore ministry practices that attract and retain church membership in Christian churches as perceived by active church leaders in the church.
Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study explores the practices that support membership and retention in Christian churches from the stakeholders’ perspective. The project examines the lived experiences of licensed and/or ordained pastors, ministers, and Auxiliary leaders at two established Grace Church International, Inc. church affiliates in the Southern California District; Grace Church, Spring Valley, California and Grace Harvest Church, Panorama City, California through a series of voluntarily focus group meetings.
Findings: The findings in this study provide the results of the lived experiences of the licensed and/or ordained pastors, ministers, and auxiliary leaders at their respective churches that were perceived to attract and retain church membership. The data being presented represents the results of all the coded focus group meetings, observations, and artifacts that were collected. The findings relate to the research questions used in the study.
Conclusions: This study considered the lived experiences of the study participants that attract and retain church membership. Based on the findings of this study as supported by the literature, it is concluded that of greatest importance to attract and retain church members of all participants were relationship building, prayer, assimilation, and hospitality (friendliness).
Recommendations: It is important that church leaders understand how the aforementioned factors affect membership and retention in Christian churches to help us to better comprehend the context of membership and retention in Christian faith organizations. It is equally important to help church leaders build successful strategies for their congregations that have been demonstrated and implemented in successful churches. Therefore, the researcher suggests that church leaders implement practices to address the four previously mentioned factors in their church to attract and retain church members
Culture, Leadership, and Organizational Learning in California Community Colleges: Exploring the Potential for Second Order Change
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of organizational culture and campus leadership on the development of organizational learning practices in California community colleges. A secondary purpose of the study was to explore the role of organizational culture and campus leadership in facilitating second order change in California community colleges.
Methodology: This multiple case study used a design with embedded unit of analysis to understand the impact of organizational culture and campus leadership on the development of organizational learning practices and facilitation of second order change in California community colleges. Three colleges were selected as case sites and examined using Schein’s dimensions of organizational learning culture as a theoretical framework. Data from each case site were collected through semi-structured interviews with formal and informal campus leaders, as well as from documents, artifacts, and publicly available archival records.
Findings: Several elements of organizational culture and leadership were found to have an impact on organizational learning and play a role in the facilitation of second order change, including proactive, transparent communication; culturally resonant framing; alignment of internal and external expectations; an intentional learning mindset; and cultivation of relationships characterized by a high degree of trust and psychological safety.
Conclusions: Trust, psychological safety, and proactive communication serve as a foundation for intentional organizational learning and provide stability during times of disruption and change. Community colleges that develop an intentional learning mindset and take the time to frame second order changes using culturally resonant language will have more success managing disconfirming information and adapting to disruptive changes. Colleges with a shared perception that members have the capacity and resources to support learning are better able to decrease learning anxiety and increase confidence in the outcome of a change.
Recommendations: Community college leaders should actively cultivate trust and psychological safety within the culture before engaging in second order changes, and ensure that plans are in place for ensuring timely, transparent, culturally resonant communication throughout a change implementation. Community college leaders can increase capacity for organizational learning and change by expanding time, energy, and funding to support these activities
A Qualitative Study to Describe Behaviors that Exemplary Municipal Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Practice to Lead their Organizations through Conversation
No full textPurpose. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors exemplary municipal police chiefs and sheriffs practiced leading their organizations through conversation using Groysberg and Slind’s (2012) four elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, intentionality.
Methodology. A phenomenology qualitative method was used to describe the behaviors of exemplary municipal police chiefs and sheriffs in southern California and their lived experiences related to conversational leadership. The study combined semi-structured interviews, observations, and artifact collection. These qualitative tools helped the researcher gain insight into participants’ conversational leadership behaviors. The researcher analyzed the data with the aid of NVivo software to reveal patterns and sort them into categories.
Findings. Examination of the data resulted in 20 themes and 574 references to the four elements of conversational leadership. Eight key findings were identified based on the frequency of references by study participants.
Conclusions. The eight key findings were summarized into four conclusions, one for each conversational element: (1) municipal police chiefs and sheriffs who want to provide an intimate, trusting environment must form comfortable conversational environments and create authentic, honest conversations to build trust; (2) municipal police chiefs and sheriffs committed to stakeholder interactivity and exchange of ideas create an environment for open dialogue and engage members in two-way dialogue; (3) municipal police chiefs and sheriffs committed to inclusion and sharing of ideas utilize effective conversation strategies for sharing, and create empowered internal stakeholders; (4) municipal police chiefs and sheriffs who want to ensure clarity of purpose with clear goals and direction should focus on methods to create clarity and purpose.
Recommendations. Further research is advised by replicating this study in other types of law enforcement organizations, as well as business, education, and possibly the military. Conduct a study to combine the results of this study with the peer-researchers in this thematic team to compare the results
Female Athletic Directors in California: Attaining and Retaining the Position of Athletic Director
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological inquiry study was to examine and describe how female athletic directors in California face and overcome barriers in attaining and retaining their positions.
Methodology: This was a qualitative phenomenological research study, incorporating an interview research design. The participants in this study were current female athletic directors within in the Southern and San Diego Sections of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). The researcher conducted 15 semistructured interviews and collected artifacts that were coded for themes to develop a conceptual framework with which to understand the phenomena that females experience in attaining and retaining their positions (Creswell, 2007).
Findings: Several findings were identified as a result of analyzing the data for themes. First, it was discovered that female athletic directors are rare and face barriers related to gender. Second, time and travel demand negatively impact female athletic director’s ability to participate in family events. Third, successful female athletic directors build positive relationships with individuals in key positions. Fourth, effective female athletic directors stand up for themselves. Lastly, ongoing intentional mentoring from administration and other athletic directors fosters growth for female athletic directors.
Conclusions: Based on the findings, this study supported six conclusions: (a) There needs to be more support for women in athletic administration; (b) female athletic directors need opportunities to find balance with work and family; (c) a school culture that supports ongoing development of staff relationships helps female athletic directors be successful; (d) personal and professional development opportunities are essential for female athletic directors; (e) in order to retain highly qualified female athletic directors, school districts need to cultivate opportunities for mentorship; and (f) the athletic community needs to develop and facilitate a community network for female athletic directors that includes mentoring by other athletic directors.
Recommendations: Further research is recommended to better explain the unique dynamics of females and athletic administration. This includes but is not limited to reasons why female athletic directors leave the position, identifying barriers or factors influencing decisions to leave athletic administration, and conducting research into the experiences of administrators and coaches who work with female athletic directors
The Conversational Leadership of Regional Directors of Migrant Education
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe behaviors that exemplary regional directors of migrant education practice to lead their organizations through conversation using Groysberg and Slind’s (2012) four elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality.
Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative study identified and described the behaviors exemplary regional directors of migrant education practiced to lead their organization through conversation. Participants were purposively chosen based on specific criteria defining exemplary. The researcher worked with a group of 12 peer researchers and four faculty. Semistructured interviews were conducted face-to-face and the data coded for themes.
Findings: Significant research on leadership behaviors and the impact of the Migrant Education Program has been done. There remains a gap to identify and describe the behaviors used by exemplary regional directors of migrant education to lead their organizations through conversation as described by Groysberg and Slind (2012). This study revealed the ways in which leaders use intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality to lead members of their organization. Within these elements of conversational leadership, the recurrent themes of storytelling to connect members to the leader and to the organizational mission, individualized consideration of members, and the creation of both structures and process for listening to members were significant in this study.
Conclusion: Exemplary regional directors of migrant education who seek to lead their organizations through conversation will build intimacy by listening and creating structures conducive to a two-way exchange. In addition, leaders will utilize storytelling within the organization to make important connections and create common understanding of the organization’s mission.
Recommendations: Future studies should include member perceptions, generational information, gender designation or leaders of agencies of varying size. An examination of conversational leadership by cultural group, sameness, or difference would illuminate culture’s potential impact on organizational communication and conversational leadership