This study explored how institutions can empower minoritized graduate students by leveraging their existing forms of capital, shifting from a deficit view to an assets-based approach. Through qualitative case study methodology, data from interviews and documentation illustrated the vital role of institutional agents, such as faculty and staff,…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the impact of transformational educational leaders on improving the public school system in Saudi Arabia, in relation to the dimensions of transformational leadership that include school improvement, inspirational motivation, and empowerment. The Saudi Arabian government's Vision 2030 aims…

In the wake of the global pandemic, K12 schools are experiencing significant challenges with educator retention, ambiguous policy mandates, increased accountability, and inadequate teacher and principal pipelines. At the same time, philanthropic investments have increased the growth and influence of educational intermediary organizations as change…

Youth mentoring organizations miss the opportunity to re-engage the people they serve to help others within their organization. As such, they may perpetuate the marginalization of the youth served. Through the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analytical framework, this study sought to understand the gaps in knowledge, motivation, and organizational…

This quantitative correlational study investigated the relationship between principal leadership styles and teacher psychological empowerment in U.S. public schools, grounded in the Full Range Leadership Model and Psychological Empowerment Theory. Using an associative research design, the study examined the correlation between these key variables.…

In higher education, the focus on student success often takes center stage in research and the professor-as-teacher practice. While numerous empirical studies concentrate on the growth and development of undergraduate students, this dissertation delves into professors' relational and felt experiences in positive teaching-learning relationships.…

Principal turnover remains a significant challenge in U.S. public schools, particularly in high-poverty contexts, where leadership instability negatively impacts student achievement, teacher retention, and overall school performance. This study investigated the relationship between distributed leadership practices and burnout among secondary…

There are a number of challenges associated with being a military spouse. Military culture prioritizes the needs of service members over those of military spouses. The cost of traversing this path is the sacrifice of personal goals and aspirations to tend to the needs of their service member and other family members. The cultural expectation of…

Employee recognition is important for multiple reasons. Through an informal survey, it was determined that the employees of the workforce development and community education division at Delaware Technical and Community College did not feel recognized, resulting in low morale in the division. This study provided the opportunity to develop…

School turnaround initiatives are top-down in nature and tend to relegate students and teachers to passive roles rather than empowering them as central change agents in school improvement. The purpose of this qualitative Action Research study was to investigate and deepen the use of student feedback to improve teaching and learning experiences and…

Teachers in high-poverty middle schools need additional supports from administrators to build collective teacher efficacy. Supportive leadership is the driving force in leading collective teacher efficacy in high-poverty middle schools. A qualitative, instrumental case study was utilized to explore how teachers perceive administrative supports…

The study investigated the relationship between self-rated servant leadership among post-secondary faculty and perceived student engagement in online educational environments. While existing literature has demonstrated a positive effect of servant leadership on student engagement, it has primarily centered on student perspectives and often…

This dissertation explores the transformative impact of short-term study away courses on women's leadership development in graduate education. Through a qualitative, case study approach, it investigates the experiences of women graduate students (n = 8) participating in an all-women study away course, aiming to uncover the factors that contribute…

Black first-generation college students (FGCS) often encounter challenges in the collegiate classroom due to implicit racism, academic unpreparedness, and cultural shifts. My study explores how strengths philosophy, a social work framework that leverages inherent strengths to encourage agency and change, can enhance the self-efficacy of Black…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how teacher leaders describe principal behaviors on their organizational empowerment. The sample was composed of 12 teacher leaders from a school district in Southwest Texas. Volunteers were selected using purposive and snowball sampling. Guided by the path-goal theory of leadership,…