Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2024, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

This research examined, through a qualitative grounded theory approach, perceptions of classified, non-instructional staff, and leaders in business and operations on a best practices professional development framework for operational staff. The study also examined the responsibility of leaders to provide professional development opportunities to their staff and touched on how it affects the workplace culture. In the past, studies have examined the benefits of continuous job-embedded training and professional development opportunities for teachers, the administrators' responsibility to provide such opportunities, and the effect professional development has on school culture; but there is limited research about providing consistent professional development opportunities for classified and non-instructional staff. Classified and non-instructional staff in business and operations have both a direct and indirect impact on student learning and achievement. Providing continuous professional development opportunities to this population, to mirror that of teachers, may help increase the knowledge and skill capacity in a school district. This study was conducted using a survey for classified and non-instructional staff, a semi-structured focus group interview of leaders in business and operations, and document reviews from the same leaders. Results from this research supported the existing literature summarized in Chapter Two about professional development for teachers and the theoretical framework that guided the study. The researcher highly recommends that K-12 districts adopt this best practices framework for the continuous development of non-teaching staff.

Committee: Jane Beese EdD (Advisor); Melissa Mlakar EdD (Committee Member); Richard VanVoorhis EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Educational Theory; Organizational Behavior; Teacher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Educational Policy and Leadership

The primary focus of this research was to understand a high-performance university development organization. This was done by examining organizational performance and leadership characteristics as conceptualized and measured by Robert Quinn's Competing Values Framework (CVF) and by using qualitative methods to identify “best practices” in the organization. Fifteen organizational managers were selected from twelve “high-performance” development sub-units to participate. (CVF) surveys were completed by and profiles generated for the participants as well as members of the Leadership Prospect Group and individuals that comprised functional layers of management. “Best practices” were studied using qualitative methodologies such as participant observation, document analysis, semi-structured and unstructured interviews. These methodologies were also used to further understand the leadership characteristics of the participants. The findings identify leadership of the Vice President for Development as the most important and influential characteristic of effectiveness for The Ohio State University Department of Development. Upon arrival to the University the Vice President was largely responsible for establishing four “process” and nine “substantive” best practices that shaped the direction, performance, and culture of the Development Organization. The most prominent and guiding “best practices” were: dedication to major-gift cultivation, emphasis on teamwork and collaboration, and commitment to alignment of development objectives to academic priorities of the University. These best practices were identified in each development sub-unit studied in this research. The magnitude of these guiding best practices was enhanced when combined with unit-specific innovations and best practices addressing specific characteristics unique to the culture, environment, staffing, budget, and development goals for each of the “high-performance” development sub-units studied. Cameron (1986), Qu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Rodgers (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Administration