Women of color who pursue careers in higher education administration face a double bind of navigating institutional barriers wrought by sexism and racism while simultaneously taking on the crucial work of mentoring, advocating, and caring for students of color. This multi-method study drew on organizational support theory (Eisenberger et al.,…

The problem of interest for this study is to understand more about the leaders of graduate education in the United States, namely the graduate deans. After surveying the topic itself and the gaps in the relevant literature, I conducted a mixed-methods study through a sequential design to fill the gap in the literature on graduate deans as…

Cognitive complexity (CC)--the ability to differentiate and integrate in a dynamic environment--has been shown to be essential to understanding complex and uncertain environments. However, educational leaders' CC has not been examined. In the current exploratory research, we examine the effect of school middle leaders' CC in relation to their Big…

This chapter provides a portrait of midlevel Latina leadership in community colleges, focusing on the intersections of gender and race. The chapter will also examine the challenges and barriers Latinas face as midlevel leaders, the role of mentors, as well as provide recommendations for community colleges to help increase the numbers of Latina…

The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand the perspectives on career success of female assistant and associate deans at a large research university on the east coast of the United States. To that end, the following research questions guided this study: 1. What does career success mean to female assistant and associate deans at…

The purpose of this qualitative research study is to identify role changes that mid- level management (directors) experienced due to COVID-19. The research aims to identify these role changes, the impact of those role changes on the participants, and how they balanced their roles at work and at home. Fourteen directors at private colleges in New…

This constructivist qualitative case study examined factors that assisted and impeded the expansion of City University of New York's (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) from 4,300 to 25,000 students between 2014-2018. The study consisted of open-ended interviews with 11 CUNY system and college leaders who directly led the work…

This phenomenological exploratory study examined how community college advising coordinators described their roles as middle managers. This study was conducted in an effort to address the lack of empirical research regarding the perceptions community college advising coordinators have of the institutional and administrative challenges confronting…

Purpose: The current study investigated the impact of organisational trust on emotional well-being and performance of middle leaders during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A convenience sample of 265 middle leaders in kindergartens in China responded involving trust in schools (e.g. trust in principal…

The aim of this research was to assess the relationship between resilience and career satisfaction. Individuals feel more satisfied with their choice of career when they are higher on resilience, resulting in higher self-esteem and better health. Such individuals have better control over their work, even in disruptive times. The study was…

Individuals in academia are happier working in environments that aid their balancing of personal and professional lives (Noor, 2011). However, there is major dissatisfaction with the higher education workplace because of an imbalance with the home and work life (Ryan & Peters, 2015). Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine professional…

Research to date is rich in its claim that practice development in schools, and the leadership and professional learning that it demands, requires relational trust. However, reasonings for, and understandings about, relational trust are described mainly in general terms, leaving its complexity and multidimensionality implicit. Much trust research…

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was consequential for higher education (Crawford et al., 2020). As cases of the virus spread across the country in March 2020, colleges and universities faced the reality that continuing normal operations was no longer possible (Binkley, 2020). When schools closed and/or minimized on-ground…

This paper examines the self-reported culturally responsive practices of curriculum leaders (n = 53) and teachers (n = 105) from six state funded secondary schools in New Zealand. Participants were surveyed to examine the relationship between middle leader self-reporting of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) for improving Maori student…

COVID-19 has presented unprecedented challenges to schools, leaving principals to lead rapid organizational change with limited guidance or support. Drawing on interviews from a larger, national study of principals at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we analyzed the experiences of 20 principals in four large, urban school districts--Boston,…