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SCHOOL LEADERS MAKING MEANING OF THEIR FIELD-BASED DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCES FOR LEADERSHIP GROWTH: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

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2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Educational Leadership.
School leadership is a complex and demanding role that organizes conditions for meaningful education for students and an environment conducive to the work of educators and parents. School leaders should be prepared for this key leadership role, but in Zimbabwe there are no formal pre-service school leadership development programs. School leaders develop leadership knowledge from their field-based leadership experiences, but there is a dearth of research on how the leaders make meaning of their leadership experiences. Using the phenomenological research tradition of qualitative research, this research study explored how nine effective Zimbabwean secondary school heads made meaning of their field-based leadership development experiences in the absence of formal leadership development programs. To focus the research study on the co-researchers’ meaning-making experiences, the adult learning theory (andragogy) and the experiential learning theory were used. Concepts drawn from adult learning and experiential learning literature were also discussed to further focus the research study but bracketed throughout the study following the dictates of Epoche. Purposeful sampling was used to identify effective school heads that had a common experience in field-based leadership development. Congruent with phenomenology, semi-structured interview questions were used to gather data to construct thick descriptions of the co-researchers’ meaning-making phenomenon. The modified 7-step van Kaam Method of Phenomenological Data Analysis (Moustakas, 1994) was used to analyze data from which horizons were identified and used to construct textural and structural descriptions of the co-researchers’ meaning-making experiences. Whereas textural descriptions captured the qualities of the meaning-making experience, structural descriptions focused on explaining factors that accounted for the qualities of the experience. The composite textural-structural description synthesized textural and structural elements of the experience resulting in the revelation of eight essences of the co-researchers’ meaning-making experiences. The essences which emerged from the synthesis include initiation, responsibility-advocacy, dialogue, collegiality, presence, attentiveness, lifelong learning, and policy-ambivalence. The 8 essences provide insights into how the school leaders made meaning of their field-based leadership development experiences. This knowledge is necessary for understanding field-based leadership development in the absence of formal pre-service school leadership preparation programs.
Denise T. Baszile, PhD (Committee Chair)
Richard A. Quantz, PhD (Committee Member)
Lisa Weems, PhD (Committee Member)
Paula Saine, PhD (Committee Member)
245 p.

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Citations

  • Ngorosha, T. (2015). SCHOOL LEADERS MAKING MEANING OF THEIR FIELD-BASED DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCES FOR LEADERSHIP GROWTH: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1437413330

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ngorosha, Trevor. SCHOOL LEADERS MAKING MEANING OF THEIR FIELD-BASED DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCES FOR LEADERSHIP GROWTH: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY . 2015. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1437413330.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ngorosha, Trevor. "SCHOOL LEADERS MAKING MEANING OF THEIR FIELD-BASED DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCES FOR LEADERSHIP GROWTH: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY ." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1437413330

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)