Browsing by Subject "Leadership"
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Item A case study of interinstitutional cooperation of three private institutions of higher learning in Abilene, Texas(Texas Tech University, 1997-12) Armstrong, Randy L.The research problem was to determine and describe the historical development from 1906 to the present the formal and informal examples of interinstitutional and consortial collaboration of three private, churchrelated institutions of higher learning located in Abilene, Texas. The purpose of this case study was to formulate suggestions that similar institutions could draw on when trying to duplicate or improve comparable collaborative endeavors. It was assumed that knowledge derived from a case study of Hardin-Simmons University. Abilene Christian University, and McMurry University, may contribute to a better understanding of this and other similar interinstitutional collaboration. The methodology consisted of established and accepted precepts of historical research and interviewing techniques. A timeline of interinstitutional cooperation and consortial endeavor among the three subject institutions was formulated using the historical methodology suggested by Gall, Borg, and Gall (1996). A questionnaire based on six research questions was also designed to elicit answers from 35 principal participants who were/are in some way responsible for the creation and evolution of the various consortial relationships and endeavors shared by the subject institutions.Item A comparative study of self-perceived leadership skills in coeducational, male-only, and female-only educational settings(2009-05-15) Caudle, Michael EdwardThe purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect that a gender-specific classroom had on men?s and women?s self-perceived leadership abilities as compared to coeducational classrooms where the students were studying leadership together. The sample for the study comprised 81 junior and senior students enrolled in a survey leadership course (ALED 340) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications during the Spring 2007 semester at Texas A&M University. The students were assigned to one of five leadership laboratory sections; three sections were traditional coeducational, one was all-male, and one was all-female. During the last week of the course, the students voluntarily participated in a Leadership Skills Inventory survey that asked them to rate their self-perceptions of their leadership skills. The instrument used the post-then design method that asked for their perceptions prior to beginning the course and their perceptions at the conclusion of the course. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 14.0. Results of the study showed statistically significantly higher self-perceptions of leadership skills abilities for those students who participated in the gender-specific laboratory sections. The all-male section?s self-perceptions were statistically significantly higher than both the males in the coeducational sections and the coeducational sections as a whole. The all-female section?s self-perceptions were statistically significantly higher than the coeducational sections as a whole. The study also revealed that leadership experience in organizations and activities in high school and college prior to enrolling in a college-level leadership course statistically significantly improves self-perceptions of leadership skills ability. Results of this study agree with many research studies that support single-sex schooling and education.Item A comparison of management and leadership skills critical to the principalship as perceived by superintendents in selected independent school districts in Texas(Texas A&M University, 2006-04-12) White, Katherine AliaThe purpose of this study was to determine which management and leadership behaviors selected superintendents perceived as critical to the position of principal. Differences were examined by gender as well as size of district. A secondary goal of this research was to raise awareness regarding gender inequity that exists in educational administration. The population of the study was all female superintendents in Texas (N=135) and randomly selected male superintendents (N=301). Data were disaggregated by gender and size of district. An e-mail was sent to each superintendent with a web address and an access code. A response rate of 66% was obtained for a sample size of 290 superintendents. The survey contained items on management and leadership skills from the Peterson Managerial Leadership Instrument (PMI) and the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) developed by Kouzes and Posner. Superintendents were asked to respond to the behaviors based on their envisioned best principal. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed for the total group and subgroups. Major research findings included: 1. An independent samples t-test on the PMI determined two behaviors that were significantly different (p< .05) and six behaviors that were significantly different (p<.01) between the means of female and male superintendents. 2. An independent samples t-test on the LPI determined four behaviors that were significantly different (p<.05) and one behavior that was significantly different (p<.01) between the means of female and male superintendents. 3. A post hoc Scheffe analysis on the PMI indicated four levels of perceived use on the managerial statements and six levels of perceived use on the leadership statements at the p< .05 level. Based on the findings of this study, researcher recommendations include: 1. The process of identifying the pool of applicants for the principalship needs to be examined for screening processes that block women and minorities from educational administration. 2. Principal appraisal instruments should be reviewed and weighted to correctly reflect management tasks against other administrative duties. 3. School districts need to investigate the use of personality and leadership instruments while developing a cohort of potential principals.Item A study of leadership in the implementation of an online curriculum management system(2009-06-02) Sanders, Betty MurdockResearchers have indicated that innovations in schools often do not have the intended impact leaders hope to see when implementation occurs. Reasons cited for this failure include time allotted for the change to occur, failure to implement change based on research, and leadership qualities associated with responsible parties. This study focuses on qualities of leaders who were effective in implementing an innovation in a school district in a midsized Central Texas school district. Participants in the study were technology trainers, principals, and teachers. Two years of usage reports and teachers surveys were used to compare data. Interviews were conducted with trainers, teachers, and principals from high usage campuses. Since the study focused on happenings within a particular context, an action research model was used. This model was built upon principles of naturalistic research and targeted quantitative data. The results of the study indicate that the leaders on these campuses possessed certain leadership characteristics that could be attributed to successful implementation of the online curriculum management system. Successful leaders in this study held certain expectations for their faculty, monitored to see that the expectations were met, and were flexible enough to meet the needs of all of their teachers. These characteristics were consistent with the literature on effective leadership, leadership and professional development, leadership and technology, and leadership through the change process. Information from this study was used by the school district in which the study took place to guide them in making decisions about the current curriculum management system they now have in place.Item An analysis of leadership abilities of senior nursing students(Texas Tech University, 1976-12) Carrell, JuanitaNot availableItem An application of cognitive inference to the study of leader reward and punishment behaviors: the process and the effects(Texas Tech University, 1986-08) Korukonda, Appa RaoRewards and punishments can be classified into two categories: (i) Performance-Contingent and (ii) Performance- Noncontingent. Noncontingent reinforcements can be further subdivided into two categories (i) Discretionary (those administered at the volition of the leader) and (ii) Required (those invoked by the setting). Using this system of classification, this study examined the effects of six different types of leader reward and punishment behaviors: (1) Contingent Reward (2) Contingent Punishment (3) Noncontingent Required Reward (4) Noncontingent Required Punishment (5) Noncontingent Discretionary Reward, and (6) Noncontingent Discretionary Punishment. A model of Leader Categorization was proposed based on an integrated operant conditioning-attribution framework. It was postulated that different leader reward/punishment behaviors produce varying degrees of (1) Cue Validity (2) Satisfaction with the leader, and (3) performance. These effects were hypothesized to be free from the moderating effects of intrinsic task interest. Eighty four business administration students participated in a laboratory experiment designed to test specific hypotheses derived from the model. Potential moderating effects of intrinsic task interest were examined by simulating high and low task interest conditions. It was found that the results were much stronger for the satisfaction and cue validity components of the model than for the performance component. Also, the overall predictive validity of the model was confirmed for the satisfaction component. Effects of leader reward and punishment behaviors were found to be task-invariant. Explanations and implications of the results are discussed and directions for future research are presented.Item An empirical study of the relations between leadership, social support networks, task autonomy and emotions in a technical work environment(Texas A&M University, 2006-04-12) Wickliff, Tanya Verniece DugatThe world in which we live is hyper-dynamic with multiple inputs, outputs and expectations. As it relates to the fast pace of corporate America, customers want products and services within a tighter market window, with no defects and for lower costs. Stakeholders insist that managers do more with less human and financial resources yet more aggressive technological and sales goals. These realities translate into a more complex work environment in that the emotional toll of pending economic outcomes act to motivate or paralyze the very engine designed to produce the desired outcomes the employees. The body of work presented in this dissertation directly addresses the empirical relationship between the perceptions of the work context factors of leadership, task autonomy and social support networks with respect to the positive and negative emotions of the employees of the engineering firm that participated in this study. The empirical results from this research indicate that a positive and significant interrelationship does exist among the factors examined in this study. The employees studied included 249 middle to upper level managers of whom 78.7% were men and 21.3% were women. The range of years of experience for the participants varied from new hire to more than 20 years. Homogeneity of Variance tests confirms the validity of comparative analysis for the segmented data population. Multivariate statistics were used to address the four research questions. The strongest correlations occurred for the subgroups of women and non-managers with respect to the relationship of social support networks and positive emotions. Until now, there has been no empirical research linking the social support networks factor directly to emotions.Item Analysis of the Distributed Leadership Model in Public Education: A Mixed Methods Study(2011-05) Molina, Ricardo; Klinker, JoAnn F.; Hartmeister, Fred; Price, Margaret A.This research analyzed the Distributed Leadership Model (DLM) application in four public schools. The research problem links up to three research questions. The premise of the research lies on the assumption that the DLM when applied in concert with other leadership may provide educational leaders and researchers with pathways for enhancing leadership problem solving and decision making, and student performance. The DLM from MIT contains four interrelated competencies, three lenses, and a component for individual generated change. This research analyzed the DLM’s application to principals, assistant principals, and teacher leaders that coalesce into distributed leadership praxes. Via a mixed methods and the embedded design, the quantitative data supported the qualitative data. The findings revealed that the DLM potentially is a conceptual tool to assess a school’s propensity for distributed leadership. Additionally, a possible benefit of the DLM is enhancing the leadership capacity of public school leaders.Item Assessment of Leadership Traits Required for the Intercollegiate Athletic Director Position(2016-11-07) Paitson, David A.; Fuller, Matt B.; Moore, George W.; Zapalac, Ryan K.; Zhang, James J.The purpose of this study was to a) examine leadership traits of effective Athletic Directors and b) determine the differences and similarities between NCAA Division I, II,III, and NAIA University Presidents’ and Athletic Directors’ assessments of the methods of leadership required for the position of Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, with particular regards to Autocratic, Democratic, Positive Feedback, Training and Instruction, Social Support, and Situational Consideration Behaviors, which are concepts drawn from Zhang et al.’s (1997) Revised Leadership Scale for Sports (RLSS), an instrument specifically designed to measure research on sports-specific leadership behavior. A purposive sampling design was implemented. Fourteen participants with extensive experience in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA intercollegiate athletics were recruited to secure expert insight. Participants included four University Presidents and four Athletic Directors, one each from NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA institutions. Remaining participants included two Conference Commissioners, two Head Coaches, and two Senior Athletic Administrators, all from NCAA Division I institutions. Semistructured interviews were implemented (Krueger & Casey, 2000). A listing of traits required for the Athletic Director role were collected through an inductive approach. Answers to series of follow-up questions provided the in-depth details of each behavior mentioned in the initial response. A series of structured questions—with each intended to be representative of each of the six RLSS constructs to confirm the construct validity for the current research—were implemented utilizing a deductive approach. A classical content analysis was applied to address the research question. A holistic coding approach was taken in reviewing the participants’ initial descriptions to identify types of traits associated with the Athletic Director role. A descriptive open-coding process was utilized to carefully code the data line-by-line to capture the overall meaning intended. A constant comparison analysis was conducted to systematically condense data into codes and then to develop themes. As a result, the following themes emerged as the leadership traits required for the intercollegiate Athletic Director position: (a) communicator, (b) driven, (c) personable, (d) poised, (e) principled, (f) self-aware, (g) skilled, and (h) visionary. Recommendations for future research and practical implications are offered.Item Attachment and Leadership in the Nursing Environment(2012-07-20) Coleman, Alicia Ann; Evans, H.M.Attachment style is a characteristic that is directly related to interpersonal relationship functioning, and in recent years has been found to predict organizational behaviors. This study reports the relationship between the attachment styles of nurses and the attachment and leadership styles of nurse supervisors and nurse managers at a hospital in Dallas, Texas, as well as organizational factors such as nurse satisfaction with their supervisor. Some evidence was found in this study to support this relationship in that insecure attachment is positively associated with certain leadership styles and negatively associated with transformational leadership. Specifically, supervisors with anxious attachment tended to show a passive management-by-exception leadership style and score lower on contingent reward, and two of the five transformational scales, idealized influence attributed and individual consideration. Supervisors with avoidant attachment demonstrated passive and active management-by-exception, and were the least likely to show transformational leadership in that they scored lower on four of the five transformational scales- idealized influence behavioral, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. Supervisors with higher scores on the active management-by-exception and contingent reward scales were found to have larger discrepancies between their self-ratings of leadership and ratings from their supervisees. [Keyword: Attachment Theory, leadership, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, nursing, Workplace Relationship Inventory]Item Campus Environmental Factors Influencing Student Leadership Development and Civic Engagement(2012-02-14) Boren, LauraHigher education institutions are continuously called upon by society to prepare students to be engaged citizens. Leadership is a core component to an individual being an actively engaged citizen. How do college students learn and develop leadership skills? How do college students learn and become civically engaged during their collegiate years? The purpose of this study was to identify campus environmental factors perceived to influence student leadership development and civic engagement that resulted in students? perceived capacity to create positive social change. The study was conducted at a public four-year comprehensive higher education institution regionally located in the south central region of the United States. This qualitative study examined undergraduate students? perceptions of personal leadership, influences on personal leadership development, and experiences with leadership and civic engagement. Following a naturalistic qualitative research method, interviews were conducted with ten undergraduate participants. Hoy and Miskel (2001) higher education organizations social system model and A Social Change Model of Leadership Development by the Higher Education Research Institute (1996) was used as conceptual frameworks for the study. The researcher determined from participant responses that peer and mentor relationships, community identity, personal identity, and democratic experiences were key environmental factors influencing student leadership development and civic engagement. Collegiate relationships with peers and faculty/staff mentors were a primary influential factor to participants? university experiences resulting in their perceived knowledge of leadership and value for civic engagement. Identity as a campus community member and local community member was an environmental factor influencing participants? commitment to civic engagement. Participants who were engaged in their personal cultural heritage articulated a deeper understanding of leadership and had a greater commitment to engaging with ethnically diverse populations. Participants who experienced the tenants of Democratic values in their academic and co-curricular experiences had a deeper sense of empowerment to create positive social change. The conclusions drawn from the researcher?s findings indicate the depth to which campus environmental factors influence student leadership development and civic engagement result in the level students? build their leadership knowledge and capacity. The intent of the study was to gain an understanding of a campus environment through the constructed reality of individuals within the environment in order to determine factors that can be enhanced to improve leadership development and civic engagement.Item Case study exploring the influence of leadership on a new teacher evaluation framework(2016-05) Padavil, Devin Cyril; Olivarez, Ruben; Sharpe, Edwin Reese; Pazey, Barbara; Einfalt, Lori; San Miguel, TrinidadThere is a need to identify how leadership influences school reform frameworks enhancing teacher resolve needed to address underperforming students (Goddard, LoGerfo, & Hoy, 2004). An issue equally not well understood are perceptions of self-efficacy on the part of teachers and the extent to which this perception is enhanced or constrained by leadership. The new Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (TTESS) is a potential framework encompassing these types of needs. While the majority of educators see an effective teacher evaluation tool as necessary, the manner in which school leaders implement TTESS is varied and worthy of study (Vara-Orta, 2013). School leaders are challenged to implement TTESS in a manner that best improves teacher effectiveness and student learning. The literature on leadership efforts connected to teacher evaluation richly describes aspects of self-efficacy implications, time constraints, local decision-making complexity, accountability implications, dismissal recommendations, as well as reflection and growth. However, research lacks an equally comparable study and analysis of the influence of leadership on teacher self-efficacy and perception of teacher evaluation implementation, particularly within the context of this new, detailed, and complex evaluation framework. This study is an analysis of leadership’s influence on teacher evaluation implementation and teacher self-efficacy.Item Chief academic officers in public community colleges: an analysis of leadership attributes(Texas Tech University, 2004-08) Fons, August MarionForemost among the challenges facing public community colleges in the United States is a predicted shortage of leaders. Chief Academic Officers not only hold a crucial position of leadership but are also prime candidates for future presidencies. Very little research has been conducted regarding community college chief academic officers and specifically, the study of leader attributes has received minimal attention despite previous research outside the realm of education documenting the positive relationship between attributes and behavior. This study compared chief academic officers' perceptions of their leadership attributes to the perceptions of their immediate subordinates. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of both public community college chief academic officers and their subordinates specifically related to thirty-seven validated, categorical leader attributes shown to affect desirable leader performance and overall leadership effectiveness. Specifically, the study will: (1) demonstrate whether or not there is a statistically significant mean difference between CAO's perceptions of their individual leadership attributes and the perceptions of their immediate subordinates related to each of the thirty-seven leader attributes, the total scale of the leader attribute inventory, management skills scale of the LAI, personal characteristics of the LAI, and the social skills scale of the LAI, and (2) determine the overall leadership effectiveness of chief academic officers in the United States as measured by their immediate subordinates' responses to effectiveness measurement items on the companion instrument to the Observer-Rating LAI, the leader effectiveness index. This researcher concluded that while there were statistically significant mean differences in perceptions related to six of 37 leader attributes there was general agreement between the CAOs and their immediate subordinates related to the leader attribute inventory in it's totality as well as three sub-scales: management skills, personal characteristics, and social skills and characteristics. Additionally, immediate subordinates rated their CAOs leadership effectiveness as being effective to very effective on all of seven effectiveness measures. There were two populations for this study. The first included chief academic officers of single and multi-campus public community colleges in the United States whose colleges are members of the American Association of Community Colleges. The second population included individuals who hold an academic position and report directly to the chief academic officer. A stratified sampling process was used to maximize the potential for a national representative sample utilizing the six accreditation regions. The results of this study may be beneficial to current and aspiring chief academic officers in that k will provide an increased knowledge base which may be used to improve leader behavior. Educational institutions may find this research valuable in considering leadership development programs. Selection committees and governing boards may find this information useful as they consider selecting chief academic officers and meeting future institutional leadership needs.Item Children's attitudes toward parental influences and children's perceptions of parenting style: a leadership model of parental effectiveness(Texas Tech University, 1984-12) Butters, Michael ANot availableItem Competencies of leadership professionals: a national study of premier leadership degree programs(Texas A&M University, 2007-04-25) Andenoro, Anthony ClydeThis study examined formal leadership degree programs and their ability to prepare professionals for leadership positions. This study provided data outlining the necessary competencies for leadership positions and examined the current activities and formal curriculum included in three premier formal leadership degree programs. This study also provided recommendations for the enhancement of current curriculum and methods in formal leadership degree programs to better facilitate the learning and empowerment of student populations interested in pursuing leadership positions. This study utilized qualitative research in order to study the interrelationships holistically. The data collected in this study provided insight into what leadership competencies were valued and taught by highly ranked diverse undergraduate and graduate academic programs. These programs were selected based on their reputation of excellence, faculty, and overall program experience. The gatekeepers and graduates of these highly motivated academic programs identified the necessary competencies for success after graduation in the leadership work force. This examination allowed for holistic impressions to be made about curriculum revision and enhancement that added to the foundation and future of leadership education. A purposive sample was used to maximize the range of specific information that could be attained from and about the context. The purposive sample allowed the researcher to purposely seek typical and divergent data and insights to capture the essence of the situation. The major findings of this study include the development of two competency sets necessary for successful practice within leadership positions. Etic competencies refer to those competencies relating to features or items targeted for development which can be considered outside of their role within a leadership system. Emic competencies refer to those competencies relating to features or items targeted for development with respect to their role within a leadership system. Based on the literature and respondent perspectives four recommendations can be made for the revision of leadership education. These revisions are expansion of current curricula, renewed focus and attention to global perspective, enhanced faculty development opportunities, and grounding in moral and ethical purpose. These four recommendations are solidified and integrated into practice through the Foundational Approach to Leadership Development Model.Item Complex systems leadership in ideal organizations : a mixed model study of perceived essential components(2010-12) Schoenbeck, Ryan John; Field, Sherry L.; Northcutt, Norvell W.; Salinas, Cynthia S.; Resta, Paul E.; Bellows, William J.This mixed model approach research explored what are the perceived essential components of an ideal organization. The data were collected from 150 leadership development seminars from 2000 to 2006 hosted by a Fortune 500 company with participants from over 239 organizations producing 5396 responses. The qualitative primary data were unitized and statistically analyzed and synthesized to reveal significant categories and their relationships. The statistically significant categories represent the essential components of an ideal organization. The original qualitative responses manifesting the significant categories are presented in alignment with the emerging complex systems leadership perspective.Item Contribution of leadership, attitudes, and behaviors to collective entrepreneurship: an empirical study of U.S. small family businesses(Texas Tech University, 2001-08) Yan, JunThis dissertation provides a conceptual model of collective entrepreneurship and its relationship with leadership and team dynamics. It proposes two types of important prerequisites to collective entrepreneurship in a work team - attitudinal and behavioral. The attitudinal prerequisite includes team members' job satisfaction and commitment to the team. The behavioral prerequisite includes communication, collaboration and conflict among team members. Leadership behaviors affect the two types of prerequisites directly. Relations-oriented and participative leadership behaviors have positive indirect effects on collective entrepreneurship. Task-oriented leadership behaviors have both positive and negative indirect effects on collective entrepreneurship. An empirical study of 271 small family businesses in the United States confirmed most of the hypotheses.Item Democracy and values in public schools: A case study of founding members of the Visioning Institute of Texas(2010-12) Hindman, Janet L.; Klinker, JoAnn F.; McMillan, Sally; Valle, FernandoLittle empirical evidence existed that measured how democracy and democratic values were instilled in American schools. The problem of this qualitative collective case study was to investigate in what ways the efficacy and praxis of the superintendents of independent public school districts as founding members of the Public Education Visioning Institute of Texas had been influenced by their participation, how their vision for public education for their school districts and for Texas had changed through creative and innovative leadership, and how educational leadership interacted as either more of a science or as an art. Through qualitative methodology, this critical, narrative, and interpretive case study design explored what values were promoted by the Public Education Visioning Institute of Texas and if/how the superintendents as school leaders were implementing these values within their schools. Data was gathered through the use of qualitative tools of data collection, analysis, and management that included a questionnaire, interviews, observations, field notes, archival data documents, and the pilot study. This case study attempts to move from the public to the private (Denzin, 2001) through narrative and interpretive story to discover if the participants in the Public Education Visioning Institute of Texas had experienced epiphanies in regard to democracy and democratic values. Study findings indicated a transcendent epiphany in unity of values, vision, and passion for change among the superintendents through their leadership and vision and a constancy of purpose to improve public schools not only for their own students, but also for all children, and uncovered resources that informed their leadership practice. Findings confirm the need for further development of the Visioning Institute as a moral imperative to sustain democracy and democratic schools. To know who we are and where we are going in public education, a requisite need arises to conduct additional research in educational leadership as both science and as art.