EDD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

Collective School Leaders are school administrators who embody collective leadership to equip and empower school stakeholders, particularly teacher-leaders. Collective School Leaders effectively harness the collective power of stakeholders to build and sustain multifaceted leadership that drives student outcomes. This narrative case study analyzes the working group discussions and semi-structured interview responses of Teach Plus participants. As a workplace initiative, Education Leadership Coaches and Teach Plus Teacher-Leader Fellows selected five essential competencies of collective school leadership: personal awareness, collaborative vision setting, distributed leadership, systems innovation, and equity advocacy. Participants in this Teach Plus case study recommend that school leaders who exhibit the five competencies of collective school leadership are poised to promote and expand teacher-leadership.

Committee: Natasha Levinson (Committee Chair) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Organizational Behavior; School Administration

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2022, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

Staff meetings are a regular occurrence in schools, yet both teachers and principals typically report dissatisfaction with these meetings. Teacher dissatisfaction with staff meetings can be influenced by how content they are with their own level of silence. Previous research tended to focus on the negative aspects of silence during meetings. However, silence behaviors should be viewed on a continuum from negative to positive, depending on the context. Silence is detrimental to group functioning when it is a result of oppression, fear of negative consequences, or a lack of engagement. Silence is a positive behavior when it leads to reflective thinking, respectful communication, and active listening behaviors. This study used Q-methodology, which is a mixed-methods research design that combines quantitative and qualitative methods to examine individuals' subjective experiences around one topic. Teachers fell into three distinct groups related to their perspectives on silence during staff meetings: Get the Party Started, I Don't Care Anymore, and Don't Stop Believin'. The meeting format and how the principal facilitates the meeting seems to have a more pronounced influence on teacher silence behaviors, teacher attitudes towards staff meetings, and their own silence levels; the leadership style was less impactful. Teachers report increased satisfaction when the principal intentionally designs and facilitates relevant and impactful staff meetings where group norms are followed. The proposed iceberg model of teacher silence can be used to assist principals with assessing teacher silence in their own school buildings.

Committee: Karen Larwin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Sherri Harper Woods DM (Committee Member); Patrick O'Leary Ph.D. (Committee Member); Patrick Spearman Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Communication; Education; Educational Leadership; Educational Psychology; Educational Sociology; Organizational Behavior; School Administration; Teacher Education

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

This mixed-methods case study explores the establishment, change, and sustainability of grading practices among high school teachers. Through Q-methodology, this study investigates teachers' perspectives on grading, their motivations for adopting alternative practices, and the challenges they face in implementation. The study's findings reveal that teachers primarily rely on personal experience and limited training to develop grading practices. Social networks among teachers can play a crucial role in influencing the adoption of alternative grading practices. Additionally, collective leadership and professional development can help foster a culture of innovation and support for change. However, resistance to change and the dominance of traditional practices remain significant challenges.

Committee: Karen Larwin PhD (Committee Chair); Patrick Spearman PhD (Committee Member); Mara Banfield EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; School Administration; Teacher Education

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership , Franklin University, 2024, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

In an ever-diversifying country, the landscape of the American classroom is shifting, requiring educational leaders and teachers to possess curriculum knowledge, cultural intelligence, and self-efficacy to understand students' cultural differeces. This study aims to offer specific insights into four schools in the suburban Midwest working to improve the historically low achievement of Hispanic students. Utilizing a non-experimental correlational quantitative approach grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986) and Cultural Intelligence Theory (Earley & Ang, 2003), this study examined the relationship between Hispanic students' academic outcomes and individual cultural intelligence and collective teacher efficacy. The findings of this study have several practical implications for educational practice, especially in high-poverty schools serving diverse student populations. Fostering an environment that promotes continuous professional development in cultural intelligence is crucial. Although cultural intelligence was not found to have a statistically significant impact on student achievement in this study, the broader literature suggests its importance in culturally diverse settings. The weak yet positive correlation between collective teacher efficacy and student achievement highlights the need to build a strong, supportive school culture. This study contributes to the body of research on educational equity and provides practical insights for improving academic outcomes for Hispanic students.

Committee: Valerie Storey (Committee Chair); Linda Locke (Committee Member); Lori Salgado (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2023, Leadership and Change

This study explored the experiences of African American mental health clinicians' during the intersecting crises of the Black mental health crisis, the highly publicized racial tension tied to extrajudicial violence and over-policing of Black Americans, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic started a global crisis that affected millions of people's physical and mental health and overall well-being. Shared trauma explores the duality of mental health clinicians' personal and professional experiences. Grounded in critical race theory and models of trauma, this study explores Black mental health clinicians' lived experiences and lessons. This is an interpretive phenomenological study with narrative interviews of 10 mental health clinicians who provided services to at least 50% Black clientele before the advent of COVID-19. The study explored how Black mental health clinicians providing mental health care fared, personally and professionally, during COVID-19 and with racial upheaval: How did they adapt their lives and practices? What did they learn personally and professionally during these crises? Data were collected in individual qualitative interviews and analyzed using Saldana's first-cycle and second-cycle thematic coding model. Themes that emerged were (a) anxiety and fear regarding the unknown of COVID-19; (b) anger towards the continued racism and over-policing and killing of the Black community; (c) the importance physical activity and therapy as a clinician as means of self-care (d) connection to others to help with emotional support and the isolation of COVID-19; (e) transitioning to telehealth from in-office clinical services; (f) increase in demand of services, and (g) increase in demand for the expertise of Black clinicians, specifically. Understanding the lived experiences of Black mental health clinicians during these crises informs future practices of clinicians by teaching how to optimize health and well-being for self-care and not (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: J. Beth Mabry Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Fayth Parks Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ameena Kemavor Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Black Studies; Clinical Psychology; Counseling Education; Counseling Psychology; Health Care; Mental Health; Psychotherapy; Social Work

Doctor of Organization Development & Change (D.O.D.C.), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Organization Development

This study investigates how collective empathy forms, embeds, and sustains, and thus might be operationalized at [Healing Arts for Children], a small arts-focused nonprofit organization serving pediatric patients and their families. The twenty-year-old organization, in partnership with hospitals, facilitates art, music, and other creative expression activities to help reduce anxiety and encourage more positive healthcare experiences for the critically and chronically ill. The predominance of literature on empathy and its development in the workplace focuses on empathy at an individual level (specifically with leaders and staff) and empathic responses or expressions by individuals related to workplace performance. Despite a long history of studying empathy in the workplace, the constructs of individualized empathy are not universally defined and agreed upon, thereby creating significant variability in the possibility of sustainable and practical workplace application. There is little current research on empathy in the workplace that investigates the system-level application of empathy, which may be essential in determining how empathy forms, embeds, and sustains within an organization. Some research on the concept of “collective empathy” of individuals within a system exists, suggesting the possibility of operationalizing the construct. Yet, this literature appears to insufficiently address the collective empathy of a system and its influence on stakeholders and constituents, even though it suggests the possibility that collective empathy might have the power to improve culture and performance. The findings from this study build on and add to the limited empirical research on collective empathy by identifying likely conditions for how such empathy forms, embeds, and sustains within an organization. This study contributes to existing research by supporting how collective empathy forms and adds to that research by offering a perspective on the role of culture (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Deborah O'Neil Ph. D. (Committee Chair); Margaret Brooks Ph. D. (Committee Member); David Jamieson Ph.D. (Committee Member); David Saltzman Ph. D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration; Management; Organizational Behavior

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2022, Leadership and Change

Reframing Leadership Narratives Through the African American Lens explores the context-rich experiences of Black Museum executives to challenge dominant cultural perspectives of what constitutes a leader. Using critical narrative discourse analysis, this research foregrounds under-told narratives and reveals the leadership practices used to proliferate Black Museums to contrast the lack of racially diverse perspectives in the pedagogy of leadership studies. This was accomplished by investigating the origin stories of African American executives using organizational leadership and social movement theories as analytical lenses for making sense of leaders' tactics and strategies. Commentary from Black Museum leaders were interspersed with sentiments of “Sankofa” which signify the importance of preserving the wisdom of the past in an effort to empower current and future generations. This study contributes to closing the gap between race and leadership through a multidimensional lens, while amplifying lesser-known histories, increasing unexplored narrative exemplars, and providing greater empirical evidence from the point of view of African American leaders. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Committee: Donna Ladkin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Lemuel Watson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Damion L. Thomas Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; American History; Arts Management; Black History; Black Studies; History; Museum Studies; Museums; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2022, Leadership and Change

To be human is to be a member of myriad groups. The universality of groups in our lives poses an important area of study for social scientists investigating human flourishing. Additionally, inquiring into the evolutionary potential of groups may begin to inform new ways of addressing the intractable issues we face as a human species. While most empirical studies of groups focus on group performance, or group doingness, this study explored group beingness and the experience of manifesting deep union and oneness, which is an intersubjective phenomenon that has been called coherence. Intersubjective coherence is often written about from a theoretical and conceptual perspective, as well as from a practice perspective, but it has rarely been investigated empirically. This interpretive phenomenological investigation of coherence inquired into the phenomenon through the facilitation of two group coherence treatments immediately followed by group interviews. The study's design enabled the exploration of coherence from the intersubjective perspective, allowing for participants to make meaning of their coherence experiences in community. Findings revealed what it was like for participants to experience coherence, how the groups shifted into coherence, and the antecedents and outcomes associated with coherence. Additionally, five meta-themes, Direct Experience of Interbeing, Constructive Disorientation, Co-sensing, Metalogue, and Best Me, Best We, were identified revealing a broader context as well as the ways in which the participants made meaning of the experiences. A key outcome of the study was an empirically-based definition of coherence: coherence is a group-level phenomenon wherein members experience a collective shift into a heightened state of connectedness marked by a quieting, slowing, and calming of the group climate, an activation of an enlivened intersubjective field, and a calling forth for members' best selves resulting in an acceptance and celebration of diffe (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Donna Ladkin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jon Wergin Ph.D. (Committee Member); Judi Neal Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Organizational Behavior; Social Psychology; Spirituality

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2020, Leadership and Change

This dissertation illuminates how the experience of growing up during the Chilean dictatorship (1973–1990) affected the individual's sense of self as citizen and the impact on their sense of democratic agency, civic-mindedness, and political engagement in their country's current democracy. To understand that impact, the researcher chose to study her own generation, the “Pinochet-era” generation (Cummings, 2015) and interviewed those who were part of the Chilean middle class, who despite not being explicit victims of perpetrators, were raised in dictatorship and surrounded by abuse of state power including repression, disappearance, and imprisonment. The theoretical frame of the Socio-Political Development Theory (Watt, Williams, & Jagers, 2003) helped to understand the process that participants went through and how they moved from an A-Critical Stage, with a complete absence of awareness and understanding about what was happening in their world at the time of the coup d'Etat, to a stage of critical consciousness surrounded by empathy for those who were suffering human rights violations which were the main drivers to latter participate in a liberation process. This development of a critical consciousness was influenced—among others—by specific family and social context which promoted transgenerational (Uwineza & Brackelaire, 2014) and intergenerational dialogue (Reyes, Cornejo, Cruz, Carrillo, & Caviedes, 2015) processes, where values, heritage, and ways of acting were transmitted. The narrative approach helped to elicit stories about participants' life events from the coup d'Etat to present. Through the exploration of 15 narrative interviews it was also possible to collect participants' memories and observe how they currently manifest their civic commitment and social responsibility. Their collective memory, influenced by a collective grief (Metraux, 2005b), still lingers over 40 years later and helps us to understand their life-long commitment and passion to fight (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Laurien Alexandre PhD (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Holloway PhD (Committee Member); Jean-Luc Brackelaire PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Hispanic American Studies; Hispanic Americans; History; International Relations; Latin American History; Latin American Studies; Military History; Military Studies; Modern History; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Research; Social Structure; Sociology

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2020, Leadership and Change

In the United States, cross-sector partnerships, a form of collaboration, are becoming increasingly common in practice (Gray & Purdy, 2018). However, questions remain regarding the effectiveness of these partnerships and if the many challenges of using them can be overcome. In particular, the intersection of cross-sector partnerships and power, which can deeply impact these partnerships, needs more attention. This study used interpretive phenomenology to understand, from the participant perspective, (a) the experience and construction of power, (b) the impact of power on participants, and (c) how power dynamics in these initiatives compare to dynamics in organizations. Seventeen participants from four homelessness-focused Collective Impact (CI) initiatives, a popular cross-sector partnership model, were interviewed about their experiences. In addition, I reviewed key documents about each initiative. Data was interpreted using a variety of theoretical lenses, including critical theory, as well as my own work experience in this area, and carefully analyzed through iterative re-engagement, reflexivity, and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that power presented in six different ways: resources, structures and processes, identity, resistance, formal leadership, and framing and communication. When examining the differences between collaborations, differences in these six areas, as well as the identity and ways of operating of the partner who began the partnership, seemed to influence the experience of power. Financial resources were a dominant form of power and provided some partners with disproportionate influence. Dominant partners were also able to stack power across these six areas. The impacts of power dynamics were largely negative. Other significant findings included that some partners did not experience power at all. Critical theory and positive framing may explain this outcome. I call for an expanded CI model with a sixth condition related to power. As par (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lize (A.E.) Booysen DBL (Committee Chair); Donna Ladkin PhD (Committee Member); Kirk Emerson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Public Administration; Public Policy; Social Psychology; Social Research

Doctor of Education, University of Akron, 2018, Educational Leadership

School principals are continually searching for leadership practices that have the potential to directly enhance adult behavior and indirectly and positively influence student achievement. Previous research has indicated that a positive and statistically significant relationship exists between collective teacher efficacy beliefs and principal transformational leadership practices (Demir, 2008; Ninkovic & Floric, 2018; Prelli, 2016; Ross & Gray, 2006). In addition, schools characterized by higher levels of collective teacher efficacy have demonstrated higher levels of student achievement. Previous studies of collective teacher efficacy have focused on group outcomes based on the levels of collective efficacy beliefs held by the teacher's studied. However, the research examining the relationship between specific leadership practices associated with transformational leaders that may develop and/or strengthen collective teacher efficacy beliefs has been minimal. The purpose of this study was to examine whether principal transformational leadership practices statistically significantly predicted collective teacher efficacy beliefs amongst K-12 teachers, while taking the contextual conditions of building level and teacher experience into consideration. Participants consisted of voluntary educators from one school district serving five elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. A total of 233 participants completed the Educational Leadership Survey, Collective Efficacy Scale: Short Form, and demographic questionnaire. Results from the hierarchical linear multiple regression indicated that transformational leadership practices, when taken collectively with the demographic variables of building level and teacher experience, statistically significantly predicted collective efficacy beliefs in teachers. The positive and statistically significant relationship between transformational leadership practices and collective teacher efficacy beliefs i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Xin Liang Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Susan Kushner Benson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Susan Clark Ph.D. (Committee Member); Alfred Daviso Ph.D. (Committee Member); Kristin Koskey Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership

Doctor of Education, Miami University, 2018, Educational Leadership

Since the publication of the Coleman Report in 1966, educational researchers have been studying what schools can do to close the achievement gap. This study examined the relationship between collective teacher efficacy and servant leadership behaviors in elementary principals. Collective teacher efficacy is positively correlated to student achievement even when controlling for the socio-economic status of the student. Teachers in five Ohio elementary schools were surveyed using the Collective Efficacy Scale (Goddard, 2000) and the Servant Leadership Scale (Liden et al., 2008). The study used two sample T-Test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of domains and sub-domains and correlational analyses of variables aggregated at the school level. One hundred, fifty-seven teachers were surveyed in the five Ohio elementary schools. Overall aggregate school collective efficacy scores were not significantly correlated to overall servant leadership scores as predicted. However, a positive relationship between collective teacher efficacy and student achievement was confirmed and a positive relationship between servant leadership and student achievement was found. More specifically, the servant leadership dimensions of helping teachers grow and succeed and emotional healing were positively correlated to student achievement. This finding deserves more study as researchers continue to determine how leaders can positively impact student achievement.

Committee: Thomas Poetter (Committee Chair) Subjects: Educational Leadership

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2017, Management

This research project focuses on how Employee Owned Companies, more commonly known as ESOPs, can accomplish both productive and successful acquisitions. A productive and successful acquisition is defined as one that fulfills or exceeds the acquiring company's expectations. Most successful ESOPs generally implement various types of progressive management strategies including open book management and open door communication. These practices propel active employee engagement and participation and have been demonstrated to enhance productivity and profitability because the employees are both personally and financially empowered to improve organizational performance. Somewhat of a mystery is the question of why there are not more ESOP participants. If their numbers are to increase, it can only occur through two methods: 1) employees purchase the company from an owner and 2) other non-employee owned (Non-ESOP) target companies are acquired by an existing acquiring ESOP company. Most previous studies focus on the first option as well as on specific case studies involving ESOP acquisitions. This study focuses on the second option by examining ESOP organizations in general in diverse industries located throughout the U.S. and researching how these organizations can accomplish productive and successful acquisitions and what, if any, organizational behavior patterns may propel this process. The first study utilizes a qualitative approach by interviewing ESOP executives from both the acquiring and target companies, who have experienced both successful and unsuccessful acquisitions. The second study utilizes academically validated and self-designed scales for a quantitative survey also administered to ESOP executives with acquisition experience. The third study involves another qualitative approach by interviewing consultants with both ESOP and Non-ESOP acquisition experience to obtain a third-party viewpoint. The distinctive findings from all three studies of this proje (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Simon Peck Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Management; Organizational Behavior

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2015, Leadership and Change

Transformation of health care systems will be grounded in new professional relations and collective, cross-disciplinary actions to impact care delivery. Organizing such relations and actions involves practical inquiry rather than applying professional knowledge. This dissertation presents an exploratory, performative study of the initial organizing of the Health Systems Innovation and Research (HSIR) Program in Health Sciences at the University of Utah. The HSIR program was conceived principally to catalyze cross-disciplinary innovation and health services research and enhance care delivery changes by documenting care improvements and publishing research. This study includes a composite narrative of the organizing and practical inquiry work of HSIR organizers, which highlights many questions, issues, possibilities, and priority shifts that would likely face those who would seek to transform care delivery and the cultures of academic medicine. The study identifies improvement, integration, and transformative strategies as pathways to effect change in health systems. The study includes a narrative-based analysis of cultural, dynamic, and narrative resources to enhance understanding of the HSIR story and the implications of cultural and dynamic influences for the Program's future and health systems transformation. This analysis emphasizes the cultural and dynamic influences of academic and clinical departments and other sources of dynamic influence that were operating to hinder or facilitate the larger objectives of HSIR organizers. The study also explores the significance of collective practical inquiry, exploratory inquiry, and culture change to the practice and theory of leadership and change. The HSIR study was conducted using a practice study methodology developed from practice and narrative theories, with contributions from complexity, process, learning, organizing, social construction, and relational theories and empirical studies of professionals undergoing cha (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alan Guskin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Laura Roberts Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jon Wergin Ph.D. (Committee Member); William Plater Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Health Care Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Social Research

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2014, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Educational Studies

Cross-sector partnerships have come to the fore as a vehicle for STEM education reform in recent years. Despite the significant investments of resources in such partnerships, little is understood regarding the processes that partnerships use to effect change and, indeed, there is evidence that partnership-led initiatives face numerous challenges that may reduce their effectiveness. This study examined a STEM education partnership led by an intermediary, or third party, organization in a southern state in order to understand how its work created an infrastructure for regional change. A mixed methods case study design was used in which a quantitative survey measuring collaboration was embedded within a primarily qualitative study to understand the characteristics of the partnership and partners' perspectives on its progress. This research design permitted a more holistic understanding of the partnership's work by providing a broad perspective on collaboration within the partnership that complemented and enhanced interview findings. A framework of collective impact was used, in which five themes were used to guide the understanding of the partnership's progress. These five themes – common agenda, shared measurement systems, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and backbone support – were related to collaboration factors measured in the survey instrument and qualitative and quantitative findings were integrated to create a nuanced description of the partnership's work. The study revealed that the partnership had made progress in each of the collective impact themes with the exception of shared measurement systems. Findings revealed that the intermediary leadership structure of this partnership coupled with the interdisciplinary backgrounds and strong networking skills of individuals in leadership positions had contributed to its accomplishments. This synergy of organizational structure and individual characteristics was enhanced by the in (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jonathan M Breiner Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Carla Johnson Ed.D. (Committee Chair); Vicki Plano Clark Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: School Administration

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2013, Leadership and Change

The desire to claim an ethnicity may be in response to an institutional and systemic political movement towards multiculturalism where ethnic difference is something to be recognized and celebrated (Jimenez, 2010; Tatum, 1997). Those who were a member of a dominant or advantaged group took that element of their identity for granted (Tatum, 1997). Identity work has included reflections and congruence between how individuals see themselves and how they perceive others to see them, including Optimal Distinctiveness Theory where one determines the optimal amount of individual distinctiveness needed to feel a healthy group and personal identity (Brewer, 2012). When most of the people one is surrounded by can verify and support an accepted identity construction, the process is less complicated, and attention is not drawn to the differences because there are very few, if any. As the dominant culture becomes increasingly bombarded with the celebratory aspects of an ethnic identity, it is likely that one will begin searching for one's own (Jimenez, 2010; Tatum, 1997). This study will present portraits of individuals who are considering an ethnic identity as they are searching for belonging and inclusion from the group with which they desire to identify. In short, through the use of portraiture, I intend to privilege the voices and experiences of several co-researchers as they describe their lives, explain whether or not they have accepted or rejected a Melungeon identity, how they came to that decision, and what it means in their lived experience. This dissertation is accompanied by the author's MP4 video introduction, as well as 15 MP4 videos of the coresearchers who participated in this study (see the List of Supplemental Media Files). The electronic version of this Dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd

Committee: Carolyn Kenny PhD (Committee Chair); Lize Booysen DBL (Committee Member); Katherine Vande Brake PhD (Committee Member); Dara Culhane PhD (Other) Subjects: American Studies; Cognitive Psychology; Cultural Anthropology; Developmental Psychology; Epistemology; Ethnic Studies; Families and Family Life; Individual and Family Studies; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Research; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2003, Educational Policy and Leadership

Recent research has demonstrated that collective efficacy is an important factor that positively correlates with school achievement. Antecedents to collective efficacy, though, have been rarely tested, prompting this study of transformational school leadership as a viable influence on teachers' competency beliefs. Hypotheses were formed, based on previous scholarship and theory, concerning various relationships among school context, prior achievement, teacher norms, principal leadership, and school achievement. A model of school achievement based on these variables was developed, using socioeconomic status and prior school achievement as control variables. Achievement data, federal lunch program participation rates, and teacher perceptions were collected form 146 Ohio elementary schools, which constituted the sample in this research. Factor and correlational analyses along with structural equation modeling were used in the statistical analyses. The results of this research failed to support the hypothesis that transformational leadership influenced collective efficacy; however, collective efficacy was positively related to student achievement even controlling for SES and prior achievement. Socioeconomic status was positively related to collective efficacy and was positively related to individualized consideration, but it was not related to intellectual stimulation. Only intellectual stimulation of transformational leadership was directly related to student achievement, but it was not indirectly related to student achievement through collective efficacy. Further, socioeconomic status was both directly related to student achievement and indirectly related to student achievement through collective efficacy and prior school achievement. Finally, theoretical, practical, and research implications were discussed

Committee: Wayne Hoy (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Administration

Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2010, College of Education

This study compares the succession of urban principals working under negotiated collective bargaining agreements and conferred “memorandums of understanding” with particular school boards in three of Ohio's major cities: Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo. Relying on the following information: tenure, licensure status, professional experience, and gender, as predictive indicators of individual principal movement, isolating common factors of those moved over a five year period, utilizing the Ohio Department of Education public access data base as the primary source of information to verify stability as one advantage of collective bargaining.

Committee: Harold Wilson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Ann Shelly Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Larry Cook Ph.D. (Committee Member); Robert Shelly Ph.D. (Committee Member); James Van Keuren Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: School Administration

Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2009, College of Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible connections between ethical leadership behavior and collective efficacy levels as perceived by teachers. Second, this study examined the possible links between teacher characteristics and perceptions of a supervisor's ethical leadership and a school's collective efficacy. This study used two questionnaires to collect data. The Ethical Leadership Scale was used to gather perceptions of ethical leadership behavior. Four weeks later, the Collective Efficacy Short Form was used to collect data on perceived staff efficacy. The sample was 209 educators who were taking graduate education courses at a comprehensive Midwestern university in summer 2008. The first research question dealt with discovering any connections between perceptions of ethical leadership and perceptions of collective teacher efficacy. The overall indication is that there is a strong correlation. The second research question investigated demographic characteristics that might help explain any connections. The one characteristic that was most likely to produce significantly different responses was whether the teacher taught in a regular public school, a charter school, or a private school.

Committee: Carla Edlefson PhD (Committee Chair); Wm. Gregory Gerrick PhD (Committee Member); Howard Walters EdD (Committee Member); Judy Alston PhD (Other); James Van Keuren EdD (Other) Subjects: Education