Browsing by Subject "transformational leadership"
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Item A Philosophical, Qualitative, and Quantitative Examination of Transformational Leadership in Secondary Agricultural Education(2011-08-08) Hall, Johnathan LewisLeadership has been a foundational component of secondary agricultural education and teachers are recognized as the program leader; furthermore, agriculture teachers are expected to develop leadership in their students. However, research examining the leadership style of agriculture teachers has not been fully vetted. The purpose of this study was threefold: to examine transformational leadership in secondary agricultural education from philosophical, qualitative, and quantitative perspectives. The study was conducted through a qualitative case study of an agricultural education program at the local level and through a quantitative study of secondary agricultural educators at the national level. The philosophical portion of the study gave an overview of the agricultural education model and the transformational leadership approach. A dynamic model was developed for agricultural education which places an emphasis on the leadership approach of the agricultural educator. The Transformational Leadership and Community Impact (TLCI) Model was developed to provide a more holistic approach for operating a high quality secondary agricultural education program. The qualitative portion of the study was a case study to examine the leadership styles of two agriculture teachers in a high quality secondary agriculture program. The transformational leadership approach of Bass and Avolio provided the framework to explore the leadership styles of the agriculture teachers as perceived by those closely associated with the agriculture program. The results of this case study suggest that the transformational leadership style of the agriculture teachers was a positive and effective way to lead. The quantitative portion of the study sought to identify the preferred leadership style of a random sample of agricultural educators across the nation who taught secondary agriculture during the 2008-2009 school year. Data were collected online using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). Descriptive statistics were used for reporting the demographic and personal characteristics of respondents. Mean scores were calculated to determine the leadership style and leadership factors of the agriculture teachers. The study concluded that secondary agricultural educators were more transformational in their preferred style in contrast to transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles. The highest mean score for a factor in transformational leadership was Individualized Consideration and the highest mean score for a factor in transactional leadership was Contingent Reward.Item Case Studies in Leadership and Curriculum Change(2012-07-16) Jarvis, HollyCurriculum review projects ensure updated material that meets the needs of students and employers. Most projects report what was accomplished in terms of how the new curriculum will better meet these needs. Few studies have explored the curriculum change process from the faculty perspective. Few studies have explored the leadership of these projects, and very few studies have examined curriculum development processes in higher education from a faculty perspective. This case study allowed for in-depth exploration of the faculty experience of the curriculum development process, of the project's leadership, and of the perceptions of change held by faculty. Faculty members were interviewed about the project, and minutes from committee meetings as well as other departmental documents were used to triangulate faculty feedback to paint a comprehensive picture of the experience of these faculty development projects. First, the entire case study explores the range of responses faculty provided in their interviews. Themes that emerged included comments about the effectiveness of individual pieces of the program as well as extended discussion about the benefits of the opportunity to network among the committee about teaching and learning. Faculty reflected at length about the positive influence of the leaders and about their response to the amount of change required of them individually and of the department. Next, analytic induction of the interview data resulted in a match between the leadership data and transformational leadership. The leaders of this project used delegation to direct the energy of the committee, invited inclusive participation, and promoted a shared vision for the department. As successful change leaders, they were able to build on the existing relationships in the department to achieve more than they had originally planned. Finally, individual stories exemplify the experience of change for different faculty members. These exemplars demonstrate the full spectrum of response to change, from quick to join in to slow and even one faculty member who chose remove himself from the program. These individual cases explore the ways in which they have dealt with the innovation of curriculum change, changes in teaching and new ideas about assessment.Item Leadership Skills and StressRussell, Whitney Marie; van Ittersum, Kyle; Brewer, Steven; Stenmark, Cheryl; Solomon, MarvaThe present study induced stress in order to examine the relationship between leadership skills and stress. The study evaluated leadership skills, personality, and affect in order to measure the differences between perceived stress and physiological stress. Physiological stress was measured by salivary Cortisol samples that were taken before and after the stressor. The participants were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) as the stressor. A stepwise regression found that the personality factor, Neuroticism, was a significant predictor of Cortisol reactivity (R2 = .081, F(1, 68) = 5.966, p < .05) and self-reports of stress (R2 = .057, F(1, 68) = 4.113, p < .05). These findings suggest that individuals who are high in neuroticism might not be the best candidates for high stress jobs or workplaces.Item Student Preferences for Academic Advisors as Transformational Leaders(2011-02-22) Drozd, Deborah SuzanneA quantitative study was conducted to determine the preferences of undergraduate students for academic advisors as transformational leaders. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to undergraduate students enrolled in leadership classes at a major land grant university to determine importance ratings based on the variables including non-traditional and traditional students? ages, classification, gender, number of times advised, number of visits to an academic advisor, membership in a collegiate military organization and athletics, and current leadership activities. Results indicated that undergraduate students preferred their academic advisors to use transformational leadership activities. There was no significant difference in the degree of preference of transformational leadership in their academic advisor based on gender, participation in athletics, traditional and non-traditional ages, classification, membership in a military organization and participation in a leadership position or number of times advised. However, inadequate representation of all groups within the number of times advised category prevented a comparative analysis. As a result of this study, a leadership education workshop was developed as a component for academic advisor training, academic advising activities were identified that corresponded to transformational leadership constructs and similarities were found between the developmental advising model and transformational leadership.