Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology

In the last two years, the United States has been greatly impacted by the global health pandemic of COVID-19 and a renewed national recognition of racial injustice catalyzed by the murder of George Floyd. These crises have created extensive pressures for school leaders to revamp their policies and procedures to ensure physiological safety and address systemic racism in schools, respectively. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how school principals dealt with and reacted to COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd and the pressures of this crisis context. Guided by multiple contextual lenses and theoretical frameworks, this study used an abductive analysis approach to uncover surprising and anomalous data to build renewed understandings in educational leadership. In doing so, I discovered elements of healthcare and sensemaking around life and death that led to the integration of a healthcare humanization framework. Together, this study found that principals adopted new or shifted roles and identities that focused on humanizing practices. Principals became first responders; mediators of health, political, and humanizing communications; needs-based leaders; civil rights leaders; and leaders who sought agency by supporting others in uncontrollable situations. These changes were embedded in systems that remained acontexual and dehumanistic that created tensions for leaders to navigate. These findings supported the early developments of a humanizing leadership peri-crisis framework to elucidate leaders’ responses in crisis contexts particularly when loss is imminent. This research is significant because the literature on theoretical frameworks for crisis school leadership is small and even fewer studies have operationalized humanizing school leadership practices. Recommendations based on the findings are also proposed for researchers,
practitioners, and policy-makers.

Lack of resources, mental health issues, low self-esteem, financial hardships and other maladaptive coping patterns are stressors that significantly impact low-income mothers. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and perceived stress among low-income Brazilian mothers. Additionally, the study investigated the influence of age, educational level, and employment status on the relationship between participants’ emotional intelligence and perceived stress.
Sixty-eight (n = 68) adult low-income Brazilian mothers receiving financial assistance from the Centers of Reference in Social Services (CRAS) in Brazil participated in this correlational study. Recruitment and interviews of the participants were conducted by Brazilian case managers. The Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14), and a demographic questionnaire were used to collect data. Results from a Pearson correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r) test indicated a negative correlation between emotional intelligence and stress in the sample. The findings from the multiple regression analysis revealed that the correlation between emotional intelligence and perceived stress in low-income Brazilian mothers does not differ based on age, educational level, or employment.

On average, the American university president is a white man in his early 60s. Progress has been slow for women in this role. This study examined the university presidency with a focus on the woman president experience. The hypothesis was that based on factors such as the glass ceiling and glass cliff, gender affects the experiences of women university presidents. The purpose of this study was to understand the personal and professional meaning-making of breaking through the glass ceiling for women who have held or currently hold the position of president in higher education. The research methodology selected for this study was qualitative with a phenomenological design. There were two guiding research questions, which serve to understand the essence of the experiences of women who serve or have served in the role of president in higher education. The research questions are (a) how do women perceive the impact of the glass ceiling and/or the glass cliff on negotiating the role of university president from ascension to attainment? and (b) how do women university presidents perceive the price they have paid, personally and professionally, for breaking through the glass ceiling? The study sample size consisted of seven current or former women university presidents. The data collection method was semi-structured interviews. This study served to provide insight that may help identify support systems for women in the workplace, changes in perceptions of women in leadership, and how gender roles unfold in both the personal and professional lives of women university presidents

The problem of the current study was the challenges experienced by those living in poverty can be propagated by poor attitudes and lack of empathy among the social service workers tasked with helping them. A key factor in individuals’ attitudes and empathy are their understanding of the experiences of others, as well as an awareness of their personal biases. While poverty simulations can help increase individuals’ awareness of personal biases and difficulties experienced by individuals living in poverty (ILP), little was known about how poverty simulations may influence the perceived social empathy and attitudes of participants who work for local government organizations. Accordingly, the purpose of the current phenomenological study was to examine the perceived effects of a poverty simulation on social service providers working for a local governmental agency tasked with distributing funds to assist ILPs. Specifically, the researcher explored participants’ perceptions of changes in social empathy and attitudes toward ILPs following participation in the Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) poverty simulation exercise. Data were collected via semi structured interviews with 10 social service providers employed at the study site location, who had completed the COPE poverty simulation within the last 6 years. Data were analyzed following Groenewald’s approach to phenomenological analysis. The themes included: Participation in the COPE simulation influenced participants’ attitudes, participation in the COPE simulation influenced participants’ social empathy, and the system is broken, but participants feel disempowered to change it. The subthemes included: Developed an understanding of system flaws, developed an understanding of struggles faced by ILPs, uncovered personal attitudes/biases, the COPE simulation produced emotional reactions among participants, and the COPE simulation created empathy through simulated experiences of poverty.

In this qualitative study, spirituality, and leadership among 15 Black collegiate men enrolled at higher education institutions were examined. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe and explore the essence of spirituality within the lived experiences of undergraduate Black men student leaders. The objective was to understand the intersection of spirituality and leadership within Black men, and how it informed their decision making and influenced their career aspirations post their undergraduate collegiate experience. In this study, spirituality is defined as an “internal process of seeking personal authenticity, genuineness, and wholeness as an aspect of identity development” (Love & Talbot, 1999, p. 364).
Guided by descriptive phenomenological methodology, four research questions were asked: (1) What is the meaning of spirituality for Black men student leaders? (2) How do Black men student leaders apply spirituality within their daily leadership practices and behaviors? (3) How do Black men student leaders define the connection between spirituality and leadership development? (4) How does spirituality inform the pathways and career aspirations of Black men student leaders? Four findings emerged as a result of the data analysis: (1) The Spirit and the Struggle: Spirituality Empowers Black Leadership, (2) The Spirit of Black Leadership is Service to Others, (3) Leading from Within: Spirituality is the “Backbone” of Black Men Leadership Identity, and (4) Spirituality Influences Black Men Career Aspirations.

Excelencia in Education (2016) reported that 21% of traditional age college male students were Latino males, second only to White males. The report further noted that Latino males are ranked the lowest in degree attainment – of whom only 20% have earned an associate’s degree or higher (Excelencia in Education, 2016). As an insufficient number of Latino males are graduating with post-secondary degrees, more research must be conducted to explore their educational journey from the community college to the university and how to best support them through their transition. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative narrative research study was to explore the stories of Latino male students as they transfer from a community college to a university. To capture the essence of Latino male students’ stories through the community college transfer experience to university, the research questions focused on what motivated and influenced their journey through the community college to a university. The research questions that guided this study were: What motivated and influenced Latino males’ decisions to enroll in a community college? What motivated and influenced Latino males’ decisions to transfer from a community college to a university? How do Latino male transfer students describe their transition from community college to a university? In this qualitative narrative research study, 10 participants participated in in-depth, semi-structured virtual interviews and completed two journal prompts. To assist in triangulation and validity, participants reviewed the data for accuracy, and thick rich descriptions were used to provide breadth and depth to their narratives. Once the data were collected, it was organized through the qualitative research data management software MAXQDA and analyzed using in vivo, descriptive, and pattern coding. The conceptual frameworks that informed this narrative study were the hero’s journey by Joseph Campbell (2008) and transition theory by Nancy K. Schlossberg (2011).

A review of the literature revealed the need to further explore continuing-generation college students attending community colleges. This case study sought to understand the choice process of continuing-generation, direct-entry college students who enrolled in Miami Dade College (MDC), a baccalaureate community college. This research was planned prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet was conducted during the pandemic, creating a unique context for the study. A total of 25 participants were interviewed, including continuing-generation students, parents/family members, and high school personnel. This study used Hossler and Gallagher’s (1987) choice model as the conceptual framework to address how and why continuing-generation college students decided to pursue higher education in a community college rather than a traditional four-year college or university.
The study derived five findings: financial considerations, addressing affordability and cost in the choice process; family influence and support, describing the role family play in the college selection process; proximity and accessibility, addressing how MDC is a good choice for being “close to home” and being accessible to students who may not have otherwise accessed higher education; institutional reputation, and its importance in the selection process as related to students’ knowledge of MDC, transferability options, faculty and opportunities; and college preparedness, addressing the choice process in terms of student exposure, academic readiness, and college transfer preparedness.

This study aimed to analyze factors that predict job satisfaction and stress among Broward County teachers. A modified version of the WeBS survey was used to collect data on teachers' demographics, attitudes, and experiences related to job satisfaction. The sample used in this study was delimited to include only full-time teachers in Broward County Schools. Six research questions provided the foundation of the study, which was operationalized by Astin's (1993) input environment outcome model (IEO).
A descriptive analysis described the sample's individual and institutional characteristics and demographics. Correlational analyses were conducted to determine the strength of the relationship between variables. Finally, the data were analyzed using hierarchical, multiple regression. The regression model explored factors predicting job satisfaction and job stress among teachers. This study reported statistically significant results for each regression model. Statistically significant at p < .001, the factors that explained 55% of the variance in the final job satisfaction model included: How do background characteristics (e.g., sex, ethnic origin, and age), behavioral factors (e.g., openness, intrinsic motivation), and institutional variables (autonomy, student behavior, leadership, and school climate and culture) predict teacher job stress in Broward County? Implications for policy, practice and future research regarding job satisfaction and stress are included.

The number of Islamic schools continues to increase in the United States and the majority of these schools are led by Muslim women (Islamic School League of America, 2021). Whether women in general or Muslim women specifically, research on women in leadership remains sparse; the need to document the stories of these leaders is imperative. Muslim women are targets of negative imagery in the media and are sometimes secondary players within their own communities because cultural traditions often overshadow religious rights. Islam is clear on the position of women as equal to men as illustrated in Surah 33 Verse 35: The submitting men, the submitting women, the believing men, the believing women, the obedient men, the obedient women, the truthful men, the truthful women, the steadfast men, the steadfast women, the reverent men, the reverent women, the charitable men, the charitable women, the fasting men, the fasting women, the chaste men, the chaste women, and the men who commemorate Allah frequently, and the commemorating women; Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great recompense. As the above verse clearly identifies the status of men and women in the Quran, often Muslim communities, like much of the world, tend to judge women and treat women differently than their male counterparts. The reality is that both Muslims and non- Muslims have misconceptions about the position of women in Islam. This study provides a platform for Muslim women leading Islamic schools, their perspective, and is founded in a framework centered on Prophetic characteristics of leadership.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain insightful knowledge through the analysis of teacher pay across two similar K-12 public school districts that reflect the current evaluation methodology being utilized within the State of Florida. The two districts were selected because they are among the largest public school districts in the nation (Florida Department of Education [FLDOE], 2021a), have comparable student demographics and utilize contrasting weighted merit pay salary schedule profiles and algorithms which could provide insights into the relationship between accountability and merit-based pay. The Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) student assessments in (English [R%H] and Mathematics [M%H]) as well as the District School Grades (DSGs) were analyzed. The DSGs were commensurate with an approximation to the Value-Added Model (VAM) and Learning Growth Model (LGM) scores. Since the FLDOE does not release individual K-12 public school teacher VAM and LGM scores, the DSGs were the most appropriate comparative score to utilize when comparing these two districts. These are the primary variables utilized by the Florida K-12 Public School Accountability Programs that directly impact merit pay salary schedule placement.
Quantitative methods employed statistical tests and analyses that included Independent Samples t-tests, Intercorrelation Matrices, Independent Correlation Contrasts, and Overlapping Dependent Correlation Contrasts between correlations that were calculated in the two K-12 public school districts. The study found that the input variables (R%H, M%H, and DSGs) had no statistically significant differences of the means between districts tested. Each input variable was commensurate over the 7-year study. Yet, there were statistically significant differences of the percentage mean in the output variables in regard to the percentage of K-12 public school teachers rated Highly Effective and Effective between both districts. The study also determined that the remaining input variable of the teacher classroom observation Instructional Practice (IP) score was significantly related to an educator’s placement on annual merit pay-for-performance salary schedules. Both districts utilized the assessment tool iObservation ®. The results of all of the statistical analyses served to call into question the accuracy, legitimacy, and the efficacy of the methodology utilized to incentivize, compensate, and produce more Highly Effective educators.