ORCID Identifier(s)

0000-0002-5857-1071

Graduation Semester and Year

2017

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Department

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

First Advisor

Graham Casey Brown

Abstract

Programs of career and technical education (CTE) have grown in popularity across the U.S; over 7.5 million students enrolled in one or more CTE courses during the 2013-14 school year (Association for Career and Technical Education, 2017). With millions of students enrolled in these courses, it is imperative that school curriculum remains up-to-date and aligned with industry practices. School districts must adapt to changes occurring in business organizations so that CTE programs remain relevant for graduates looking to enter the workforce (Scott, Annexstein, Ordover, Esters, Bowen, & Reeve, 2003). Businesses increasingly are utilizing teams (Avolio, Walumbwa, & Weber, 2009; Pearce & Conger, 2003). To ensure that CTE students are prepared for the workforce, educators must teach students 21st century skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and communication among team members. Many of these skills students need to be college and career ready manifest within a shared leadership model. Shared leadership requires team members to utilize their skills of collaboration, critical thinking, and communication to work toward a common goal, thus implementing a shared leadership model can help to provide CTE students with skills they will need in the future. In this qualitative study, teacher perceptions of a shared leadership model on a CTE campus were studied. The perceptions of the teachers, as well as the ways in which they perceived that the model impacted their job satisfaction, were examined through the lens of complexity theory. Data were collected via semistructured interviews. The interview data were coded to discover emerging themes that were then organized and analyzed. The data indicated the participants’ perceptions of shared leadership in a CTE setting. Collective accountability among group members emerged as being vital to the success of the shared leadership model. Participants expressed that students observed aspects of teaming through the shared leadership implementation that previously had not been present on the CTE campus. In addition, connections created between team members and leaders due to the model positively impacted their teaching practices, productivity, and student achievement. The majority of participants perceived that the model had a positive impact on their levels of job satisfaction.

Keywords

Career and technical education, Shared leadership

Disciplines

Education | Educational Leadership

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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