Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Cultural theory of leadership'

There is a growing need to understand what effective multicultural leadership and followership look like in a faith-based, nonprofit, international organization where communication is mostly conducted through electronic means. Very little research has been done on this subject. The purpose of this grounded theory study is to understand and describe what leaders and followers want leadership and followership to look like in this kind of setting. Data for this study were gathered largely through interviews with ten leaders and sixty-five followers working in SIL International and its partner organizations. Study participants originated from twenty-one countries, and, at the time of the study, were based in ten countries. The core elements of desired qualities of leadership and followership emerged through the analysis of these semi-structured interviews. This study proposes a substantive theory about the perception of leadership and followership: Both followers and leaders in SIL, where computer-aided communication is the most frequently used communication platform, perceive that effective leadership and effective followership derive from specific and identifiable relational qualities, task-oriented competencies, character-related qualities, spiritual qualities, cultural intelligence, and the way communication by computer is used and understood. Strengths and drawbacks of communication methods impact the relationship between leaders and followers.

The purpose of this two-phase, sequential mixed methods study was to examine and explain factors relating to leadership in diversity-oriented churches in the United States by obtaining quantitative results from a sample of 65 senior pastors and 92 top-management team members, then follow-up with a multiple case study to explain the results in more depth. The instruments used for quantitative data collection were the 20-item four-factor Cultural Intelligence Scale, the adapted 8-item Openness to Diversity Scale, and the Leadership Practices Inventory. The study's sixteen findings establish significant relationships between leader cultural intelligence, top-management team openness to diversity, and leadership practices, and elucidate how those relationships contribute to a positive organizational diversity climate. In addition, openness to diversity and church polity were discovered to influence TMT perceptions of the senior pastor's leadership practices. Therefore, the findings support the conclusion that investigating intercultural leadership in a domestic organization could reveal new theoretical insights while having implications for leadership practice and organizational effectiveness.

There have been many recent changes in education focused on closing the achievement gap, yet minority students continue to fall behind. Latina/o students encounter systemic oppression in schools and society in the forms of academic tracking, classism, racism, and other biases (Bemak & Chung, 2011; Dickson, Zamora, Gonzalez, Chun, & Callaghan Leon, 2011; Hipolito-Delgado & Lee, 2007; Holcomb-McCoy, 2007; Martinez, 2003; Ortiz & Gonzales, 2000). At the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels, Latina/os attend schools whose educational conditions are some of the most inadequate in the United States (Oakes, 1984; Valencia, 1991). One of the most significant school reforms at the high school level is converting comprehensive high schools into small schools or small learning communities. This school structure could be beneficial in addressing some of the academic issues of minority students but also offer some cautions.

The problem under investigation in this study is the achievement gap of Latina/os students in gaining college access in comparison to their white peers (Education Trust, 2010). While small schools were created to close this achievement gap, there are still some concerns in regards to college access of these students. The purpose of this study was to explore Latina/os college students’ experiences from the same small high school on how the school helped or hindered their college access. It also explores how these students used their community cultural wealth factors in order to overcome challenges and be successful. Led by a narrative inquiry interview qualitative methodology, data was collected via 10 semi-structured interviews of college students who met the necessary criteria for this study.

Findings from this study suggested that the family feeling these students cited of being in the small school, was a factor that contributed to their academic success. The college awareness resources that were available to them with constant reminders from a college counselor also contributed to their success. Through a critical race theory lens, (Solórzano, 2001) this study also revealed institutional oppression occurred through the school’s lack of quality Advanced Placement courses, lack of diversity, and insufficient funding for extra-curricular or school activities that hindered their acceptance to prestigious universities. Further, participants expressed that they overcame these challenges using Yosso’s (2005) six community culture wealth factors.

Recommendations for this study include key curricular strategies to ensure students experiential knowledge is considered in creating the school’s curriculum. Secondly, the importance of having a robust curriculum, and the role of creating funding to offer extra-curricular and school activities will make a huge impact on Latina/os’ college access.

Academic and behavioral success in middle school is a predictor of academic and behavioral success in high school. How best to provide a developmentally responsive education to students at the middle level is a challenge that American educators and policymakers need to address (Jackson et al., 2000). This case study provides an understanding of the unique organizational structures and school culture that contributed to a diverse school’s fostering and sustaining the goals of a middle school reform initiative designed to contribute to students’ academic and behavioral success.

Once a low-performing school with high disciplinary referrals, Crossroads Middle School is now considered exemplary because of high ratings on district climate surveys and success in increasing student achievement for all student groups since implementation of the reform strategy. Notably, during the reform implementation, three principals led the school. Given this leadership turnover, the school’s success cannot be attributed to one charismatic leader, but rather the organizational culture fostered by the instructional leadership team. Data include interviews with 19 past and present members of the instructional leadership team, meeting observations, and reviews of school documents and artifacts. This exemplary case study reveals the shared norms, values, and beliefs developed over time by the leadership team members as they designed and implemented the structures, policies, and practices needed to foster the goals of the reform.

Crossroads had and continues to have a student population that mirrors the demographics of its large diverse district. This diversity contributes to the relevancy of the findings for other school leaders in districts that have diverse student populations and who seek to improve middle level education. The results of this study may inform district leaders and school-based staff seeking to adopt a middle school model uniquely suited to developing middle school students, and seeking to develop a staff with skill sets unique to teaching students at the middle school level.

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to generate a theory about the implications of leadership development and organizational culture on employee engagement. The focus is on the experience and perceptions of participants of a leadership development program within a public-sector organization with a strategic imperative focused on cultural transformation. The researcher investigated the outcomes of the leadership development program, and examined cultural aspects of the organization, each from the view of employee participants. Much leadership development research to date is based on private sector organizations. There are studies that are an examination of quantitative organizational results such as productivity and personal results such as promotion and incentive pay rates. The researcher placed emphasis on the lived experience of employees and sought insight to the differentiators that result in higher levels of organizational buy-in and commitment exemplified by engaged employees. The research included interviews with individuals that participated in the subject organization’s leadership development program. The research findings led to the generation of a new theory of employee engagement applicable to the field of human resource management. Understanding the differentiators within an organization such as leadership strategies and organizational cultural objectives that lead to increased levels of employee engagement is instructive for organizations. The results are applicable to organizations in the public-sector, or in the private-sector, when the organization adopts an intentional leadership development approach based on leadership strategies and makes organizational culture a strategic imperative.

The primary purpose of this research was to test the capability of the Organizational Change in Cultural Context (OC³) Model (Latta, 2009, 2011) to predict responses to change. According to Latta, predictions of resistance to or facilitation of change can be predicted by utilizing organizational culture and its alignment with the content and implementation strategies of the change. The setting for this research was a small elementary school in western Pennsylvania during implementation of a reform model known as Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTII). This qualitative study: 1) investigated the culture of the school using Martin’s (1992, 2002) three perspective framework; 2) analyzed the content and implementation strategies associated with implanting the RTII change initiative; 3) made predictions based upon the interaction effects specified by Latta’s (2011) OC³ Model with the assistance of a panel of experts; and 4) evaluated those predictions using self-report data from participants at the target institution and members of the implementation team.

This grounded theory study explored the experiences of lay faculty, administration and Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) to capture how the spirit of the CSJ continues in the organizational culture of their sponsored secondary schools. Since 1950, CSJ in the Los Angeles Province, have experienced a very similar decline as other orders of religious across the United States. In order to preserve the culture and history of the CSJ in their sponsored secondary schools, the researcher conducted twenty semi-structured interviews to capture the lived experiences of those currently serving, and those who have served, on the four secondary school campuses.

Utilizing the literature on preserving organizational culture from Edgar Schien, and Lee Bolman and Terrance Deal, the research seemed to conclude that this charism has been preserved even through transitions to lay leadership. A series of seven distinct themes emerged indicating that a CSJ school: consistently incorporates the gospel values into all aspects of the school community; seeks out opportunities to model service to the dear neighbor in how faculty, staff and students serve one another, and in turn impact the broader community; serves a diverse population of students and intentionally creates a culture of unity and support, and a sense of belonging, to cultivate a community of acceptance, love and sisterhood; fosters an environment of excellence through the intentional actions of teachers and leaders to be capacity builders, assisting all young women to become all of “which woman is capable”; recognizes the essential role that leadership plays in fostering a gospel-driven, nurturing environment, evidenced in the faculty, staff and sisters as models; is marked by a spirit of joy and fun that is tangibly felt among the students, the faculty and staff, and throughout the entire school community, and recognizes the challenges with living out the gospel values and being called to building a spirit of unity and love.

The results of the study suggest that the organizational school culture has been able to preserve the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, echoing their foundational spirituality dating back to 1650 Le Puy, France.