The visibility and popularity of marching bands at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) represents a multi-generational tradition of marching and musical excellence. With performances that reach national and international audiences through large viewership, HBCU marching band culture is elevated to artistic prominence with each…

Dance programs in higher education have become progressively interested in establishing community-campus partnerships as a means of minimizing the research to practice gap, leveraging resources, and supporting community progress. Limited research has been published on the best practices and types of relationships that exist between leaders who…

This document reports the findings of a project completed as part of the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership program at Saint Louis University. In this team project, three doctoral candidates explored the planning process of school leaders in developing professional learning opportunities for teachers at the secondary level. The…

This document reports the findings of a project completed as part of the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership program at Saint Louis University. In this team project, three doctoral candidates explored the planning process of school leaders in developing professional learning opportunities for teachers at the secondary level. The…

Although campus crises have been an ever-present aspect of college life, they have been increasing in number and intensity. While disasters prompted many colleges to prepare crisis plans, the COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges. Effective and timely crisis leadership can affect the crisis outcome. By understanding the leadership styles…

Hegemonic institutions continue to promote the importance of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging initiatives (DIB). However, the persons in power creating these initiatives are often White men and women (Bischel and McChesney, 2017), that do not understand the complexity of the lived experience of Black, Brown, and African American people within…

Sport participation has been limited in marginalized communities due to socioeconomic factors such as access to facilities, cost of participation, and the overall lack of opportunity to engage in physical activity (The Aspen Institute, 2019). Sport Based Youth Development (SBYD) programs have been one avenue of providing sport and physical…

Adolescent girls in developing countries, especially those from impoverished backgrounds, face many challenges, such as cultural preference for sons, child marriage, and gender-based violence and harassment, which limit their access, opportunities, and leadership skills. The purpose of this study was to create a virtual empowerment and leadership…

This capstone details the process of developing a qualitative principal appraisal system for the Houston Independent School District (HISD). I employed observational research, in-person interviews, and historical data analysis to inform the envisioning, development, and implementation process. Using Semler's (1997) Systematic Agreement Framework,…

Nature-based preschools are defined as educational settings in which children spend three or more hours per school day in natural environments such as woods, meadows, and beaches (Knight, 2013). The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to obtain a deep understanding of the challenges and successes of nature-based preschool (NBP)…

This study explores the meaning project managers (PMs) make of their project environment, how they lead their teams and have incorporate complexity into their project management approach. The exploration of the PM's developmental level and meaning making offers a different angle on the project management and leadership literature. The study…

Capitalism and education can appear like unlikely friends at first, yet for-profit educational ventures continue to grow in size and revenue year after year in the United States. How can the government-controlled (and partially funded) educational institutions capitalize upon the opportunity without modifying the mission and vision of the…

"Igniting GameZombie TV" utilizes an accessible, energetic, postmodern style to recall how Spencer Striker founded GameZombie TV at Indiana University in the fall of 2006, built the project into an award-winning game media studio, and then expanded the initiative to the University of Wisconsin in the fall of 2009. Through grit and a…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate how participation in a leadership training program facilitated the development and practice of the eight core values of the social change model of leadership development in college students. The study included three directors and 15 students from different ethnicities, and both genders…

The titles of professional books on the topic of coaching are numerous, coaching professional development offerings are widespread and schools across the country are hiring teachers to serve in coaching roles. There is great interest around the topic of coaching and much is being written about the support that is needed for coaches as well.…