The number of Black males serving in the principal position drastically declined following the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which led to the desegregation of public schools. This unexpected outcome of Brown v. Board of Education caused Black educators to lose their jobs after being deemed unqualified to serve as teachers and…

Schools in the United States have produced racialized outcomes for generations, and decades of reform have failed to build true educational equity. Critical Discourse Studies suggest that leader discourse has the power to disrupt ideologies that sustain White supremacy and facilitate antiracist ideologies and actions. Using critical discourse…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how graduates of a community college leadership development program described the application of skills gained from the program and the contribution of those skills on their Leadership Self-Efficacy (LSE) in the workplace, in the Southwest Region of the United States. Bandura's theory of…

School leadership has progressed from a principal-led position to a dual-leader position with assistant principals. Assistant principals have stepped into instructional leadership roles and have been identified as overseeing special education (Best, 2016; Gaston, 2005; Walton, 2008). Despite studies determining that assistant principals are…

Demographics of the United States' school system continue to change and diversify. Meeting the needs of diverse learners is critical to the success of all children. Building and sustaining equitable learning environments has proven to be a challenging task for school leaders. Barriers that hinder equity continue to plague schools and are rooted in…

Despite persistent calls for institutions to offer internal leadership development programs for administrators, colleges and universities struggle to prepare mid-level administrators for professional advancement. Colleges and universities also face problems with employee retention. The experiences of those who occupy the organizational middle are…

This quantitative causal-comparative study examined the impact of formal leadership training programs on educators possessing an administrator license within the public school systems of Tennessee. The investigation explored potential associations between program participation and elevated self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and retention rates. Data…

Over the past several decades, there has been a shift toward gender parity in enrollment in colleges and universities across the United States. While more women have been enrolling in institutions of higher education, there has been a stagnation in the graduation rates of these women. This mixed methods study sought to understand the role that…

Librarianship as a profession in America is 88% white, according to the Diversity Counts survey conducted by the American Library Association in 2009 (ALA, 2012). The United States' White and not Hispanic/Latinx population is 60.7% according to 2017 Census estimates (United States Census Bureau). The fundamental unfairness of this power dynamic…

This dissertation study explored meaningful experiences contributing to students' identity, capacity, and efficacy development as culturally relevant leaders. In Chapter One, I detailed the importance and relevance of this topic in the field of higher education. Then, I reviewed the literature on college student leadership development; defined…

The purpose of this study was to determine the Leader in Me's effectiveness as an influence on academic achievement in reading and mathematics for elementary students in a school district in Central Texas. The Reading and Mathematics State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) scores of 748 first-graders provided data to determine if…

The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the key elements of success in the Bonner Service Leaders program--a four-year leadership and community engagement program on my campus--and how to leverage the key elements of success in Bonner to increase student achievement in the program. In the first research cycle, I interviewed…

This action research project centers the narratives of women and nonbinary students of color as they navigate leadership roles within student government at Ivy League institutions. The overarching aim of the project is to develop an understanding of the barriers to participation for women and nonbinary students of color and collaboratively…

Teacher burnout in Title I schools has a detrimental effect on attrition and attrition behavior of staff as well as the educational outcomes of students. This study investigated causes and mitigating factors of educator burnout in a Title I district. Participants in Cycle 1 consisted of teachers in this district who were interviewed and surveyed…

This dissertation explores the integration of culturally responsive leadership (CRL) into the professional development of higher education academic professionals, with the goal of fostering critical consciousness, self-efficacy, and just praxis. Through an action research case study methodology, the study investigated the effectiveness of a CRL…