ERIC Number: ED653900
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 208
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3823-4732-5
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Qualitative Study of How Community College Leaders Implement and Sustain Guided Pathways Organizational Change
Jennifer Maria Miller
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Manhattanville University
To increase student completion, community college leaders have focused on the implementation and sustainability of organizational change efforts, particularly guided pathways, since 2015. Although researchers have studied many different change efforts and types of change in higher education, the focus of this research was on describing guided pathways change through the perceptions of those leading the change effort. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand U.S.-based, public, nonbaccalaureate-granting community college pathways project leaders' perspectives of guided pathways organization change. Drawing upon Kezar's (2018) change macro framework theory on how colleges change, I further sought to understand how project leaders managed the ongoing change process using the subtheory of organizational learning. The research questions were: (a) How do community college guided pathways project leads describe implementing and sustaining organizational change, specifically guided pathways? and (b) How do community college guided pathways project leads use concepts from organizational learning in implementing and sustaining guided pathways? Data were collected via semistructured interviews from 16 pathways project leaders with a variety of titles and from colleges of varying sizes and geographic locations that participated in either a national- or state-based guided pathways institute model. The findings suggested guided pathways leads perceived that (a) reflection, both internal self-reflection and reflecting with others; (b) engaging with stakeholders, including engaging those internal to the campus and external college stakeholders, in the change effort; and (c) communication, both campus-wide communication and the guided pathways language used, mattered when implementing and sustaining guided pathways organizational change. Based on participant responses, Kezar's (2018) tenets of organizational learning were also found to matter to varying degrees when implementing change in their college. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Community Colleges, Leaders, Guided Pathways, Organizational Change, Sustainable Development, Public Colleges, Reflection, Stakeholders, Communication Strategies, Language Usage
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A