Increasing the racial and gender diversity of the teacher and school leader workforce in public schools has been the focus of policy efforts in dozens of states. Using administrative longitudinal data for all Texas public schools over a 20-year period, this dissertation consists of three chapters examining the role of relational demography and…

Research on language attitudes towards Global Englishes in many contexts has focused on teachers and learners. However, limited research has paid attention to school directors even though they are in a vital position to make changes at the school. This study explored the school director's lived experiences, attitudes toward Global Englishes, and…

Various promotion requirements are adopted in the appointment of classroom or subject educators as office-based educators or subject advisors (education specialists) in the Department of Basic Education. This qualitative adopted interpretive paradigm study sought to explore educators' lived experiences on the promotion requirements espoused by the…

The unprecedented pace of technological advances in online interactions and digital identity have created challenges for educators and the communities they serve. Electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) have become a substantive tool that facilitates transference and access to the pertinent achievements highlighting competency, allowing administrators…

This dissertation examines gatekeeping in educational administration hiring decisions. I conducted a resume audit study with educational administrators from Kansas to understand gender biases in hiring decisions for administrative roles. This study found evidence of gatekeeping that favored men from subjective evaluation of candidate hireability…

This study seeks to develop and validate an Assessment Centre (AC) tool for the evaluation and selection of school leaders, focusing on the identification of competencies that influence teaching and learning outcomes. International research supports the creation of Assessment Centres to select candidates for these roles, due to their superior…

Research reveals better school and student outcomes, especially for teachers and children of color, when a principal of color is at the helm. One way to improve the educational experiences of schoolchildren across the country is to increase their access to leaders of color--and strengthen the caliber of teaching and leading in our nation's…

The relationships between clients, headhunters, and candidates during the executive search process has not been researched using agency theory as the theoretical framework. This is puzzling, as the existence of common objectives and information asymmetries between these three parties make agency theory an ideal one to explain the interactions…

This study seeks to bridge the gap between education and practice by conducting qualitative research with hiring managers at legacy media companies. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 media managers on the East and West coasts of the United States to understand how to prepare students for a dynamic media industry. The…

Strategies to recruit and hire faculty and staff of color to the Commonwealth of Kentucky's population levels have continued for 57 years. From Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Kentucky Plan in 1982 to the Strategic Plan for Kentucky Higher Education from 1982 to 1995, to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education's 2010-2015…

This study aims to explore the current selection practices of school principals in the Ministry of Education in the United Arab Emirates. The study covers three main objectives: to investigate the current practices and policies regarding the recruitment of school principals in public schools in the UAE; to explore how the Ministry of Education…

Higher education research supports that diverse faculty reflecting the students' ethnic and gender diversity is best practice to facilitate students of color academic success. Yet regrettably the underrepresentation of faculty of color in higher education is a historic and ongoing problem. Further, may scholars point to college senior leaders as…

Building on the work of Adam Herbert, this research examines how minority managers navigate the pressures of their organization versus the pressures of their community. Organizational socialization suggests that the socialization process will introduce employees to the goals and priorities of the organization and result in similar behaviors among…

The shortage of qualified candidates for entry-level positions has created a major staffing dilemma for American employers. The problem addressed in this study was that many secondary students lack the social-emotional skills required for employability in the 21st-century workforce. The purpose of this qualitative generic study was to explore…

This qualitative dissertation explored the challenges faced by African American students in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Hospitality Program at a Historically Black Community College (HBCC) in Alabama. Framed by Social-Identity Theory, Critical Race Theory, and the Inclusive Excellence Framework, the study addressed the…